All good things must come to an end, and so did our time in Chiang Mai—and in Thailand altogether. We spent our final days in Chiang Mai simply taking it easy, enjoying good food, and preparing for the next leg of our journey: Northern Vietnam. We plan to write a post summarizing our overall experience of Thailand—covering the pros and cons—but that will come a bit later, once we’ve had time to let it all sink in 😊

This time, we’re flying from Chiang Mai to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. We’ve booked an apartment right in the city center to make the most of our short stay. On the first day we start exploring the city, we visit the old town and stroll around various shops. We also visit a market we’d read about. It is absolutely packed with merchandise—everything from shoes and clothes to souvenirs and toys. You could buy shoes incredibly cheaply; we saw a stall with huge piles of shoes offering a ”buy 5, pay for 4” deal. The total price for those pairs would have been just $14 😱 However, since we’ll be flying again soon and have strict luggage weight limits, we decide to skip the shopping this time around.

Our plans hit a bit of a snag on day two when Andreas falls ill with a fever and a sore throat—leaving him completely bedridden. Since Penny is also feeling a bit under the weather, the boys and I (Sabina) decide to spend the day in town browsing the shops; we don’t find anything exciting, though, so no shopping actually happens. Still, it turns out to be a pleasant day regardless. Hanoi is a bustling city with people and mopeds everywere!

On the third day—our last before departure—Andreas is still bedridden, though all the kids (and Sabina) are full of energy. However, no one is particularly keen on hitting the town again, so after some deliberation, Johannes suggests an ”escape room.” After a bit of Googling, we find a place that seems cool and book a room with an Alice in Wonderland theme that seems fun. The place is about an hour’s walk from our accommodation, so we decide to take a taxi there and walk back. Upon arrival, we are greeted by a cozy reception area and friendly staff who speak English (albeit with some limitations). We get a briefing on the rules and how everything works, and then it’s time to start! For those who don’t know, an escape room is exactly what it sounds like: a room you have to get out of by using clues and solving various puzzles. As mentioned, our room had an Alice in Wonderland theme. It consisted of three rooms in total, and to move from one to the next, you had to complete the tasks required in the room you were currently in. We had a blast! Everyone pitched in with great ideas and solutions. We made it through the entire experience and got out just before our time ran out!

On the day of our departure, we get up at 5:00 AM to take a taxi to the pickup point for our minibus. Andreas is still feeling under the weather but soldiers on. We start to get a bit worried when our scheduled pickup time passes and the bus still hasn’t arrived. When Sabina calls the company to ask how things are going, it finally shows up and we can finally begin our journey to the northernmost parts of Vietnam, more specifically Sapa and the surrounding area.

//Sabdreasworld