旅│河內、砂壩、寧平（2026/01）

On the last day in Hanoi, I randomly picked a local beer bar and started talking about the trip with the guy next to me. I’m about to finish the trip, while Cassian’s Vietnam vacation is just starting. We shared the feeling of how traveling alone helps us turn all our senses on. It lets us have so much time to think to ourselves and interact with new people, who are always lovely and memorable.

Cassian is from London. He mentioned that London’s busyness is like "a block next to a block," but here, he feels a dynamic balance in the city. It's like the constant beeping of vehicles and how they skillfully weave through others on the road to keep moving forward. As a pedestrian, you have to do the same (or we will never cross the road).

I told him that I feel Vietnamese society is quite like Taiwan 50 years ago, where we were starting to grow, but the values and some societal ideas were still quite conservative. But there is more connection nowadays; we both believe it will change so fast that we can’t even imagine.

It occurred to me that I thought of Nguyen Trinh Thi when I was boarding my flight. I didn’t know that Cassian was a photographer at that moment, so it’s kind of a beautiful coincidence. After my brief description of what Nguyen has been doing, to express something like the complex history of Vietnam and its post-colonial effects nowadays. We reflected on how mainstream ideas influence us. “But it’s so beautiful that even under such huge American-centric or Eurocentric discourse, I feel Vietnamese people still try their best to bloom in their own way.” He said.

I love how he used the word "bloom."

*Vietnam the Movie (2015) - nguyễn trinh thi - WordPress.com
*Vietnam The Movie - Trailer

One of the best things personally about traveling alone is that I don’t need to plan everything in advance. I only booked the overnight bus for the first night, the homestay for the second night, and a hiking trek that my ex-colleague highly recommended.

Then, the day before I departed, I received a pickup message from the bus office. So I started checking all the things with them. They said they would check first and didn’t reply until I resent the messages to confirm if I would have a bus cabin before I flew. Then they said I didn’t pay, and later said they finally found my payment and would arrange another bus cabin for me. In the end, I had almost forgotten about it before the bus departed from Hanoi.

I got motion sickness at that time and finally when I arrived in Sapa in the very early morning, dragging my luggage up a very steep incline, the homestay said that they couldn’t host me that day because they were already full (seems that it always happens). They let me shower and take a nap until I found a hostel for that night, and they drove me there. A friend sent a sorry emoji to my story, while I replied, “Things can only get better from here!!”

And it did.

It was chilly and super foggy up in Sapa; I could barely see anything, just as everybody mentions on travel forums . I just walked around and found a coffee shop to see what to do next, and read a book about Vietnamese food history, trying to know more about the place.

That evening, on the way to the lake for a walk, a girl stopped me and asked if I could take a picture of her . She mentioned that she was solo traveling, and she was going to the lake afterwards, so we hung out together . Jaeanne is from the Philippines, a bit older than me, and she used to be a contemporary art student . For the rest of the days, she always called me “mei mei” warmly . We talked a lot, and she shared with me so many places she had traveled to in Vietnam . We went to the lake and the night market together (in this case I could try more food that I couldn’t while eating alone) . We took a lot of pictures for each other, and she said the foggy scenery is just like a filter, which changed my perspective on how to see bad weather . After all, this is normal .

I really looked forward to the hiking trek, although the beginning wasn't right . On the way walking to the office, it started to rain, with the temperature at 8 degrees Celsius . The route started in Sapa downtown, and we went down all the way for the first day .

The path was muddy, always slippery and steep . I walked so carefully yet so clumsily . We went through the fields, some mountain paths, sometimes on the main concrete road, as well as the riverbank, even crossing the river once. All around us should have been mountains of terrace fields, but we could barely see them because of the fog.

Looking at it from another side, I could be so focused on the trek and the close surroundings, as well as all the stories the guide told. It’s a one-on-one guided hike. Khu is a 30-year-old small and cute woman; she got married at the age of 18 and already has a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl. I love her for telling me about all the stories, and for bringing me to walk on some tranquil paths. Most importantly, after Khu knew that I didn't feel good about the ladies following tourists and trying to sell souvenirs, she said something to them every time one approached, and they left.

Khu showed me the agricultural life here, such as the importance of having a son in a family, as well as the rice field. As for the women, they are less valued, but they are still asked to do so many things. For example, in Hmong society, making indigo textiles is significant work; it takes one year for twisting hemp, bleaching thread, dyeing, weaving cloth, and making garments. Every woman has to make some new clothes every year, otherwise people will blame them for being “lazy women”. On the second day of hiking, some of the guides started twisting hemp on the way.

