Elliot in Vietnam

From Thailand I was especially excited for the noodle soup and the good food in Vietnam. I miss Thailand a little, but I’m excited for the Vietnamese Pho…for 5 weeks! Yay!

Floating Market

Just after we arrived in Vietnam we went on a trip to visit the floating market. It wasn’t so cool at first but then when you move a little farther in there was like 300 thousand billion trillion hundred boats. There was even a gas station and convenience store on a boat. Some people never even step on land and just live on their boat.  They sell a whole variety of fruits and veggies. Because you’re on a boat and can’t see all the fruits from below, they put a big, big bamboo stick and tie the fruit they’re selling onto their stick. For breakfast we had Pho (noodle soup). When you’re eating they tie this ginormous knot to your boat so you can’t swim away with their bowl. They literally chop everything up and make all the noodles on the boat.

Chu Chi Tunnels

As a day trip from Saigon we went to visit the Chu Chi Tunnels. It was cool. The tunnels were very strong made from a hoe and bamboo basket. They filled their baskets with dirt from digging the tunnels and then used the dirt to fill the landmines from the bombs dropped by the US. They beat the US. Hurray! In the tunnels they were able to travel from one spot to another and not get hit by a bomb. The US troops couldn’t fit in the tunnels because they were too big. The Vietnamese fit because they were kind of skinny J. The US used dogs to attack the Vietnamese in the tunnels.

Phan Thiet

We went to homestay at night. When we got there we put our bags down and had Christmas dinner. The next day we woke up and the place looked different. At breakfast we didn’t have cereal or pancakes. I don’t know the name of it, but it was good. Then we visited the beach. It was deserted. Literally nobody was there except up! The sand was like flour and sometimes you could find quicksand.

Then we had lunch. It was so good, but I do not know the name again.

Dalat

We went on a 4-hour bus ride to Dalat. In Dalat we went to a yoga retreat. The place was strict. We had two hours for yoga, then 1.5 hours of chanting, then we learned about yoga life. It’s basically school, but learning yoga. Then 1.5 hour break, then lunch. Of forgot to tell you, for breakfast we had tea, then another class of yoga and then dinner. For dinner we could only have veggies. After dinner, they don’t have dessert…what, what?!?!?  After that we had satsang, which is basically chanting, for an hour. Then we went to bed at 10pm. Then we did the same thing every day. Argh, it was so boooooooorrrrrriiiinnnnnggggggggg.

Yoga tips so you live longer:

  • Only sleep for 7 hours. If you sleep longer you get lazy.
  • Medicate ½ hour minimum
  • Nose breathing ½ hour per day
  • Bedtime should be 10pm
  • The ocean gives you prana (prana is life force)

PS: I never do this, I just wanted to add this to make my blog longer. It’s so boring, I can’t even do it for 10 minutes.

In Dalat we went on a rollercoaster thing. It was so cool because we were going through the woods and it wasn’t so long. At the end was a waterfall that was ginormous, literally. Then we walked around these steps and the railing was carved like bamboo, but it was actually cement. For a second, I thought it was real bamboo. On the way up we took another rollercoaster.

Hoi An

Today we took a 1.5 hour flight. When we got there we took a taxi to our hotel. When we got there we ate at a restaurant called Morning Glory and guess what, they didn’t have any morning glory! But it was still sooo good. Then we explored the city and that night there was a lantern festival. Lanterns were everywhere. When we were walking back the streets were flooded. The next day we went on a bike ride and I sat on the back of my mom’s bike. We biked 45km that day. It was crazy. I’m not lying. I pinky promise and don’t have my fingers crossed. After that I had two noodle soups and that was my favourite we had in Hoi An.

The next day we went to a lantern making place. We used this special glue to make the lanterns. I bought a stuffed pig and his is Mr. Scrufflot.

Vietnam was fun and at first I thought the floating marketing was a little normal, but it was so cool! I ate noodle soup on a boat…mind blowing! And I can’t believe that breakfast, lunch and dinner for four people was five dollars! I will miss all the great Pho but looking forward to continuing my adventure in Hong Kong.

Halong Bay

We went on an overnight boat along Halong Bay. If you don’t know what it is basically like island with water everywhere. It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One island looked like a humpback whale. For dinner they made these fancy carvings from carrots and vegetables that looked like dragons. I tried one. Then I learned it was glued together and you shouldn’t eat it.

The next day we went to visit these caves on one of the islands. The caves were pretty cool with stalagmites and stalactites. That afternoon we when back and drive to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.