Good Morning Vietnam!

Summer of 2019, back when the only thing standing in your way of getting on a plane to travel 16 hours across the world was your bank account (thanks coronavirus).

Me and my brother made the epic journey to Vietnam. From North to South we travelled on cramped sleeper buses and rattly domestic aeroplanes. I had briefly visited South East Asia a few years prior but this was a first for my younger brother so I took it upon myself to prep him for the reality of travelling. His first question? Where is he going to find room to pack his iron? Anyone who has travelled will tell you that the picturesque views and glamorous instagram posts are part of the deal, but the other part can be much more gruelling. Mosquito bites, hospital trips, food and gut 'issues' and exhausting tiny minibuses.

First stop, Hanoi!

Hanoi is a bustling busy city bursting with nightlife and good food. Only a few hours from Ha Long Bay, we took a day trip and were not disappointed. The pictures do not do this place justice. We booked a tour that cave trekked, hill climbed and paddle boated between islands. This was the most expensive excursion during our time in Vietnam but it was well worth the money.

Hanoi is renowned for a little gem called Train Street. Once a day the train passes through a small alley of houses and cafe's with only a few inches between train and building. It's a perfect picture opportunity and great for stopping for an infamous Vietnamese egg coffee!

The coffee in Vietnam... nothing else compares. My favourites were of course egg coffee and the iced coconut coffee. I often drank up to 4 coffees a day, whilst my body was crying out for simple water.

Next Stop, Hue!

Hue is the most beautiful place I have ever been lucky enough to visit. It was a place that made you realise how privileged we are to have the means to travel. Whilst here we walked everywhere, even if it took us hours in 40 degree celsius heat, because you just wanted to take everything in.

We visited the Imperial City which was so vast that we could not cover most of it but it was so peaceful and not too touristy like a lot of places we visited. It's funny to complain about places being 'too touristy' because we were also tourists, who get to appreciate the things Vietnam has to offer. But often times, some places were so busy that you could not move without another 10 sweaty shoulders in your face! But it's part of the charm of it all.

(Best coconut coffee was in a place called The Rustic Kitchen!)

Third Stop, Da Nang!

Da Nang was in equal measures, bizarre and surreal. I wouldn't have believed a place like this existed had I not seen it with my own eyes. The white sand beaches were where we spent most of our time because there really wasn't a lot else to do. We booked a day trip to the Golden Hands Bridge. It was heavily overcrowded, which meant more people than usual asking to take a picture with us. My ginger hair and pale skin next to my brothers tall stature meant we stuck out like a pair of sore thumbs but we smiled for the cameras the entire trip. Further exploration around the bridge led you inside a cave where the equivalent of Blackpool illuminations greeted you. Arcade games, fairground rides and ghost trains... in the middle of a massive mountain, that the only way to get to was via a 30 minute cable car ride. When we returned to our hostel, some people we had met asked us what is was like, and we genuinely had no adequate answer, other than it was just bonkers.

Next stop, Hoi An!

Oh Hoi An! Anyone who has ever been has absolutely fallen in love with this place. It really is special. The lanterns pave the roads and the river, lighting up the Old Quarter every night. The streets are lined with tailor shops and art displays. If you cross the bridge to the other side there are bars and markets buzzing with people at night. In the day, it is so quiet you can't quite believe you were there the night before necking beers on a rooftop bar and stumbling back to your hostel.

Our first day here we went to an event at a place called Blush Beach. It was a massive open air venue with an infinity pool straight onto the beach. After an unfortunate trip and fall into the pool by my brother, he discovered he had lost an entire toe nail and was bleeding... a lot. But drunk us popped a flimsy bandage on and continued our night. The following day it was clear that we needed to get help. We googled (rookie error) a place nearby that looked like a hospital. Upon entering it was clear that is was more of a hospice, with many elderly people lining the rooms on small camper style beds. We decided this probably wasn't the place to get a toe checked out so ventured on to a different hospital that was hauntingly empty and quiet. We turned down many corridors, trying to read potential signs with embarrassingly no understanding of Vietnamese language. A doctor finally saw us and offered us help and within half an hour we had been seen to, toe dowsed in iodine, freshly bandaged, handed a bag of medicine and off we went.

Luckily the toe incident did not stop us from exploring Hoi An and we visited a place called Coconut Forest. This was a highlight for me, from the hilariously kind man who navigated the basket boat for us and supplied me with a ring and head-dress made from leaves, to the weaving in and out of coconut trees. It was a pretty unbeatable experience and highly recommended if you go. It was by chance that we heard about it, because it isn't in Hoi An, so you have to get a Grab (equivalent of Uber) there and back but it was well worth the journey.

Final Stop, Ho Chi Minh!

The War Remnants Museum was extremely poignant. It details the tragedies of the Vietnam War and whilst it is extremely upsetting facing the brutal honestly through photography taken at the time and the detailed narration captioning each photo, if you go to Vietnam it is necessary to visit this museum. To see the effects that the war and agent orange had and still has on the generations that followed.

Ho Chi Minh is a modern metropolis with high rise buildings and Adidas clothes stores. It's night life is thriving, people pour into Bui Vien Street where the clubs are packed and you can get the best Bahn Mi street food as you stumble home. Benthanh street food market was the best place we ate the entire trip. Quite hidden away but we ate there every single day because the food was just too good. Our final excursion was going to the Heineken Skydeck where you are taken on a tour of Heineken, the brewery process and how to pour the perfect pint. The end is the best part where you are allowed to sit with a Heineken in hand overlooking the city.

If you have made it to the end of this blog post then I congratulate you! It was a long journey but the end has come. I love receiving questions about the trip so please get in touch if you have decided that Vietnam is the first destination you are heading to after Corona!

Thanks for reading!

The Ranting Redhead x

#travel #vietnam #asia #food #world