There’s another story that really touched me. While we crossed the river, Khu pointed to a Phoebe tree standing tall on the other side, calling it the “king tree” that symbolizes the spirit of the Hmong king before Hmong people had to submit to the Vietnamese emperor. It’s said from Khu’s mother’s generation that if the tree grows badly, Hmong people get poor, and now it grows so well, “so we have enough food and enough money.” Khu used every word so humbly. When she told me all of this, I didn't feel any grief or resentment, which made me feel she was much stronger.

I had a very deep conversation about so many things in the homestay with a solo traveler, a young Dutch guy and an international couple, covering topics like nursing issues, geopolitics, and how there are always things stopping you from traveling . The Dutch guy said that he enjoys every talk during travel because at least people around have this one thing in common.

It rained significantly heavily for the whole night, but the sun came out for one hour when I went out for breakfast. I was so excited that I actually screamed. For the rest of the day, there was still fog all the time, but at least I was able to see more scenery. We walked across the bamboo forest, then to a small waterfall, to the other side of the river, and then the trip almost ended.

The lady who was supposed to prepare lunch for us wasn’t at home because they went to church. Everyone going to church wore their newest and finest clothing. There were always chickens, ducks, and dogs in every house. Children were playing “spinning tops”. Schools are always huge yellow buildings, and kids go to school for 9 years mandatorily. I asked what language they speak. Khu said that the teachers are mostly assigned by the Vietnamese government, so people speak Vietnamese at school and their native language at home.

Jaeanne became the first audience of this amazing adventure. She had just come back from the other adventurous Fansipan hike the day before .

Then I stayed 2 days in Ta Phin; it was Gemini’s idea. There was not much to see, but it was super tranquil. While being close to the homestay, I found a Google review of the cave nearby written by my dad eight years ago, saying that “The ethnic minorities in this village still lead quite an authentic life, though the cave is rather ordinary.”

People here are Red Daos, with iconic red headscarves and silver jewelry. It’s clear that they were not wearing them specifically for tourists; after all, there were not that many tourists these days. The host Mei kindly upgraded me to a double room with two beds and scenic views. Though I didn't need that much and the scenic views were mostly covered by the fog, it was super comfortable. I continuously took the famous Dao herbal bath for two nights and had amazing rest.

The house is where the owners really live. It’s grandma’s house for three generations already. People always gather around the house fire, cooking rice, boiling water, smoking pork, and so on. The shaman was praying for the well-being of family members; their books are in Chinese characters, and only men know how to read. Everything in Vietnamese shaman's culture is quite like Daoist Culture. And watching the ceremony in person gave me a strongly solemn feeling. That night, when the men’s table finished dinner, the shaman came to me and tried to speak some Vietnamese to me. He thought that I was from Vietnam.

The only thing I did in the village was walking 9 kilometers to see an abandoned monastery and coming back. People said that it was built during World War II when nuns were forcibly relocated to these mountains by the Japanese government. Even though it seems to be normal in this area, I saw so many children walking for a long time in slippers. While I felt so good walking step by step and thinking about things, listening to Cicada’s newest album. The terraced fields are planted with vegetables mostly for their own use, as Mei said afterwards. There were also a lot of orchid plants, they are for Lunar New Year decorations.

I only stayed in the monastery for about 15 minutes and realized that there was another door to see after leaving. But I was so afraid of the souvenir ladies when all of them had only me to target. I never know how to get along with them.

There was a little coffee shop receiving good comments on Google, run by a middle-aged couple. The husband used to be a soldier, and the wife is a retired teacher who now still volunteers for the village and commune to help people. With Google Translate, we tried to talk a bit. It wasn't easy, and I felt some miscommunication in between, but it was fun. The lady showed me the program where she invited the national TV to the village to film some traditional dances and cultures.

*Red Dao: A soul bound to the forest - Discovery

I got some sunflower seeds, hot sugarcane, tangerines, and honey there, and a boiled sweet potato when I came home. Mei and I talked about the herbal bath. The herbal formulae are passed down exclusively through generations of Red Dao women, varying according to season and purpose. They venture into the forest almost daily to gather medicinal plants. Many outsiders come specially to their village for herbal baths or to purchase medicinal herbs. That evening, when I couldn't find the young women of the household, I eventually discovered they were all in another room preparing the herbs for sale. They scarcely rest.

The bus from Sapa to Ninh Binh was at 22:30. I booked a ticket online but I didn’t receive the ticket until that afternoon. Worrying that the first-day situation would happen again, I asked the Mei for help and decided to be at the bus office very early so I wouldn't get lost. It was 1 degree that day, so I also didn’t want to go anywhere in the freeze.

