Southeast Squared: A Bike Ride to Heaven

Yesterday was the first day that I have ventured out of the city in the month that I've been here. There is so much going on in Hanoi that I feel like I haven't even scratched the surface of her hidden gems. As much as Hanoi feels like home at times. it is also a big bustling city where the horns never stop and the dogs around my apartment never seem to stop barking. So when my roommate and I were asked if we wanted to join a new group of friends on a mountain excursion, we jumped on it. The group met on Saturday morning for what turned into an amazing day outside of the city. We loaded up about 6 motorbikes and took off for the mountains. We got a little lost, but were so happy to have the wind in our faces and the sun on our backs that I don't think anyone really minded our detours. We arrived in the mountains a couple of hours later and found an amazing little town right on the side of the mountain. We had an awesome lunch that was literally the freshest meal I've ever had, at least as far as I'm aware of. As you can see from the pictures below, my lunch looked quite different before I ordered it--it was alive! After I got over the shock of it all, we all chowed down on delicious chicken (claws and all!), greens, and fried potatoes (yes, french fries). After lunch, we headed up to the "stairway to heaven." There was no Zeppelin playing in the background during our hike up 1,500 stairs to what we thought was a pagoda. Unfortunately, there was no pagoda at the top, only a TV tower, but we had an awesome time and definitely felt like we'd accomplished something for the day. After we slowly trekked down the stairs, which we quite slippery because of the moss, we loaded back up for an amazing ride down the mountain at breakneck speed. It was amazing to finally see the Vietnam that I had been picturing in my head this whole summer. One of the most wonderful things about the day was the people we met along the way. I use the word met very loosely here because we didn't actually meet very many people in the traditional sense, but so many people stopped to stare at the caravan of Westerners driving through their little towns. Children wanted to say hi to us, schoolgirls riding their bikes waved to us as we passed by, guys on motos on the highway smiled and said hi as they rode past. It was amazing to feel all the excitement coming from these people. All in all, an amazing day that I hope will be repeated many, many times during the next year. I hope you enjoy the few shots below from my trip!