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Home sweet home

I've been back for two weeks now and the initial shock has settled. It took over a week to get used to throwing paper in the toilet bowl and I find it difficult to figure out what time it is as it's still light outside until way after 9pm. Furthermore, the clothes I left in my brother's flat are too big and I don't like them; British office wear is just not my style anymore after 18 months of backpacking in Asia. I need a new wardrobe. I have to go shopping, oh gosh, what a dilemma. I still find myself browsing through travel magazines, dreaming about my next adventure, although it's not as hard to look at houseshares and job ads as I thought it would be. I think I'll be alright in the end. I don't feel like I've come home though, as I don't have a house and my stuff is scattered everywhere and my people are everywhere. Home is a complicated term, isn't it?

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Halong Bay & Lan Ha Bay

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Sa Pa - Rice fields and mountains

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The moment has arrived

Amazing caves and mud baths in Phong Nha, endless amounts of temples in Ninh Binh and spending hours on a boat in the UNESCO heritage listed Trang An, going on to Sa Pa to marvel over the amazing rice plantations and mountains and finally more trekking in the National Park of Cat Ba Island and enjoying a kayaking tour of Halong Bay. I’m now finding myself in a great little alleyway café in Hanoi, sipping on an egg coffee, looking back at the last 7 weeks spent in Vietnam and I am pleased that I decided not to rush through this country. It’s been fantastic.

Vietnam is most likely going to be the last country this time around. The last couple of months I’ve increasingly felt that it’s time to take a break, to go home, to hug the people I love. I’m tired and I keep getting ill, I have no immune system left. In theory, it’s the most sensible thing to do, but when I started looking at flights, the anxiety suddenly crept up on me from behind like a slimy monster that flung its arms around my neck and won’t let go.

I’m scared of leaving this way of living, having to go back to responsibilities and expectations, routines and commitments. I don’t even know where I’m going, so how am I to book a flight!? Am I going back to England or Sweden, or is it time to start over somewhere else? What do I want to do with my life at this moment? I thought these things would sort themselves out during this trip, everything would be so much clearer and easier and the path to future happiness would be obvious. Instead, I feel more confused than I’ve ever been!

At the same time I’m so excited to see my family and friends again. I think the truest test, to see whether 18 months of travelling has changed you at all, will be to reunite with the people who truly knows you. I can’t wait to see everyone again!!

But first, let’s find a flight and gather the courage to book it….

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*sniff sniff*

I made an attempt to finish my advanced diver course, but unfortunately my ears would not cooperate and I couldn’t go deeper than 10m, so I cancelled the course. I’m now riddled with cold, cough, phlegm, blah. On top of the inflamed nerve in my chest, the back injury from the Philippines seems to have flared up again, so I’m feeling a tiny bit rubbish at the moment. The low points have been scarce on this trip, but this is definitely one of them *sniff*.

The best cure for lows is to keep moving, so I decided to travel on and I’m now enjoying a Hawaii pizza in my hotel room in Hue. I clearly know how to spoil myself. The idea was to rest here before moving on to my next destination, so I don’t know which part of me thought it would be a good idea to do a 10km trek in Bach Ma National Park today. It was absolutely beautiful however and I’m glad I did it, although I’m a complete wreck now.

I also walked around the Imperial City, the Citadel, yesterday and I’m planning on visiting the royal tombs tomorrow, before my bus leaves for Phong Nha in the afternoon. Resting is obviously not my thing. It would be a lot easier if there weren’t so many interesting things to do!!

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The diversity of Hoi An; Old Town shop houses, acient temple ruins in My Son and the pier on Cham Island

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Like a penguin

I was planning on staying in Hoi An a couple of days to renew my visa, went on a day trip with Blue Coral Divers, had two absolutely brilliant dives and decided to do the Advanced Open Water Diver course here, so I extended my stay with three days…

I started my course with Peak Performance Buoyancy and oh my gosh, I was an absolute disaster, but it was so much fun. I couldn’t stop laughing, so I constantly had to clear my mask, which filled up with water everytime I had a laughing fit. Luckily, there’s no way you can fail this course!

The second dive was all about navigation, finding your way under water with the help of a compass and natural references, like the sun and the bottom contours. I was a bit worried, as this is basically the opposite of what I’m really good at, which is getting lost. I was hoping for endless visibility, but no, I couldn’t see further than 5-8 meters. Believe it or not, I absolutely nailed this task! I’m still a bit shocked!!

Yesterday I was feeling absolutely rotten, but stubborn as I am, I squeezed into two wetsuites (sausage skins rather), geared up, slipped into my fins (singing “Like a penguin” in the melody of Madonna’s Like a virgin; this is part of my routine) as I walked to the rear of the boat and stepped into the water, just to realise that I couldn’t equalise, so I had to get straight back onto the boat and was so annoyed and disappointed I just felt like crying. Booo!

