Hanoi: Celebrating The Simple Joys in Life

There’s a beauty and joy I can’t even explain with words when I step into a new place or revisit some of my old favorites. If you’ve been to Hanoi before, you probably know how crazy hectic this city. Motorcycles, traffic, buses, backpackers, street food, happiness, and many more. It’s chaotic and sweet in the same time. What I love most about going back to Vietnam, this country never fails to give me a sweet, simple joy. From a cup of egg coffee, a bowl of bun cha, to random conversations with strangers on the street. Life can be brutally hard out there but if you just appreciate the little things and be grateful for what you have…it isn’t so bad. When I sit in a small café, sipping my coffee, surrounded by beautiful people who speak different language then suddenly my world isn’t so small anymore. It’s colourful, vibrant, full of love, blessings, and hope. I just feel at peace with where and who I am right now, where I was and where I am going next. There’s no need to rush, everything has its own time.

Hanoi

To begin with, I have a long history...( and crazy adventure too ) with Vietnam. I called it history because I found myself grew a lot during my trip exploring Vietnam - from Hanoi all the way down to Saigon last year. You've heard there's a lot can happen in a year, so that's what exactly happened to me. Obviously I would have never picture my life the way it is now, and looking back... I guess Vietnam will always be a part of it. 

I went to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time in 2012 to celebrate my birthday and decided to return and continue my South East Asia trip last summer. Spent about a week in Luang Prabang then took an overnight bus to Hanoi. I read all the horror stories about the bus ride but I grew up doing a lot of road trip with my family so I knew I could handle it. 

The journey was quite smooth, except the bus drivers weren't friendly. The bus broke down about 15 times, had one dinner and toilet break, the rest... the driver just stopped whenever he wanted to pee and it wasn't a good idea for us - girls. I had to hold my pee for hours, was sooo tired and hungry, but glad to have done the long ride with new travel buddies. After almost 30 hours sitting on the bus, we finally made it to Hanoi. 

Speaking about favorite places in Hanoi, Hoan Kiem Lake was definitely my favorite people-watching spot in this city. It was like when time stops and all you could hear or feel just happiness, the laugh sounds and love. Couple looked deeply in love, kids ran around, old women chatting, artists, tourists and photographers...all together in a park. Sometimes I wish I had this kind of superpower where I can read their minds but who cares, at least I could see them smiling, happy... and that's more than enough to remind me how Hanoi brought happiness and peace even it was crowded and hectic on the road. 

Be still and enjoy the present, always appreciate little things and have faith in your journey

The Pursuit of Happiness : South East Asia

My blog posts have been bouncing around back and forth between continents, countries and places around the world that after 7 months traveling it's a little difficult to update it regularly especially when I don't have my laptop with me on the road ( but always try my best to do it from smart phone ) and few weeks ago I had to switch my blog from Squarespace to Blogger only to lose a lot of pictures. Oh well...Recently I just got back from 2 weeks trip in Vietnam after few days hanging out in Luang Prabang and a month in Thailand. With a total of 70 hour something sleeping bus ride, hopping from one hostel to another, countless bowls of noodle soups, I can't wait to share the whole crazy adventures with my readers and hope one day you'll get to do it too as traveling in South East Asia has always been one of my dreams ( after I did it for the first time in 2012 ) - I'm so happy to return and take my time exploring the beauty of Asia. Meanwhile, here's a couple of shots I took from Thailand to Vietnam - I like these pictures for different emotions but mostly you can capture the happiness there. Of course there's more to come as I woke up early this morning and started working on those missing posts, I couldn't be more grateful to have opportunities visiting amazing places on earth and hopefully the story and photos can inspire you as much as the world continuously inspires me.

Daydreaming Away - Bangkok

Street Food - Bangkok

School Trip to Doi Suthep - Chiang Mai

When A Smile Brings Happiness - Chiang Mai

Best Friend Forever - Hanoi

A Smile is The Best Makeup A Girl Can Wear - Hanoi

Never Goes Out Of Style, Sir

Coming Home Soon, Son