While waiting for the bus, I encountered a mother and daughter, Petti and Olivia, from Madrid. Petti is the kind of typical Spanish person who is always warm and expresses her love. Olivia has studied in America and Denmark, and her mom sometimes blamed her to become a “northern European”. She mentioned that her parents were divorced, and I felt that she was so excited to meet another girl of a similar age. I totally felt it; it is not bad to travel with a parent, just sometimes there are a few limits. We decided to have our first dinner in Ninh Binh even though there was a bit of miscommunication about the lake where we should meet. There was another Italian man they met on the same boat in Trang An that day. We walked around Tam Coc together, talking about musicals and things we love, then had a lovely traditional Vietnamese meal. They said so many times that they will come to my island one day (Olivia intentionally said that she would come alone, which made her mom jealous lol), and invited me to Madrid. I hope it will come true.

Besides, I feel so good as a theatre student that I find myself interesting and special.

The bus arrived at Ninh Binh at the final stop at 6 am. Petti said that it was at the city center at 5:30, so I guessed that I forgot to wake up. But the bus office kindly drove me to the homestay. It was still very early and the door was closed, so I went to the breakfast shop across the street, and finally called and woke the owner up at 7.

There was a Canadian couple staying at the same homestay. They came down for some Banh Mi and shared all the adventures they had been on with me. Dean and Karen are coming to Southeast Asia for 5 months in total, and they stayed in Ninh Binh for about two weeks. Karen told me about all the good and bad things they had encountered, but I could feel that they still very much enjoyed the time traveling and being with each other. After I came back to Taiwan, Dean sent me videos with their new drone, mentioning that they are heading to Phong Nha for the next 15 days for the world’s biggest cave and the biggest cave network.

The owner let me use their bicycle with a child seat, I rode about 11 kilometers from the center to Tam Coc. I was thinking about the old capital, and the owner recommended Thai Vi Temple to me. Eventually, I didn’t go to the capital because I realized Vietnamese “historical buildings” are a bit different than I expected. They are basically so Chinese that, as a Chinese, I don’t really feel they are fresh or must-see, and they are also too new and too shallow for me. I could just see the outside of it, but I don’t feel them as really being the culture in normal people’s lives, or the Vietnam history I tried so hard to know more about and imagine. They look like film sets, and I wondered if it is also about how they conceive cultural heritage tourism, which for me is still more like “This is how we imagine Western people will imagine the oriental world.” These thoughts remind me of the plays Miss Saigon and M. Butterfly.

The weather was finally beautiful, so I decided to pick a coffee shop near the lake and see the people sailing boats. I recognized a Taiwanese mom-daughter couple, and we talked a bit. They immigrated to Canada when the children were very little, and while we were chatting, there was sometimes some tension between them. The daughter graduated in accounting but resigned and started working as a massage therapist, which made her mom feel insecure based on my observation.

The ride back to the city center was beautiful; the sunset shined on the huge rock on the other side of the road. The Canadian couple mentioned that the night view of the old town is stunning, so I went there for a walk. There was a row of shophouses that looked old, with colorful lanterns and yellow light bulbs. It was indeed beautiful when I looked from a height. But there was a sense of conflict when there was a huge sound from the club. I guess this is the vibe of Vietnam, like in the Sapa church, the sound of hymns and the beeping came to my ears altogether. On the next day when we went to Bai Dinh Temple, there were always sounds of construction. They all became the unique soundscapes in my heart.

Still, I love the natural heritage in Ninh Binh. I booked a tour for Bai Dinh Temple – Trang An and Mua Cave, and the natural ones were so impressive to me. It’s hard to describe, but when I saw the huge rock mountain in front of me, or while we passed through the limestone cave, I was always stunned. There were two other solo travelers on the boat with me. One from France and the other was a Taiwanese working in California.

And the view of the Mua Cave is also so gorgeous. While we climbed to the top, getting to see the city beneath us and the mountains from afar, I could say nothing but feel amazed. The guide mentioned that the name of the cave comes from an emperor who picked this place as a base, and there were some beautiful girls dancing in the cave. I tried to imagine the picture.

The Train Street was cool, but not super, super cool. But it was fun to see the train coming close and cheer with all the people around afterwards.

Food in Northern Vietnam is not quite different from what we have in Taiwan, especially when I was in Sapa. Steamed rice, fried rice, pork, chickens, vegetables. But the meat I ate was always very chewy and firm, which I guess is because the animals were running around in the fields. I tried the Phos with all kinds of meat, and the spirit of them is the lemons and the vegetables on the tables. The stands are always surprisingly better than the TikTok shops. And I don’t know why the dishes are always too big that I could barely finish them. As for the coffee, I’m not very used to the dark roasted beans, but maybe that’s the reason Vietnamese add dense milk, coconut milk, salt, and other things together, which makes them cool.