Vietnam part 1 – Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), Nha Trang & Hoi An

Back in February - still with the GAdventures tour group - following a brilliant week or so in Cambodia, we made our way to Vietnam. The journey involved a long drive to the border on a local bus (which we were pleasantly surprised to find was spacious, clean, had reclining seats, free snacks and a toilet, literally luxury in Asia!) and a walk with all our rucksacks through no-mans-land. This place was strangely full of casinos, where we jumped on another bus to head to our accommodation in Can Tho.

Relieved to arrive at our homestay after a long day’s travel, we enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal from our hosts and a brief lesson in pancake making. It was honestly one of the best meals I’d had so far on the tour, so after a few beers, we went to bed full and happy.

As the first main stop off in Vietnam, we headed to Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam’s hectic capital city, where we had two days to explore. The girls and I headed to the central market for a delicious lunch of Bahn Mi (my favourite thing ever) – a freshly baked baguette filled with chicken, cheese, eggs, and other goodies, as well as refreshing mango smoothies. We then bartered in the market for souvenirs and knock-off branded tees, before going for a relaxing foot and leg massage – necessary after sweatily negotiating our way through the city and attempting to cross roads through insane traffic. No exaggeration - picture 10,000 scooters coming towards you at once - with no intention of stopping.

That evening we went for a Vietnamese BBQ at Barbecue Garden – another stellar meal, where we were able to cook our own food on the table, all nicely washed down with a tower of beer. After dinner, we went to explore the rooftop bars (there are loads of great ones in HCMC, we went to Glow bar) for cocktails with a view, before heading for a night out on backpacker street, eventful as always.

The following day, some of the group went to visit the Cu Chi tunnels, while the slightly more fragile of us opted for a day at the pool for some much-needed TLC.

Later that day, we got the first of our night trains to Nha Trang on the coast, where we were to spend a couple nights near the beach. The night train was quite an experience, its incredibly noisy, not particularly clean, and cockroaches are regular visitors, but we made the most of the experience by playing card games and feasting on beers and pizza, so a journey we were dreading actually turned out to be pretty fun.

The next morning in Nha Trang, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast on the beach, before heading to another beach for a day of BBQ food, drinks, surfing and sunbathing. We were also celebrating Marlene’s birthday which made for a great day, and night out, celebrating with cocktails at the Sailing Club. We loved this spot for drinks and dancing, as well as its fire show, and it was also where we got breakfast that morning, so an all round highly recommended spot.

The following day, once again nursing a few sore heads (!), a few of the girls and I made our way to the nearby mud baths for an afternoon of pampering, which felt like bliss after all the travelling we’d been doing. It was a good chance to relax and chill before yet another long journey headed north to Hoi An.

Again, we arrived really early to Hoi An, so after dumping our stuff at the hostel, headed out for breakfast in the town at a great little café called Cargo to revive ourselves. We then explored the town, which is absolutely gorgeous, replete with colourful lanterns, quaint bridges (the Japanese bridge was a favourite) and cheap local market stalls – where we tried our luck at haggling. In the evening we checked out a couple lively local bars, and took a million pictures of the scenery before heading to bed. The next day we went to check out Marble Mountain, halfway between Da Nang and Hoi An. We were all pretty impressed by the sights here, which combined incredible marble and limestone hilltops with views for days, eerie caves, and magnificent Buddhist sanctuaries. After that, the girls took a trip to a recommended local tailors for appointments to get our dresses/jumpsuits fitted. We were amazed at not only the quality of what was made, but the fact it only took one day to produce, and in any colour, material and style we asked for. This was definitely a highlight in Hoi An, but if not tailored clothing, the local leather bags and shoes are also great quality.

Following a wonderful couple of days in Hoi An – my new favourite place in Vietnam – the group headed north to Hue for a countryside motorbike tour, before making our way to Halong Bay, one of my bucket list spots… more to come on that soon!

A couple having their wedding photos taken by the Japanese Bridge, Hoi An

Home

Vietnam part 1 – Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), Nha Trang & Hoi An