The land of rice hats - Vietnam

The morning started very well the 1st of May. We went to the bus station of Thakek with Adeline and in 5 minutes she was in her bus to South Vietnam. I thought I will miss her as we spent 17 days together and she was an amazing companion and a beautiful soul. We had a lot of fun. Soon, I was not sad at all as I know I gained another friend for life.

I walked 5 minutes to get to route 12 that leads to Vietnam border. It was 9 o clock and i had 200 km to find rides and pass the border. I waited only 1 minute in route 12 and a small truck gave me a 35 km lift. From route 12 the landscape is unreal with jungle and crazy mountains coming up out of nowhere (google "Phou hi poun"). They left me there and i spent 1 hour waiting but no luck. I decided then to start walking while playing mandolin under the hot sun. I was lucky to have a big rice hat bought in Luang Prabang to protect my head and shoulders. At some point, as i was hitchhiking and playing at the same time, a wave of wind comes and i feel my hat ready to fly. The reaction was instant and both my hand landed on top of the hat to prevent it from leaving me. The bad point is that these hands used to hold a mandolin that landed with great force on the ground, leaving me standing there, not able to believe i just did that. A car stops at the same time, i grab my mandolin and i hope in for another 10 km. After this ride, i found my self in the middle of nowhere, in route 12, not really a highway but as it was mostly inhabited, the cars were speeding a lot... And when the cars speed a lot, they don't stop when you hitchhike... It was midday and i was walking for two hours thinking that if i don't get a ride soon i ll set my tent somewhere and relax there. 

The miracle happens then and a big luxury car stops to take me and i don't believe my eyes (rich people don't take hitchhikers usually). A man at his 60s is there looking at me, smiling and guess what, he was going to Vietnam. I went from hell (40 degrees Celsius) to heaven (air condition and nothing on my back). I soon came to know that this guy made all his money the last 30 years having animal farms in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. Just out of curiosity, I asked "How many pigs in Thailand we are talking about, a thousand?" to receive the answer "More than 10 thousands" that made me start thinking if i should tell him to stop the car to get out or not.

Meat industry is a bad industry for many reasons but mostly because of the way they treat animals, what they feed them and what damage that meat does to human race. Recently I quit eating meat so it was feeling I was with the devil. On the other hand, he was the only one to stop and take me and that means he has some goodness inside him. After I told him I don't eat meat and i don't like the meat industry, I started asking him manipulating questions hoping i will leave a seed somewhere in his brain that maybe one day grow and make him more sensitive in such matters. Manipulating questions are not good and i don't know how they come out of my mouth sometimes but at least I try to use them for good when it happens. 

The last questions i did twice was "Do you eat from the meat you produce?" and either he didn't want to reply or he didn't understand the question. Then I decided to let go and start talking about nicer things like family and stuff to make us feel comfortable for the next 3-4 hours.

2-3 km before the border 

We talked a lot and he told me to go with him until Ha Tinh where he would spend the night and that he has a room for me. The best hotel in town that he was usually staying was full because of the Vietnamese holidays (Vietnamese war end on 30th April + 1st of May) but they managed to find one room for him. In 5 minutes we found a room in a good hotel across the street, where he came and payed for the night and told me to meet him for dinner at 8 at the restaurant of his hotel. The night ended with a delicious fish steak and ginger tea and I could see he was very happy that he helped someone in need. He told me i was the first hitchhiker he ever took and i urged him to always take hitchhikers.

Ha Tinh was a city with no foreigners and noone speaking English. Next day after some walk in the city and a brunch, a desire to see the ocean started growing inside me. I went to a bus stop and a local that could speak English was happy to help a foreigner. We took the same bus and he didn't let me pay telling me "Don't worry, very cheap" and soon I was only a 10km ride away. A family stopped to take me and after 10 minutes we arrived at Thien Cam beach, a beach quite famous for Vietnamese but not for foreigners. I received an amazing welcome by almost every local. People were inviting me to their tables to share some food and drinks and i was feeling blessed. 

In Vietnam people go to the beach one hour before sunset when the sun is harmless. I was thinking that it is a better habit than Greeks that go on the peak of the heat and by 5pm everyone is going home. 

One of the companies we shared some time

The sunset was there and i had to find a place to stay. Most hotels were full and the only ones with available rooms were giving me crazy prices so i decided to put my tent somewhere that later I understood that it was a cemetery.

