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Hi All,
Vietnam, 87 million inhabitants, 45 million scooters. This is definitely Scooter country! You can transport anything on a scooter. Not just a family of 5 but also 10 little pigs; 30 chickens; 20 watermelons or 15 meter long bamboos (no kidding!). Scooters rule in Vietnam from the cities to the country side.
We started our trip in Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by many). This place is really a bustling, dynamic place. One of the religions in South Vietnam is called Cao Dai. The idea is that by combining all religions there is no more reason for war, and on top of that your chances of going to heaven are much greater… They can't eat beef because of Hinduism and no pork either because of Islam, so to be on the safe side they decided to become vegetarian. Their temples are really over the top. Of course they have to please all gods at the same time so that's probably the reason. After a couple of days in Ho Chi Minh City we went to Dalat, a quiet mountain village where we decided to take a 3 day motor tour through the countryside. That was really the highlight of our trip in Vietnam. We went with Joël, an English bloke and two young guides Tri and Lam. Driving a motorbike in Vietnam is … different from anything you've ever done before. There is a saying that goes; in China they drive on the right, in Japan they drive on the left, and in Vietnam it doesn't matter! And believe me, this is true. If you're looking for action and adrenaline, this is the thing to do!
But we survived and really enjoyed the countryside of Vietnam. The landscapes are beautiful and the food is delicious! After this great tour we arrived at the former North-South border. Here there are some nice villages and a beautiful place called My Son, it looks a bit like a very small Angkor Wat (although I'm sure Cambodians and Vietnamese would 100% disagree). The newer temples in Hue are completely different but also very beautiful. Amazing to see how much wealth the rulers had up until the 1920's. From there we flew to the capital Hanoi, to directly take the night train to Sapa, a mountain village with a lot of different colorful minorities. These minorities have found an easier way to make a living. Instead of working hard on the land they follow tourists all day and sell them their bags andother souvenirs. Some tourists got really annoyed after being followed all day long. However you cannot really blame the sellers because this does provide them with the money they really need. After a great hike, a nice day mountain biking and a colorful day at the local market, we finished our Vietnam trip in style cruising around Halong Bay, the 7th wonder of the world.
Now it is time to move on to the largest country in the world; China and its 1,3 billion inhabitants!
See you in Shanghai!
Harald and Sylvie
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