jpcorp, Author at JP Travel Diaries

My first time in Vietnam – exciting! After a long flight to Saigon, our next location was Da Nang, a city that I had only heard about in Magnum PI and had no clue what to expect. It was hot and humid outside the airport and we had to wait some time before two guys arrived with our “motorbike” – which actually was a small Yamaha scooter with a motor too small to carry the two of us and our luggage (even though P had reduced the luggage to the absolute minimum required: “we travel light !!!” – which is kind of the opposite of travelling the German way: “be prepared for any possible weather condition”).

Finally we headed for the Son Tra resort on Son Tra peninsula north of Da Nang. Two roundabouts later my adrenalin level had reached my lifetime high but we were still alive! It takes some time to understand that there is only one traffic rule in Vietnam: “There is no rule”. This may sound chaotic but in the end it works quite well because everyone drives pretty careful, considerate and does not insist on their right. The only thing you need to do is to indicate as early as possible in which direction you intend to drive, stay on your track and never ever make sudden moves because it would be hard for the other motorbike-drivers to react appropriately. To be honest, once you’re used to this single rule, it makes life in the traffic much easier than driving in Munich for instance where everybody thinks he or she is always right regardless of those oh so many rules in Germany – which is particularly true for the “urban bike warriors” (like a friend is calling the bike drivers).

Having no street map, we ended up on a dead end mountain road on Son Tra peninsula. Unfortunately, we only found out at the end of the road after having forced our poor scooter up the very steep road. So we enjoyed the view across Da Nang and then drove all the way back down the mountain. We finally found our resort and spend a couple of very relaxing days on the beach and in the city, trying all kinds of Vietnamese street food, fresh fruit, cane sugar juice, fresh coconuts, …….

danang0 — At the private pool of our beach front villa

danang4 — Still looking tired with jet-lag

danang6 — Looking at the resort from the sea side (while kayaking)

danang7 — Entrance to a Buddha temple nearby

danang8 — The area in front of the temple

danang10 — I like the shape of her face !!!

This trip definitely marked our beginning and we weren’t even planning for it. It was a difficult (and very confusing) time for both of us…

I was supposed to go on another vacation with someone else and J was going on this trip alone. I hesitated when he asked me to join him, and I said no. That night I couldn’t sleep. I kept asking myself why I was still being where I was when my heart wanted to be somewhere else. The next day, I packed my suitcase, hopped on the next train and followed him. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I’ve never looked back since.

It was also the first time we spent that much time together. Before that, there were a few dinners and some occasional coffee breaks but nothing longer than a couple hours at once. Surprisingly, things went so smoothly on this trip that we didn’t even notice time fly. There was not a single awkward moment where we had to ask ourselves what we’d been thinking. One evening at dinner on the water front in Garda Lake, we were “forced” to talk about what we could/should/must do and the thought of going back to the lives we’d had brought tears to our eyes (funnily enough, “my heart will go on” was played twice that evening, so cheesy..) . We knew right then and there that we belonged together. The rest is history.