Ho Chi Minh noodles and the Trail through Vietnam
Synopsis:
With cunning wit and English charm, Paul brilliantly-travels through some of the most remarkable and untouched landscapes in Vietnam. His attraction for Vietnam started early in life at the age of 5. It had happened on the 10th anniversary which marked the end of one of the most gruelling and inhumane long-standing wars of all time.
Accompanied by his old school friend Nick Sadler, Paul travels through the entire length of Vietnam in true backpacking fashion: with his head held high, ears to the ground and eyes to the front. In one pocket he had a tight fist on his wallet, and a rather handy Viet-English phrase book in the other.
Then there was Nick. It would appear that the two could not have
been any more opposite. While he
would’ve been content never washing his underwear and spending his nights sleeping next to a noodle
stand, the other would enjoy a glass of Riesling while reading a book on
dictators! Paul and Nick may well have
been best buds in school but they were adults now, then again, you would never
have been able to tell the difference. By comparison the Vietnamese as a
nation have been able to survive more than a century of constant battles from
the west, but are Paul and Nick able to put aside their own form of fighting
and put up with each other’s personal traditions? Some have even gone as far to say that these
two lads were acting more like a married couple, continually arguing over a lovers’
tiff!
Everyone who reads this book will not only know the true essence of travelling, but you will understand the motives that led to the Vietnam War as well as experiencing Vietnamese culture, and understand how a course of amusing Guy Codes are being used in another country far from your own. Apart from politics, history, capitalism, communism, bus travel, jungle trekking, sun-worshiping, eating certain products labelled mystery meat, Ho Chi Minh Noodles and the Trail through Vietnam unveils the true wonder of one of the most stunning countries in the eastern hemisphere.
Of course there were things Paul had missed out about his journey, but any sense of loss was well received with a stream of laugh-out-loud humour.
With each teeth-gritting day passing, Nick and Paul idly travel through Vietnam together and learn to tolerate each others bad habits, yet, being the complete opposite to each other, they have made some of the most hilarious travel companions ever. It just goes to show how two chaps from England can turn a simple trip into a backpacking adventure.
