Goodbye, Vietnam!!!

Dazed and confused – a good way to describe our first few days in Vietnam.

After a long flight from Sidney we arrived into the chaos that is Hanoi. We managed to find our driver in the airport madness and made our way to our hotel in the Old Quarter. After a good night’s sleep with a dose of jet leg, we ventured out to explore the streets. From the swarms of honking scooters, to the smells (some good, some bad), to flashing neon signs, to food carts displaying all sorts of questionable eats, to street vendors calling for you to buy a selfie stick, and countless dogs and chickens running about, it was like stepping into a different world with a bit of sensory overload. It is a strange and wonderful place where nothing makes sense to us Westerners. From the snarled and tangled wires hanging overhead, to the holes in the sidewalks that you must constantly dodge, to the scooters buzzing by carrying anything from massive bags of rice, entire families (or both!) – it seems there are at least 15 accidents waiting to happen at any moment. But somehow it just works. In the chaos and confusion there is order. There is no road rage, no one fighting. The people are chill and relaxed; this is no place for high maintenance or skittish types.

The sidewalks were filled with scooters, business retail displays, and food venues which sprawled out onto the sidewalk and sometimes into the street. It’s was bit challenging just walking down the street; couple that with keeping an eye on 3 kids as you go and it was downright nerve wrecking. Our first day out we got into the swing of things and figured out how to cross the road – it’s a bit of a “cross your fingers, close your eyes and go for it” approach. You always have to look both ways even on a one way street, as the one way signage seems to imply majority rules only.

After the initial adjustment we began to relax and appreciate this ancient city, steeped in tradition and home to 8.4 million people (and 6 million scooters!)

The other cities we visited in Vietnam (Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh / Saigon) were similar to Hanoi but slightly less chaotic. We realize now that choosing Hanoi as our first taste of Asia was a bit like diving in to the deep end.

We had 2 days on our own in Hanoi. We spent most of our time just walking and exploring the sites and markets. We did take in a visit to Hoa Lo Prison and a walk around Hoan Kiem Lake .

In order to truly immerse yourself in another’s culture, trying local foods is a must. Street food is a thing in Hanoi. There are people serving food out scooters with attached carts, out of little cubby holes that fit four people, and even on the sidewalk with no facilities whatsoever beyond a heating source, a pot, a pile of food (including all sorts of meats), and a few plastic stools for chairs and tables alike. We never saw a refrigerator, and the meat was just sitting out, so we were a bit skeptical with kids in tow to try anything substantial on the street – who are we kidding, it was for fear of our lives. Nevertheless we managed to come across a street market with several food vendors all in a row with smiling tourists appearing to enjoy their meal. We dove in for a Vietnamese street food hotpot experience, much to our delight and tastebud’s satisfaction. Somehow we felt more confident cooking things in a boiling pot of water.

On our 3rd day we checked into a new hotel in time to meet our G Adventures group and begin our 11 day Vietnam family adventure! We cannot say enough about this fantastic tour. Everything was really top notch and this was in large part due to our most excellent guide, Hoa. She was amazing and truly went above and beyond to make sure everyone was safe, comfortable, happy, informed and fed (no easy feat when one of your travellers is the fussiest eater known to man). Chase was also happy to discover another 8 year old boy on the trip. The two became fast friends, literally talking non stop for the first few days.

We had 2 additional days in Hanoi as part of the tour. Highlights of these days include a visit with the preserved remains of Ho Chi Minh himself at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace Complex. Next we visited Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university, took in a traditional water puppet show, a cyclo tour through the crazy streets, and a professionally organized street food tour.

Our tour left Hanoi and we travelled by bus to Halong Bay where we boarded our traditional Vietnamese junk boat for a memorable overnight cruise. Halong Bay is a 1500 sq km area in northern Vietnam near the Chinese border. The Bay consisted of 1600 limestone islands and islets and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994. The boat was very comfortable, the food fantastic and the scenery stunning. The bay was busy – many more boats than we imagined there would be – but very picturesque. We enjoyed a kayaking tour, some cave exploring and a visit with some wild macaque monkeys.

