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So, we originally planned to spend two weeks in Vietnam, but had such a great time we ended up staying almost a month. Oooops.
Ho Chi Min City (Saigon)
So after a nice easy crossing from Cambodia in to Vietnam, we arrived in Ho Chi Min City, also known as Saigon. We walked from the bus station to the main part of town for backpackers to stay and found ourselves a guesthouse, if you ever go to Saigon, take note that you are able to walk from the bus station. A friend got a taxi which took him on a long drive, charging $22 only for him to find out that evening when walking around that they were two minutes away…DOH!
That afternoon Sarah and I headed to China town to check out some Pagodas, they are worth going to see if you have time, there were many local people in there praying and it was fascinating to see a small child no older than two know how to take an incense stick and light it to pray! They were very beautiful inside- coiled incense hanging from the ceiling and pink paper with prayers scribed on them all over the
place. Later in the day our old flat mate and friend Adam arrived to meet us which was great, we had a few beers on our balcony watching the rain hammer down and when it had passed headed out for dinner and drinks. We found a great little local bar…I say bar, it is basically plastic chairs on the side of the street, but beer is very cheap and you meet lots of travellers and locals. That night a group of ten of us went to a local Karaoke joint and had an amazing night rocking out in one of their booths!! After this, we headed back to the local bar and tried some local brew…..it’s about 10,000 Dong (about 30p) for a whole keg of beer….It tasted like feet, so even if you are on a budget, I’d advise paying the extra 20p for something that does not contain rat pee!
Sarah, Adam and I also went to the reunification palace, which was a presidential residence (OK, nothing much to shout about) and then the War Museum, which is great! As someone who didn’t know a great deal about the war in Vietnam (apart from what I had seen
in Forrest Gump), it was a real eye opener. The story is told through some amazing photography as well as getting to see the tanks, uniforms, weapons and planes that were used during the war.
Next stop Mui Ne
We checked in to Mui Ne backpackers which is a lovely guesthouse overlooking the sea and is owned by a very nice Australian man and his Vietnamese wife. The only problem with this place, and in fact the whole of Mui Ne was the annoying tool that worked there who I am pretty sure got lost on his way to an 18-30’s season in Magaluf!!
Upon arrival we bumped in to Jose, Sole and James from karaoke in Saigon. The six of us went on a jeep tour that day to the red and white sand dunes, Fairy River and the mini Grand Canyon. This was one of the absolute highlights of the whole trip so far. The sand dunes are unbelievable…warning, take a whole lot of water with you, because it is HOT! The fairy river was great, a little stream that you walk through bare foot which just covers your feet, it takes about half an hour and
the scenery is beautiful. We then headed on to the mini grand canyon, which for someone who hasn’t been to the Grand Canyon is pretty impressive. The next thing on the list is by far the best -the white sand dunes. It is impossible to describe but it is one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever seen in my life. When we reached the top, we went sand surfing down the dunes which was great fun….although the aftermath is not so great - I’ve had sand in places that sand has never been before! A shower was needed!!
That evening we went to a little place to eat by the sea right next to our guesthouse, the food was wonderful….bbq red snapper with lemon grass and chilli, to die for! Following dinner the six of us head out for dinks, we arrived just on time as it was free buckets for ladies…BRILLIANT!! We all got pretty drunk, danced a lot, Adam and I made a human limbo pole and had the whole place competing with each other, and then managed to start a conga….in the words of Adam Spink ‘we owned it!!’
The following day, we all hired motos
and headed off around the Island to find some nice beaches. Along the way, we couldn’t resist but to head back to the Dunes….yes they really are that amazing. Whilst we were there we bumped in to some girls we had done Karaoke with in Saigon so arranged to meet them for dinner that evening which was great, we sat right by the sea eating fresh fish and drinking Saigon! Yum!
The next day all of us got the bus to Dalat.
Dalat
Ahhhh Dalat, what can I say?! Dalat is a quaint little town that is set high through spiralling mountains. It’s a touch cooler in the evening, but it was such a great place to be. At this point the group had grown to eleven, so we all arranged for a tour of Dalat on moto’s, which was epic!
The eleven of us road through the countryside in convoy visiting flower farms, saw how they make silk and rice whisky (yowzers, that stuff is strong!), we also went to a coffee plantation, a local minority village called Chicken Village, went to Elephant waterfall which you can shower under and it’s fabulous and the highlight of the day
was without a doubt going to a local Vietnamese family home and cooked and ate lunch with them. It was such a special experience, and one I know that I will remember forever.
I can’t believe this is the first time I am mentioning the food….WOW!! Pho is a Vietnamese dish (noodle soup with style), is to die for. We had the greatest helping of Pho in Dalat in a place called Vinh Loi which was a local eatery and very cheap…the best PHO SURE!! (ha)
Nha Trang
Nha Trang was not at all how I expected it, but it was pleasant all the same. The thing to do here is head to the beach, dive or snorkel.
The group at this point had gone separate ways, but Sarah and I were still accompanied by the wonderful Cecelia and Marie. We all went out on a snorkelling trip one day which was awesome and got to top up our tans on the deck…not to mention they feed you the biggest lunch ever which we had no problem gobbling down!
That evening, we ran in to some friends we had met along the way and had a great night out
with them. If you read Lonely Planet it mentions this being a ‘party town’ we would have to disagree. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great laugh and the few bars they have are full, but it was not half as busy as we had anticipated…if you are looking for that kind of this, go to Mui Ne.
Hoi An
I HEART HOI AN!! This place has everything, beautiful little town, gorgeous food, a beach, and to top it off you get to cycle around on bicycles and pretend you are Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love.
