Ahoy! It was an awesome week in Vietnam with Yaosheng and Eric. I've never met so many different people in one trip. I'll update about the trip in parts but the first entry will be dedicated to the people we met before I forget.
Hanoi Backpackers Hostel
#1 Ed, Leeds, England, 20ish, Manchester United Supporter!
#2 Danish dude, 18, Works in a Danish ice cream factory and claims that Italian ice cream is superior to Danish ice cream.
#3 American guy, mid-late 20s, signed on with a US program that sends people abroad to teach English. Currently teaching in Siem Reap, Cambodia for two years.
#4 Australian guy, 20ish, architect, Cannot tell East from West.
#5 Midi, born in Phillippines, grew up in Canada, 20ish, studied in Barnard, teaching English in Japan.
#6 Canadian gal, late 20s, flew 23hrs to Hanoi. Doesn't sleep with too many clothes on.
#7 Retired German guy, 50-60s, been staying in SEA (currently in Kuching) for the past 2 decades. Travels 6 months a year and brings his own coffee to breakfast.
Ha Long Bay
#8 Viet, Vietnamese tour guide, 20s, first time leading a tour and his inexperience was open for all to see. Terrible planning. Ended up becoming the butt of jokes.
#9 2 Irish Dudes, late 20s-early 30s. One works in Bangkok with the UN Humanitarian efforts in the region and plays Super Mario song on the guitar. The other has been travelling for several months and lives in Dublin.
#10 Jani, Finnish, mid-late 30s, Been travelling for 2 years. Got attached in NYC, broke up in India and been travelling since. Deejays and does art stuff.
#11 Finnish gal, born in South American, 33, Worked as a bartender but looking to do event organising in the future. Travelling with other Finnish guy.
#12 Swiss Couple, mid-late 20s. Cute couple. Guy's a jeweller and the gal's a primary school teacher (she has 9 eleven year olds in the class) in the German part of Switzerland.
#13 5 British gals, 19, on a gap year. One of them, Sophie, kayaked with Eric in a bikini. Gonna study physiotherapy.
#14 Brazillian, late 20s-early 30s, stayed in Australia for 6 months, works as a chemist. Believes Brazil will win the World Cup in South Africa.
#15 German girl, late 20s-early 30s, not much known about her.
Sa pa
#16 Vietnamese guy living in Ho Chi Minh who studied in NUS.
#17 Jo, English, 19, on a gap year. Been travelling for a few months now.
#18 John, English, 20s, British naval weapons engineer, had a good conversation with him about many things. He also stripped during a blackout for a photo.
#19 Canadian gal,Quebec, 19, on a gap year, been travelling for several months alone and gonna study physiotherapy this fall.
#20 2 Spanish guys from Barcelona, one is a barca supporter. Learnt from him that Barca lost 3-1 to Inter the night before.
#21 Estonian guy, 20s, stayed in Australia for 6 months, studied transport logistics, plays volleyball.
#22 Hana Nguyen, Vietnamese, 20s, travelling with American guy in what we think is a spring fling though they do look cute together. Very nice and helpful lady.
#23 Viet Phan, Vietnamese who went to American at age 5, now living in Seattle, 20s, works as a chemist but was laid off 2 years back. Currently travelling with Hana. Promised to take me to pubs and stuff in Seattle if I go there.
#24 Khu, Black Hmong, 24, tour guide for 3 years, mother of 2. Very nice and friendly person. Brought us to her house and saw her kids and husband.
#25 Vu, Black Hmong, 20, tour guide for 2 years, looks like she's 15 but speaks good English and plays pool.
#26 2 French Guys, 20s, met them playing pool at a pub in Sa pa.
#27 Daniel, Irish but spent more than a decade in England. Supports Man Utd, history major, currently teaching English in Korea for 3.5months.
#28 Radwa, 30, Egyptian Lawyer working in Afghanistan with the UN to promote human rights.
And that's roughly the notable characters we met. So many awesome people!
Hanoi Backpackers Hostel
#1 Ed, Leeds, England, 20ish, Manchester United Supporter!
#2 Danish dude, 18, Works in a Danish ice cream factory and claims that Italian ice cream is superior to Danish ice cream.
#3 American guy, mid-late 20s, signed on with a US program that sends people abroad to teach English. Currently teaching in Siem Reap, Cambodia for two years.
#4 Australian guy, 20ish, architect, Cannot tell East from West.
#5 Midi, born in Phillippines, grew up in Canada, 20ish, studied in Barnard, teaching English in Japan.
#6 Canadian gal, late 20s, flew 23hrs to Hanoi. Doesn't sleep with too many clothes on.
#7 Retired German guy, 50-60s, been staying in SEA (currently in Kuching) for the past 2 decades. Travels 6 months a year and brings his own coffee to breakfast.
Ha Long Bay
#8 Viet, Vietnamese tour guide, 20s, first time leading a tour and his inexperience was open for all to see. Terrible planning. Ended up becoming the butt of jokes.
#9 2 Irish Dudes, late 20s-early 30s. One works in Bangkok with the UN Humanitarian efforts in the region and plays Super Mario song on the guitar. The other has been travelling for several months and lives in Dublin.
#10 Jani, Finnish, mid-late 30s, Been travelling for 2 years. Got attached in NYC, broke up in India and been travelling since. Deejays and does art stuff.
#11 Finnish gal, born in South American, 33, Worked as a bartender but looking to do event organising in the future. Travelling with other Finnish guy.
#12 Swiss Couple, mid-late 20s. Cute couple. Guy's a jeweller and the gal's a primary school teacher (she has 9 eleven year olds in the class) in the German part of Switzerland.
#13 5 British gals, 19, on a gap year. One of them, Sophie, kayaked with Eric in a bikini. Gonna study physiotherapy.
#14 Brazillian, late 20s-early 30s, stayed in Australia for 6 months, works as a chemist. Believes Brazil will win the World Cup in South Africa.
#15 German girl, late 20s-early 30s, not much known about her.
Sa pa
#16 Vietnamese guy living in Ho Chi Minh who studied in NUS.
#17 Jo, English, 19, on a gap year. Been travelling for a few months now.
#18 John, English, 20s, British naval weapons engineer, had a good conversation with him about many things. He also stripped during a blackout for a photo.
#19 Canadian gal,Quebec, 19, on a gap year, been travelling for several months alone and gonna study physiotherapy this fall.
#20 2 Spanish guys from Barcelona, one is a barca supporter. Learnt from him that Barca lost 3-1 to Inter the night before.
#21 Estonian guy, 20s, stayed in Australia for 6 months, studied transport logistics, plays volleyball.
#22 Hana Nguyen, Vietnamese, 20s, travelling with American guy in what we think is a spring fling though they do look cute together. Very nice and helpful lady.
#23 Viet Phan, Vietnamese who went to American at age 5, now living in Seattle, 20s, works as a chemist but was laid off 2 years back. Currently travelling with Hana. Promised to take me to pubs and stuff in Seattle if I go there.
#24 Khu, Black Hmong, 24, tour guide for 3 years, mother of 2. Very nice and friendly person. Brought us to her house and saw her kids and husband.
#25 Vu, Black Hmong, 20, tour guide for 2 years, looks like she's 15 but speaks good English and plays pool.
#26 2 French Guys, 20s, met them playing pool at a pub in Sa pa.
#27 Daniel, Irish but spent more than a decade in England. Supports Man Utd, history major, currently teaching English in Korea for 3.5months.
#28 Radwa, 30, Egyptian Lawyer working in Afghanistan with the UN to promote human rights.
And that's roughly the notable characters we met. So many awesome people!