Whistle Stop 3 Centre Tour of Vietnam
I say whistle stop as this was our first trip out of the UK for 2018 and was to be a three-centre holiday enjoyed over 10 days!
Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh City formerly known as Saigon. You arrive in Saigon and the first thing you are greeted by are the scooters and mopeds – 8 million in total! Crossing a road is hazardous, no attention is paid to crossings and you see everything conceivable on the back of these mopeds – goats, dogs, families of four, crates of chickens, flower displays, water bottles – anything is transportable in Ho Chi Minh City! As time was limited, we did a short city tour followed by a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels to see the network of underground tunnels located within the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City. These tunnels were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. We were able to go into one of the remaining tunnels open to the public. However, 20 metres was far enough for me due to the extremely low ceilings and having to walk crouched down. How the locals lived like that on a daily basis is astonishing!
We had a beautiful city hotel which was pleasantly located, your money goes a long way here and the cost of a 5-star hotel was ‘cheap as chips’ and we felt spoilt. That same evening, we spent time at the Glow Sky Bar overlooking the city.
As internal travel is cheap (‘Vietjet is Vietnams equivalent of Ryanair!) we travelled an hour by air to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a busy, noisy city, great for an evening out, shopping in the night markets or a walk on the promenade, but it was great to have the peace and quiet of a beachside resort hotel about 20 minutes outside of the city. Our hotel was beautiful; we had a gorgeous cliff villa with our very own pool and again this did not break the bank! The resort was stretched along a 1-kilometre part of the coastline, so it was useful to have buggies to transport you around the resort. The staff at the hotel were a delight, nothing was too much trouble for them and everyone greeted you with a smile, a hello or a nod of the head, even the gardeners who worked tirelessly to keep the grounds pristine.
Days were spent by the pool and evenings were spent in Nha Trang, courtesy of the hotels free shuttle bus 4 times a day into the resort. We enjoyed some great meals in town and they were exceptional value at £10-15 for a couple including drinks.
Our final part of the whistle stop tour was to the northern city of Hanoi, about two hours by air from Nha Trang. We stayed in a trendy, boutique style hotel which is very popular in Hanoi. Again, as the time was limited, we chose a couple of excursions that were hosted by young, local people in a small group. Our first tour was a walking foodie tour and we had a full tour of 12 people from OZ, the USA, the Philippines and the two of us from the UK. ‘Bell’ our local guide took us to seven eateries and to be honest, if you saw them on your own, there’s no way you would use them! However, this was an excellent way to taste the local cuisine and we got to sample dishes such as: banh mi pate (a Vietnamese sandwich), bun cha (rice vermicelli with pork meatballs) kem xoi (green sticky rice with ice cream) and ca phe trung (hot egg coffee). Bell also gave great information en route to these places. We walked along the railway line with houses right on the tracks, past the dog butchers (never again!) and through the markets, the sounds and smells fill up your senses!
Our second tour saw us visit the main highlights of Hanoi such as the cathedral, the university buildings and the Ho a Lo prison used by the French colonists in Vietnam for political prisoners and later by North Vietnam to house US prisoners of war during the Vietnam war. It was ironically named the Hanoi Hilton by the US prisoners. Hanoi is a beautiful, fascinating city with a lovely lake in the centre, it seems to have more appeal than Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam is a vibrant, youthful country that seems to have come through the troubles of its past. I would return in a heartbeat.