If you visit Vietnam, you must, must, must go to Hoi An. I had no problem spending days just wandering around the town looking at clothes and trying my hardest to resist buying anything and in the evening you can have cheap food by the river at the local eateries. The great thing about Hoi An food is they have specialised dishes which you don’t find in the rest of Vietnam-White Roses (steamed dumplings-rather like Dim Sun), Cao Lau (a noodle soup special to Hoi An due to the water the noodles are made in) and Fried Wonton (a Vietnamese version
of nachos) all delicious so make the most of them whilst you are there.
It is really easy to hire a bicycle around Hoi An for about $0.75 per day and head to the beach. It is about a 20 minute ride to the main beach, but I would advise heading to the smaller beach which is actually closer, much cleaner and more peaceful. Great place for culture and a tan…score!!
I did Hue and it was HOT!
So….what to tell you about Hue? I’ll keep this brief-whoever said that Hue was a great place to go was high!! Nothing that set it aside from the other towns, nothing unique apart from the citadel and the tombs….which Sarah and I later named the cita-DULL! The only good thing about this place was the last night and meeting a really nice group of people. Other than that….you’re not missing much!
Hanoi
This is the capital of Vietnam, so after Ho Chi Min City we were expecting great things. I’m not saying I hated it here, but i was a tad disappointing. If you are going to visit a big city in Vietnam, I’d go for Ho Chi Min every
time. The annoying thing is that we Hanoi is the central point if you want to travel to either Halong Bay or Sapa….of which we were doing both! This meant coming back again and again….by the last time we didn’t mind it so much, but it is a lot more complicated to navigate around, there are not many places to eat and the tourist attractions are only open certain days of the week at really strange times. If you are planning to stay there, then we would definitely recommend staying at Little Hanoi Hotel. The staff there are so nice, it’s cheap, breakfast is included and they have free Wi-Fi…everyone’s a winner!
Halong Bay
WOW! Sarah and I decided to take a 2 day, 1 night trip on a Junk and that we would treat ourselves to one a little more expensive due to some of the bad things we had heard about the cheaper tours. This was a great decision and they ended up being the best two days in Vietnam for me.
We were picked up from our hotel in Hanoi and taken in a mini bus all the way to Halong City. We jumped on a
little boat and headed out to our junk. We were amazed at how luxurious it was and how unbelievable the staff were. We explored the junk and then had lunch on the boat with the other seven passengers-the food was incredible, and so much of it you could burst! After lunch we relaxed on the top deck whilst sailing through the bay to a cave. We went for a hike through the cave which was great and got to take some great pictures.
In the afternoon we went kayaking which was incredible. I actually had one of those moments of awe where I felt lucky to be alive – (who knew I was so deep?). We were Kayaking through a cave and came out the other side in to a lagoon surrounded by limestone formations completely isolating us from the rest of the bay, it was so silent and the sun shone on to the sea. The moment I rowed in to the sun and felt the warmth on face, I leant back to take it all in. This was one of the happiest moments I ever remember having! It was beautiful.
That evening we hung out on the boat,
Hangover food
Morning Glory and Coconut Chips!swam in the bay and sipped on cocktails whilst watching the sun set. I am sure I didn’t stop grinning for two days it was wonderful. Later in the evening we shared a bottle of wine (from Italy thankfully) Vietnamese wine is NOT GOOD, and did some squid finishing from the boat following another amazing meal.
In the morning Sarah and I woke to watch the sun rise, and then did Thai Chi on the top deck…what a way to start the day! The rest of the day was mainly relaxing; we visited a local fishing village and got ready to head back to Hanoi.
The company we went with was called Oriental Sails. I would recommend this company to anyone visiting Halong Bay.
Sapa
OK, from soppy moment to soggy moment. Sapa is wet!
We headed up on the bus (most people take train, but bus was cheaper…and bumpier) and found ourselves above the clouds in the pouring rain early the next morning.
Sarah and I had arranged a tour of some villages and trekking so we set off early in wellies, raincoats, and jumpers through the mountains to the first of the villages (I know what you’re
thinking, HOT STUFF). Within 5 minutes we were soaked through to our pants and still had two hours trekking. It was hard work, but as the skies managed to clear we got to see how beautiful Sapa was. Paddy fields covered the hill sides in a step like formation which is really hard to describe and even harder to capture by camera, but all the same we have the memories.
In the afternoon we dried off and went to hang out in the local town. It’s very quaint and reminds me of a little ski resort in Europe without the snow. The local communities dress in beautiful hand sewn clothing that they and wander the villages and hill sides trying to sell you, they are very friendly but also very persistent so as a wise old bird from school once told me, just say no!
The second day we went on a very long trek, it rained again, but this time it didn’t matter! We climbed up dirt tracks and clambered along the mountain sides wading through mud and trying hard not to slip over, although a few of the group failed. This was really fun and again was great
to visit the local communities, and even visited one of the local schools.
After the trekking was finished, we made our way back to our hotel which was on the top of a cliff side overlooking the mountains above the clouds and got ready for a very bumpy journey back to Hanoi.
So, as I sit and write this last paragraph 21 hours on a 30 hour bus to Laos, I reflect on what I learnt in Vietnam. They love Karaoke, and sing all the time, any hour, even on a bus a 2am when you are trying to sleep! Pho is one of my new favourite foods. If a vehicle does not have a horn it is a health hazard, their way of communicating on road is beeping until someone else moves...don’t try this at home kids! Hoi An, Halong and Dalat are my favourite places in Vietnam and I will definitely be coming back here in my lifetime.
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Michael
non-member comment
Amazing journey
Awesome - you 2 look really tanned and healthy (except for one shot - rat arsed!). Loved the Sapa pics -- the girl. Looks like you are having an amazing time - enjoy & be safe. D & C xx