Vietnam was wonderful and the people warm and hospitable, Radhika Mittal discovered over a 11-day stay.
Vietnam has been on my bucket list for years. But each time I considered South East Asia, other destinations like Thailand, Cambodia, Bali etc took precedence and I somehow never made it to Vietnam.
I recently got a chance to visit Ho Chi Minh City and jumped at the chance to extend the trip and see more of country. And Vietnam did not disappoint!
It has something for everyone -- from a vibrant nightlife to beautiful landscapes, ancient temples to shopping streets!
Formerly a French colony, French influences are seen everywhere -- not just the architecture but also food including the incredibly delicious Banh Mi.
Geographically, the country neighbours Laos and Cambodia and is long and narrow with a long coastline.
My trip covered Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon in the South, Da Nang and Hoi An in Central Vietnam and Ha Long Bay and Hanoi in the North.
Ho Chi Minh City
HCMC is a modern city, lots of modern buildings juxtaposed with French architecture and traffic that reminds you of India. You will see two-wheelers in hordes all over the place.
In terms of sightseeing don't expect to see ancient pagodas and temples here -- Hanoi is the place for them. But if you are interested in the Vietnam War then HCMC is the place to be.
Key sightseeing includes:
HCMC is beautiful by night with all the buildings lit up.
Our group did a dinner cruise on the Saigon river and got a great view of the city.
On one of our nights in HCMC we did a 4 hour Vespa Street Food Tour which turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. It took us through the older and the newer parts of the city with stops at different places for food.
The food was amazing and the experience of the scooter ride through the city was incredible!
If you are looking for nightlife the Bui Vien walking street is the place to go.
Packed with tourists and crammed with coffee shops, restaurants, pubs the place is rocking till the early hours.
A younger me would have probably spent an evening partying here but tastes change as you get older.
If you have the time do consider going for the AO show at the Saigon Opera House. It showcases glimpses of Vietnamese rural and urban life through dance, acrobatics and bamboo work.
It was a unique experience and the performance was marvelous.
Visit Ben Thahn market if you want to shop for souvenirs, local handicrafts, gifts etc. Bargaining skills are required.
Da Nang & Hoi An
The flight to Da Nang from HCMC takes about 1 ½ hours. It is a modern city and a beach town. I did not stay at Da Nang, just did some sightseeing and then drove to Hoi An which is about an hour away.
I spent two nights in Hoi An and I loved it.
It has a well preserved ancient town which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The architecture is a mix of French, Chinese, Japanese and traditional Vietnamese.
The town is famous for its lanterns -- hundreds of lanterns are lit in the streets and the boats in the river at night and the place looks magical. We did the lantern boat ride one night and loved the experience.
We did a walking tour of the ancient town -- no vehicles are allowed there -- for those with mobility issues there is an option of taking a Cyclo which is like a cycle rickshaw.
Some of the places we covered were the Japanese bridge, Fujian assembly hall, Tan Ky old house, the Quang Cong temple.
The real charm of Hoi An is in walking about its streets, visiting the shops and cafes and the street market in the night.
The town is also famous for its tailoring shops that make custom garments in a day and for its leather and footwear shops.
If I come back I will want to spend a little more time at Hoi An and perhaps stay at Da Nang too since we did not go to the beach.
Halong Bay
We drove back to Da Nang and caught a flight to Hai Phong since that was closer to Ha Long Bay than Hanoi. It was still an hour's journey from Hai Phong airport.
Ha Long Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is known for its hundreds of limestone islands, rock formations and caves.
I was very excited by the fact that part of Kong: Skull Island was shot here and made a mental note to watch the movie again.
We did an overnight cruise and I think this was among my top experiences in Vietnam.
We went in April and got overcast skies and fog and despite that I thought Ha Long Bay was breathtakingly beautiful.
The cruise docked at different places and took us by speed boat to visit islands.
We visited Titov island where a hike up the mountain gave amazing views of the bay -- I climbed till the half way point. If you are reasonably fit this is easily manageable.
We travelled by boat under a limestone mountain at Luon Cave and once we got to the other side it felt like we were in a valley surrounded by mountains.
I saw many people kayaking here and it looked fun though half the time they were banging into other boats.
The most amazing part was the next morning when we visited Sung Sot Cave. It's the largest and most beautiful cave at Halong Bay and is filled with stalactites and stalagmites.
It's difficult to show through pictures the sheer scale and beauty of the caves but I certainly felt dwarfed there!
The climb was tougher than the previous day but totally worth it.
Hanoi
From Halong Bay the drive to Hanoi was about 2 ½ hours.
Hanoi was charming with an easier pace than bustling HCMC. The weather was also marginally cooler.
We did a tour of the Old Quarter and some parts of it reminded me of Crawford Market at Mumbai -- each street is dedicated to a particular guild e.g. silks, gold or silver, handicrafts, fabric etc.
Some of our sightseeing included:
A fun part of the Hanoi stay included a visit to the famous Train Street.
Was it a tourist trap? Of course, it was! But so much fun nevertheless!
It's a narrow elevated street jam packed with tiny cafes and tables on both sides of the track.
A few minutes before a train is due an alarm goes off and all the shop owners pull back their tables and make a great production of lining up people for the best view.
A guard keeps blowing on his whistle to clear the tracks, and soon you have the train passing literally inches away from you. It is totally an experience geared for photos and videos.
I was lucky to be in the city over the weekend and found that the streets around the lake area were converted to walking streets in the evening.
Families were out, there were street vendors and some live performances. Coming from a crowded city like Mumbai this was a novel experience and I felt quite safe staying out alone late in the night.
Shopping in Hanoi was better than all other places especially for souvenirs, clothes, handicrafts.
Hang Gai, Hang Trong and the streets near St Joseph Cathedral was where I did most of my shopping.
People also recommend the weekend night market and Dong Xuan market but I was all shopped out by then.
Overall, Vietnam was wonderful and the people warm and hospitable. There is lots more to see and do but this is what I covered over a 11 day trip. I will definitely be going back!
Both HCMC and Hanoi are only a short direct flight from Mumbai and Delhi. Immigration lines are long and can take up to an hour.
Food
While the food is primarily non vegetarian you can find vegetarian options at most places. All food is accompanied by a huge amount of salad.
Banh Mi is a baguette sandwich with a variety of fillings. It is available everywhere.
Other famous foods include the Vietnamese spring rolls, Pho (noodle soup), Banh Xeo (savoury pancake).Coffee
Vietnam is the second largest exporter of coffee in the world. The cities are full of cafes. Definitely shop for coffee when there.
Try the egg coffee -- I was reluctant to try it because it sounded disgusting -- but it actually turned out amazing!
Shopping
Brands like Uniqlo, Zara, Nike and many others have manufacturing units in Vietnam. I shopped at Uniqlo and found there was a lot more variety and the prices were about 15% to 20% lower.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff