Where heaven and Earth date.

Every morning I look out the window and see Heaven so close.

And I haven’t even been outside the city yet!

Here in the mountains

Sometimes I have to allow myself a little geographical perspective in my writings to make it easier to understand where I am.

Sa Pa is a mountainous region in northern Vietnam, close to the Chinese border. The town is located at an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level, so its climate is much cooler than the rest of Vietnam. The area is made special by terraced rice fields, mist-shrouded mountain peaks and Fansipan, the highest mountain in Indochina (3143 meters).

The emphasis for me is on the “mist-shrouded mountain peaks”. The word “amazing” is not enough for me to express what I see here every day. I hope I will be able to show it with good pictures.

Another important thing about this place:

The region has been inhabited for centuries by various mountain peoples, including the Hmong, Dao and Tai communities. They still preserve their own language, customs and traditions, making Sa Pa one of the richest regions in Vietnam, not only from a natural but also from a cultural point of view. Most of the rice terraces are still cultivated by hand, just as they have been for generations.

I have seen this here in the city. I will definitely write about it in a future post.

On the square!

I’ll end my “China” post with the thought that if Ninh Binh is beautiful, then Sa Pa is beautiful on the square.

I arrived here on Tuesday from China. Today is Sunday.

In the past few days, I’ve only been in the city, and within that, only about a two-square-kilometer area.

This week, I focused on my work and my new project. I didn’t want to mess around, in a serious way.

I live in a hostel, in a four-bed room. Out of the 5 nights I’ve spent there, I’ve been completely alone for two nights, and I had a roommate for the other three. So, I can say that I now have a private room for the price of a shared dorm room. LOL.

My room is 500 meters from the main square of the city, 600 meters from Starbucks, where I’ve spent most of my days so far.

I walked around the city a lot. I got to know the surrounding streets, restaurants, the beautiful lake in the middle of the city. After a few days, I was greeted like an acquaintance in many places. So, nothing special.

I’ll show you a few pictures from the past few days.

Then, of course, life rewrote my plans again!

From this post, I managed to write the story this morning to the point that “and I haven’t even been out of town yet!”

Yesterday, as I was sitting here, I saw a Chinese guy several times. When I left here in the evening, he approached me, and we talked for a while.

He was looking for a place to stay, so I took him to the hostel where I live now. He booked a room for himself, and then he came to have dinner with me.

That evening, we agreed to have lunch together around 11 o’clock. I told him that I would be at Starbucks when he came, and we would eat.

Well, I had just written the above sentence when he came, so we went to eat at the KFC-like restaurant inside the mall building. I had already eaten there once this week, the chicken there is really delicious.

He went ahead because I had to pack up my office. By the time I caught up with him, he had already ordered lunch. For me too. Rice with chicken and chicken wings in a bun. He invited me to lunch. I happily accepted.

Then after lunch he asked me if I wanted to go to the first station of the mountain with him.

I told him I wanted to work today, thank you, but no. He didn’t insist, he just said he liked company much better. I thought about it and asked myself: Why not?

So we went to see the mountains.

He bought the tickets for the train, said he was so glad he didn’t have to go alone, that he wanted to host me.

One more thing about the guy is that I’m very grateful to him for diverting me from my original intention. We spent a very nice half day together. Today I got one step closer to Heaven, that’s for sure!

After we got back, he invited me to dinner. For the first time in my life I ate frog. Grilled. Many people told me it tasted like chicken. Now I know from experience that they were right.

After dinner we talked for a while, then he went to Lao Cai, from where I arrived here on Tuesday, and tomorrow he will go home to China.

And I will continue my day where I left off in the morning.

And in the meantime, all that happened was that I became richer with an experience of a lifetime, and now I was happy that someone with a grateful heart gave me half a day.

What did I see in Heaven today?

I met another friend in Laos, we spent a few nights together there. Let’s just say we drank a lot of beer. LOL. He’s coming to Sa Pa tomorrow. This will be the fourth time during my trip that our paths will cross again with somebody.

I learned from him that the train I was on today didn’t exist last year.

I’m lucky that I’m here now. Because the train ride up the mountain is an experience in itself. We rode in a full panoramic car. As it left the plaza building, an incredible view opened up before me.

Huge mountains above deep, incredibly beautiful, green valleys. And the tops of the mountains are shrouded in clouds. If there is such a thing (there is!) that takes your breath away, this is it. The only problem was that I didn’t know where to look. There was something amazing in every direction.

The train ride didn’t take too long. We only went up to the first station. From there, a cable train takes you up to the 3000+ meter altitude mentioned in the introduction. But today it was foggy on the mountain, so we didn’t go up. All due respect to the operators! When we wanted to buy a ticket up, the young girl at the ticket office said that the weather was foggy, the view wasn’t the best. She showed us the picture on her phone, based on which we decided to do it another time.

I will definitely go up to the highest point in Indochina in the next two weeks.

When I got off the train, the moments when the air was short just kept coming one after another. I enjoyed being in this place so much!

Gardens after gardens. Flowers in all kinds of quantities. Statues, flower sculptures. Lookout points everywhere. Selfie points. Walkways to the right and left. A swing here, a bench there. A Zen garden, next to it a pink London-style phone booth.

Everyone finds a spot where they can take their favorite photo. Alone, in company, with family. Everywhere there are happy people who are obviously very happy to be here. Just like me.

My Chinese friend was a good patron of my “Silence in Motion” project, because after a while he found a suitable spot everywhere for me to take a picture in a meditation pose. I let the pleasant flow of today take me, so today I took a lot of pictures in that series. I will soon post them on the page.

There was a temple on this part of the mountain. A majestic sight under the huge clouds.

During the nearly three-hour walk, it became clear how lucky I was. This was not the first time the guy had been here, but he had never seen what I had seen today.

A small village had been established at a certain point in the area. It was not for nothing that I mentioned in my introduction that Sa Pa is one of the richest regions in Vietnam from a cultural point of view.

For me, today was the highlight of the day, a folk dance performance. We arrived at the main square of the tiny village just as the folk performance with dancing, music and singing began.

It was a half-hour show, which I watched while sitting on the edge of the area. Everything happened right there in front of me.

The trio of music, singing and dancing was perfect. The dancers’ clothing seemed authentic. They performed the dances with a smile. Those folk dances that always revolve around the relationship between man and woman.

There was such elegance in this whole performance, it was so light that I felt it was very close to Hungarian folk dance. The play was understandable. There was tension, there was release. It was playful when it was next in line, serious when the situation required it.

They presented many layers of this culture. I saw the instruments they played. I could observe the game that was played in the background, while the main characters were in the foreground. They showed the separation and then the union of the male and female sides. There was a man singing alone, then a female-male duet. There was a pledge handover, parting, and reunion. You could notice the change of clothes during the performance.

And at the very end of the whole thing, they invited the entire audience to a dance game that required a bit of skill. My first thought was that I would go, surely no one would want to go. I was wrong. Many people went and enjoyed the game for a long time. So I watched the whole thing from the shore and I didn’t miss being there at all. It was so good to watch, to feel the game of so many people. That was my reward.

I really loved being a part of this wonderful performance.

If fate wills it, I will see it, here again.

I am very grateful for today!

I love Sa Pa.

The post 287. | Sa Pa first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

That’s enough for now.

In retrospect, this post looks like a “what doesn’t work” monument.

So please imagine it while you read it!

I’m smiling, listening to music, laughing as I write this post. It wasn’t hard to experience it at the time, and in retrospect I’m actually enjoying it.

Lao Chai

The train that left Hanoi at 11pm arrived in Lao Chai, a border town, at 7am.

I can’t tell you much about this town, because I had a coffee there and walked 2+ km.

But of course I had adventures during this short time.

The arrival was quick. The train stopped, so I woke up. T-shirt, socks and shoes. And I jumped off the train.

Straight into the arms of the taxi drivers.

It was like Sapa was tattooed on my forehead. Everyone wanted to know where I was going. It’s a good thing that I write a blog and have made my life an open book. That way I don’t have to worry about strangers asking all sorts of questions that can disturb my peace.

Step by step, following.

Let’s just say I was a little surprised that one of the taxi drivers followed me to the bathroom. I hoped he wouldn’t ask me what I was doing there.

As I left the railway building, the second wave of taxi drivers arrived. Heroically – like the officers of the cruiser Potemkin – I fought my way through the crowd.

On the other side of the square in front of the building, I spotted a café. A small group was being served, so I saw that the shop was open despite the early hour.

But not for me. I sat peacefully next to the other group for five minutes. Then I sped across the square again, because now I saw a café there.

The only danger of this zigzagging across the square is that the taxi drivers saw me again.

I got coffee at the other café. I like to get my bearings over coffee. I sometimes try to tell the taxi drivers this, but they don’t care. We could both have a good time. If I sit down and can see where I’m going, check the price, then one of them could take me.

But for some reason they’re usually impatient. I’m not.

The border crossing was 2 km away from me. According to the lady at the cafe, that’s a long distance. I feel lucky that we absolutely disagree on this.

The truth is, if it had been further, I would still have walked.

Because I was finally able to make it happen that I’m entering an Asian country on my own two feet.

Border control

For some reason, I always feel like I’m in a good place when I’m the only Westerner in a huge building, among many, many people. And I don’t think so because of the special attention. The adventure is simply more exciting when I see that others avoid it then and there.

I waited my turn. As a Hungarian – according to the rules in force throughout this year – I can travel to China without a visa. I applied for the visa on arrival, it was on my phone.

I didn’t expect a surprise. I handed over my passport. The surprise came.

The official tried to scan my passport in vain, but the system didn’t want me. After 8-10 attempts, my paper was transferred to the neighboring table. There the scanner loved me.

The process continued with the taking of four electronic fingerprints of the right hand, then the left hand, and then the thumbs. Then looking into the camera, suppressing a stupid grin, wondering if I could ask for my retina image, because they were definitely recording that too.

Along with suppressing the stupid grin, I managed to be stupid again, but now I’ve learned that I won’t do it that way again. When the border guard asked me how long I wanted to be in China, I told him the truth.

Namely, that I had no idea. In such cases, it’s not the eyebrows that jump to the top of my head that are the most worrying. It’s the fact that this information is immediately shared among themselves. I thought I could feel the tension between the truthfulness of my sentence and the mini consultation analyzing its consequences.

But in the end, they decided that it was an acceptable answer. The seal clicked and it said: “All right sir! Welcome to China!”

I admit, I was moved by these words. After all, it was just a childhood dream. I’m here. I’m in China. This sentence is packed with characters of happiness.

Tsunami of problems

The few hours after arrival were quite fun because of the set of problems I had to overcome when crossing the border.

China – at first – is a real hardcore terrain.

I wrote just the other day that after 10 months I considered myself experienced.

Well, here came the real test of whether the digital nomad life is for me or not?

Payment

People in China don’t pay with credit cards. They use AliPay or WeChat. Both work with QR codes. Even the smallest street vendor has their own QR code, so if I want to buy a coffee, I don’t need cash, just my phone.

There are several ways to pay

1. I scan the QR code with my phone, then enter how much I’m paying in the field that appears (the amount the seller says), approve it and show him my phone so he can see that we’re okay. About half of the sellers use loudspeakers, in which case I don’t have to show that I paid, because the loudspeaker shouts over the noise of the street with the volume of a ship’s horn that I paid six Yuan. I almost had a heart attack a couple of times over the course of a few days because of the ear canal-killing loudspeakers placed behind the vase…
2. I scan the QR code and it also contains the amount, I can’t change it. This is a less common method, because here you would need a code for each amount. The first method is much more flexible.
3. In the store, the scanner next to the cash register reads my QR code and immediately deducts the amount.

In summary, this cashless payment method is a pretty useful little invention. No scanner needed, no internet needed. The little vendor puts his code on a sticker and that’s it. Then he checks the bills at home.

Leaving the huge building of the border post, about 200 meters away, I saw a street coffee shop.

I explained to the young guy that I wanted to have a coffee with him. But I’ve never used AliPay before, I’d pay first, then drink. Sure, sure, he said. Let me sit down. And he would have made the coffee. I love this kindness.

But I stopped him. Pay first.

I already had the app on my phone. I still couldn’t pay with it. On the other hand, I sweated for half an hour to try it. The guy was really nice. He brought me an iced tea, I was his guest. He must have seen that I was sweating terribly from all the attempts.

A few hours later, I solved this payment problem.

This system is atomic. After it was installed on my phone, I confirmed that the phone was mine with an SMS. After I linked my bank card to the app, I confirmed that the bank account was mine with a bank authorization.

My face still had to be validated before I could use the app. This is what it looks like in the following picture. I had to scan my passport – which of course the system processed immediately – and then show my face to the camera. But not just by hearing it. You can’t bypass the system, because while the camera is watching, it tells you what to do to make sure the recording is live. For example, I had to hold my right ear while looking at the camera.

