Yesterday marks exactly one month since I left home. It feels like it’s been far longer, and not nearly that long at the same time. Feelings of homesickness have hit a little harder this week. The week did not go the way I planned it to (nor is this week shaping up to), and I think that’s added some fuel to the fire. But I’m safe, healthy again, and have a lot to look forward to. Let’s get into it.
LOCATIONS
- Sapa, Vietnam (Nov 6 – Nov 10)
- Hanoi, Vietnam (Nov 10 – Nov 13)
ACTIVITIES
Sick in Sapa
Not quite the activity I was hoping for in Sapa. I got in late my first night from the Ha Giang loop and all I did with my first day was get over to my next homestay and hang out. I had some great conversations with a few folks from England and the US, and we were going to all do a trekking tour the next day together, which is one of the main draws of Sapa. There are mountains and rice paddies everywhere, along with several ethnic tribes that all live in villages around the area. Trekking around is an opportunity to see the countryside as well get a glimpse into the villages and culture of these tribes.
That night, I couldn’t stay asleep for more than 30 minutes at a time. Anytime I had my blanket on, I was feverish. Anytime I took it off, I was freezing. I’d be shocked if I got more than three hours of sleep. When I groggily awoke in the morning, my body alerted me that I had to get to the bathroom very quickly, and unfortunately those two things about sum up my next few days in Sapa. I was either laying in bed or sitting on the toilet for two days straight, with zero energy to do anything. Couldn’t tell you what I ate or drank that caused the issue.
I had to stay an extra day just because I didn’t trust myself on a five-hour bus ride to Hanoi. Thankfully my meds kicked in my last day there and I mustered the energy to go out and do a trek with some other folks.
Sapa Trek
A 15 km trek immediately after feeling mostly recovered and hoping that my diarrhea meds had kicked in? Sure, why not! I was hoping and praying all day that I’d have the energy and the stomach. I felt a lot better, but still not 100%. I was pretty ready to move on from Sapa and at the same time it was hard to imagine leaving without having done any hiking around at all. Short story short, I made it. Although about 10km in I definitely felt fatigue kicking in and it was clear I was still recovering some amount. But I finished, and I’m glad I decided to go for it.
As I mentioned earlier, there are many different ethnic tribes around the Sapa area. The largest four are the Hmong, Red Dao, Tay, and Giay peoples, each with their own unique culture and languages living in their own villages. Our Hmong guide gave us small insights into culture as we walked through the rice paddies, bamboo forests, and a waterfall we swam in.
One of the things we learned a bit more about was the rice paddies. The rice paddies are all family owned, and they are passed down generationally to the sons of the family. Each family’s scope varies in size, but generally during harvest time they each end up with anywhere from 10 – 50 50kg bags of rice! Most of this is stored for the families in the area to eat and is rarely sold. Each grain of rice is planted by hand, and as you can imagine, it’s an incredibly time intensive process.
Hanoi
When I got to Hanoi, I was feeling better but still not 100%. I mostly spent my days exploring coffee shops and restaurants as well as running into a few familiar faces and making some new friends.
Vietnam has a huge coffee culture, and Hanoi has no lack of coffee shops to check out. One of their specialties is egg coffee, and if you’re ever there, you’ve got to give it a go. It’s rich, creamy, and delicious when it’s all mixed together. I don’t think I’d ever drink it on a regular basis, but it’s a tasty way to switch it up.
For a few of my meals in Hanoi, I took a peek through the Michelin guide and found some lunch spots that are recommended by Michelin, but don’t have any official stars (and often far lower price tags). My two favorite meals I had there were Bún Chả (rice noodles with fatty pork) and a Bánh Xèo that was as big as my face (savory pancake with meat filling, greens, rice paper, and dipping sauce). Links for the restaurants are included above.
I had someone tell me that I should take more photos of food because people love food photos. I have a tendency to love the food more than the photos, and I often forget to take any pictures until there’s about two bites of food left on my plate. Sorry. I did get a few mediocre photos this time of the egg coffee and the Bánh Xèo.
For all you food lovers, I will work to do my best in the future to snap a shot of any dishes that stand out to me, but if you really want to have your mouth water from food photos, you can check out the restaurant links and get a good idea. Or you’ll just have to trust me when I say a dish was delicious.
REFLECTIONS
On Being Homesick
It’s already not fun being sick. It’s even less fun being sick when you aren’t in the comfort of your own home (and don’t even have a private room). I think this is a big reason homesickness hit so hard this week. In some ways I’m thankful I’m feeling homesick as it’s helped me reflect on how much I really do love Seattle. In my first newsletter, I compiled a short list of things I thought I would miss, and it’s time to do a revamped version of what I’m actually missing most after month one. This list might look similar to the last one, just with a bit more detail.
- Mountains – I’ve talked to people from many different countries. When I show them pictures of the Seattle skyline, and some of the backpacking trips and hikes I’ve been on a mere few hours away from home, they’re genuinely shocked. A lot of people’s “mountains” close to their homes are hills in my book. Seattle, Washington, and the Northwest as a whole has an incredibly special landscape that I’d argue competes with some of the best in the world, and I feel really lucky to call that my home.
