Vietnam > From Laos to Vietnam

Early start! At seven o’clock we depart to head toward Vietnam. First, we have breakfast across the street. Then we drive for about an hour to the Vietnamese border. The border is high in the mountains, on top of a mountain pass. When we arrive, it is very busy. Numerous buses are already waiting. We walk to the Laotian border post. Inside the customs building, it is chaotic. The counter for international travelers is closed. There is no choice but to join the national counter. Well, “join”? People from all sides are pushing into the line to get served as quickly as possible. Our whole group forms a cordon around the counter to hand in our passports. It doesn’t matter much, because during the stamping process, our passports end up being handled practically last.

Vietnam - Transporting live pigs on the back of a scooter

I use the time to exchange euros for Vietnamese Dong. In hindsight, this was not such a good idea, as the exchange rate later turns out to be roughly the same as the dollar. Once all passports are processed, we move to the Vietnamese side of the border. Here, we say goodbye to our bus driver. On the other side, another bus and driver are waiting for us. The border formalities take a long time. Fortunately, the sun is shining, and we wait patiently in the sunlight. Finally, I cross the border into Vietnam with my passport and all the new stamps. Our guide is Thong, a Vietnamese man who speaks slightly better English than Wan. However, he ends every sentence with a shy chuckle, which makes his stories sound amusing. The bus is much larger than the previous one, giving us more seats. The bus winds down the mountain pass. In one of the villages, we stop briefly for coffee. Then we continue toward the lowlands of Vietnam. Vietnam immediately feels very different from Laos. The streets are much busier, and the villages are practically joined together. Vietnam is flat with expansive rice fields. The green landscape is reminiscent of Dutch meadows, but without the cows and sheep. The Vietnamese are more trade-oriented. Under almost every house, there is a small shop with goods. The streetscape is also very different from Laos: much busier, with many people traveling by motorbike or bicycle.

Vietnam - The rice is cultivated in the fields

Horns are used frequently (or maybe what stood out in Laos was that horns weren’t used much?). We join Highway 1, the main road between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). This central area of Vietnam is only about fifty kilometers wide, and the landscape is mostly flat. I had not expected Vietnam to be so flat. Along the highway, there is a continuous line of houses and shops. Along the way, we see plenty of communist symbols: monuments, banners, and Vietnamese flags on many houses. I try to imagine how the Americans must have operated here during the Vietnam War. In a slightly larger town along the highway, we have lunch in a somewhat messy and shabby restaurant. Various Vietnamese dishes are served. On the way to our overnight stop in Dong Ha, Highway 1 runs along the coast. The sea here is the South China Sea. At Phye Son, we pause briefly. The weather is not suitable for swimming immediately, and the waves are high due to strong wind. Still, I step into the water up to my knees for a photo. The water is cold, and one wave catches me off guard. Wet pants! In Dong Ha, we stay at a typical communist-style hotel: lots of concrete, large halls, bare corridors, and a sense of faded glory. There is little to do in the town itself. In the evening, we decide to eat at the adjacent four-star hotel. The hotel looks luxurious, but the service is not. Our menu is taken in broken English. Many dishes are unavailable. I choose a seafood pizza, which turns out to be a good choice. This cannot be said for all the dishes.