You understand this system, right?

From now on, if I buy a carrot at the market, I will do it by showing my passport. I don’t mind this control, but it’s good to know about it.

I couldn’t get the other app to work because it simply wouldn’t send the SMS, and wouldn’t let me continue without it.

Luckily, I had 100 Yuan (CNY). That’s exactly 4,500 HUF, or 14.5 USD.

The story of this unfolded before I crossed the border.

I had to fight an army of taxi drivers near the railway station. After they saw that I was foolishly walking the terrifying two-kilometer distance, they gave up on me.

As I approached the border, another attack came!

Someone jumped in front of me, clutching a huge wad of money and muttering the mantra “change, change”.

I drove everyone away with a smile.

Then, when I sat down for one last Vietnamese breakfast – thinking I didn’t know when I would have the chance to eat in China again – I bought 100 from the guy selling the food after he told me how much it was and I checked the exchange rate. This method always works. Sit down, gather information, check, decide.

So I had some cash with me, but I didn’t need it for now, because the tea was a gift.

Mobile network

I have been using an eSIM provider called JatPac since I have been living in Asia. I have been completely satisfied with it for 9 months.

Then it simply did not work in Ninh Binh. So I lived without my own mobile network for almost three weeks.

Two days before arriving in China, I changed the provider to Saily. It worked perfectly in Ninh-Binh as well.

As I crossed the border, I was pleased to see that my internet was not interrupted.

The unpleasant attempts to revive the payment system brought me two realizations. One is that I would rather lick cactus than try to make a non-functional eSIM system work. The other is that my internet only worked because my Vietnamese eSIM package was using the Vietnamese network.

After the necessary restart of the phone, the Chinese package was on the Chinese network. Well, that did not work.

The solution was simple. I switched back to the Vietnamese network and – voila – everything works. Just to give you an idea, such a switch takes about 1 minute, so if I have to do it five or ten times in a row, then I start thinking about the cactus.

Anyway, the solution was there. Let’s go to some accommodation.

Yeah, I was wrong. As I walked 100-200 meters away from the Red River, the natural border between the two countries, the Vietnamese network gave up its soul. The Chinese one hadn’t come to life yet, had it?

So there I was, standing without internet in a Chinese city.

Where most people don’t speak a word of English. Here, you can interpret not a word quite strictly!

Accommodation

However, it almost doesn’t matter whether I have internet or not.

I didn’t find the accommodation using the internet.

Agoda, Booking, HostelWorld, etc. apps are dead. At least for this city. For example, Booking doesn’t return any results. Agoda does. Only for the town of the same name, which is 2,000 km away.

I almost booked the first good-priced room on Agoda. Luckily, I checked the map to see how far I had to walk from where I was. When I saw that it was 2,000+ km… Well, I like adventures and challenges, but not on this scale.

Google is not the state system in China. I was actually trying to make a funny point that there is no big Google life in China. That’s why I can zoom in on the map as much as I want. Google shows dozens of accommodations on the south bank of the river (Vietnam), and almost nothing on the north bank (China).

Whatever, I thought, I’ll walk around and see something, then go in, book it, pay for it… Oh, I don’t have anything to pay for now. I’ll think of something else, I thought.

I walk down the street and find a place to stay. At first, it seemed like a good plan. It soon turned out to be a virgin idea wrapped in pink mist. Everything is written in Chinese. So my chances of reading it were practically zero.

Most hotels look exactly like a bank, a shop, or a restaurant from the outside. It’s as if everyone had switched to incognito mode.

The point is, I found only one hotel at first, and as I suspected, I didn’t find a hostel afterwards. This hotel cost 8,000 HUF (26 USD) a night. I didn’t want to spend that much, but I had no other option.

And then back to the question of no internet, no cash. Luckily the hotel reception had internet, so I was able to pay for the room.

I will come back to the accommodation, because if you have the feeling that we are at the happy end regarding the room, then I ask you to forget about it now!

Hotel internet

The internet worked perfectly on the seventh floor of the hotel.

Except for one thing! Google…

It just won’t start.

I first experienced this in Laos. My first thought was “well, then I won’t listen to Youtube music.”

Then other connections quickly came, and here in China it became a pretty depressing reality.

I can’t listen to music. I can’t see my emails. I don’t have a map. There’s no search engine I can use. ChatGPT doesn’t work. And, to make matters worse, the captcha service doesn’t work either. And this is a basic objection to many functioning sites, so a bunch of websites can’t be accessed with one click.

So, this is no joke.

You have to use a VPN. And for some reason, it starts up worryingly slowly. I even had to joke about the fact that I wasn’t connecting to a Hungarian server with it, but to a German one, for example. This game just increases the excitement. Can I work or not?

The visa issue

After I had my chosen accommodation offline, turned on the VPN and had the right infrastructure, it was time to start applying for a Vietnamese visa.

I came to Vietnam 45 days ago with the idea that I would stay in the country with a free visa valid for 45 days and then move on. However, in the meantime, I realized that this country is much more beautiful and much bigger than just spending 45 days here.

However, you can’t apply for a visa while you are in the country. That’s why I had to come over to China. I arrived in this city with the idea that I would stay until I got the visa. If it’s beautiful and worth it, I would stay a maximum of two weeks, but I didn’t have to decide that in advance.

In any case, it wouldn’t hurt to have a valid visa as soon as possible.

I searched for it on the already working Google (isn’t it strange that I have to emphasize this separately?) and started filling out the form.

The visa application processing time is 2-3 working days and the cost is 25 USD.

I have already gone through 5-6 visa application processes. My experience so far has shown that it is never an easy feat. Now, too, the point has come when I did not understand what they want from me.

There could be two reasons for this. Either the English term they use is not entirely correct, or the question is really incomprehensible.

I can handle small things like where I will live as a routine. Now I said that I am from Tam Coc, and asked the AI ​​to help me select the region, district, area, city series so that I can fill in the relevant part.

They have never asked me how much I want to spend in the country. Expressed in USD. Nor what religion I was. What could I have said to that, for example? Atheist? Or a non-dualist Buddhist philosopher? Or a follower of my own religion? In the end, I chose safety and declared myself a Christian.

I was confident that if they were seriously interested in the question, I wouldn’t have to explain the OM tattoo on the back of my hand. LOL.

Then, during the application process, I reached a point where it was not clear what they wanted from me. The AI ​​gave the answer, but drew my attention to the fact that I was not on the official visa application site. Let me see how much more they ask at the end of the process.

Soon, I found myself with only the payment left. The bill would have been 200 USD. Instead of 25. If I ask for an expedited process, they will process it the next day in 2-3 business days. For +50 USD.

Great!

I left this site and went to the official one. It was down due to a server error. Neither was the backup site.

So at that moment I was stuck, unable to start applying for my visa.

But at least I had time to deal with my mobile internet problem. First, I went through a half-hour troubleshooting and repair process with the help of AI. At the end of this, we decided to contact the service provider’s support. There, I went through the same half-hour process of sending a screenshot, replying, and moving on again, only this time with the help of a human.

An hour later, my mobile internet was working. By then, the government website for applying for a visa had been fixed.

I submitted my application around 2:00 PM on Wednesday. I was hoping to get a response by Friday.

Finding another place to stay

Since this room cost more than I wanted to pay for it, I tried to find another one the next day while working and sightseeing, but finally gave up and ended up staying another night in this hotel.

Finally, on Friday morning, I found another hotel.

Since I had to leave the room by 1:30 PM and I hadn’t received a response to my visa application, I had to wait longer.

With a Google search (not through the hotel search engines!) I finally found the Garden Hotel. And the option of how to book a room there.

The only strange thing was that the hotel was on the map in a part of the city where there were no roads leading to it according to the map. Anyway, I thought, I’ll book the room and then I’ll get there somehow.

This “getting there somehow” became another story.

I left the hotel and hit the street. The map suggested a detour. The problem with this suggestion was that I would have had to swim to the other side of the Red River and then back a little later. Even if I had felt like swimming for a while with two backpacks, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, because the other side of the river is Vietnam. I don’t think they would have welcomed me with applause when I got out of the river. Especially since I didn’t have a visa.

My idea was to go as far as there was a road on the map, and then just find some path that would take me to the destination. Although, at that moment, I remembered thinking the same thing in Laos. And then I ended up – literally – in the jungle.

My initial enthusiasm was broken after 200 meters. When I turned the corner, it turned out that there were two paths leading further. One to a courtyard surrounded by a fence. The other up a large hill in the opposite direction.

I went into Winnie the Pooh mode and started to think about it.

Then the taxi driver appeared! For once, when I really needed him. I showed him the hotel on the map. I saw the joy in his eyes that he had a passenger, but this joy was not accompanied by the light of recognition. There was a sense of confusion in the air.

Anyway, he told me to get in and continue the discussion. He pointed to the map, furrowed his eyebrows, and explained frantically in Chinese. I stared blankly at his map, sighed, and explained frantically that I only spoke English.

He asked a few times “should we go in that direction” and pointed ahead down the street, and I told him several times that since I didn’t know what he was asking, I couldn’t say yes or no. He should know the direction, not me.

I could already feel that this idea was also turning into a hazy swan song. I thought that the taxi driver would take me to the hotel, and from there I would know the way. It was not part of the plan that he would not know either.

After five minutes, the car finally started, although this action did not bring me any relief at all. I was sure that despite the long consultation, the driver had no idea where we were going.

My feeling, based on my precise observation of the situation, was correct, because after a few hundred meters, he stopped and we held our second crisis analysis activity.

Here I finally found out what the problem was. I never thought it would be so simple. But at least I gained another experience. The driver reluctantly admitted that he didn’t understand what was written on the map.

I told him that many people don’t speak a word of English. But I didn’t even think that they couldn’t read Latin letters…

After the phrase Garden Hotel appeared on my screen in Chinese characters, a miracle happened: the driver’s eyes lit up!

He turned around and stopped at his destination after 200 meters. It turned out that the second hotel was about 800 meters from the first, but its actual location had nothing to do with the location indicated on Google Maps. It was in the opposite direction…

In a few moments I took my room on the sixth floor. There was no elevator here, the corridor was narrow. And from the fourth floor on, there was no lighting in the completely dark staircase. It was an experience to go up in the pitch darkness.

My room was nice. It would have met all my criteria if I had such criteria. A double bed, a dressing table on the wall, a water-heating sink and a private bathroom. And of course, working internet.

However, there were other serious problems with this working internet. It dropped the VPN from the network after a minute. So it quickly became clear that the experience was not complete. It was like sitting in a Michelin-starred restaurant all day, except that I couldn’t order food.

From then on, I was forced to use my eSim service for three days.

In a normal place, a 3GB internet package is enough for an entire month. Here, I used 3GB every day. By monitoring the traffic. The never-spoken question arose in my mind: what was my computer doing in the background to use up so much data.

I did some mental math. I didn’t want to pay 8,000 HUF (26 USD) per night for the room, so I changed my accommodation to a room of a different category. Here I paid 3,000 HUF (10 USD) per night. However, I paid 3,300 HUF (11 USD) extra every day for the internet. In other words, instead of 8,000 HUF (26 USD), it came to 6,300 HUF (21 USD) per day. I saved 1,700 HUF (5 USD) per day.

That’s probably how much the elevator and the breakfast at the other hotel would have been worth.

Oh well! It’s easy to be smart in hindsight.

Enough of the technical difficulties!

I think so, I have written enough about the problems I found myself facing in China.

Now comes the part about what such a city is like.

I will answer this very simply now, and I will show you what I think from two different perspectives.

I will start with my former self, because after that the picture of the present will be different.

Hekou is a very clean, orderly city. (Of course, I have been to streets further away, so not everywhere!) Streets arranged like a chessboard, clean as a pharmacy. Lots of street vendors, restaurants, shops everywhere. Luxury stores and normal stores.

Lots of lights, lanterns, neon in the evenings.

And there is nothing interesting or special here.

Apart from the tall buildings and everyday utilities, I did not really discover anything else.

If I arrive with an eye for sights, then it is time to leave the next day.

A boring little town.

My eyes today, of course, see differently.

A miracle at every step.

But these miracles are not there because the city was built for this.

They are there because I created them for myself.

So I won’t start telling you now how I saw happiness in the eyes of older women rehearsing a dance in the square.

How I was able to enjoy a coffee. How I didn’t just film the 10 minutes until every drop of it dripped into my glass, but also watched every single drop.

The smiles of the little children who were happy for me were an experience.

It was a joy to keep my boundaries with those who didn’t approach me with due respect.

But once again!

These miracles are already growing inside me, it doesn’t matter where I get their seeds.

Goodbye!

I left China on Tuesday.

My Vietnamese visa arrived on Monday afternoon around 4:00 PM. I had already paid for the night that day. And although I briefly considered leaving the country immediately, I quickly decided against it.

I headed to the border early on Tuesday morning.

