Kepfram & Ellie's Travel Journal

 

Here are some items to put on your Motorbike/scooter bingo cards:

• bike with 5 riders
• bike with 2 helmeted children
• bike with 3 adult riders
• a barefoot driver
• a high-heeled driver
• a side saddle passenger
• a canine passenger
• adult around town with a lower leg/foot injury...
• bike with a load more than 2 meters high
• bike with a load more than 2 meters wide
• bike with modifications for a mobility-impaired rider
• bike in motion sheltered by an umbrella

Labels: Musings, Vietnam

Da Lat is a sprawling agricultural mountain town/city of about 200,000 residents. Here we cooled down, ate some good food, got vaccinated, saw some beautiful landscapes, visited some avant-garde architects' creations, got soaked in the rain, enjoyed Mid-Autumn Festival's celebrations, and met some cool people (shout out to Zoe, Stevie, and everyone at Socialhouse Dalat!):

Rabies Vaccine - after Kepfram got denied at a clinic in Nha Trang (didn't like his resting HR <60 bmp) we were successful here and got our first 2 shots (1 more after 2 more weeks and we'll have some level of lifetime protection)!

More Vegetarian food (yum) - Quan Chay Bo De on the same block as our homestay is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant out the front of someone's home with a choice of either a soup or rice dish  with vegetables and a selection of tofu different ways (for ₫30,000 / $1.15 per plate)! And then there's Vegan Heaven near the center of town which has an incredible delicious menu of all sorts of Vietnamese dishes prepared vegan - so good ! I also enjoy a cup of hot soya milk at a night market & the Vietnamese style tofu on everyone's menu...

Crazy House - more my thing than Kepfram's (he didn't like the vertigo-inducing stairways to nowhere over the curving rooftops of the buildings) - the architect's house and working hotel is also one of the largest tourist attractions in the city - architect Dang Viet Nga (aka Hang Nga - referencing the Moon Goddess), who holds a PhD in architecture from Moscow State University, and notes her main inspiration is Antoni Gaudi, has been creating this outrageous network of buildings and gardens since 1990. Absolutely inspiring!

Maze Bar - starting underground & built up through a 5 story townhouse backing onto a hillside, the structure features tunnels, winding stairways, various ladders, art-filled walls, and at the top, beautiful gardens - Lu Truc Phuong, architect (1941-2016), born in Cambodia, but moved to Vietnam in his 20s, whose previous creation, the 100 Roof House, was ordered destroyed by Vietnamese authorities in 1993 before it was completed - a drink on entry is your price of admission to this one-of-a-kind creation.

Da Lat Cable Car - runs from Robin Hill on the south edge of the city to the Truc Lam Zen Monastery a few km further south near the scenic Tuyen Lam Lake - we managed to find a lovely sunny day to enjoy the ride over the pine forest and a leisurely morning exploring the grounds of the monastery.

Mid-Autumn Festival - mostly a children's festival in Vietnam, and here in Da Lat: "The 2026 Mid-Autumn Festival will provide children with a healthy and enriching recreational environment, while helping strengthen national unity and reinforce public confidence following the administrative restructuring. It also reflects the attention given by the Party, the State and society to the protection, care and education of children." The rain actually cleared enough to allow outdoor performances, including lighted floats, lion dancers on pillars, dance performances by children of various ages, as well as a parade the next night with lighted floats and more lion dancers performing around the city

Labels: Vietnam

Welcome to Southern Vietnam! 

We are moving south faster than expected. First stop: a few nights at the beach town of Nha Trang. So many Russians! (Cyrilic signage, Russian groceries, Menus in Russian, former Soviet Republic restaurants, Russian street performers...) I had no idea!

Apparently there are dozens of direct flights from Russia to the nearby airport each week, the Russian expat community is clustered here, and in a city of 400 thousand inhabitants, already more than 600 thousand Russians visitors this year alone!

We have a very cute loft room on a quiet street (making me think hard about how to loft our bed back in NYC, though the ceiling here is high enough we can almost stand in the loft, which would NOT happen at home...) 

We took another overnight train to get here 😊 - even got the 4 bed cabin to ourselves for the night (though when we arrived, passengers who disembarked had been sitting in our cabin eating, so not the cleanest). I've enjoyed traveling this way - even though it is much slower and slightly more expensive than flying within the country.

Nha Trang has a very scenic beach, and we were hoping for more evening swims, like we enjoyed in Da Nang, but the beach here is windy, the surf rough and the sand gritty - we haven't been drawn to take a dip...

Tomorrow we'll take a bus up to the mountain town of Da Lat - cooler weather, lots of sights. We're looking forward to spending some time there - our hotel is reserved until the end of Sept, and we might extend.

More to follow!