Part of the beautiful entrance of the cemetery

The night i was walking around and all the seafront restaurants were full. I went to the backside were i found an empty restaurant were i had dinner and start playing some music. Soon some people came from the next door restaurant and invite me to join them. One young guy was a musician too so we shared some playing and singing. I was still amazed by all the hospitality i had received the last few days.

The beautiful family from the next door restaurant

Next morning I left the seaside to head south. As i was walking away from the beach i reached some rice fields, many of which were ready for harvest.

Rice - Source of life in Asia

A guy with a moto took me and after 5 minutes we had a flat tire... No problem though. There is always a house yard of someone that will fix it for you in 5 minutes...

Repairing the puncture

The destination for the day was the city of Dong Hoi. After 3 rides, I arrived on midday just 30km away in a village called Trung Thuận where I decided to have lunch. I entered a restaurant and told them i dont eat meat but i like rice, vegetables, fish and whatever. They

 lady looked very happy and she told me to sit and that she has everything. I asked the price and she shouted happily "free". I asked why and she said her family is happy to have me over. Moreover the meal was huge and majestic. I keep wondering what is happening and I receive all this love in Vietnam.

The hosts

And the majestic lunch

Dong Hoi is a very cute city, with a big river in the middle and beaches on both sides of the river. I got a bicycle and went everywhere on the first day. That day I discovered the magic taste of the Vietnamese coffee. Vietnam is a big producer of coffee so i felt the need to try the local coffee and i was amazed. I have some with me so you have one month to pay me a visit in Heraklion and try it yourself...

The north beach

Tiny sea snails that locals eat... I dont know how much food you can get from them but they are so beautiful

A kind of jellyfish people eat here... They were taking out bare handed and i didnt lose the opportunity to grab a 2 kilos piece on my hands

View of Dong Hoi bridge and the full moon from my hotel 

I stayed there two nights and i heard about some beautiful caves. After some research i realized that there is an amazing national park nearby with some world famous caves, including the one with the biggest chamber in the world, Son Doong cave. I didnt lose time and next morning I visited the Phong Nha cave with some people i met in the bus earlier plus some other foreigners.

On the way to Phong Nha cave 

The entrance of the cave

 When we entered the big cave I realized how much i missed caving all this time. So I decided to visit another cave the next day that is supposed to be even more beautiful... the Paradise cave. It was 25km away from the hostel in Son Trach and I decided to take a bicycle and enjoy the nature. I did 60 km on a one speed city bicycle that day (i went 5km the wrong direction so the 50 became 60km) and i returned back to the hostel at 5:15pm, not very tired, thinking whats the limit in human power... I took the last bus to Dong Hoi at 5:20 thinking I can find a ride to Hue before it gets dark.

A blue river on the way

Paradise cave

On my new look in Paradise cave

The plan didn't work out well and i decided to spend the night in Dong Hoi. On the bus someone asked if I needed a hotel and he gave me someone on the phone that was telling me that i will love his hostel. I had a great hostel before but i told him I ll give you the chance to show me and if I dont like it i go back to the one I was. He took me from the bus stop with his moto and we arrived at his newly opened hostel on the seaside. I finally stayed two nights there really enjoying my time and this place. Unfortunately i didnt take any photos of it or more from the caves as my camera kind of died.

I took a bus to Hoi An to check it out before going to Da Nang and fly from there to Hong Kong. Hoi An, even if it is very touristic, is such a cute little city. Everybody loves it. I found many things I was supposed to buy in Da Nang so i stayed a second day there. Both nights i played on the streets and locals seemed to love Greek music. For tourists (with few exceptions), i was again invisible. 

Temple in Hoi An

And another one

At the market. Half the population wears rice hats (Non la) in Vietnam 

Some amazing french musicians ended perfectly my first day in Hoi An

Lightenings in the sky, Hoi An bridge

A common view in Hoi An old town

My last day was in Da Nang, a more developed city but still quite beautiful with many amazing bridges. One bridge is like a dragon and on weekends it spits fire and water from the mouth at 9 o clock.

Dragon bridge

Boats looking the spectacle

Vietnamese people were a discovery for me. They are so active and social. I could see from the way the live - behave - react how they survived this crazy war when USA was doing indescribable crimes to eliminate them. They felt to me similar like Indians and Greeks but with a different culture behind. It is a place to buy a old motorbike and get lost inside.


The morning of the 11th May i took a plane to Hong Kong. I didn't really want to go there but it was the best option in order to get to Greece. The good news were that my beloved friend Jun Chen was there waiting for me.