On the Chinese side, they asked me a lot of questions, starting with one of the border guards already in line.

His colleague at the counter continued. How many days have I been here? I tried not to mess up my mental calculations, lest I fail here. After all, he needed to know exactly how long I had been here.

Do I have a visa for Vietnam? I said yes. Then please show me. He was right. If it is not valid, the Vietnamese will send me back and then he will have to work twice. He accepted the visa.

By the way, it was the same border guard who let me into the country. Now he said goodbye to me like this:

“Good luck, sir!”

I am grateful that my life has turned out in such a way that I was able to see China. A tiny piece of it.

Next time I will go further and visit other places.

I stood in line on the Vietnamese side. From there, they pulled me aside and then led me away.

A border guard came to pick me up and took me to a small office. There was nothing threatening about it, it was just an extra check.

He offered me a seat, asked me a few questions. He gave me a glass of water. He smiled and was nice the whole time. But for some reason it took a long time for them to make sure that my visa was valid.

Finally, he took me back to the line, where the previous border guard checked everything again.

Finally, I was able to enter Vietnam.

Here I said to myself, “Welcome back!”

Leaving the building, we started the same process, only in the other direction.

The same faces, now waiting with cries of “change, change, taxi, taxi”.

I turned everyone down.

I walked 1 km further. I sat there and figured out how to continue.

Within 10 minutes, I booked a room in the nearby Sapa area, ordered a taxi.

After 12 minutes, I got into the taxi and slept through the 20 km, 1 hour journey that awaited me.

I am writing these lines in Sapa. The continuation will come soon.

In the meantime, a little spoiler:

Ninh-Binh was beautiful.

Sapa is beautiful on the square.

The post 283. | China first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

I arrived here in an exceptionally gentlemanly manner.

At 5:30 in the morning, a car came to pick me up and take me to the city of Ninh Binh. There I got on a minibus that was apparently just waiting for me to arrive, because we left as soon as I put my butt down.

I also fell asleep. They woke me up in Hanoi, where I got into another car. The driver asked where I was going. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so I told him the old quarter of the city. The old quarter that I was already familiar with.

Then, before arriving, it turned out that there were probably more such old quarters, because he asked me which one I should go to. These unexpected cross-questions are slowly not putting as much weight on my shoulders as yesterday’s sigh. I showed him on the map the one I already knew.

So after 39 days I returned exactly where I left Hanoi. Hanoi – Hai Phong Cat Ba – Ninh-Binh – Hanoi. It was a very nice tour.

The day in Hanoi started out as an average one. Walking, food hunting. then a coffee shop so I could work.

The adventures came in the afternoon

When I finished work, I wanted to take a long walk around the city.

Passing by a small coffee and craft shop, a lady asked if I would like a coffee. I said no and kept walking. But after five steps, I changed my mind and sat down at her place. When asked what kind of coffee I wanted, I replied that it should be a surprise. So I managed to drink another delicious coffee, the name of which I don’t know.

In fact, I don’t even know the lady’s name, even though we talked for almost an hour. Unfortunately, I forget names quickly, it’s been that way my whole life. (Maybe that’s why I now have four first names? I’ll definitely remember one of them when I need it…)

I got the name! Hmong! I got a card from her, it’s on it. If you’d like to visit the shop, click here.

I also managed to talk to the lady about things that have interested me for a long time. For example, how Asian people think about us Westerners.

After the honest answers, my conversation partner said that I see the situation surprisingly well. Most Asian people will not give me a hard time if I behave inappropriately. They will smile. But they have their opinions. I have known this since I read James Clawel’s book Shogun as a child. LOL.

After a while, the lady’s daughter joined us

At the end of the conversation, I couldn’t pay for my coffee. I would have insisted that this not be the case, but the woman was adamant. Before I went to her, I bought a couple of donuts. At the beginning of the conversation, she accepted one from me with great difficulty and held it in her hand the whole time. She said she loved it very much, but she hadn’t eaten it yet.

It was a very interesting and good conversation, I left with a grateful heart.

After a long walk, I had a long conversation with a friend, so after the Starbucks during the day, I stood and talked for a long time in front of the one planned for the evening. I finally had to go in around 9:30 PM.

On the way to the train

It was time to order a taxi, because the train station my ticket was for was half an hour drive from the old quarter.

I had the usual problems with this order.

Although the name of the station was on my train ticket, and I even knew that it was not the main train station, and I even looked at the map to see where it was, I couldn’t order a taxi.

Because when I typed the name of the station into the taxi search engine, the site returned three results, and I had no idea what to choose because there wasn’t enough information on the screen.

The train was leaving on time, so I couldn’t afford to have the taxi take me somewhere else because of a bad choice, and then have to try to choose the right address again from there.

Luckily, the guys spoke English, so I asked for help. I showed my ticket to one of the young men and asked him to help me order a taxi. As proof that I wasn’t necessarily the one who was stupid, I have to say that it took him about 3 minutes to order a taxi for me.

He ordered it on his own phone. I wanted to pay him right away, but he said he would come out with me and tell the taxi driver that I would pay in cash. I thanked him for his help and asked where the bathroom was.

I started towards the place, going upstairs. But I had only managed to climb 3-4 steps when one of the girls at the counter jumped after me. She asked me if I had ordered yet. I said no, and I added to myself that I didn’t want to, because the taxi would be here in a few minutes. I’m sorry, she said, if you haven’t ordered, you can’t use the bathroom.

As I wrote, I had been standing outside for a long time and I should have peed the whole time. So, not expecting this new information, I told her that it was a problem, because then it could happen that spontaneous relief would happen here on the stairs. She didn’t laugh. Let’s say, neither did I. I asked her if this was serious. I told her that I had spent half my day at another Starbucks, maybe it wouldn’t be such a big deal if… But, it was. That was her position and she left.

I got angry.

But this feeling hadn’t found me in a long time, so I immediately turned my attention to it. I thought about a few things very quickly.

On the one hand, I was arrogant, I let myself get carried away by the emotion. I have the right to do that, but I don’t need it. On the other hand, the girl was right. It’s not such a unique case that paying guests can use the bathroom for free, and everyone else has to pay for it. This option was not considered here. Thirdly, if I lasted more than an hour, I will last another 30 minutes, there will be no problem in the taxi.

Finally, I felt sincere gratitude. I have been saying for a long time that nothing is free on the road. You have to pay for everything. I forgot this in this situation. The girl simply reminded me of this with a repeated instruction.

So, 5 seconds after she left, I followed her. I put my hand on my heart, bowed and said to her, “Thank you very much!” I added to myself, “for the tecahing.”

Within a minute, the taxi driver arrived, and when he heard that I would be the passenger, he told me to show him the money before leaving.

This either means that I look really ripped and it doesn’t look like I can pay the bill. Or that he has had a lot of bad experiences.

Not only did I show him, I paid for the ride in advance.

I had the confidence.

On the railway station

When we arrived, my confidence was a little shaken.

The taxi turned into a yard where there was nothing but a lot of cargo containers and a closed and dark building.

Most importantly, there was no train station and no tracks.

Luckily, it turned out that the train station was not that far away. It is true that it was hidden behind a gate that made me think of the place as a garage rather than a train station.

I still had 1+ hours until the train arrived, so I thought I would sit on the platform.

As I went out, a lady in a uniformed railway employee very enthusiastically waved for me to come with her. I thought she wanted to sell me a ticket. But she just ushered me into the waiting room to sit down.

Well, I sat down.

At 10:45 PM, I asked when the train would arrive. It was scheduled for 22:58 anyway. She said it would arrive between 22:55 and 22:58. For a moment, I thought I was in Japan because of that precision.

I told her that I would go out to the platform now. She pointed to the door delicately. Which I couldn’t open.

Because it was locked from the outside. But, I think – so that I wouldn’t feel like she was messing with me, she quickly went around the building from the outside and opened the door. When I wanted to go out, she said that since the train wasn’t here yet, I should continue to rest my feet inside. That’s what Google Translate literally wrote. LOL.

The train arrived. She motioned for me to follow her and her colleague. Two of them greeted the train. She motioned for me to stay by the building about five times. Don’t even think about going near the moving train.

So when the train stopped, I was immediately ordered to run, and as soon as I got on, the train had already started.

Perhaps this pace is the secret to punctuality.

On the train

There were two conductors already waiting on the train.

One of them had a prepared English message waiting for him: “When we arrive, please do not order a taxi for yourself, I will order one for you from a friend in Sapa.”

This was a red flag for me. There is no reason to take an overpriced taxi in an environment where I am not aware of the prices. I had made a long-standing decision to only use an app if I could.

I didn’t feel like explaining myself to him, so I simply told him that I was not going to Sapa, but to China.

Then his next business proposition came. Would I like to be alone in the compartment? The train has four-person sleeper cabins, and I bought a lower bed in a compartment, knowing that I could count on three more people there.

This offer did not sway my previous decision. Although he didn’t say how much he wanted me to pocket for this, it wasn’t important, because I wouldn’t have given a bugs forint for a private compartment.

I told him that I had a ticket and that I wanted the bed I had already paid for, nothing else.

I think they wanted something else, because two of them escorted me to the compartment. There was such a narrow corridor in the car that my backpack got stuck and I could barely turn around.

When I opened the compartment, I was greeted by a very peaceful sight.

On one of the lower beds, two little girls were sleeping, snuggled together, with their little blindfolds over their faces. On the other lower bed, two women were lying in their sleeping clothes.

In my initial surprise, I said that I had bought a ticket for a lower bed. But at that moment I realized that it didn’t matter at all. I don’t want to wake the kids up, nor would I want the two women to sleep upstairs while the kids are downstairs.

So I said right away that it was okay. But the guide started talking really badly to the two women. I wonder what he said to them. I had to tell them three more times that it was okay.

At the end, we stood there for 15-20 seconds in awkward silence. I think the guide was still trying to figure out how I could make extra money from me today, but he finally left us.

I climbed onto the top bunk.

It was small. Hard. There was no power outlet, so I decided to lie down right away. I took off my T-shirt and lay down.

Expect good things in return!

One of the women stood in front of me with a smile. “You,” she said and pointed to the blanket on the other bunk.

I loved all the teachings today.

I fell asleep quickly and peacefully.

The post 282. | Hanoi and the current teaching first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

Several people told me they missed my posts.

So did I.

I missed writing.

But this time – by making one very simple decision – I chose to spend my time differently.

First, I will show you the place I have just left and the circumstances around it.

Then, in a rather unusual format, I will summarize my experiences as a list.

Ninh Binh

Ninh Binh is the 27th place where I have stayed during this journey.

However, this is the first time I did not simply choose a place to live – I arrived there with someone.

We met in Cat Ba, and continued our journey together as friends.

I have encountered this style of travel before. Two people of the opposite sex travel together and spend their time together, but the foundation of that relationship is friendship, not a romantic partnership.

After a long time (278 days), it felt exciting to arrive somewhere with someone and know that the shared bus ride would continue beyond the moment we stepped off the bus.

So this time I was not exploring this beautiful corner of Vietnam alone.

At the same time, I did not spend my free time writing.

We walked.

We rode bicycles.

We relaxed in the hostel pool.

We went on excursions.

We watched movies together.

And many other things.

So where exactly am I?

The guidebooks provide the important facts, and I do not want to skip them:

Tam Cốc is a natural attraction in Ninh Bình Province, famous for its limestone karst mountains, winding river, and caves surrounded by rice fields. Often called the “Ha Long Bay on land,” Tam Cốc is part of the Tràng An Landscape Complex and one of Vietnam’s most picturesque river destinations.

If I look at it more closely, however, things become a bit strange.

It may sound odd, but I am not entirely sure where I actually am.

This is not the first time in Asia that I have been surprised by geography.

I set off for a place called Ninh Binh and spend several days believing it is a city.

Then I discover that Ninh Binh is both a province and a city.

Meanwhile, every second business seems to have “Tam Coc” in its name: Tam Coc Café, Tam Coc Boat Rental, Tam Coc Restaurant.

At that point I begin to suspect that tourists are not really coming to Ninh Binh City at all. They are coming to the Tam Coc area.

And that is still not the whole story.

Because then it turns out that although Google Maps and most tourists refer to the area as Tam Coc – much like we Hungarians say “I’m at Lake Balaton” – even that is not technically correct.

Geographically, my current situation looks something like this:

• Tam Cốc – where I am actually staying
• Ninh Hải – the official name of the commune
• Hoa Lư – the district
• Ninh Bình Province – the province

So yes, I came to Ninh Binh like everyone else.

But within Ninh Binh I am actually staying in Ninh Hải, which everybody simply calls Tam Coc.

Simple, right?

Let’s leave it at this:

I am in a beautiful place in the heart of Vietnam.

The Accommodation

I am starting with this because even after a week it still feels unbelievable.

We are staying in a place called Tam Coc Central Bungalow, spread across a large property.

The entire place is magnificent.

