Vietnam.

Moving South to Vietnam allowed for a much needed hit of sunshine and calmer seas, and time to break out my swimsuits (I had about 2 weeks of winter and that fact made me so happy because I hate the cold). Vietnam in February is about 90/ 32℃, and that would be the solid average temperature for the rest of the voyage, making my time as a super pale girl fairly difficult but also fairly incredible. But back to the topic at hand, Vietnam, might be one of the craziest and most amazing places I have ever been (will say that about anywhere I go, but I mean it) I would spend most of my overall time here in the North part of the country, but I got to explore Ho Chi Minh City our first day there. 

Walking in Ho Chi Minh City, and frankly all of Vietnam is probably the hardest thing to master. You have to be fearless, confident, and move fast. The barrage of motorbikes constantly speeding toward you on any given road means you can't be scared to walk in front of a moving vehicle (or 40). My friends and I went on a tour of the city, getting a tour of the Independence Palace, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the War Remnants Museum, a Vietnamese coffee shop, and a Buddhist Temple.  Small preface, if you ever drink Vietnamese coffee, there's a chance that its made from beans that were eaten by weasels, and the caffeine will keep you up for days (literally). 

The next day myself, my friend Kristin, a bunch of our Professors and Deans, and some other students flew up to Hanoi for the first leg of our trip to Ha Long Bay. Hanoi, just as bustling as Ho Chi Minh, but a little colder, gave us another look into the culture and subcultures of Vietnam. After a day of touring around museums, temples, and city life, we head to a water puppet show, which was one of the strangest things I had experienced, mainly because it was completely in Vietnamese and the storyline didn't quite make sense if you didn't already know Vietnamese legend or folklore about the country's beginnings. (No photos were allowed either) Nonetheless, the music was cool, the puppets, kinda creepy, but the overall act was pretty neat to see.

The next day, however was the start of what was probably the most relaxing trip I did on Semester at Sea thus far, which was going on a cruise through Ha Long Bay. Now when I told my friends that I was going on a cruise while in Vietnam, they were like, "Why would you want to go back on the water, you already live on a ship". Well, I've got to say, it was the right decision on my part. Ha Long Bay has one of the most striking landscapes/waterscapes, and a big part of why I put Vietnam near the top of my favourites list. Once we reached a certain island with a beach, we got off, and were able to kayak around the formations. Once we finished kayaking we really just got a chance to relax and take in the beauty around us. And even though I was surrounded by my deans and professors, the whole group just had a great 2 days on the water, with the worries of homework and projects drifting into the background, letting us really just enjoy the present. Any description I try to give this place will not do it justice, so I'll just let my photos speak for themselves.

Dreading the return to my pretty amazing reality, we disembarked and got on a flight back to Ho Chi Minh City. And on my last day in Vietnam I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which felt strange to go into because I had learned so much of the American side of the war, and now crawling through the tunnels  that people had to live and fight in to survive was just so strange to conceptualize in my head. Granted I do also find it weird to see and live in the same places that life-changing events happened in, whether it be last year, 50 years ago, or 500 years ago. While we were there we got to meet a Viet Cong soldier, who chronicled the events I had learned about from the other perspective, creating a whole new picture to understand and question even more. The tunnels themselves were fairly small, but originally were even smaller and made bigger so taller and larger tourists could see them. Even when in the tunnels it was hard to believe that they were actually where many people lived, fought, and died for their independence.

On a lighter note, after the tunnels we still had some free time and because it was hot and humid, my friends and I went to an ice cream shop where they make the ice cream with liquid nitrogen, mixing and freezing the ingredients right in front of you. So I ending my time in Vietnam with some mint chip ice cream, happy and already ready to go back to see even more.

Another country down, so many more to go. Next time I'll get to relive hot air ballooning over Bagan and so many other memories. But that's for another day.

Talk to you later,

-Karin xx