The land of forests and jungles - Lao

Passing the Lao-Thai border the 14th of April was far more easy and quick than expected. As it was the first day of new year in Lao it didn't seem a good idea to move a lot as i would be totally wet included the backpack and mandolin. The town just by the border and the Mekong river is called Houey Xai. In the 10 km from the bridge to the town, Lao people were welcoming us with buckets of water... Much more than Thailand the previous day. I found a nice bungalow to stay and i went out to enjoy the water... In Lao they usually drink two alcoholic drinks, beerlao and lao lao (a local strong spirit). I like the fact that they are so obsessed with their own beer while in Greece even though we have 3-4 good brands, still, 3 out of 4 people would rather choose imported ones that are not any better than ours.

All the town had rented out big speakers and play all this techno-trance-electro whatever music... It is a pity that they don't listen to their own local music and prefer the worse expression of music western civilization has to offer.
Every body was totally wet and drunk that day and i was wondering how many people would end up in hospitals from the cold (in wet clothes for hours everybody was shivering by sunset) and the alcohol.

Happy new year Lao

Find what's missing

Two days later and after the festivities have calm down, i moved to Luang Namtha to the North part of the country, avoiding touristic areas... The town has nothing to see but i met a group of people and i went for a hike in the hills nearby with the one girl of the group. I was happy to see rubber trees as it was the first time i saw them. Later i realized that rubber plantations are just everywhere in the area just because Chinese force Lao to do so. The guys were hitchhiking a lot so i thought that maybe the time came for some serious hitchhiking.

The next day Adeline arrived from Thailand and we rent a moto to explore some rural areas. Laos is just amazing. Most of the country is forest so if you just go out of the cities, you are in heaven just in few kilometers away.

Magic branches of hundreds of bananas. If it manages to grow all of them it will be a miracle

Beautiful white leaves

Lao terrorist

And the terrorist village

And another village later on

Locals celebrating New year stopped us and offered us food (fish, bamboo, sticky rice...) and drinks (Lao lao and laobeer)

The next day it we rented bicycles instead. We couldn't go as far as with a moto but as you go slower, you can find all the amazing things you miss on a moto. Swimming in rivers was just amazing. First we found paradise with no people at all and then on another riverside we found many many kids that approached as slowly after i started playing some funny tunes on the mandolin. I played the kids song "in the jungle" and they really loved it. Adeline was making the choreographer and seeing the kids dancing all together was something magic i will never forget. Amazing sharing.

Happy tribe saleswoman in Luang Namtha. Got two little presents for her

The lonely river with a bamboo boat waiting for us

Amazing river flower

Next river, playing for the kids

I love them

Adeline showing them photos

Adeline agreed on the hitchhiking idea and soon we catch our first truck...

The first truck - Historical picture

The second ride that stopped halfway in the middle of nowhere asking for money.. Gave him a tip and got down to get a new ride

We arrived in Udom Xai quite quickly but this city is not as good as its name sounds. Moreover, they were burning the land like crazy at this period so you couldn't see the sky and you were breathing ashes that were flying on the sky. We wanted to go norther but after 3 hours with no luck on someone taking us, we changed our mind and head east.  First, a car took us out of the city and after walking up the mountain for 30 minutes a small truck with water melons stopped and took us. The guy was the airport's air controller and he told us he will take us only 10 km away, near his place where there is a nice waterfall.

Water melons rolling around on every turn

And the waterfall

We stopped in a karaoke tavern where one single company was sitting, singing and celebrating new year. We headed to the waterfall before it was too dark. Lucky us, next to the waterfall there were some kind of overground bamboo mats, just perfect for the small tent i bought in Luang Namtha. The night was magic with firebugs flying all over us and the sound of the waterfall just 20m away. Thr night we had a bit of rain but nothing much to worry.

Next day around 14 o clock and after 3 different rides including two little motos, we arrived in Nong Khiau, a beautiful village built by Nam Ou river. We were lucky to find a cheap but amazing bungalow and we decided we ll relax there a bit. Adeline had also attended a thai massage course in a different school in Bangkok so we were lucky enough to practice on each other, realizing the differences of the techniques.

4 euros bungalow by the river

Nam Ou river

Beautiful worm giving birth to little white worms from all the parts of its body

Local cigale (Tzitziki). Same as in Greece but totally different colours

We spent three days there and the highlight was definitely the kids we met near the caves. That's how kids should be... Free in the nature playing... (A delicious Indian Thali was a food highlight )

River bathing with no parents... Yeaaaaaa

Lao people are the most beautiful people ever

Tree jump

hahahha

View from the bridge

After 3 nights there we decided to go visit the most famous and touristic place in Lao, Luang Parbang. After some hitchhikes we were only 150km away on a highway where it is always harder for cars to stop. We saw a bus stopping two-three times in front of us so we took it as a sign and we went in. It was the first time we used means of transportation since we started  hitchhiking and after seeing the bus break down and waiting three hours to be fixed, we took our lesson...Only hitchhiking from now on.