It looks exactly like the sort of place Europeans normally pay serious amounts of money to experience.

Huge limestone cliffs provide shade during parts of the day.

There are countless plants, palm trees, colorful tropical flowers, and enormous trees everywhere.

All of this sits beside a beautiful river.

Just a few steps from the river there is a large swimming pool, sun loungers, and tables shaded by palm leaves.

The rooms are surprisingly high quality.

Every morning I wake up and have to remind myself that I am not in an expensive European hotel.

It is simply an excellent place to stay.

My bed, by the way, stands in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling glass window.

Even now I can look out across the lake located in the center of the U-shaped building complex.

Our room has twelve beds.

The price is 1,360 HUF (4.25 USD) per night.

Included in that price is a breakfast that once again reminds me of some of the best hotels I stayed in during my travels across Europe.

Two large tables are covered with all kinds of delicious food, and we can eat as much as we want.

A walk of just a few hundred meters takes us into completely different worlds.

In one direction lies the center of town.

In the other direction there are beautiful lotus ponds beneath towering limestone cliffs, separated from us only by the river.

Step outside the hostel grounds and you immediately find yourself beside a stunning rice field.

Rice fields everywhere.

That is one of the defining features of this place.

It was harvest season while we were here, so we had the chance to observe every stage of the process.

Cat Ba was beautiful.

But the area around Ninh Binh – especially when explored from this accommodation – is far more beautiful.

It is no coincidence that over the past few weeks I found myself thinking that, so far, Vietnam is the most beautiful place I have ever experienced.

Another Week in Paradise

What can you do here?

I never begin exploring a place with that question.

Still, it feels good that after just one week I could already list an impressive number of experiences.

I think the numbers say a lot about this town.

We originally planned to stay for four days.

Those four days became seven.

And seven might easily become twenty-two.

(By the time I continued writing this post, it had already become ten…)

Well…

As it turns out, it became twenty-two.

And although I started writing this post several times, I never managed to finish it.

By now it would have become so long that I no longer see the point in describing everything in detail.

I would never finish.

And perhaps nobody wants to read a book about twenty-two days of my life.

So now – with tears in my eyes – I am deleting the thoughts I wrote over the last three weeks and starting again in the form of a diary.

May 27, 2026 – Wednesday

• A shared journey and a completely random decision to get off the bus. We started looking for accommodation exactly where the bus stopped. It turned out to be an unbelievably good choice.
• Our first evening in town. We watched a performance by local dancers.
• I got to relive the experience with the little girl, the sunflower seeds, and the keychain that I mentioned in my post About Cafés.
• We claimed ownership of the foosball table. I won the very first game. Then, over the following three weeks, I lost every single match except two. The lady proved to be a worthy opponent.

May 28, 2026 – Thursday

• Workday.
• Exploring cafés.
• Wandering around town in the evening and discovering local restaurants.
• A long conversation by the beautiful riverside that lasted late into the night.

May 29, 2026 – Friday

• A full-day motorbike trip exploring the surrounding area. Two people on one motorbike.
• Discovering a quiet temple.
• A pleasant surprise in a restaurant. After ordering a smoothie and a coffee, we were later given fruit as a gift, followed by Vietnamese tea. It is an incredible feeling when an experience arrives simply as an act of kindness.
• Photographing rice fields for the first time. A breathtaking display of colors.

• Visiting the ancient capital of Hoa Lu and learning a great deal about its history.

• Seeing the Bái Đính Pagoda, a spiritual and cultural center, from the outside. I will write more about this place later.
• Sitting on the steps of a pagoda still under construction and enjoying the sunset.
• Simply enjoying the freedom of riding a motorbike without any serious destination.

May 30, 2026 – Saturday

• Continuing our motorbike adventure.
• Watching the rice harvest for the first time.
• Visiting the historic Thai Vi Temple.
• Exploring another beautiful temple built among the rocks, including a bit of climbing.
• Watching the sunset over a rice field glowing in a thousand shades between the mountains.
• Discovering an insect that flew like a hummingbird.
• Taking a quick look around Ninh Binh City.
• Avoiding a head-on collision with a motorbike that was coming toward us in our own lane after dark.

May 31, 2026 – Sunday

• Making up for the workday I skipped on Friday.
• There was still time for foosball, table tennis, dinner, and enjoying the warm water of the pool.
• Photographing the full moon.

June 1, 2026 – Monday

• Workday.
• A classic boat tour through rice fields and caves. Here, the rowers propel the boats with their feet. The river is busy enough to feel almost like a highway, yet the scenery is absolutely stunning. We stopped at three beautiful temples along the route and passed through several river caves.
• Celebrating Children’s Day by eating the two handfuls of candy we received at the hostel while relaxing beside the pool.

June 2, 2026 – Tuesday

• Workday.
• A long walk late at night.
• Listening to the music and chanting of a new moon ceremony at Thai Vi Temple at half past midnight. Sitting in the moonlight at the gate of a temple was an unforgettable experience.

June 3, 2026 – Wednesday

• Workday.
• A cycling trip, this time joined by a third travel companion.
• Crossing a river on a bamboo ferry with our bicycles. Adventures everywhere.

June 4, 2026 – Thursday

• Workday.
• An evening spent looking at rice fields, watching rice stubble being burned, and wandering through the countryside long after dark.
• I won’t mention every day that I was getting absolutely destroyed at foosball.

June 5, 2026 – Friday

• Workday.
• A very long evening walk.
• Learning about harvesting machines.
• Exploring local cemeteries.
• Enjoying Vietnamese hospitality and tea.

June 6, 2026 – Saturday

• Workday.
• Visiting the local rice museum.
• Trying traditional farming tools.
• Tasting four different kinds of rice wine.
• Visiting a farm and learning about local gardening practices.

June 7, 2026 – Sunday

• An electric scooter adventure.
• Visiting Catholic churches in a town about 30 kilometers away.
• Discovering a remarkably harmonious church complex – a Catholic church built with Vietnamese architectural elements. We listened to chanting, then Vietnamese Christian hymns accompanied by an organ.
• The church garden itself felt like pure Zen.
• A slow journey through extreme heat and wonderful sights.
• More wandering late into the night to unwind.

June 8, 2026 – Monday

• Just another ordinary day in paradise.
• With beautiful photographs.

June 9, 2026 – Tuesday

• A full-day cycling trip.
• Riding on little-used roads and through wonderfully chaotic traffic.
• In the evening, meeting a talented Indonesian singer-guitarist and discovering a new favorite bar.

June 10, 2026 – Wednesday

• Workday.
• Followed by a three-hour boat trip in the Tràng An area.
• Passing through ten caves by boat, visiting three beautiful temples, and traveling through the landscape of King Kong’s world – an unforgettable experience.
• In the evening, we watched one of the King Kong movies together.

June 11, 2026 – Thursday

• Workday.
• After work, we went for a long walk around the area.
• We headed for a viewpoint in the nearby hills. For some reason, I decided to do this hike wearing flip-flops. Climbing rocks and ladders was quite an adventure – especially since it had been raining all day and everything was slippery.
• In the evening, we watched another King Kong movie together.
• Up until this point, we had been extending our stay three days at a time. Moving on came up regularly in conversation, but every time we reached the same conclusion: this place was simply too beautiful to leave.

June 12, 2026 – Friday

• It was supposed to be a workday.
• I decided otherwise.
• We rented bicycles and ended up cycling 40 kilometers while also walking another 11.
• We finally visited the magnificent pagoda complex that we had only seen from a distance back on May 29.
• We knew it would be a long day. In the end, it turned out to be even longer than we expected.
• After twenty kilometers of cycling, the next challenge was deciding how to explore a huge complex that combines modern and traditional pagodas.
• The actual visitor area begins one or two kilometers from the entrance. Walking there is not allowed.
• You basically have two options: take an electric shuttle and explore the grounds on foot, or let the shuttle carry you around the entire complex. We chose walking.
• We also bought tickets that included access to the tallest pagoda in Asia.
• I could easily write for hours about this place, but I will spare you that and simply list what we saw.
• A gigantic temple known as the “Three Gates,” filled with enormous statues and extraordinary grandeur.
• At the entrance, two monks asked our names and where we came from. They immediately wrote the information on three pieces of paper, handed them to us together with two bundles of incense sticks, and marked three temples on a map. Our task was to place the papers, light the incense, and spend a little time meditating at each location. We treated it as a fun treasure hunt because at first the map was not easy to understand. In the end, we completed the entire little ritual.
• We walked through an open corridor lined with thousands of Buddha statues. The walls were filled with small alcoves, each containing a stone figure. Every statue was different. The sheer number of them was breathtaking.
• We saw Vietnam’s largest bronze bell, weighing seventy tons. Incredible.
• Next came another enormous temple. Unfortunately, photographs cannot really capture the experience.
• There was also a lake – or perhaps more accurately, a giant pool – where we spent some time sitting by the water.
• Another temple measured 2,000 square meters, with a ceiling height of thirty meters and gilded bronze Buddha statues weighing one hundred and thirty tons. We felt very small standing there.
• My phone simply cannot capture that kind of scale.
• As a small contribution, I bought a roof tile and wrote my name on it. In a tiny way, a part of me will remain there forever.
• We visited a beautiful viewpoint within the complex. One of the attractions was a mirror placed on a table, allowing visitors to create fascinating optical illusions with the towering pagoda in the background.
• Then came yet another massive temple with a thirty-five-meter ceiling and fifty-ton statues. By that point my eyes were already dazzled by all the gold surfaces I had seen throughout the day.
• Finally, we reached the pagoda itself. We took the elevator up and descended through a deserted staircase that was still under construction. And what happened in between…
• The view was unbelievable. From the 13th floor we could see in every direction for miles across the beautiful landscape. Lightning flashed in the distance. It was one of those moments that simply stay with you.
• Slowly, darkness arrived. The complex remains open until 9 PM, but once evening came, everything closed and everyone left. From seven until nine, we wandered through the enormous grounds almost completely alone.
• We discovered another cave temple.
• We visited countless smaller pagodas, all beautifully illuminated.
• Bats flew above our heads along the stone pathways.
• The evening portion of the trip was every bit as magical as the daytime one.
• We still had a twenty-kilometer ride back ahead of us, after stopping for dinner.
• Along the way we stopped at a small shop to buy water. A Vietnamese boy approached us and asked if he could practice speaking with us. Once he started talking, he never stopped. His English was remarkable, and he fired question after question at us without hesitation. He spent about ten minutes talking with each of us. At the end, his father gave us both an ice cream. I loved that moment. I hope the boy heard what I told him: keep going, buddy – you’re doing great.
• Back at the hostel, we finished the day with a long foosball session.
• Naturally, I lost every game.

June 13, 2026 – Saturday

• Hang Múa.
• I am taking that name with me.
• A realization was born there. I will write about it another time.
• For the previous two weeks we had been looking at this mountain temple almost every day from around our accommodation. It was always either too early, too hot, or another program got in the way. Today, we finally climbed it.
• We walked there. Just a few kilometers.
• Before the climb, we visited the famous lotus fields stretching out below the mountain. The sheer number of lotus flowers growing there was astonishing.
• After climbing five hundred steps, we reached one of the crowded viewpoints, then climbed even more steps to reach the other one. There were crowds there as well. LOL.
• The view made me forget all about the people. At the top, I climbed onto the back of the dragon statue. Soon others started copying the idea. As we say in Hungary: one fool makes a hundred.
• We also found another cave that had already closed for the day. Apparently, around here everyone leaves after sunset, but the sites themselves remain accessible.
• On the way back we stopped for dinner. One item on the menu immediately caught my attention: burned rice. Not fried rice. Burned rice. As it turned out, it is a Chinese dish. I have absolutely no regrets about trying it. The crazy Chinese lady cooked it wonderfully. LOL.

June 14, 2026 – Sunday

• Workday. I swapped it with Friday.
• We spent a slow and peaceful day together.
• A long walk.
• A good dinner.
• A good conversation by the river.
• We were spending our final days together.
• During the night, we watched a World Cup match. Germany won.
• I was cheering for the other team.

June 15, 2026 – Monday

• My last day in Ninh Binh.
• I worked during the morning.
• After lunch, we set off on one final adventure.
• Another three-hour boat trip through Tràng An. We wanted to see the alternative route as well.
• This route included the longest tunnel beneath the mountain. Nearly one kilometer of ducking your head while drifting through darkness under solid rock.
• We even saw the exact rock formation that almost certainly appeared in one of the King Kong movies.
• We shared the boat with a very friendly Vietnamese couple. It was a pleasure talking with them.
• We celebrated our final day of cycling and boating with a pizza together.
• Later, we visited our favorite bar, where I said goodbye to my Indonesian singer-guitarist friend.
• We watched the second half of a football match.
• And then we said goodbye to each other.

I took 2,876 photos and videos in Ninh Binh.

