The mountains in the west and the sea in the east.

North Vietnam is the home of some of the most fantastic scenery in South East asia. With Hanoi as the starting point in the middle you can go in any direction to find places to that will take your breath away. I´m taking a bus a couple of hours to the east to reach the coast and Halong City, the gateway to the the majestic Halong Bay with its lime stone rocks. You can book a boat trip on a "Junk" (Yes, thats how they call the boats) for a overnight stay on the boat but my budget is limited so I´m taking ferry to nearby Cat Ba Island for a cheaper accommodation. We slowly cruise between the big rocks and when the sun finally breaks through the wall of clouds the scenery is fantastic.

 

As soon as I read in my travel book Lonely Planet that you can climb on these magnificent rocks I was hooked. So I joined the well experienced and professional Asia outdoors for a day of rock climbing and kayaking in Lan Ha Bay, less crowded than Halong Bay but the same amazing scenery, and it was great! With not much climbing experience and that fact that it was my first time for climbing outdoors I was excited but didn't really know what to expect. It turns out to be the best I have done in Vietnam so far! After a fairly easy first route I really had to work hard to finish the other three. Now I can´t wait to get back home and start climb more!

Like a child on Christmas after the hardest route..

 After the rock climbing we paddle through the limestones back to the boat which was also great and then going back to Cat Ba Island.

Heading back to mainland. From Hanoi I´m catching a sleeper bus again and in the morning we stop in Sapa. Yes, I´m back. Even though I swore never going back to Sapa I´m back again. Fortunately, it is not the aluminum factory that hated to work in years ago. This time its the old hill station from the French colonization period and now the main destination for trekking in northern Vietnam. You can do trekking through valleys and rice pads and do homestays in minority villages but I decide to go vertical and climb the highest mountain in Vietnam, ”The roof top of Indochina”, Fansipan at 3143 m. I'm joining a two day tour with some other nice travelers. The weather is perfect and we start the ascent. Although the trek is classified as moderate/hard its harder then I thought. Its steep and sometimes the path is dangerous. But reaching the top makes it all worth it with the amazing view!

Everything was good but it could have been great. Instead of letting Fansipan remain as a challenging adventure for travelers who like trekking, the Vietnamese government have decided to build a large cable car with accompanying hotel on the top. A great way to make more money but it ruins the view from Sapa and the experience to climb the mountain.

I spend the last days of 2015 in Hanoi walking around the busy the old quarters and eating the delicious food.

Vietnam has been amazing and I will soon come back to this lovely country. 

Happy new year everyone!