To Lang Son, a VIP bus trip
Today is the day I'm heading to Lang Son. I'm really excited because I get to meet Toan, who I met when I first came to Vietnam in 2023 and who toured with me for three days.
I took a shower as soon as I woke up and ordered pho with Grab. I ate the pho while packing and made it in time for the 12:15 pickup. Check-out was supposed to be at 11, but when I asked the owner they said 12 was fine, so I was grateful to stay until noon.
Toan had booked a VIP bus, so I waited at the pickup point. A horn sounded, and when I looked ahead a van had arrived.
We first got into that and headed to where the bus was. As always, in true Vietnam style, the bus was full. We boarded the VIP bus to Lang Son. I was sleepy, so I dozed off for about an hour.
Lang Son is near the Chinese border and at a very high elevation. So the temperature drops. I'm really excited to be going to Vietnam's mountainous region for the first time.
Lang Son — a different atmosphere than Hanoi
Upon arrival I checked into the hotel immediately. The bus took me to the hotel. The receptionist spoke a little Japanese, so they assisted me in Japanese. Cards weren't accepted, so I withdrew 3,000,000 dong at a nearby Techcom Bank.
Walking through Lang Son's streets felt different from Hanoi — interesting. People felt more conservative. The atmosphere was a bit heavy. Maybe because China is on the border. There were no 24-hour stores like Circle K, so I had to walk to a nearby supermarket.
After checking in and resting a bit in my room, I walked to the area across the river where the Sheraton is. There's a small shopping mall beneath the Sheraton, so I thought I'd eat something there.
I went into the Vincom Center, but it was way too small. The only eateries were Lotteria and a Korean tteokbokki place.
I ate chicken, rice, and fries at Lotteria, and bought water, yogurt, and bananas at the supermarket. There were people playing a foot version of badminton, and it felt like a rural way of life.
I walked back to the hotel. Walking through the town feeling Lang Son's atmosphere felt like conquering another world — fun but a little thrilling.
Reunion with Toan, a toast at a street stall
Toan came to pick me up! I went out with the matcha and Spirited Away notebook I brought as gifts. I hugged Toan and we both had the best smiles at the long-awaited reunion.
She's the friend I met first when I first came to Vietnam who showed me around for three days. It's no exaggeration to say I fell in love with Vietnam thanks to her.
We ordered fried rice and pho at a nearby stall. Toan hadn't changed at all since the first time we met.
Always smiling and highly empathetic, I felt she's truly a wonderful person. At the stall they were selling pig brains and large intestines — so Vietnamese. Of course I couldn't eat them and didn't want to (laughs).
She's living separately from her mother and is currently staying with a coworker. She works as an administrative clerk at a language school but says it's really boring. It made me think that everyone has their worries. Because there are few foreigners in Lang Son, people were very curious and very kind.
Toan, a good listener
Talking with Toan really makes me smile and the conversation is enjoyable. She's a great listener, and before I knew it I had been talking nonstop.
I usually feel bad when I talk too much about myself, but this time I forgot even that and ended up talking a lot.
She's really sociable and pleasant. Of course, I imagine it's different when she's alone and she must get exhausted sometimes, but that makes her human and wonderful. I was truly happy to have met her.
When I said 'I love Vietnamese people the most,' she understood completely, and we talked about many things, like differences between South and North Vietnam. Time flew by.
Beer on the tower, the sunflower seed incident
Apparently there's a tower with a Vietnamese flag that overlooks Lang Son, and young people drink beer there. We bought beer and went. At Winmart we bought 333 beer, Hanoi's yellow beer, and Sapporo beer. Also spicy Thai snacks and sunflower seeds — Toan's recommendation.
With Toan I always get to try new things and make new discoveries. Apparently she's an INFP. I was surprised — I had always thought she was an ENFP.
We rode a motorbike to the tower. At the entrance Toan paid a small fee. She carries Vietnamese money in a red envelope and doesn't carry a wallet — it felt really 'ancient' and funny. It was dark when we climbed to the top of the tower but it was fun. Also, she's two years older than me. I had thought she was my age and had been using casual speech the whole time (laughs).
We reached the top of the tower. The Vietnamese flag was fluttering. We drank beer feeling Vietnam around us. I tried the yellow Hanoi beer I'd been curious about. Toan drank Sapporo. I couldn't tell if it was good or bad — I normally don't drink beer at all.
Apparently Vietnamese people love to talk while eating sunflower seeds. I had never eaten them before, so I ate them all at once and Toan stopped me. Apparently you remove the shell and eat just the kernel. I see (laughs). We talked a lot.
We shared a lot about our dreams and what we're doing now. She's studying accounting and goes to Hanoi two or three times a month. We also talked about dreams about animals. Toan's dream was the same as my mother's dream, which felt really strange. The dream country was Egypt, and she said it's hard for women to go alone because it's dangerous. I thought it'd be nice if we could go together someday.
There's something genuinely good about her as a person. But that makes me feel like she sometimes sacrifices herself. I hoped she'd be less reserved and do what she likes. I felt there was loneliness and resignation deep in her heart.
She told me nostalgic memories of five years she spent in Funabashi when she was in Japan.
Late-night stall, and the price of beer
While we were drinking beer, the caretaker came, so we decided it was time to go and left the tower. I was feeling woozy. We rode the bike to a park near the hotel and talked on the swings about all sorts of things — marriage versus freedom, nostalgic stories about Japan. There were almost no people, which Toan found strange.
I started feeling sick. Apparently I was drunk from the beer. I was also so hungry, so we went to a stall that was open past midnight.
The soup with wood ear mushrooms and meat inside the rice cake I ate there — it was seriously delicious. Absolutely amazing. It's apparently a Northern Vietnamese dish. I really fell in love with it.
She sent me back to the hotel, and the moment we arrived I felt extremely sick and vomited. The dizziness wouldn't stop and I was staggering. I looked it up and it said dehydration can make you get drunk easily. Recently I'd been drinking a lot of water, flushing out minerals along with it. I dissolved ORS and salt supplement powder in water and drank it, took domperidone, and collapsed into bed.
I won't drink beer for a while. When drinking water, be mindful of salt. An important lesson. Why do I always vomit on the first day I meet Toan? In 2023 I vomited when I came from Narita Airport to Vietnam. Nostalgic.