Writing about so many experiences afterward – and selecting photographs for the galleries – turned out to be surprisingly difficult.

I feel that I have not managed to do this beautiful place justice.

But I hope I managed to bring at least a little of its atmosphere to you.

The post 281. | Ninh-Binh first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

By now I have come to realize that this is generally the most comfortable way to work in my digital nomad life.

My last few days in a coffee shop on the island were so pleasant that I thought I would write about my experiences.

Let’s have a good egg coffee together!

The rules of the game

In Bali, I had to work in a coffee shop because it would have been very uncomfortable in my room.

I was lucky. There was a great little shop not far from me.

Since I had no experience in how this thing works, I simply went into the place and asked if I could work here with my laptop.

Of course, the answer came, but they asked me to eat something at the same time. I immediately fulfilled this request by ordering a coffee. I also had the idea that if I ordered something, I had the right to sit down and take out my laptop.

I would have been more curious about something like how long a coffee would last. Of course, I somehow felt that no one would ever say that. Just like no one had ever said that in the past months.

Nowadays, I don’t start the relationship with a question, but by presenting my needs. I tell them that I’m looking for a place where I can have a good coffee and where I can work. And the answer is always that I’m at the right place.

After that, I ask if there’s wifi and how to connect to it. If I’m able to connect, I order my first coffee at that place.

This is obviously a safety game on my part. If even one of my three wishes is missing, the place isn’t for me. So far, I’ve never been to a place where I had to leave. But if it ever happens, I don’t think my leaving would be a problem for either party.

Today, I don’t worry about how long I can stay there and how much I have to consume. I sit down and start working. When I get thirsty, I order something else. I try to be fair to the place. I don’t want to abuse hospitality, so I don’t order the cheapest coffee and sit in a given place for six hours. I try to make sure that the equation of eating something every two hours works out.

On the other hand, I don’t care at all whether there is a limit to the time spent there. My opinion on this question is that if they ever limit my time in one place, they will say so. And then they will clarify the rules of the game that I have developed.

Honestly – based on my experience so far – I don’t expect this anywhere.

Choosing the environment

Nowadays, I consciously look for the right places. I use the plural because if I stay in a given place for a longer period of time, I like to enjoy the hospitality of several places.

I always look at the coffee shop from the outside. How many tables are there, how many people are sitting at them. This is important! If there are few tables and the space is small, and I see that people are sitting everywhere, then I don’t go in. Here, there is a greater chance that I will disturb the business with my presence.

If what I see is worth going in, then further investigations can come. If these do not bring satisfactory results, then I say goodbye immediately and move on.

The shape and size of the tables are also important. If possible, I would not sit at a small round table. If the table is at least big enough to fit my laptop and my two hands on both sides, then the size is good. It is also not the best choice if there are only tables for 4-6 people. In my opinion, it is unethical for me to take up the space of 4-6 paying guests by myself. That is why I like tables for two.

It is very important that there is a socket near the table where I can plug in my laptop adapter without obstructing traffic. If possible, I avoid someone balancing two coffees in their hands and pulling my computer off the table because they did not see the cable in the way.

The height of the tables is also important. Normal smoking tables are unsuitable for working for hours at a time. Sitting hunched forward is tiring. If I can sit in front of a traditional chair, then we are fine.

It also does not matter what I sit on. Comfortable, deep armchairs are good for relaxing while drinking coffee, but they do not allow me to work for long periods of time. If there is a chair in front of the table, that is a good sign. I do not care about the quality and comfort of the chair. It doesn’t matter if it has a cushion on it, or if it has a full back, or maybe just a metal frame. But it is important that it has a back.

It often happens that on one side of the tables you can sit not on chairs, but on benches fixed to the wall. That can be good too, but here I definitely have to check if the tables are not fixed to the floor. It may not be a problem if they are screwed down. But if the distance between the bench and the table is not right, then I can’t support my back.

Air conditioning is also important in Southeast Asia. For example, I am in Vietnam, in the city of Ninh Binh. It is very hot here in May. For example, here in the last few days I have not found an air-conditioned cafe. I found one with fans to cool the air, but that is not the real solution here. It is better than nothing, but if I don’t sweat as much as a horse, at least as much as a donkey.

The problem with this is not only that it feels uncomfortable, but that after a while there is a puddle of water under my arms, and for example my fingers often have to be wiped to avoid soaking the keyboard.

If there is air conditioning, then where it is can also be an important consideration. There have been times when I didn’t pay attention to this and had to realize that sitting in the air of an industrial cooling system is only as pleasant as wearing a hat and scarf in the hot sun.

In this part of the world, it is also important to have a napkin nearby. I usually ask for cold drinks. These are brought out with ice. In the best case, they are placed in front of me on a small plate or tray, but not infrequently they are simply placed on the table.

Drinks quickly start to sweat due to the heat. That is, after a while a small puddle forms under them. According to the dream book, it is not healthy to collect water near electrical appliances. The other practical problem with this water is that when I lift the glass to drink, it drips. It’s not good if the table is sloshing under the mouse, and it’s especially worrying if these fat drops fall on my laptop.

The only good solution is to put a napkin under the glass, because this immediately soaks up the collected water. And many times I have to change this napkin under the glass, or wipe the glass before I pick it up.

The rest will be revealed as you go!

The choice of drinks – perhaps noticeable after the above “circumstances” – is no longer important to me at all.

If it’s black, it’s fine for me! I drink iced American coffee most of the time, which can be good or bad in the evaluation system of consumers with sophisticated tastes, it doesn’t matter to me.

Coffee always tastes good to me, simply because the taste is not important.

However, this is only a theoretical approach, because in most places the drinks are really very delicious. And the choice is wide. A bunch of fresh juices, smoothies, soft drinks and more than delicious coffees form the basis of the “what should I drink today” game.

The price is of course still important, but this is usually easy to check when entering the store. And I rarely stumble upon places where prices are very different from the average.

My current laptop has a very good battery, I can work for several hours without a power outlet. In most cases, I keep charging my phone because I never know if I’ll have the opportunity to do so in the next place.

For the first time, in Vietnam, I experienced that the power outlets are not good everywhere. In one of my two favorite cafes on Cat Ba Island, there were three tables with power outlets next to them. But at two of them, you simply couldn’t plug the plug into the outlet.

If I could only sit at one such table, I always had to watch when the third table became empty. And then I could move everything over there. From coffee to adapters. No problem, but if possible, I avoid this moving while working.

The wifi has been good everywhere so far. I don’t make a big deal about it. If by chance it wasn’t good, I would drink what I ordered. Without any rush. Until then, I would work with what I had. But I wouldn’t order a second drink. And I wouldn’t go to that place again.

It doesn’t matter to me how loud or quiet the places are, whether there’s music playing or not, because I almost always work listening to my own music, with headphones on.

Another important aspect is whether there is a bathroom in the given café and how far it is from my table.

In Laos – I wrote this at the time – I had to ask someone several times to look after my things while I make the 4-minute round trip to the toilet. This trust game is good, but it is risky. If I happen to ask a person who wants to abuse the fact that he knows exactly how long I will be away from my table, then I could be seriously disappointed.

It is good if the bathroom is close and within sight of my table. Then I can look back before closing the door to see if everything is okay. Or, when I am done, but before washing my hands, I can open the door to keep an eye on the surroundings.

I trust people, so far there have been no problems, but if possible, I don’t want to give fate a chance to show me how the world of random numbers works. This would definitely be exciting material for a blog post, if I happen to have anything left to write about.

I only have pleasant experiences

For some reason, fate wanted me to be able to write this post without anything unpleasant happening to me.

My coffee shop memory is full of pleasant experiences, though.

The experiences hit me right at the beginning in Bali. The second or third time I entered, they greeted me like an acquaintance. We often took turns chatting. They asked questions, I told them. If I had a problem or needed help, they always helped. We worked together based on mutual respect. There was a time when we were both worried that one of the sockets at the table where I was sitting the day before had almost caught fire. The sudden rain that soaked it didn’t do it any good.

Returning to Thailand, I lived in two apartments in Chiang Mai and Pai where I could work very well, so the next coffee shop period came in Laos. But even then, only in the capital.

I first lived in a shared accommodation in Vientiane. There was a dining area with lots of tables, with power outlets and no drinking facilities, but there were only two fans in the semi-open space. This meant that the tsunami of sweat only subsided a little around 11pm.

There was also a very nice little café nearby. But here I started going to Starbucks and Café Amazon more. These standard cafés are the places with the least surprises due to the franchise system.

Here there are benches and tables fixed to the ground, but each table has two power outlets fixed to the bottom of the benches. But here, for example, I experienced the cold shock caused by the air conditioning.

I have been to many other franchise stores. Like the bigger names, they work on a consistent standard and are very reliable.

The service in these places is always super attentive and kind, but the price of this is impersonality. The little micro connections don’t develop here. That’s not a problem at all. But if I have to choose, I prefer those places where I feel like I’ve come home a little every day.

Cat Ba and my two favorite places

My favorite coffee shop experiences so far are connected to my beloved Vietnamese island.

One of the places was Catba Speciality Cafe. There were three tables with a working outlet.

An employee who spoke very good English ran the shop. For the second time, he greeted me with “it’s good to see you again!” After two weeks, he said goodbye to me, saying that he knew that tomorrow would be my last time and that he was so sorry that he would have a day off and wouldn’t be able to say goodbye to me tomorrow.

He was very nice to everyone all day. I feel like he treated me a little differently because during the two weeks I spent in that city, I spent several hours there almost every day. Every day, he helped me choose the special of the day because he always knew exactly what would be served with the iced American coffee.

He explained the special Vietnamese egg coffee in detail and how to drink it. He also recommended traditional Vietnamese coffee. This was very interesting. They put the filter on a glass with the coffee in it. They pour boiling water into this filter, which then flows slowly and beautifully through the coffee in about 5 minutes.

But he also introduced me to salty coffee. I always sincerely praised these specialties and thanked him gratefully.

On one of these occasions, he said that I could give the place a good review on Google. Well! I immediately took a bunch of photos, a few videos and wrote a short story about how much I love this place. A short text review is worth 5-6 points on Google. I was happy to show him that I had written a 185-point review in 5 minutes.

The next day I drank the aforementioned traditional Vietnamese coffee along with my usual iced coffee. I don’t know if it was because of the review, but I was a guest in the house that day.

I do Google Local Guides just for fun. I’ve never received anything for what I do there. This was the first time in my life that a blind person rewarded my work.

I really enjoyed the coffee and the attention.

Then there was another occasion when I received a lychee drink as a gift, but I wrote about that in my previous post.

After a couple of days, the entire staff greeted me with a smile and spoke to me. I don’t think it was just because I was the only one who always took my glasses back to the counter. I also brought in what others had left there from the terrace several times. I loved being there and felt that they loved me too.

My other favorite place was Tit Mit Coffee.

This was also a very modernly decorated, pleasant little cafe. There were only 4 tables for four people inside, but when I looked, I saw that it also had an upper level.

A young man was the owner of the place. He also spoke excellent English, so we had a really good conversation on my first visit. In addition, about 300 books awaited visitors on the two levels. The bookshelves looked very nice. Almost all the books were in English, as he said he had read most of them.

I worked upstairs – except for one occasion. There was only one table for 8-10 people, but it was paradise. On one side, there were a few board games, several Jenga towers and several sets of chess waiting for the playful guests.

I also drank all kinds of delicious drinks at his place.

Somehow the issue of Google reviews came up there too. Yes, I remember. After a few days, I noticed a big box of key chains. There were all kinds of cute little figures in it. I asked why it was there.

He said that anyone who wrote a review about the cafe could choose one from the box or request a one-time 5% discount.

I told him that I would have written a review about it anyway, but then I would do it now. And I don’t need either the 5% or the key chain. But he hit on the idea that made me think a little about accepting the key chain. He asked me why I didn’t take one? He’s sure I’d find a little kid who would love it.

How right he was!

He also knew when I was leaving. But for some reason we didn’t meet on my last day. However, he wrote a message the next day. He thanked me for spending so much time with him and said how happy he was to have met me.

We exchanged a few messages over the past few days. It’s so respectful how the people here treat each other. Yesterday I wrote to him that I think Vietnam is the most wonderful country I’ve ever seen as far. He replied that it was a great honor for him and his country…

I left both places with the ease of “see you next time!” But I will cherish their memories, I’m sure.

A sunflower seed

Since it belongs to this post, I will tell you the story of my sunflower seed here as a conclusion.

A few days ago I lived among the wonders of Ninh Binh.

It was our second evening in the main square of the city, watching a performance by local dance groups among the locals.

Suddenly, a beautiful little girl with an angelic face stood in front of us. Without a word, a little shyly, she gave us each a roasted sunflower seed and a piece of potato chips.

I was so touched by this kindness and childlike elegance that I immediately remembered my keychain. I was very sorry that I didn’t have it with me.