Labels: Vietnam

We came here to get custom dance shoes for Ellie. She ended up with a lovely pair of shoes from the same shop a friend had used a couple years ago. I'd hoped to get some repairs done on my tire sandals or maybe a new/better pair, but that's not the kind of work people do here. I did upgrade the straps with some rubber strapping from the market here though. So, win? I was also able to get some repairs for my backpack, some pants hemmed, & I replaced all of my travel utensils with shiny new ones made of buffalo horn! 

Our homestay was nice. Another large family home with A/C, a fridge, private bath, & breakfast included every morning (we almost always chose beef pho & coffee). The best part might have been the free bikes that we used almost daily to explore the area. We easily got into the tourist areas and further afield to see rice fields and neighboring communities, including some swiftlet farms where birds are raised for their nests that get used in some special local foods.

We also saw the Bamboo Circus show. It was great.

Memorable foods here: pandan in iced tea, smoked duck noodles, green mango salad with prawns, Vietnamese honeycomb cake

Things I liking:

• Vietnamese food is AMAZING
• Vegetarian meals that are deliciously flavorful 
• Pho for breakfast 
• Vietnamese tofu
• Iced jasmine green tea
• Coffee: white, regular with sweetened condensed milk, iced coconut, & salted
• Coconut smoothies made with young coconut flesh, coconut milk, & coconut water
• An entire country that seems to live in flip-flops
• Almost ubiquitous wi-fi
• The sky is beautiful, sweeping clouds and wide horizons
• Bidets toilets as standard
• Thrift shopping
• Riding bikes

Things I'm not loving:

• A weak stream on a bidet
• Secret pork in meals
• Not having my own kitchen
• Moving weekly

Labels: Vietnam

Wow - 4 weeks in Vietnam?! We've entered Central Vietnam (the Vietnameese/American War DMZ lies between Hue and Da Nang - though we didn't visit it...)

A lot of history here! Hue is the historic residence of Vietnam's last imperial family (the Nguyen Dynasty, built in the early 1800s. The compound, as well as being representative of Vietnamese architecture, has tons of French influence, but also Chinese and Japanese. As we were there for the National Day (Sept 2) holiday, all Vietnamese got free entry to the local historic sites, which may be the reason there were SO many people in traditional dress visiting for photo ops. Regardless of the reason, it was extra beautiful with all the costumes. 

As Hue is a larger city, that's not entirely focused on tourism, we were able to be around tons of locals - out for a walk at night, gathered with friends and family at local open air restaurants, passing time playing some board game we could not identify (apparently it's Cu tuong, aka Chinese chess), kids riding tiny light up go carts in the park...

We got up early on National Day and walked down to the river to join the local crowds watching the celebratory traditional boat races on the Perfume River. Similar to Dragon Boats, but shorter and with flatter (less stable) hulls paddled by some serious athletes! We watched both Men's and Women's races - the men were a little more aggressive, resulting in a capsized boat in 2 races (one seemed intentional, and the culprit boat seemed to get a time penalty) - it was HOT though, so we only lasted an hour...  

We also spent a lot of time in our hotel/B&B - a lovely family-run homestay in an older house - they included breakfast - and for 2 of our 3 nights we were also offered a delicious dinner - where we met some like-minded travelers of our generation - a couple from Bavaria and a solo traveler from Dresden - I hope we cross paths again!

We relatively quickly moved on to Central Vietnam's biggest city - Da Nang - a working port city with an extensive beachfront on the coast of the South China Sea. We are staying on the Son Tra Peninsula - a bit of Miami in the aesthetic, with palm trees along the endless (~9 km) My Khe Beach, party vibe at all the beachfront bars, and even some beach volleyball. One of the things I love is that all the highrise hotels (and there are MANY) seem to be along the city side (not the beach side) of the road, so the beach itself is less crowded. Here, there are a ton of restaurants and coffee shops (serving all the international tourists - more Russian & Indian visitors than we've seen elsewhere), including multiple Korean and Indian eateries, and a handful other ethnic spots, in addition to all the local food and Seafood! 

Da Nang nightlife seems to be centered on the Han River, which divides the city - especially lovely at night, with decorated bridges, one spanned by a giant dragon which spits fire and water at 9pm on weekend evenings, attracting a huge number of even more lit-up dinner cruises which come to watch along the equally lit riverfront. There's also a huge swing bridge which opens at 11pm on weekends.

Overall, the city hasn't invited us in (granted, we have been laying low during the day, staying out of the sun, hitting the beach at sunset, and exploring only after dark), we'll see if anything else grabs us before we head to our main stop in central Vietnam - Hoi An!!

Labels: Vietnam

Another week in Vietnam 

I feel like we change locations every 4 days so I haven’t established the kind of routine I like for keeping track of time. The constants have been excursions, morning meals, & laundering outfits in our accommodation to alternate until we move on to the next place. I imagined Vietnam as 3 month long stays with some day trips or weekend getaways mixed in. I’m not sure why I thought that was possible. I fear I’m shit at planning.

Anyway, this stop is Ninh Binh.