- People – I miss my Jesus people. I miss my cycling people. I miss my people that have been around for ages. I miss my family. As many people as I’ve interacted with on this trip, ones that I actually connect with on life outside of travel have been few and far between. I’m missing the shared values and shared interests, and people I can talk to about anything and everything day in and day out.
- Hand Towels – I know, I know. This one’s random. In Vietnam, there were virtually no hand towels anywhere. It’s such a small thing, but I just miss being able to dry my hands off with a towel instead of having to let them air dry.
- Structured Traffic – Let’s be clear, I don’t miss sitting in traffic. But I do miss having a sense of order on the road rather than it all being a massive game of chicken trying to dodge other vehicles.
- Tap Water – Another thing we’re so spoiled with in Seattle. Even unfiltered tap water tastes good in Seattle. Like not neutral, but actually good. I’ll fight you on that one if you disagree. Having to buy bottled water all the time makes it easy to forget to drink enough, and with the heat the way it is, it’s really easy to get dehydrated. And then the water gets warm because, you know, no ice.
- Good Air Quality – It’s been hazy over here and often hard to see far in the distance. It’s definitely not the worst air quality I’ve been in, but it has been noticeable in some of the bigger cities.
Photos
I have a love hate relationship with photos. On one hand, cameras are incredible tools that allow us to capture moments in ways we would otherwise be unable to. On the other, they can provide a false sense of connection to an experience.
It’s difficult for me when I show up to a place and it seems like every single person is on their phone taking pictures and trying to video the whole view. I wonder how many of the photos are taken in an attempt to remember, and how many are taken in an attempt to show off to others, with little mental and physical engagement in what’s actually in front of the camera.
Maybe I’m too cynical. Who am I to say what photos and videos other people should or should not take and what they intend to use those photos for? All this really boils down to reflections on my own interactions with my camera. Below are a few questions that have popped into my head when taking photos on this trip.
- What am I going to use this photo for?
- Why am I taking that photo?
- Is it weird to have so few photos with myself in them?
- Is taking a photo in this moment taking away from enjoying the experience in front of me?
- What would I do if I didn’t have a camera right now?
The encouragement I want to share in this is to be intentional about what photos you choose to take. A small practical tool that I’ve started using this trip is the five second rule. Before I take out my camera and start snapping, I want to soak in what’s in front of me for at least five seconds. It’s not long, but it’s helped me decide whether I really want to take a photo, or if I’m just taking a photo to prove I was there. I want my priority to be ensuring I’m fully present in a sunrise, or a beach, or walking through a market. Sometimes that means I might miss out on some photos, and that’s fine by me.
If photos were everything, then we’d never have to leave home. We could simply look up pictures of places we wanted to see. But we all know that’s not the same. Go take photos, but don’t let them become a replacement for being present where you’re at.
BLOG POSTS
Battling sickness and lack of energy this week hasn’t made me very motivated to write. I’m taking a bit of a breather day tomorrow to relax and write, and I’m hoping to be able to put something together for you to read next week.
EXTRAS
This section is for occasional topics that don’t fit neatly into the others. I’m titling this week’s extras edition:
Things You Didn’t Know You Could Carry on the Back of Scooters
Unfortunately, these are often quite difficult to get pictures of, but I’ll include the ones I have managed to capture. I hope you enjoy at least 30% as much as I have seeing all these in person.
- An office chair
- A family of four
- A tiny dog
- A live pig
- A bicycle
- Loads of luggage
- Another scooter
- A washing machine
NEXT UP
My Thailand plan has required a bit of revamping. I’ve been booking most of my accommodation a day or two in advance, and this has worked out fine for me thus far. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so well when the annual Yi Peng Lantern Festival is happening in Chiang Mai. I spent hours looking for any type of accommodation I could stay at in Chiang Mai, and I found a whopping three options, all which had far more dollar signs associated with them than I was willing to pay. I couldn’t even find a scooter to rent to drive to a hotel further away from the city because they were all booked up.
So, I’m bailing on my week in Chiang Mai and Pai in the North. I’m bummed, but the more I’ve sat with it, I’m actually really excited. I’ve been mentioning wanting to slow down a bit more, and my week in the north was going to be the opposite of that. Not spending time up there allows me to have a few extra buffer days for Thailand to spend in the places I find myself enjoying the most. It’s also funny to me that this all happened the week after I put a reflection out about wanting to slow down and the reality of not being able to go everywhere.
I flew down from Bangkok to the Phuket area yesterday and rented a scooter which I’ll be driving around for the next few weeks. I was nervous about driving one for the first time, but thankfully it’s been very intuitive. In a lot of ways, it just feels like riding a big heavy bicycle with some additional nuances at slower speeds.
I’m headed to Koh Tao in a few days where I’ll do my diving certification, and I’ll continue to dive around the other islands I end up at.
As always, if you know anyone that you think would be interested in anything I’m writing about, I’d ask that you consider sharing this with them.
Thanks for being here. Talk to you next week.
– Trevor