I simply couldn’t stop thinking that this was a perfect moment. I only had 4.6 seconds to think about what I wanted to do.

I quickly went back to the accommodation, which is fortunately only 600 meters from the main square. I went into the room, which has 10 beds. I fought the demon of “how to open a combination lock without glasses” and hurried back to the main square.

I was so happy that it worked out this way!

I got back just after the show ended, everyone was already heading home. But I saw the little girl among the people leaving. I bowed to her, showed her a Wai and gave her the key ring.

That incredible smile will always be with me, as she was happy to get something from me. She left. But half a minute later she came back and gave us another piece of chips.

2 pieces of chips and a sunflower seed…

The sunflower seed is a very strong symbol for me.

The seed that we sow…

She gave me this symbol.

She planted another thought in me about life.

And I would really like to believe that I was able to plant a little seed in her about what she probably already knows:

It’s really good to be kind to each other. Without words. A little chip is enough for that.

Thank you, little girl, for being a kind person!

The post 279. | About cafes first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

With pleasant memories.

With a ton of photos.

I’m leaving this beautiful island tomorrow.

But the last two days want me to write their story. Well, my story.

Movie night

We didn’t go go-karting on Sunday, because they were having a movie night at the hostel.

It was very professionally organized. You could vote on which movie to watch using a link.

There was an extra opportunity that whoever wrote a Google review would be richer with a portion of popcorn.

I write reviews “professionally”, and I haven’t finished my article about Secret Garden Hostel yet.

I quickly made two videos, 33 pictures and wrote my novella-length review. I got almost 200 points for it in Google’s system. I could honestly praise this place and the people working here, because I got to know a very professionally organized, very friendly accommodation here. And most importantly, I already know every member of the staff.

The movie and my company were good, the popcorn less so, and with these thoughts this great week ended.

Let’s find out what this has to do with Monday!

Monday

I woke up early, planning a long day at work.

After breakfast I headed to one of my two favorite cafes.

I walked down the street in front of the motorbike rental business and greeted the lady owner. She stopped me and thanked me for the review I had written about her business yesterday. It was nice to see how happy she was.

Happiness vs. Monday: 1:0

A few meters later I reached the cafe when my phone rang. Someone responded to my review of the hostel last night.

I am copying this verbatim here.

That honestly means a lot to us. Really happy Secret Garden could feel comfortable enough to become part of your time in Cat Ba for so long. Thanks so much for all the kind words and for being part of the good vibes here with us and also thank you for every single “Xin chào”/ “Goodmorning” days

It’s natural for me to be who I am. As well as greeting the staff. Every morning. With respect.

I am grateful that they appreciated this!

Happiness vs. Monday: 2:0

After that, I entered the café. I will write about cafés in the next post, so for now I will just say that – as every morning – we had a little chat with the lady at the counter.

Lychees came up. She told me that this year there were not many on the island, they had to be imported. Then – since I chose something new from the offer every time – she asked if I would like to try the lychee lemonade.

Of course I would. And she offered it to me as a gift from the house. “On the house”. I never thought that someone would say this to me. Nor that it could be better than the already incredibly delicious lychee lemonade.

Happiness vs. Monday: 3:0

And at this time I usually say that I haven’t put my ass to work yet, but my life has already scored three goals.

The rest of the day was spent working until late at night.

Then in the evening we did the go-karting that we had swapped for a movie night yesterday.

This game was really fun!

First of all – today being a holiday – there were a lot of people everywhere. On the seaside promenade there were not only pedestrians, but also cars, motorbikes, minibuses, cyclists and of course a lot of go-kart drivers racing everywhere.

The whole area was chaos. I even got hit once. We were haggling over the price with a go-kart driver when two guys knocked my leg out from under me. It didn’t hurt either. I was really just nervous that I almost fell on the two little boys. Although I had lost a lot of weight, they certainly wouldn’t have been happy to experience the rest of my weight.

As soon as I jumped on the go-kart, the fight for survival began. Everyone was racing everyone. Everyone was playing with everyone. Overtaking, drifting, sometimes flipping over and falling. All this while smiling a lot. Go-karts have three wheels: one in front, two in the back. Somehow I quickly found the feeling of how to blast on two wheels. Practicing this, I received many signs of appreciation, which is how I knew this could be something special.

For me, this city is the city of lights. And to top it all off, every go-kart is oozing beautiful neon colors like a modern Christmas tree.

It was great that this fun didn’t end up missing out. It was nice to be one of the colorful Christmas trees that evening!

On the boat!

I woke up early on Tuesday morning so that I wouldn’t miss the bus that was due to arrive at 7:45.

Then at 8:00 I received a message telling me to have another coffee because today’s program was delayed. They’d pick me up at 8:30. This is Asia Baby! This is how it’s going!

The bus picked me up at the indicated time. My preliminary information was that the tour guide spoke good English. Compared to that, there were already problems with my name. On the other hand, I was the only Westerner in the group all day.

In what kind of group?

The bus stopped 4 minutes from my accommodation at the port, from where we took a boat to the eastern half of the island.

Among 1000 islands.

It was a beautiful boat trip.

I’m not sure I saw 1000 small islands, maybe there were only 500.

I often thought during the trip that I would have a hard time writing about this experience. Because I can’t really find the words to describe this Tuesday’s beauty.

Of course, I don’t want to do it by “letting the pictures speak for me.” On the one hand – I often feel this way – the pictures can’t even convey what I saw, and on the other hand, there was a story to the day beyond the view.

There was only one person on the ship who spoke English. A retired 76-year-old doctor. I talked to him a lot, we took photos together, he asked me to take a few pictures of him. Then I gave in to his urging, so he took a few of me too.

The trip also included an excellent lunch. I had it with him, his wife, and three other Vietnamese people. They were so kind: everyone showed me what to eat, helped me with food from the shared portion. They prepared the spoon in front of me, then watched me eat with chopsticks.

I spent a good part of the time alone on deck. Strictly in the shade. The deck was so hot that when I walked across it without flip-flops, I immediately regretted forgetting to wear them.

Fortunately, I survived the crawl.

There were so many things to see. For example, the 500-1000 islands. Then the beautiful green, crystal clear water.

The boat stopped at one place for a longer time. Here you could swim, jump, ride a banana boat on the sea and kayak.

I was waiting for the kayaking. I was assigned to a Vietnamese lady. At first I thought about saying that I would prefer to kayak alone, but then I said that I would swim. Not only with the kayak, but also with the flow.

So we spent a funny fifteen minutes rowing in a boat. I rowed a little by myself – as befits a gentleman -, we pulled together, and after all, I didn’t come today to do some exercise, but to enjoy the day without any expectations.

I admit – I hope no one is offended – that when I lay down in the air-conditioned cabin on the roof to admire the view from there, I fell asleep a little. This day was all about relaxation. I could use a little sleep in paradise.

After a long anchorage at sea, the ship docked on the eastern side of the island. From there, they took us to a small village – in the interior of the island – in electric cars.

Actually, it was the surroundings of the village, the jungle, that really captivated me. And the road leading there. The small village, in its peacefulness, was nothing more than a street where – I felt – everyone was just waiting for the moment when a customer would come. Several people approached me to buy something. But I didn’t need anything.

Well, yes, for one thing, with this I was able to bring mutual happiness to one of the vendors and myself. I asked for a pineapple drink. This looked like the lady squeezed a whole pineapple for me. It was incredibly delicious. 40,000 VND (500 HUF, 1.7 USD).

The only thing that stood out from the flow on my day was the seasickness.

When we set off, the boat was rocking wildly. Standing on the top of a three-story boat, you can feel the waves. I immediately started to feel the warning in my head and stomach: you are the seasick type!

I decided then and there that I would deal with this now. I refuse to give in to this feeling. When we drove the electric cars on the island to the small village, I deliberately sat with my back to the direction of travel, as I did on the way back.

The car was going pretty fast, the road was winding, and I simply reminded myself that I was not willing to give in to the attack.

And that day, I simply avoided seasickness.

This doesn’t mean that I’ll never have a problem with this feeling again. Maybe I was just lucky today.

But I’ll definitely try to handle this issue this way next time.

On the way home, we sailed through a fishing village. It’s a bit modern, a bit old settlement on the water. I saw that people really live there in their floating houses among the fishing equipment. You could feel in the air that they work hard for a bite to eat. And this world showed itself in a very interesting and colorful way.

My last working day on the island

Since the bus dropped me off at the hostel before 3am, I still had time to take a quick shower and go to work at one of my two favorite cafes.

The owner was happy to welcome me, and we had time for one last chat and goodbye.

I’m not a fan of goodbyes, I’ve said it many times.

But others do, so of course I’m participating.

I really love this island, that’s for sure.

My goodbye was easy, though.

See you next time!

The post 278. | The last days on Cat Ba Island first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

As I stood there and took one picture after another, a new idea came to my mind.

I’m going to make a photo series of the sunset!

I’ve never made a photo series, so-called time leaps shots before.

It was “simple”.

First of all, the ground was very hidden. Second, there was a waist-high concrete railing around the place. Of course, it was narrow and with a round top. So you couldn’t put anything on it.

So first I had to find a place for my tripod to put my phone on. For lack of a better tool, I pulled the trash can next to the concrete railing. I put the phone holder stand on top of it. But I had to put something under one of the legs so that it would stand relatively straight.

This is how my power bank ended up on top of the bin. However, the whole structure was unstable, so I had to hold the stand almost the entire time to keep it from being knocked over by the wind.

Then came the really easy part.

I stood next to the bin for 63 minutes and took a picture every minute from the same position, without moving my phone.

When I started, I thought that 15 minutes would be enough for the sun to set. It quickly turned out that it would be more like 30 minutes. It’s okay, if I can do 15, I can do 30.

But the sun wasn’t even over at 30, so I figured I could still stand next to the bin for a quarter of an hour.

In the end, it was 63 minutes. Every minute I pressed the remote control on the phone holder. Then I just counted the seconds so I could press it again.

In the end, the hour was neither longer nor shorter than usual, it was just a little more uncomfortable. In the last 5 minutes, the mosquitoes woke up too, so the ending wasn’t funny anymore.

But, I did it!

I took 64 pictures.

I hope you enjoy the gallery as much as I did this exceptional hour.

I also made the series in video format.

It was a special meditation.

And I managed to really get to know the sunset.

De, megcsináltam!

64 képet készítettem el.

Remélem, neked is olyan örömet okoz a galéria, mint amit nekem szerzett ez a kivételes egy óra.

Elkészítettem videó formátumban is a sorozatot.

Egy speciális meditáció volt az az idő.

És sikerült igazán alaposan megismerkednem a naplementével.

The post 277. | Sunset over Cat Ba first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

Or days? Now I’m still saying, “who knows?”

I decided to write this post while I was on the road.

Because I’m finally on my way to Cat Ba Island.

The wait

I would have liked to have been on this road days earlier, but it turned out that I had an exceptionally high workload in the past few days.

I was tempted by the idea of ​​setting off despite this, but the temptation was not enough now. Besides, it had been raining for days. Every night, and often during the day. And when it rains here, it rains a lot.

At night, the rain makes an incredible noise on the roof. I am lucky because it doesn’t bother me, but I really like to listen to it. During the day, it is nice to watch the rain pour from the sky and the water flow on the streets.

But no matter how beautiful the sight is and how much I enjoy hearing it, I only want to be in it in exceptional cases.

So I waited patiently for Saturday.

I got up. I had breakfast. I extended my stay at the hostel for the third time. I got a compliment one day because the girl at the reception said she had just noticed that my beautiful eyes were completely blue. It had been quite warm this morning, that must have been the only reason I almost melted…

She asked me what my plans were for today. I told her it was a wonderful day to ride a motorbike. We’ll see if she’s right. She said yes, it’s beautiful now, but it’s going to be hell at noon.

Get on a motorbike!

I got a recommendation for a good place where you can rent a motorbike at a fair price, and the owner is very nice.

I was not disappointed. She was very nice and spoke good English. She asked where I was from. When I told her I was from Hungary, she replied: “Oh, Hungary, the land of roses!”

I had never heard that before. I didn’t want to question or refute her idea.

But I was curious why she said that. The answer is not clear. Either she knows this based on a simple misinformation, because in Asia countries are often associated with flowers. Or she simply confused the country with Bulgaria, which is often called the “land of roses.”

Anyway. I’m here for my own dreams, not to destroy others’.

Silence is golden.

And sometimes it pays off. When I asked how much the motorbike cost, she replied: “120,000, but 100,000 for you, because I like flowers.”

Maybe from now on I will think of Hungary as the land of roses too?

On the path of butterflies

I set off towards the northern port of the island. Cat Ba is in the south, so I had to travel across the entire island. To give you an idea of ​​the distance: this is 20+ kilometers by motorbike.