This place is casually picturesque, with beautiful skies and limestone karsts interrupted by things people have made like temples, roads, bits of agriculture, old towns, & new solitary neighborhoods between the whole collection.

We came here to see the Trang An landscape park, but were rained out (the water level was too high in the caves), so the only tours available were caveless. It was still lovely, getting paddled around the water & looking at the scenery, but I don't think we'll see any of Vietnam's really impressive caves this trip.

While in the area we saw the Emperor of the Reeds show. It reminded me of a Cirque du Soleil production or the kinds of circus we used to take Ahsaan to @ the New Victory Theatre in NYC. It was a nice outing with song, acrobatics, & fireworks. I hope we see some more shows before we leave Vietnam. 

We rented bikes from our homestay a few times & it was great. The area is pretty flat & the traffic wasn't terribly hectic, so it's nice biking. I've missed biking. We went down quiet streets, rices paddies, & washed out roads in some pretty good weather & some amazingly refreshing downpours. We would have done more, but I am delicate & used to riding a noseless saddle, so 3 days of regular bike seat up in my business was my limit.

On our way out of town we did a few interviews with local children. I don't think I've ever had an 8 year old ask me "May I speak with you for a little while?" Let alone follow up with a series of basic conversation questions "Where are you from?" "What is your favorite animal?" "What sports do you like?" I thought the kids were traveling as well, but they weren't. Parents bring them to the train station at night to practice their English with the tourists. Being chatted up by a child is very cute & a little confusing at first. By the end, Ellie & I had friends & very appreciative parents who wanted photos of us.

Sidenotes:

I've been making body products for our household since Ahsaan was small. For this trip we only packed some scented oil & a little body butter trying not to overpack. I should have packed my homebrew deodorant, the 'natural' deodorant we brought with us is not cutting it here.

Foods: Vietnamese sticky rice is yummy, it's like a broken rice version of a tamale. I had a delicious green bean stir-fry that we were assured had no meat in it after we asked 3 times & being told there was only garlic and olives. I checked the Chinese translation & recipe. It was pork tossed in green beans. My veggie inspired version of green beans will feature a mince of mushrooms, olives, & peanuts garnished with chilis & fried onions once I get around to making it. I REALLY like tofu here, which is kinda amazing because contempt best describes my feelings for it in the US. The tofu here is going to be fresher, made in small batches, and coagulated with acidified soy whey, "sour water" not industrially produced and coagulated with gypsum like in the US (which I suspect is why tofu normally tastes chalky to me). Ellie really likes Vietnamese sour fish soup (which I think is more sweet & sour? There's pineapple & tamarind in the broth). We had some tasty Indian food in town one day. I suspect all the Indian food is gonna be more tasty in Asia than in the US... & finally I unlocked salted coconut foam iced cocoa coffee. I don't know if it's the final coffee boss, but it's beating everything else so far.

Labels: Vietnam

We left Sapa on warm sunny day, which got even hotter as we left the mountains heading north towards the Chinese border. Lao Cai sits in a valley at the junction of the Red and Nanxi rivers, where you can cross to Hekou, China. 

Did I mention it was hot! The weather had been SO pleasant in Sapa I immediately regretted it, but I managed to suck it up and we walked over to see the border crossing. 

Amusingly Google maps does not recognize directions beyond driving in some parts of Vietnam (7 min to drive, 12 days to walk - WTF?!).

Then after an air conditioned, but otherwise forgettable dinner we boarded our luxury Laman Express train south to Hanoi. We booked 2 berths in a 4 person sleeper carriage for the 8 hour trip, but ended up with the car to ourselves! I slept :) 💤

(Really not clear why there is a Merry Christmas decal on our window......)

We were awoken at 5am with the coffee we had ordered, and watched the sun rise as we entered the outskirts of Hanoi - it was fun to watch the streets narrow - though the drama of vendors and tourists crowding the tracks between the buildings on "train street" must happen later in the day.

In Hanoi we stowed our bags, checked out the location where the high speed rail station is being built, found a VP Bank ATM to get more cash (most of the ATMs we've encountered charge an 8% VAT to withdraw funds, this is the one exception!) and then a quick coffee before the 2ish hour train to our next stop: Ninh Binh aka "Halong Bay on Land" (stay tuned for that post...)

Once settled in our next homestay and unpacked, I realized I'd left the beautiful Moroccan scarf Ahsaan had gifted me hanging (on the right side - see image) of the doorway of our train to Hanoi! After a minor freakout (where Ahsaan reassured me that if I funded another trip to Morocco for him he's replace it 🤣), I messaged Laman Express on their customer service WhatsApp number,  gave them all my info and a photo of the scarf, and they found it!!!

Then our amazing host here in Ninh Binh called and arranged for them to ship the scarf to her - she picked it up from the station the following evening - and there was NO CHARGE for shipping (as they just put it on their own train). 

Vietnam continues to surprise me! But now to keep a closer eye on my things!! 😔

Labels: Vietnam