weather, water and other curiosities

At first, forget all about you heard about Vietnam. Now listen.
It's like Thailand, just cooler. Greener. Better coffee. And the people...
Right now I can't think of a story to tell, buuuut... some interesting things at least.

It's almost been half a year since we've left, and we're so used to the constant heat, sweating all day and night, that's it became annoying but bearable. Walking into a room with a/c set on 25°C feels like walking into a fridge. And watching people in coats, on tv for example, seems like the strangest thing ever. Maybe once a month we wear proper shoes, ie. something else than flip flops. We like to shower multiple times a day, and also the amount of water we drink has doubled since we've left Germany. Shame you  have to pay for water here...

the best water is the one to swim in! - in Phong Na National Park with Philipp and Giacomo

By now Klaus and me look like two well baked buns, and though we put sunscreen on or wear long clothes, we seem to get more and more tanned. Hello, skin cancer! Lots of people in South East Asia cover almost every inch of their body, wearing a hoody, mouth cover, long pants or socks and even gloves! We were told different reasons for that, one story says that Vietnamese or Thai people don't want to get tanned because dark means farm worker and white means rich. Another explanation could be that the cities are so dirty from the cars and motorbikes that you can get an abscess on your skin if it's not covered. Both Klaus and me have been fine so far, but also we've always preferred being away from big cities.

Ankor Wat, 38°C, sunshine, people in gloves

The times we've been sick can be counted on the fingers of one hand (fingers crossed!), and for me this was mostly because of the sun. Stupid me sometimes forgets about water, tsts. Klaus doesn't seem to like some of the food, but so far the light medicine has always been enough. Luckily we had no malaria, no viruses, nothing. Though we eat in the streets quite often (no meat or fish), and we had been drinking strange water in Nepal for example. On top of that we cuddle every dog and cat we can lay our hands on, as you may have noticed. 

you can imagine my amazement seeing guinea pigs next to the street! (Ho Chi Minh City)

Asian people like chili and garlic, so maybe we've upgraded to immune system 2.0, or we're just sweating it all out. Most likely it is just not as bad as may have learned Asia would be. Just because we grow up in a sterile world with rubber gloves and tiled kitchens doesn't mean it's safer than a little wok in the street. Comparing sanitary systems here and there, I came to the conclusion that the word "clean" is an elastic term. Usually I rather sleep in a bamboo hut on a farm than in a hostel, as long as I have a mosquito net, of course. (keyword: spiders! or scorpions. or ants. I don't like ants anymore!)

common thing to see inside a street restaurant: Vietnamese people sharing food

The best thing so far has been couch surfing, as we're doing it right in this moment. You may remember Petch, the cool Thai with the pool we stayed with in Bangkok, and Franzi and Rob who showed us the most amazing waterfall north of Chiang Mai, and of course Niko and his beautiful wife and baby in Phnom Phen, Cambodia. Now, since some days we've been lucky enough to be hosted by Paul and Jyldyz in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital. Not only do they have a huge house, where we have 2 rooms and one bathroom to ourselves AND a kitchen we can use as well. Most importantly they are interesting, having lived in so many different places in the world; and very friendly and generous, for hosting us also for longer than we'd asked for, making us feel like we're at home. When you're constantly on the road, traveling from one place to the next within days, it's a feeling you can't beat to arrive somewhere. Here we have time to rest, let the impressions sink in, and to sleep until noon, nobody cares. For us, couch surfing often is like visiting friends that you didn't know you have.

Ok, enough cheesy text. I need to shower and eat some cake before Jyldyz and me go out shopping. Yesterday I taught her how to bake, today she will help me find something to wear in Halong Bay. We're a really good symbiosis!
Now some music instead of more photos, transferring our travel impressions of the last 3 weeks...


1. Kodaline - Love Like This (the Irish Coldplay, seen on MTV Vietnam)
2. Bastille - Pompeii ("...if you close your eyes, does it feel like nothing changed at all?")
3. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (dancing in Siem Reap, Ohrwurm everywhere)
4. of Montreal - Wraith Pinned To The Mist (Hostel Memories, same same Siem Reap)
5. C2C - Down The Road (best to be heard in all those endless bus rides...)
6. The Strangles - Peaches (billiard, cigarettes and traveling on the mind)
7. Patsy Cline - Walking After Midnight (heard in Phong Na Farmstay, last guys standing before midnight)
8. Band Of Horses - The Funeral (backpacker's ohrwurm, in memory of Giaco & Phil, hehe)
9. Parov Stelar - Chambermaid Swing (because we can't get enough of him, swing on!)

by Lia