An incredibly good quality road has already welcomed me. The little red Honda (120 cc) that I was given is a very reliable vehicle. As a result of these two facts, I had almost nothing to do while driving slowly, but to admire the incredible view.

I was driving between huge rocks covered in green. I just stared at the giants. With a wide smile on my face. I enjoyed the way the wind caught my clothes and caressed my face.

And then I saw the butterflies!

I could admire them for long, long kilometers while riding my motorbike. To tell the truth, I had never seen butterflies flying en masse before.

I discovered the patterns they followed when flying. They were moving in rows. Interestingly, they were all heading towards the city I had just come from.

The chaos they were dominating the space above the road seemed orderly to me. They were moving forward with effortless elegance, yet purposeful.

I tried my best not to harm them. To be honest, dodging butterflies while riding a motorbike is a completely different dimension than fighting potholes.

When I saw a 10-meter-long line of them flying towards me in a huge S-shape, my breath caught. For some reason, this moment happened in such a way that I arrived in perfect synchrony in this S-shape: as the huge line surrounded me, I had no choice. I laughed out loud. It was an unforgettable moment.

Most of the butterflies were white. Simple, unadorned, light creatures. I saw a few huge black ones among them and a red one. So I wasn’t the only stranger in the crowd.

When I thought about how nice it would be to fly over the road with them, the idea suddenly occurred to me. But that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m flying among butterflies.

After all, I’m a butterfly myself. I’ve written about that before.

It was amazing!

Cat Ba North Harbor

I arrived at the North Harbor.

It was a huge sight.

Here too, the view is framed by huge rocks. Everything is incredibly green. The peaceful harmony of nature welcomed me here.

The sea was very peaceful. Large ships were resting in one half of the harbor, while the other half was more of a harbor for smaller boats.

I saw a few small boats moving on the water. Exactly as this scene is usually depicted in movies or books.

One man was steering the boat. The other stood in the bow of the boat, looking ahead. With that Vietnamese hat on his head, which I think is iconic no matter where you look at it.

This sight is beautiful even in a movie, but I felt an immense gratitude in my heart that I could now see it with my own eyes!

I arrived at low tide. This gave me the opportunity to walk on the land of the receding sea and see what was otherwise hidden.

The crabs

In addition to the incredible amount of shells, I was able to observe a lot of tiny crabs.

It is incredible how fearless these little guys are. At the slightest movement, they immediately hide back in their little holes dug in the sand. And do this very quickly! They move at an incredible speed.

That is why I waited motionless for them to come out into the sunlight. I saw many tiny crabs, and quite a few larger ones, up to 5 cm. My favorite is the one with a huge pair of scissors on its right leg and only a tiny one on the other.

I also discovered the remains of larger crabs, up to the size of the palm of my hand.

My nature diver self really enjoyed this little look.

Finally, I sat down on the beach and simply enjoyed the sunshine, the softness of the sea breeze, the smell of the sea and the incredible view.

I spent half an hour where normally, when you get on the ferry, you would only have minutes to see something.

Coffee in Italy

On the way back, I saw a sign. Sam’s cafe.

I stopped to have a coffee, but I had to discover that only the sign existed. Neither Sam nor the cafe was in sight. But at least I had a walk in the incredibly humid jungle.

I had no reason to despair this time either. A little further away, I sat down in a street cafe in a small village.

I drank an incredibly delicious and tastefully prepared coffee, along with my favorite watermelon juice. I wrote this post so far.

While writing, I stopped several times and admired the peaceful harmony that this small village shows in the shadow of the huge rocks.

The layout of the building, the peace and harmony somehow reminded me of being in Italy. That’s where I experienced this peace for the first time.

For some reason, I find it difficult to leave this peaceful silence here. But the journey continues.

My bike is waiting.

Cat Ba West Port

Sitting on the motorbike, I was suddenly overwhelmed by a cavalcade of emotions.

The wind caressed my face, while the wind tore at my body. The air hugged me warmly, but the sun burned and scratched my skin. The air was cool at the same time because of the moderate pace, while the heat of the enormous humidity almost pounded me into the ground.

My sense of smell also rode on this wave of feeling to surf. One moment I was still riding in a cloud of naturally concentrated and magnificent flowers. The next minute, the artificial freshness of freshly washed clothes awaited me in a small village.

This duality of emotions released incredible energies in me.

That was when I first thought that the receptionist was wrong.

This is not hell. This is heaven itself.

They were perfect moments.

I realized that I love this island. Everywhere I looked, I thought I saw the hut where I would spend my old days.

A perfect place.

So, feeling refreshed, I arrived on the road that I had already seen once on my first day here.

Sitting on a motorbike, the road was a little different, it showed me much more of itself. I stopped often to take pictures.

The sea water (not sure if it was the sea!) stands in small parcels on both sides of the road. On one side, huge rocks frame this road, on the other, the infinity of the sea.

I feel like this is a day of dualities.

Motorcycling and flying. Italy and Vietnam. Dual feelings. A mass of rocks and infinity.

What else can come next?

First of all, a good lunch on a cool terrace. Red Bull in a Vietnamese can, made in Thailand. I think with the knowledge of the Austrian owner.

It is half past two. I leave the familiar port behind me.

The island is waiting.

Let the mystery remain a mystery!

Leaving the restaurant, I stopped by the water plots.

My intention was to find out if the water was salty or sweet.

I thought I would lick it and then it would be revealed. As I got closer to the water, I realized that my common sense could not lose to curiosity.

Seeing the water and its shore up close helped me a lot in my decision. The goat and cow shit covering everything did not strengthen my intention to lick it.

I think my life is better without a dysentery experience.

This mystery will probably remain a mystery forever.

But at least I was able to spend an unforgettable quarter of an hour sitting with my back against the wall of a small ruined house.

The view that the island presented to me today is indescribable.

I spent the quiet minutes solving other mysteries. I tried to figure out what the story of the nail lying next to the old door might be. Or the abandoned key lying not far from it.

I couldn’t figure it out. Instead, I put them next to each other. Let others think about it too!

Palm Grove

I didn’t get far from here.

I noticed a small road leading to the sea, so a minute later I parked at a slightly hidden spot on the beach.

I spent an hour here.

I walked along the beach and looked at the sandy, brown waves. The 3 locals swimming in the sea far away. And the huge cargo ships sailing one after the other in the distance.

I studied the little crabs again. I walked a little further from the shore.

That’s when I discovered the small palm grove.

I immediately felt that I wanted to go there. I set off.

Then suddenly a thin strip of sea blocked my path. It was wide enough that I simply couldn’t cross it.

So I made a detour so that I could get to the other side with dry feet. My shoes are already in pretty bad shape, and they are pretty clean now, and I didn’t want to change that.

I reached the place where I planned to cross the river on dry land, through an exciting stretch of sand, dotted with rocks and crab holes, which was a bit wet even at low tide.

Here it turned out that the sand was wet enough to swallow my feet, so I turned back. Following my own footprints, I returned to where I started from.

In the meantime, a thought occurred to me. Why don’t I cross the small body of water barefoot? Often the easiest solution comes to mind last. LOL.

A closer examination of the water convinced me that I didn’t want to cross this water barefoot. The many – sharp – shells were not very friendly. Now that the wound on my hand from the zombie fight had healed nicely, I really didn’t need another one on my sole.

Then I saw a plank. I built a bridge over the small body of water. Well, okay. That’s a poetic exaggeration. I carried it to the water and elegantly threw it into the middle.

Of course, after that, the dry-foot crossing didn’t work. The bridge was short. Or the water was wide. Whatever. But the palm trees were so inviting, I had to go.

So finally – in wet shoes and socks – I stood there under the palm trees. Or rather, I sat.

It was very romantic. For a while, I could imagine myself as Robinson Crusoe again. I felt like I had been thrown onto a deserted island. Just the sea, the palm trees and me.

And then there was the lot of trash on the sand.

Suddenly, I noticed an interesting object. That’s how I started photographing objects washed up on the shore.

I saw a lot of bottles with shells on them. I realized that all the bottles here were closed. This is how well-meaning people throw their messages written on invisible paper into the sea with invisible ink. So that they can definitely reach their destination.

I found and photographed a lot of interesting things. I managed to create a rather impressive collection of images of treasures washed ashore.

It’s an exciting sport, I think I’ll practice it again.

On the way back, I washed my shoes again, waved goodbye to my little bridge and the hidden stretch of beach.

Resting at a lookout

Today I had a very slow ride.

A few kilometers away I stopped at a beautiful lookout.

I dried my shoes and socks. I listened to some music.

Then I noticed how tempting the beautiful marble floor was. So I lay down on it and slept for a peaceful half hour.

Sunset

After a restful sleep, I jumped on the motorbike and arrived here after 3 more long kilometers.

A small restaurant-like place. Here I wait for the Sun to show me how beautiful it is when it disappears.

Here I finished the third of the five books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Since I mixed up the books, I read the third one after the fourth one. I think the order is as random as life.

From here I’m just going home to continue exploring the island tomorrow.

Hike in the forests of Cat Ba

A beautiful sunny morning awaited me on Sunday.

I woke up a little late (9 am). Breakfast is available until 9:30 am, so I quickly got over it.

I had an urgent webshop problem waiting for me since the evening. It took me 45 minutes to solve it.

So I started today’s hike a little late.

But time is the least important thing today.

The island was waiting.

I didn’t resist.

Electric motorbike

A new friend of mine recommended an electric motorbike.

I definitely wanted to try it.

The other reason I chose this type today is that I planned to do less road traffic and more walking today.

I rented one at the place I visited yesterday and set off on my journey today.

An electric motorbike is another dimension of travel.

It doesn’t go faster than 40 km/h. On mountain roads, twenty is good.

And it’s silent. This and the low speed allow for a different kind of presence. The motorbike also just shows: time is not important today.

Cat Ba National Park

My first goal was the National Park.

I had already passed by its entrance yesterday, but I had other goals then.

The park offers two hiking routes. A short one and a long one.

Of course I wanted to do the long one. But I found out that it takes 4 hours there and 4 hours back. So I quickly changed my plan.

The hike begins immediately after leaving the park entrance. So all I can say about the park itself is that it is nicely furnished for its age. It is obvious that it is cared for and maintained with love. It is exactly 40 years old, so there was time to find the right place for everything.

After a few hundred meters, I discovered a once beautiful accommodation complex. Cute bamboo houses were lined up around a small artificial lake that had seen better days.

I looked at them. Each one had the equipment, but some had already had their roofs blown in. It was as if everyone had suddenly left on a sad Tuesday.

I found two bars, the prices there showed that the place must have been abandoned for years.

I liked it anyway. I walked around thoroughly before starting the real tour.

Ngu Lam Peak

Climbing this mountain was a real challenge.

It’s not that hard, but I had to hold on until I reached the top in 45 minutes.

Now I’m here, enjoying the silence and solitude. Since I’ve been here (about half an hour ago), no one else has come up here.

A little further down there is a lookout point with a small building. I hear everyone else only came up until that point.

On the other hand, a beautiful spider came up with me, and here I noticed that it was playing stowaway on my backpack. I also met a blue lizard and a huge blue butterfly all up here.

When I sat down, my mouth was shut at first, because it simply remained open from the sight. This peak rises in the middle of a valley. And all around me are peaks of the same height as this peak. 360 degrees.

I feel a bit like I’m sitting in the middle of the world.

There’s nothing here, “only” the view. But it’s incredible.

I immediately decided that I just wanted to enjoy the sound of the wind, the noise of the insects, the singing of the birds. And I wanted to drink the view. Quietly but generously.

A few minutes after I sat down, I read the text on the big sign next to me. I smiled. It advised me exactly what I did.

Finally, a couple arrived at the top. We chatted for a bit. Then it was time to leave, because I was super hungry.

The way back was easier, although not easy. Those few kilometers really worked my legs. I like the feeling when my muscles tremble from the strain. It’s true, it’s not that fun to walk down the stairs on legs that aren’t completely stable. But that’s part of the game.

I remembered what it was like to climb mountains in Indonesia and Thailand. And a few times, what it was like in Hungary and Austria.

Every mountain is different. Every mountain is beautiful. I am so glad I got to know this mountain today.

Trung Trang Cave

However, this cave is definitely not a question for me.

I have seen many beautiful caves, but this one is definitely among the most beautiful for me.

At the entrance, they wrote that this is one of the most important caves in the world for observing and preserving bats. In fact! They also wrote that I should be proud to be one of the few who can see this unique cave.

Whatever these words mean, the cave was beautiful.

There was only one narrow path leading through it. In many places it was so low that you almost had to crouch down.

I saw very beautiful stalactite forms. And what perhaps made this cave stand out from the other caves I have seen was the lighting.

This was the first cave in my life where I finally managed to take nice pictures. In my opinion, the most important thing in cave photography is the light. Here, somehow, everything was set up well.

I was able to photograph not only beautiful stones and shapes, but also ferns. The place was special because it had plants in it.

