Day 21- Double Culture

In Vietnam, I came across two very different cultures.

The first, of course, was that of Vietnam. My first impression was that the people here were easy going, as much as the Chinese had seemed industrious. They made time in their day to exercise by the lake before work, there were even people dancing the tango before 7am. Despite the chaos of traffic on the road, this seemed like a place where you could relax, where I could rock up at the train station a few minutes before departure time, instead of dreading four hours of ticket checks.

In Vietnam the trains not only went forwards and backwards like everywhere else- they were able to bounce up and down and jiggle from side to side too. And as they chugged at walking pace through the mountains, the bush closed in so close on either side, that branches thwacked the windows and you could imagine that there was a man at the front, clearing the way with a machete. 

Yep, they really do wear those hats.

The second culture was that of the 18 year old school leavers, travelling in packs, intent on partying every night for the lowest price possible. I ended up in a hostel which ran a competition- which country can drink the most shots? They sold burgers and, I promise you, fish and chips was also on the menu! As much as everyone I spoke to was perfectly nice, you've probably guessed that I wasn't in the mood for a night out. I found I was much happier on a little plastic stool, with a big bowl of spicy noodles, drinking a beer with a couple of Vietnamese men who didn't speak a word of English.