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.