Our next experience, while new and different, was one we all agree we hope to never repeat. The 13 hour overnight train to Hu was interesting. From the nasty smelling, dirty bathroom complete with puddly floors to the cockroaches greeting us in our beds, the trip was disconcerting. The lack of air conditioning making it feel like 40 degrees in our compartment, and the clickety-clack and stop-start motions all night long made for a relatively sleepless night. Needless to say we were happy to disembark and check in to our hotel in Hue.

After a blissful sleep in a bug free bed our next day was an action packed one in Hue. Our tour started with a tour of the Imperial City (aka the Purple Forbidden City), the former imperial capital of Vietnam.

Next stop was a beautiful monastery where we were treated to an amazing vegan lunch, prepared by monks, to fuel us up for our afternoon motorcycle tour.

With full bellies we were met by our motorcycle drivers and headed out on our tour. After a bit of a drive (interesting to be on the back of one of those bikes manoeuvring through the “anything goes” traffic) our first stop was a rice museum where we learned how rice was traditionally grown and refined. Next stop was a pagoda and temple visit followed by a stop at Bunker Hill, with it’s amazing views of the Perfume River and finally a visit to a shop where we learned how traditional Vietnamese hats are made. The boys had an opportunity to make their own incense sticks after a short tutorial.

After our busy day we were off again the next day to the beautiful Hoi An. Our hotel was very near the Ancient Town (another UNESCO World Heritage site), a well preserved South East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century. The Town itself is beautiful and significantly less chaotic than the towns we visited previously, yet still maintains it’s Oriental charm. We had 3 nights in Hoi An which allowed us some down time at the pool, a chance to catch up on school work as well as lots of time to explore. We took in a walking tour of the city, enjoyed an evening Vietnamese cooking class that included new favourites banana flower salad and mango sticky rice (yum yum!)

Another interesting discovery in Hoi An was the abundant tailor shops. Once a major port on the silk route, Hoi An has many tailor shops that still exist and thrive today, producing custom made clothing at bargain prices. Chase was intrigued so we had him measured and in 24 hours he had his very own custom made owl shirt for $12. (Did we mention he loves the bananas here?)

Our time in Hoi An also included a noodle making demonstration at Oodles of Noodles, an initiative between Planterra, Streets and G Adventures aimed at helping at risk youth. Streets is a hospitality training program and the Oodles of Noodles class acts as a curriculum module for the youth to practice their English language and presentation skills. Many of these students go on to very successful careers in the hospitality industry. The class was fun and informative (and tasty!) and allowed us the opportunity to make our own rice paper noodles but most importantly to learn about this great project.

Our afternoon was capped off with a bike tour through the countryside where we stopped in some rice fields and herb gardens to learn about local farming methods. After all that biking we were treated to fruit at a water coconut forest and a memorable ride in a traditional basket boat known as a Thuyen Thung; so much fun! It was another amazing G adventures day!

After a quick bus trip and then a flight from Da Nang we arrived Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon, the final stop on our tour. It was a surprisingly modern city and our hotel was very nice. The Hotel Continental Saigon was actually the first hotel in Vietnam and a far cry from our overnight train accommodation. Built in 1880, it is located in District 1, the central business district of the city, and sits opposite to the Saigon Opera House. We explored the city by cyclo and then visited the War Remnants Museum, where we learned more about the devastating Vietnam war and aftermath.

Our tour was to include a boat trip along the Mekong Delta and an overnight homestay with a family in a nearby village. Unfortunately, Steph’s unwise decision to drink iced Vietnamese coffee (with unfiltered ice cubes) likely lead to a horrible case of food poisoning. We consider ourselves lucky that after 7 months away we all managed to escape sickness to date….someone had to be first. The bad news was we missed the home stay. The good news was we got to spend an extra night at the cushy Continental.

Besides the unfortunate iced coffee encounter the food in Vietnam was amazing. We tried many local dishes and lots of fruit, rice and noodles. David discovered coconut coffee at Cong Ca Phe, an easy new favourite, as well as the before mentioned banana flower salad, dragon fruit and passion fruit and of course Pho. We will leave you with a sample of some of the delicious eats.

So long Vietnam – you are a beautiful country with amazing people, culture, traditions and food!

Onward to Cambodia!

With Love,

The Travelling Babins

“Leave home, leave the country, leave the familiar. Only then can routine experience – buying bread, eating fruit, even saying hello – become new all over again. ” – Anthony Doerr