The Travel Tales of Julia Sheldon

May 23: Ninhvana Arriving in Nha Trang at 5am, we were ripped off by some bike riders. We could’ve very easily walked the distance from where we got dropped off to the Iced Coffee shop where we were to be picked up. Now we know to be more prepared, and we had a nice place to nap until our pickup. We had a nice, 90 minute van ride with two Brits, and arrived in paradise.  Nihnvana (said Ning-vawna) is the name of an all-inclusive Backpackers Hostel just outside of the west village of Ninh Vanh. Two pools, one slightly deper chlorinated and the other a shallow fresh water, options for swanky individual bungalows (we said yes) or private rooms or beds in a dorm of 8-12 people, various activities to do throughout the day, a spa for mani/pedis or massages, and really delicious meals. Oh, and a free-flowing bar replete with deliciously fresh-squeezed/pressed juices, iced coffee, rum, vodka, and beer. This big wooden thing is the yoga pavillion We stayed in one of th...

May 16: Phong Nha at Gecko Hostel. We arrived at 4am, slept for 2.5 hours, and woke up to have some breakfast and get picked up for an INCREDIBLE tour to Paradise Cave and Dark Cave. Huge thanks to Phong Nha Discovery Tour and our guide, Sunny. She really was smiley all day long despite the rain, and so funny! We first walked through forests and rain to a waterfall in the Botanical Gardens. Paradise Cave was discovered by a farmer in 2005, found largely by accident. Seems he saw a hole, tried to get in and made it about 10m down before realizing that it was huge and he couldn't see anything. The British Cave Research Association and Hanoi University began mapping out the cave system and made it tourist-accessible for only 1km of the 31km as of 2010. It's called Paradise because the temperature, somehow, doesn't change; it's 20-22 degrees all year round. I actually found it quite chilly, since we walked up the mountain in the pouring rain. We were given an hour ...

May 4: It's pronounced 'Ho Chee Ming'. Took a taxi to the airport (rip off in terms of price), and then my flight was delayed by an hour. Womp womp. ANDY ARRIVED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA!!!!!! I AM SO HAPPY. Our flights landed at the same time, so we met up and took a taxi back to our guesthouse. It took a bit of a hunt to find where we were staying; not because of lack of landmarks, but because of the sheer number of possible alleyways and an unclear understanding of how street addresses work in this city. Thanks to some VERY helpful English-speaking locals, we were able to figure it out. A necessary shower and chicken pho were had, and then bed by 930. I forced Andy to stay awake so that he could begin to get used to the time difference here. We shall see how long it takes for him to get on track. May 5: Sleep in! That means we left the guesthouse at 9 ha. It really is difficult to sleep in here; there is simply too much noise and light. Plus, it clearly gets BOILING HO...

April 30: I slept until 3pm. At 6, Tom and Miu, the leader and a participant from a CISV Camp in Norway in 2014, picked me up for dinner and drinks. We had several drinks, including a cannabis-laced absinthe (though definitely not real absinthe because I was not hallucinating and I didn't feel high in the slightest, which was kind of disappointing). At 5 am, I woke up feeling absolutely terrible. Seems I got traveler's diarrhea from my first meal in Vietnam. Womp womp. May 1: Tom picked me up for brunch ... Seems that noodles are eaten for 3 meals/day. I tried Bun Cha and absolutely loved it! We were served a huge plate of half-cooked rice noodles, fresh vegetables (mostly yucky greens and bean sprouts), and a bowl with sweet broth and fried pork. It is a dish that is very popular and apparently famous in Hanoi. We then went for the strangest massage I have ever had. It is entirely possible that I was being told everything in Vietnamese, but I really had no idea. I was gi...