Compass Travel Vietnam
German girl’s unplanned trip in Vietnam
Alex, a German national, quit his job in finance and traveled the world after his 30th birthday, in which Vietnam was the second destination.
Alexandra T. (Alex) started her solo journey to explore the world in May. She has never been to Vietnam and only really noticed Vietnam when she saw travel photos on social networks. So after Maldives, she chose Vietnam as her second destination.
“I found out the necessary information about Vietnam through the Internet and knew that it would take at least a month of exploration to really feel the beauty of this place,” Alex shared.
In addition to applying for a visa, booking a plane ticket to Ho Chi Minh City and preparing to explore Vietnam for a long time, Alex hardly has any fixed schedule because he knows nothing about Vietnam at all. She originally planned to go from Ho Chi Minh City back to the North. But when she arrived, met and talked with two friends, she realized that if she went from the North to the South, it would be more convenient for the next journey and also more reasonable to explore from the mountains to the final destination of the mountainous areas. Resort in Phu Quoc . She flew out to Hanoi and started really exploring Vietnam within 30 days.
Only one day in Hanoi, but Alex has been to many places, of which her favorite is Phung Hung mural street and train street cafe. Alex’s destinations are also quite random. It could be a beautiful destination she found on a blog, or an image on Pinterest, or a recommendation from Instagram, or even in a book for girls traveling alone. Make a list of places you want to go along from North to South and balance your time accordingly.
“I only book hotels and transport exactly one day in advance, so the trip has a lot of changes. Sometimes I make very spontaneous decisions after chatting with people I just met. For example Like a trip to the Mekong Delta was a place that was completely off the list, but after talking to the owner of a restaurant, I decided to try it out,” shared Alex.
The owner of that restaurant is also German and he thinks that the Mekong Delta is a special place, not too crowded with tourists, where visitors can immerse themselves in local life, discover many interesting activities in just a short time. a day. “In the end, it was a really fun ride,” added Alex.
A one-day trip to the West, even though it was not planned, also brought Alex many new experiences. It was a day trip, stopping at My Tho and Ben Tre. Here, Alex can sail through the rows of nipa palm trees
“It was quite a special experience that I had never experienced before. I also saw the houses and lives of the people living in the water area, all new and interesting. With a journey of about 10 hours. clock, I found it to be a very nice trip.In addition, this is also the cheapest trip in the journey because the cost from hotel pick up, lunch and the whole trip for trip is only about 600,000 VND (about 600,000 VND). 26 USD),” Alex said.
Alex has experienced most of the means of transportation to go along from North to South, from airplanes, cars to motorbikes and boats. With Alex, each city she passes through has its own special things. Ho Chi Minh City is far from Hanoi in terms of noise, traffic and atmosphere. While Ho Chi Minh City is hot and like a “matrix” of cars, Hanoi is quieter and more nostalgic. Sapa attracts Alex again by the sea of clouds and immense terraced fields – she also has the first experience of planting rice with ethnic people.
In Alex’s eyes, Ha Long Bay with its “mountain on the sea” has a charming and peaceful beauty. Meanwhile, Nha Trang is the perfect combination of vibrant urban life and beautiful long coastline. And Phu Quoc is really a perfect resort oasis, where Alex thinks this is the most beautiful beach in Vietnam. In Ha Long, Alex visited the bay with a small fishing boat instead of choosing a large yacht. She enjoys the majestic scenery of mountains and sea when viewed from above.
She also visited Ninh Binh with the ancient capital Hoa Lu. She describes Ninh Binh’s nature and landscape as a blue painting. The days here are rainy, but the rain makes the space more quiet. The ancient capital of Hue has its own imprints and architectural patterns that make Alex excited. She also loves Hue food with many gifts of fruit cakes, which she says are “pretty and attractive”. Da Lat in Alex’s opinion is like an old royal residence with old villas but in a modern European style.
Finally, Alex’s favorite place in his one-month journey to discover Vietnam is Hoi An . She shared: “As soon as I arrived in Hoi An, I was mesmerized by the lovely old streets. I like all the details here, from the atmosphere, the small alleys, the yellow houses. Especially. is the evening scene with enchanting colorful lanterns. Hoi An has shown me a really beautiful and special space.”
The trip also brought about memorable experiences for Alex in Vietnam when she learned to ride a motorbike for the first time. For the first time, she was both overwhelmed and excited to witness the traffic and crowds as soon as she stepped out of Tan Son Nhat airport. She said the traffic in Vietnam is far different from Germany, her hometown, as well as with all the places she has been to before.
Plans can change at the last minute, so Alex suggests, don’t worry too much about where you’re going and what you’re doing, just enjoy everything that happens in the most positive way. For her, Vietnam is a safe country, even for solo travelers. Alex shared, that she often pays attention to safety in big cities when going to crowded places or when she rides a motorbike by herself. During the trip, she also met many friendly people and enthusiastically shared with her on the journey from North to South.
Alex confirmed that he will return to Vietnam again. Next time, she will stay in Hanoi longer, then go on a motorbike trip to Ha Giang and see Sa Pa in the ripe rice season.
Image: Alexi.tri
German girl’s unplanned trip in Vietnam
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