Stupid bus

In Lao, women wear these amazing skirts called sarong. These skirts are one of the most beautiful women clothes i have seen. Plus they are practical, without sizes and you can even take you shower wearing it. Almost everybody wears them.

Sarongs

Luang Prabang is indeed beautiful but with so many westernization didn't make me want to stay.

Temple in Luang Prabang

Great Mekong and great papaya trees

After two night there we left with the target to arrive to Phou Khoon, quite a long ride. All day in the road and we arrived with the sunset in a mountain village/passage to north or east...

View from an opening in the toilet of the guesthouse... jungle jungle jungle

We stayed there for the night and next morning we started hitchhiking again. While walking outside a small village, a dressed up Lao guy called Aaron  approached us and invited us to his place. It took us 30 minutes to understand that the previous day was his wedding day with a local girl and that day was the after wedding gathering when members of the wife's family would give him some life advice over food and alcohol. Aaron didn't have his family over for the wedding so he decided to make us the only guests from his side . We ate a lot of delicious bamboo and other amazing stuff.
At some point i was trying to understand how alcohol has gone so deep in people's culture and tradition. Then I thought of Dionysos and the ancient Greeks and I decided that the roots are very old so i can not judge it as i do with cigarette.

Aaron is a city boy that has also worked in Malaysia and Australia so you can easily tell who he is

I loved the fact that chickens were running free everywhere in and out of the house.

I loved even more the kids playing outside. One girl brought hoola hoop made by a piece of watering tube and then she took out a line of small rubbers connected to each other..  She first used it as a jumping exercice rope (Rocky training) and then she showed me another game. I got confused for 1 minute until i realised that we used to play the same game when we were kids just with a simple rubbery rope... I was happy that forgotten memory came back to me.

Lovely kids - Adeline's capture

Watching the rain - Adeline's capture

The only moment i catch him not smiling

Curiosity is a normal thing in Lao and people are not judged negatively for it. Anybody from the village was free to go in the house (even if it was the house of the chief of the village) or to sit by the window just to observe. In this societies, people have nothing to hide from each other, something so nice and pure.

No secrets in the village - all the neighborhood passed from that window to see the strange foreigners

The crazy of the village arrived at some point... He was weirdly looking and you could understand he was the one because kids were running around him, pretending to be scared but in the first opportunity the would go and give him a soft hit behind his back. I was talking with him with body language and we were both laughing a lot. At some point, i was telling Adeline how i love to communicate with those people and while i was explaining her the facts that show why his is the crazy of the village, he was looking us, pointing to a 15 years old boy next to him, doing the movement with the thumb going over the throat (chop the kid's head off) and laughing... Hilarious moment as I could see he was a pure man unable to harm an ant.

The crazy of the village

Aaron wanted us to stay all day and we were happy to do so. He even took us to a hotel to sleep as we were officially his guests...

Next day we started a long trip to Muang Khoon where we arrived under heavy rain but protected by our ponchos.

Beautiful bug on a beautiful flower in Muang Khoon

And so was the sky (beautiful I mean :p)

And so was the village

We spent two nights there before we decide to head towards Lak Xao where we would split up... Adeline to south and Cambodia and myself to Vietnam.

. We only arrived to Paksan the first night where we stayed in a cute hotel and next morning we caught a big truck. It was going southern to Thakek so we changed our plans and went there instead. Thakek was not something amazing but we tried some grilled sweet potatoes that were one of the best things i have eaten in my life.

Beautiful tree with amazing flowers and seeds by the great Mekong river - I got some seeds if anyone is interested

In Thakek me and Adeline said goodbye and the time came to see if hitchhiking works as well for a solo bearded man. The answer is "Yes, it works great if you smile to them"  and i found my self in Ha Tinh, Vietnam the night of 1st May.

Hitchhiking is amazing and I advise all of you to do it or to take hitchhikers because usually they are nice people that found the power to ask for your solidarity...
The most funny hikes were the one with the rolling watermelons, the one with the splashing fish tank and the kilos of dust for 3 hours and the one sitting on laobeer bottles...

I had an intimate relationship with laobeer. If someone ever ask me if i have tried it,  i can reply... "Ye but not from the mouth"... hahahah.
It was not so comfortable really