Massah?

I wonder at which point we should have realized it. When we entered the hotel through a rather unwelcoming hallway? When we were asked if we want the regular or VIP room? Probably latest when we were led into small, separate and dimly lit rooms. And absolutely latest when the guy asked me giggling "Beautiful girl?"
I replied "No, just regular massage!" But it was too late.
There is no need to describe the lady that came  after a few minutes. I decided to wait until just before the happy ending part before cancelling the whole thing. A once in a lifetime experience with no need to be repeated.

The motorbike tour through the highlands was great! I met Hai again with whom Johannes and I did a similar tour during the round the world trip. I was very happy to see him again and the tour was - again - fantastic! This time, we rode the motorbikes ourselves, a very different (and thrilling) experience. Some pictures are already in the gallery.

Now there's only one and a half days left. We've already done the most important sightseeing (Cu Chi and Mekong) here in HCMC. So let's just relax and have a tasty coffee!

Nha Trang

Nha Trang has become a Russian "satellite city" recently. Menus and signs are sometimes written only in Russian and even Vietnamese will talk to you Russian. Apparently there are nonstop flights from Moscow to Nha Trang.
We finally got the beach, heat and sun we were looking forward to so badly here! The beach is beautiful though full of tourists. I took a run along the beach and discovered that the southern end is almost deserted - a perfectly quiet place to relax!
Our bargaining skills improve day by day. There is almost nothing that cannot be bargained: hotel today 15$ -> 12$, fruits 40 kVND -> 30, beer at the beach 30 kVND -> 20.
We met Hai today - the man who guided Johannes and me through the highlands during our round the world trip 7 years (!) ago. We'll do a similar highland tour starting tomorrow morning, yippee :)

Climate

To be honest, we didn't expect it to be as cold as it is - although we're prepared for even snow since we wanted to trek Fansipan.
Sa Pa in the north was really cold, as already mentioned. Felt like about far below 10 degree C sometimes but there was surely a big deal of humidity chill effect.
Hanoi got quite chilly too during the night making a sweater necessary.
Now that we're already south of the "Wolkenscheide" (north of Da Nang) which separates north an south Vietnam we expected it to be at least at lot warmer here. We were wrong.
Tonight we're taking the sleeping bus to Nha Trang. The weather forecast predicts about 30 degrees maximum :)
By the way, it's apparently Buddhist New Year today!

Toilet Paper?

No need for that anymore! We got used to the "Asian way". I know it seems really awkward to wash one's butt with a naked hand and water at first but after some practice it's as normal as brushing teeth. Besides, billions of Asians can't be that wrong, can they?
We're lying around in our room in Da Nang right now, digesting some delicious seafood (a grouper). We spent the last days trekking through mountain villages near Sa Pa. It was freaking cold there (it might even snow) but we enjoyed the trek as well as the company of our local guide "Sue" (at least that's how her name sounds). We stayed at the local people's houses so we got a little insight into their simple housings.
Typing on the mobile sucks, so I'll stop now. Check the pictures if you haven't already - I'm updating the album constantly!

Hanoi

Vietnam seems astonishingly up-to-date concerning communication technology. At least here in Hanoi, mobile data connection works perfectly (with a 550000 VND [1 Euro ~ 28000 Dong] SIM Card, 60 min international calls included). Therefore, you can expect picture updates in the Vietnam 2.0 Album at any time.
We went to the water puppet theater yesterday evening. If you ever come to Hanoi, skip that.
Concerning traffic: We saw a T-Shirt that describes usual behavior very good (although there are actually very few traffic lights at all). It shows a traffic light and indicates 'red' "I can walk", 'yellow' "I can walk" and 'red' "I can still walk". Also sounding the horn is very common and totally different in its meaning compared to home. A honking Viennese car driver might think "ARE YOU NUTS!?! GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY YOU STUPID BASTARD!" while a Vietnamese car driver or motorbike rider is usually more like "Hm I think I should blow the horn in order to warn those guys that I'm coming. Dim dudeli doo, hmm, hmm. Uh, thanks for giving way!"
Try Koto Restaurant at Hanoi (close to the Literature Temple) - charity mission and absolutely delicious meals!
Tomorrow we're going to enjoy Ha Long Bay and after that we'll trek around Sa Pa (northern region mountains). Sadly we cannot climb the highest mountain, Fansipan, because of fires in the forests. Anja and I somehow feel like having a déjà-vu.
Sadly we cannot climb the highest mountain, Fansipan, because of fires in the forests. Anja and I somehow feel like having a déjà-vu.
PS: Okay, you'll never get that joke without knowing that Anja and I weren't able to climb Thailand's highest mountain last year due to wildfires. I was so very sure I posted that...

Vietnam 2.0

Announcement on short notice: I'm going to Vietnam again! This time with Anja and her brother Philipp who's just about to finish his studies. Actually, it's his post-student- & pre-job-life holiday, so it's gotta be amazing ;)
We are planning to go on a trek to Fansipan (wiki), Vietnams highest mountain (3100 and something meter). We'll start the journey in Hanoi and end up in Ho Chi Minh City, so we've almost got the whole over niiiiineeeethooooooousand km long coast to explore and enjoy! Well, it's actually "only" about 3000 km (wiki) but that's still about 3000 km more than at home.
Alright, look forward to the pictures and stories restlessly!

Update 2.2.14 @ Frankfurt:
Waiting for connecting flight, found German interpretation of science (link should work now)