Then there was the water. It was dripping in several places, honestly, I haven’t seen that in many places.

Finally, the bats. I’ve seen groups hanging from the ceiling before. But now they were only a few meters above my head. They were huge. Plus, one of the big ones was constantly circling around my head.

It was nice to watch and listen to them. You just had to endure the smell of guano.

The sign was right. It really was a special cave.

On the edge of the forest

I went to a place recommended by a friend to walk in another part of the jungle.

When I got there, I realized that I was tired.

So this time I did not accept the call of the jungle.

I simply sat on the ground on the edge of the forest, under the rocks and enjoyed the silence.

It was a quiet and slow day. With few but beautiful experiences.

I realized that I just wanted to sit for a while in the city. With a soft drink and a chocolate.

So now I am sitting here in the heart of the city. With a raspberry Pepsi that I have never tasted and a small box of Kinder chocolate.

I have finished writing today’s story.

But the day is not over yet!

The battery of the motorcycle is still 70% charged.

I will put in a few kilometers here in the city. Just for the feeling.

And in the evening I’ll probably try one of the electric cars here in the park.

It’ll be nice to end this “very serious” weekend like a child.

I love this island. It’s already given me a lot.

And I have one more experience waiting for me next week before we say goodbye.

The post 276. | Cat Ba and the center of the world first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

I mean, with multiple people – typically complete strangers.

There I lived in an eight-bed room, enjoying the company of familiar faces for a few days.

Now I live in a 12-bed room. And I don’t know anyone.

What does a room like this look like?

So I have lived/live in a room like this in two places so far, and I can describe my experiences based on the days I spent here.

The first thing that comes to mind is that the air conditioning in both rooms is on at zero to twenty-four. I can’t imagine how the machines can handle this. Nevertheless, I’m not against it. 8-10-12 people could definitely heat up a room that isn’t cold anyway.

Accordingly, the rooms have a basic noise level. I’m not bothered by noise, I can sleep anywhere and in any conditions, if I put my mind to it. At the same time, it’s good that these rooms are quiet all day long.

Since we never know who is in the room and what they are doing, so far I’ve seen everyone come in quietly and do their thing. At any time of the day, it can be assumed that someone is sleeping.

So far, I’ve only seen rooms with bunk beds everywhere. Of course, I’ve seen more on the web. But these accommodations are built on cheapness, so every space counts.

Every bed must have a curtain. This gives the bed a private character. Or rather, it hides the person sleeping. That’s why you can never be sure how many of us are in the room at the time.

Every room also has a locker dedicated to each bed. You can lock your most valuables here. In the first room, I locked my laptop here several times. In the current place, however, I always take it with me, since I went to work every day.

Most people we shared our experiences with about these shared rooms talked about complete safety. There was only one girl who told us that something was stolen from her once, and that a strange guy molested her once.

I haven’t had any unpleasant experiences yet.

Private room

When we draw the curtain, we really find ourselves in a small private room. I say this because I am not bothered by any noise that may come in at all, so drawing the curtain really feels like closing the door to my room.

There is always a power outlet and a light in this small room. I feel very comfortable because of that.

My roommates usually keep their things on the floor and under the beds. But I feel like everyone does this with caution, so I don’t have to fight my way through backpacks to get to my bed. Everyone is aware that there are more of us here.

For some reason, the first time I stayed, I put my backpack on my bed. I remember it because the first room was a little smaller than the current one and I thought it was unnecessary for it to take up space on the floor all day.

Then when I went to bed, I left my backpack next to me in the bed. In fact, as I wrote before, I unpacked them on the bed next to the wall in a row.

I have kept this practice ever since. Maybe I didn’t emphasize enough last time that I fit very comfortably in a bed by filling the edge with clothes and other things.

I think that not only did my snoring stop with losing my excess weight, but also my tossing and turning. I couldn’t have imagined sleeping on a bed with objects on it before.

However, no matter how I look at it, my closet and my bed have become one.

A few days ago, when I tried – for the first time – working in this mini-room bed, my desk actually merged with the bed.

Minimalism Again

I have written many times, and I have said even more often, that I live a minimalist lifestyle. I discovered a long time ago that I don’t need much to function in my daily life.

A bed to sleep in. A desk to work on. Optionally, a shelf to store things on. This recent experience has shown me that all of this can work for me on a bed.

Now I feel like I could function perfectly well with a 1.6 m2 private cave.

Assuming, of course, that I occupy the bed alone.

While I was writing in bed one evening, someone suddenly pulled back the curtains. A very beautiful girl stuck her head into my room. Anyone who is reading this expecting an adventure is like me. They will be disappointed. All they wanted to ask was to turn down the music. I like to listen to music loudly with my headphones on. I don’t usually think about it coming out.

Well, I just found out.

Other things related to the room

These cheap hostels are typically filled with young people. Like me.

Well, a little younger.

So, if you go to a hostel like this, it’s good to be prepared for a few things.

For example, everyone goes to bed very late. That’s me too. But everyone else usually sleeps late.

There’s always a lot of social life going on in the common area of ​​a hostel. This usually means that people are there from morning till night. They’re loud. They drink. A lot. And there’s usually always at least one person smoking weed. So, if you don’t like the smell of weed, for example, you should think about staying in a hostel like this.

I’ve seen a lot of people here who really did nothing but drink beer and smoke weed all day.

Because of the presence of so many people, I think they take cleanliness seriously, which is why the toilets and shared showers are always clean.

So far, both of my two stays in this type of accommodation have included breakfast in the room price. I think that’s something you can count on everywhere.

Typically, laundry service is also included. I really enjoy that. It’s not like I have to go very far to find another one, but it’s super convenient.

If I were BB from Forrest Gump, I would say this now: I think that’s all I can say about shared rooms.

I like this type of accommodation.

The post 274. | About the shared rooms first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.

More precisely, on an island in the sea.

Cat Ba is the island where I live now.

And Cat Ba is the city too. As if they didn’t want to overcomplicate it.

On an island again

I started on an island in Asia. As if I had a little nostalgia!?

I looked at the map because I was curious how big this piece of land was from a bird’s eye view. It’s not very big. But still, it’s about a quarter bigger than Koh Samui.

Out of curiosity, I marked on a map the main areas where I had already been in Asia. I did all this in one picture.

Then I thought I’d stop for a moment. After all, I’m just an IT professional, or what!

So on Sunday evening I did something that I could have done before.

Until now, I had a map on this site. I suddenly made two more today. All three are available in the menu, but I’ll show you here how they look now.

• My Map: This map shows where I have been with pictures and markers.
• My Way: On this map, dots connected by straight lines show my journey since I arrived in Asia
• My Globe: On this page, I show what is shown on the first map on a 3D globe that can be rotated as you like.

Just for fun and journaling. LOL.

My trip to the island

When I woke up on my last day in Hai Phong, I wasn’t 100 percent sure whether I would leave that day or not.

By the time I brushed my teeth, the next decision was made. Heading to Cat Ba Island!

I really like that these decisions can be made in minutes at this stage of life. Obviously, the fact that I finish packing all my things in 3-4 minutes makes the decision easy. In other words, 10 minutes after waking up, I closed the room door behind me.

I was on the road again. In full gear.

I didn’t have to walk much, I was at the city bus station within two kilometers.

Miraculously, I quickly managed to find out when, where and which bus leaves in the direction I need to go.

A local bus left 20 minutes later. From there, I traveled for an hour to a port for 15,000 VND (172 HUF, 0.5 USD).

From there, a ferry for 13,000 VND (150 HUF, 0.48 USD) took me to a seemingly imposing island. The boat departed 10 minutes after I arrived.

I really liked that the island, which is about two kilometers away, showed me its beauty right from the boat. I saw majestic mountains and lots of green forests in front of me.

This trip went so smoothly without any planning.

On the island, I immediately got a taxi offer to take me to the city. They asked for 100,000 VND (1,149 HUF, 4 USD). I thanked them for the offer and said that the bus was cheaper than that, so I would take it.

As I got around the bus (the driver was sleeping in the back seat), the same offer came. Both taxi drivers said that the price was 300,000, but now it will be 100,000. Well, of course!

Then two tourists came up to me. They explained more clearly that they needed me. Because the taxi really is 300,000, but if I join them, it will only be 100,000 per person. From the price, I guessed that the distance would not be small, and maybe I would do better not to wait until the driver wakes up, but to immediately head to the city.

So I accepted the offer. And with that, I practically got from my room to Cat Ba city as smoothly as possible.

First glances at the city

I immediately saw that it was a very bustling, very touristy town.

The past few days have shown that it is at once a backpacker base, a seaside resort with a seaside atmosphere, and a slightly chaotic Vietnamese town.

In my own story, I would say that it is a city of aquariums and neon lights.

The backpacker character is given by the fact that there are a lot of young tourists and a few older holidaymakers bustling in the streets.

The seaside resort atmosphere is also reinforced by the places. Before I came to Asia, my daughters and I went on holiday in Croatia. For some reason, that holiday always comes to mind. I feel a bit like I did there. I have been thinking for days about living my everyday life in a perfect seaside resort.

There are a lot of minibuses cruising the streets. The main road and 4-5 streets in the area are packed with hotels, hostels, fishmongers, restaurants, small shops, travel agencies. And cafes. I especially enjoy this now.

The restaurants and fishmongers are packed with aquariums. These are set out in rows, rows of several meters long, on the street.

So, walking the streets in recent days, I see lobsters, crabs, horseshoe crabs, moray eels and all kinds of exotic sea fish everywhere. I love looking at them. It’s like being a participant in a permanent exhibition.

However, my favorites are the neon lights. There are lots of string lights strung on trees. The lights are stretched in dense rows above the streets. The buildings and shops, from the basement to the attic, are bathed in light as darkness approaches. Wherever I look, a riot of colors delights my eyes. For some reason I can’t get enough of it!

When I arrived, it was still early afternoon. I caught myself and – for the first time – looked for accommodation by stopping by a few hotels. I asked if there was any. There was one everywhere, even though they suggested that the options were running out.

The price was 450,000 VND (5,200 HUF, 16 USD) per night. I told them everywhere that this was a lot for me. At one place they asked how much I thought. I said we could agree on 300,000. They just told me to look around. And good luck.

After 3-4 hotels, I saw that it was pointless to try, that was the offer everywhere.

So I came to a hostel. I took a bed for myself in a 12-bed shared room. The price is 160,000 VND (1,800 HUF, 5.75 USD) per night and I even get breakfast.

I will write about these shared rooms soon.

The cofes

I planned to stay here for 4 nights, so I’m writing this post on the fifth.

And I’ll definitely stay for two more.

It just so happened that… (Here – at 2:43 am – the cute cat introduced in yesterday’s post looked at what I was writing. At the same time, she walked across my keyboard and wrote a letter u here. The letter doesn’t remain in the writing, but I wanted to capture the cat’s footprint.)

It just so happened that I had a lot of work in the past few days. So I couldn’t do the planned sea cruise, jungle walk and possible motorbike exploration of the area. But I don’t want to leave here until I’ve seen a little more.

Oh, and by the way, there’s a national park nearby.

That’s why I stayed here.

I haven’t yet explored the experiences around the city, but I’ve explored the coffee houses more thoroughly. I spent the last few days in 4-5 different coffee shops.

I really enjoy being greeted as a returning regular for the second or third time. It’s not for nothing that I sit in each place for several hours.

Good wifi, and even better drinks.

There are two special Vietnamese coffees that I wanted to try in Haiphong, but I had to wait until I got to the city.

I can’t say which one is my favorite. They are so delicious that I wish everyone could taste them.

One is egg coffee. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like. Then I found out that they beat egg yolks with sugar until they are very frothy and put it on top of the coffee. In Hungary, we make cookies with this solution. Here, they froth the coffee. It’s a divine orgy of flavors. I don’t think I can get enough of it.

The other specialty is salty coffee. They whip cream until it’s as light as a cloud, and then add sugar and salt to the foam. Despite its strangeness, it’s a very special experience.

But I’ve had matcha tea with corn syrup (and corn kernels). Blueberry yogurt smoothie. I had to try the banana coconut smoothie twice today. The fruit drinks are fresh. For breakfast, I get coffee so flavored that I could drink 3 buckets of it every morning.

And they also have my favorite fried rice.

I’m in the perfect place.

Maybe I shouldn’t leave?

I’m kidding. Who knows? The usual easy last day will come soon.

But before that, I still have 2-3 days on this wonderful island.

PS: I’ve been to a massage before.

I gave in to the call tonight at 10:15 PM.

It was really good.

They folded me up again, but in ways that made me just stare. The older lady knelt on my back the and literally pounded me into the bed a few times.

When we were done, one of the beautiful girls had the store manager translate that she thought I was handsome.

Unfortunately, she didn’t speak a word of English, so our relationship ended that night.

The post 273. | Cat Ba first appeared on Digital Nomad Blog.