I went to the hospital today and the doctor told me I shouldn’t dive for another 5 days; minor chest congestion and on top of that I’ve got an inflamed nerve in my chest, which makes it quite painful to breath. So, I’ll be stuck here in Hoi An for at least another week… Gutted! Hoi An is very pretty though, so it could be worse. Let’s make the best of the situation - I’ve booked in for a spa session tomorrow. After all, life is good and it’s up to you to make it great.

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Stopping for lunch and a power nap at this beautiful spot!

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Sunrise over Lak Lake

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Can I stay here forever, please?

The trip up to Da Lat wasn't actually that bad and what's even better, the city itself is the coolest place ever, not just temperature wise. When I arrived, the minibus dropped me off outside a random hostel and I was immediately approached by the staff. Not to try and make me stay there, but to offer me a free cup of tea and a map so that I could find the hostel I wanted to stay at. After nearly a year and a half of travelling in Asia, I just couldn't believe this, I was absolutely gobsmacked! It's sad to say it, but most often when people are that friendly, they want something from you. My hostel, the Cozy Nook (not the Nozy Cook, which is what comes out of my mouth for some reason, every time I talk about the place), was amazing. The owners must be the friendliest people in the whole of Da Lat. They cooked fantastic dinners, which we all enjoyed together. It was the closest thing to a family dinner I've had in a very long time! After a week, I reluctantly left the place. I booked a two day easy rider (motorcycle) tour to Nha Trang, via Lak Lake. It was really expensive, but definitely worth it. I learned so much in these two days; about Vietnam, about different plantations (I had no idea that cashew nuts grow on fruits!!!) and the scenery is just breathtaking. I spent the night in a traditional longhouse with a local family and got up super early to watch the sun rise over Lak Lake. Incredible, just incredible. Vietnam is slowly making its way up to be one of the top 3 of my favourite countries. I can't wait to see the rest. However, I'll have to skip a few destinations (sorry Quy Nhon, Pleiku, Kon Tum) as I got stuck in Da Lat and now my visa is about to expire, so I'll do a couple of dives here in Little Russia, I mean Nha Trang, and then head straight up to Hoi An, where I can renew my visa!

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Wherever you go in Vietnam, the smell of coffee will fill your nostrils and mind with happiness. If you are a coffee lover like me, you'd appreciate this country; the second largest exporter of coffee worldwide.

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Good morning Vietnam!

I've been waiting a long time to say that. Now, I'm finally here and I'm loving it. The people are friendly, the coffee is amazing, the pho soup... Well... It's alright. I started in the Mekong Delta, jumping from one city to another when I finally got stuck in Ben Tre; a place less travelled and explored, which makes it an awesome place for a backpacker such as myself. No one speaks English, no one's brain has been twisted by tourism, I got a manicure and a pedicure for $1. Do I have to say more? Saigon reminded me of Bangkok. Big city, crazy traffic, noisy and dirty. I guess I didn't stay long enough to figure out what's charming about the place. I nearly got run over by a scooter when trying to cross the street. I really don't like big cities; they exhaust me. I've now made my way up to Mui Ne, where I excelled in my skill of getting lost. I was trying to find the famous sand dunes and ended up in a graveyard. It was beautifully located though, on the top of a hill, overlooking the ocean and I could see the dunes from there and figured out where I missed to turn - brilliant! I've got a few minutes to kill before the bus arrives that will take me up the mountains to Da Lat. I can't wait for the cooler climate; this heat is killing me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to prepare mentally for the 5 hour long curvy and bumpy bus ride that awaits me...

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Bokor National Park in Kampot

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Kampot, what a lovely place this is

The idea was to go to Kampot for a day before heading back to Phnom Penh. I should know by now not to make any plans; this is my 4th day here in this lovely little riverside town, I'm totally enchanted by this place. It has atmosphere, nice people, more locals than tourists and really nice eateries and beautiful surroundings, like Bokor National Park, salt fields, pepper farms, fishing villages, rapids, waterfalls, cool caves, etc. What it doesn't have is hawkers or policemen that stop you when you're on your scooter to scam money off of you. It's refreshing!

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Actually, I think I might be done with beaches too...

One week in Sihanoukville and I've accumulated around 30 sandfly bites. Sandflies are a thousand times worse than mosquitoes, apart from the fact that they don't spread horrible disease, like malaria or dengue. Repellent doesn't deter them and the gigantic blotches on my legs, which makes it look like I've got the plague, will itch forever. Just kill me now. Yet, I just went ahead and booked a ticket to Koh Rong Sanloem, an island just off the coast, for some more beach life. Why do I hate myself so much?

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"Don't waste any amount of time doing anything important when there is a sunset outside you should be sitting under" - C. Joybell C.

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"Today I saw a red and yellow sunset and thought, how insignificant I am! Of course, I thought that yesterday too, and it was raining" - Woody Allen