Kepfram & Ellie's Travel Journal

Setting out I knew there were a few things to be prepared for that are very different from home: never flushing toilet paper (and always carrying some with me), always brushing my teeth with bottled water (and never in the shower!) - but here are a few other things I'm getting to know:

Outside of our first stop at small luxury boutique hotel (Hanoi Esplendor Hotel and Spa - where we'd stayed briefly when we first visited in 2023) - all the hotel/homestay bathrooms seem to be "wet rooms" - so I'm learning to limit shower spray and keep TP outside of the bathroom!

Oh, and I didn't even mention the "bum gun" - my personal favorite style of bidet - present in every public/private bathroom!

I need to get used to sweetened Coffee - not that the 3-in-1 instant coffee packs, the egg coffee, or the traditional Vietnamese Coffee with sweetened condensed milk aren't delicious, but I really miss my coffee with just milk (or soy milk)! 

Shoes off inside - I love this, and always prefer it at home, but was not used to the provided slippers to enter hotel rooms, medical offices, some restaurants (SU Vegetarian with its pebble floor!), or the shoe bag on the long-distance sleeper bus!

Communication - we've traveled quite a lot, but primarily in places where we could speak Spanish or where English was common - less so here, but with Google Translate/Google Lens voice<->speech it is SO much easier to communicate! (Interestingly, it is just that ease that makes it harder for me to remember to simply/remove nuance from everything I say to these non-native speakers!)

Technology - that brings me to travel with computer and smartphone - so different than 20 years ago with guidebook in hand! I do feel a lot more connected to my peeps at home, and it's much easier to research/book places to stay/things to do - but it also means less time talking to and meeting locals & fellow travelers - we shall see if we can change this!

Soup for breakfast!!! 

(Need I say more?!)  

-Ellie