Good morning (from) Vietnam

The Vibrancy of Vietnam

We just finished almost a month in Vietnam - making this dynamic country one of our top three in terms of time spent (the others are France and Tanzania). We have learned and experienced so much during our time here. We found each new stop offered locally distinct and special culture, history and food. 

Over the last few decades Vietnam has experienced one of the most remarkable economic transformations in modern history, evolving from one of the world's poorest nations into a dynamic, middle-income, manufacturing-driven economy. Driven by the Đổi Mới (renovation) reforms initiated in the late 1980s, the country has maintained consistently high growth rates, aiming to cement itself as one of the rising tiger cub economies of Asia. We found it to be incredibly affordable - once you get over the sticker shock of the numeracy of the currency - 1 million dong may sound like a lot, until you realize it is just over $50 Cdn. 

A Resilient History

Vietnam’s history is one of perseverance through imperialism and violence. Despite its comparatively small size geographically, the Vietnamese people have outwitted and outlasted would be conquerors for generations. For a millenia (from 111 BCE to 938 CE) the first states of Vietnam were ruled by the Chinese though this period was marked by constant rebellion attempts, and an eventual defeat of the Southern Han fleet. Following this victory, Vietnam was ruled by a succession of dynasties that brought a focus on independence, Buddhism and Confucianism, and the expansion of territory southward to the Mekong Delta as well as the resistance to three large invasion attempts by the Mongols. Vietnam was unified as a country from North to South under the Nguyễn dynasty in 1802, with its capital established in Huế.  

France began its colonial invasion in 1858, eventually incorporating Vietnam into French Indochina. During this period, the French exploited resources (rubber, coal, rice) and introduced western education and Catholicism. Japan occupied Vietnam during WWII as France had little ability or resources to manage its colonies as it itself was occupied by the Germans. In the vacuum left by Japan's 1945 surrender, Hồ Chí Minh declared independence as a communist state but the French attempted to reclaim their colony in the first Indochina War. This ended in 1954 with a decisive French defeat at Điện Biên Phủ.

The US began assisting the French by supplying money and supplies as early as 1950. Vietnam was provisionally split through the Geneva Accords in 1954 between North and South. Vietnam would become an epicenter of the battle between communism and capitalism, with Russia and China supporting the North, and the Americans supporting the South. 

The American War of Aggression (it is not called the Vietnam War here), escalated through the 1960s. Peaking in 1969 with more than ½ million US personnel in the country. Before the North Vietnamese captured Saigon in 1975 to end the war more tonnage of bombs were dropped in SE Asia by the Americans than through ALL of WWII. 

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Friendly Vietnam

Reunification Day is on April 30 (honouring the day Saigon was captured when Vietnam became whole again), and May 1 is celebrated as Labour Day. This meant we were in Vietnam during National Holidays when most Vietnamese families are also on holidays. This provided us with such great opportunities to meet and visit with locals who were off work and travelling or otherwise celebrating. The streets were all adorned with millions of flags. We have found Vietnam to be one of the friendliest countries we have visited - everyone we met has been genuinely interested in meeting us, becoming friends and helping with great advice from what to order, where to visit and to share their experiences of being Vietnamese. 

Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon)

Our time in Vietnam’s largest city was cut short due to a visa issue (described in our last post) so we cannot say we saw everything we wanted to. We fast tracked some of our site-seeing thanks to a hop on hop off bus - that thankfully had air conditioning as we arrived in the middle of a heat wave that saw daytime temperatures reach 38 degrees (too hot for the canucks!!). We also got our first tastes of authentic Vietnamese food - OMG is it good - we quickly found phớ, bún and bánh mi - some favourites from back home that taste so much better here. 

We visited the War Remnants Museum for a deep dive into the American War - the exhibits showcased here show an in depth record of war crimes and horror told from the perspective of Vietnam. Although this war was perhaps the first to be recorded and broadcast in real time so that people in the West were more aware of what was happening - the reality of Agent Orange, Napalm, massacres of civilians in large numbers and 1 million tonnes of bombs dropped is horrifying. The Vietnamese do not think of this war as one of communism versus capitalism - but rather as a fight for their very survival. Given the current global conflicts, this experience for us felt poignant and frustrating in our feeling that many lessons history offers us have not been learned adequately.   

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  First pho & hot pot in Vietnam

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  Banh mi - served with special pate

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  A sea of scooters

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  War Remnants Museum

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  Ho Chi Minh City

Mekong Delta

We travelled to the Mekong Delta and stayed at the Jardin du Mekong homestay - a lovely, lush garden of cozy cabins that Mr Vinh and his family host for travellers. We travelled the narrow roads and pathways along the riverways by bicycle to explore this less travelled area. We visited the local market to see live frogs, eels, and fish for sale along with all kinds of fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. With ingredients we bought with Mr Vinh, we learned how to make bánh xèo (savory coconut and rice pancakes with pork and shrimp wrapped in basil then dipped in fish sauce), spring rolls, dumplings and stuffed courgettes. The heat wave followed us to this area so we made a point of activities in the early mornings and evenings, with mid day reserved for rest and shade.

We enjoyed a boat ride down the Mekong and a lunch adventure on the riverside of beef noodles and salted lime chicken wings that was made entirely possible with google translate as the menu and the staff spoke only Vietnamese. We found this part of Vietnam much less touristed - the only other travellers were those who were at the same homestay from France and Quebec. 

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  Jardin du Mekong Homestay

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  Beautiful food all week

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  Making Ban Xeo from scratch

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  Mekong river boat

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  Shopping at the local market

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  Our host Mr Vinh

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  Cooking class

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  Our springrolls

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Mui Ne

We chose to visit Mui Ne for its reputation as a kite surfing destination; disappointingly we did not find any kite surfing there. We also found this beach destination was largely geared to Russian tourists, making it a very different ‘vibe’ - so all in all our time in Mui Ne was different than what we were expecting.

We did spend some relaxing days on the beach and found a few of our best meals - a backpacker filled food court called us back twice for table-side bbq, delicious indian and mexican food. Our favourite meal was at a locally run food stall serving local beef stew, phớ and bánh mi - four of us enjoyed meals and drinks for $18 cdn (a new record I think!). 

One day we hired a driver and explored the local sites - a “fairy stream” which ended up being a shallow sandy bottomed stream you walked up until you could see some local hoodoos (underwhelming) and red and white sand dunes (very impressive) where we went ATV’ing. The ATV adventure garnered mixed reviews - the boys loved it because they got to drive one, Erin hated it given the terrifying lack of safety standards and a final drive by one of the locals straight down a steep side of a dune where we felt lucky to make it out alive….all with no communication whatsoever about what to expect. 

We left Mui Ne on an overnight train - a must do experience in Vietnam - where we bought a sleeper cabin with four bunks. Finn and Jasper thought this was amazing and very comfortable; Ian and Erin found the bar car and made friends with some Vietnamese travellers who had settled in with a case of beer and a bucket of ice and wanted to share. They fed us some salted peanuts (a popular bar snack here) and some mystery meat wrapped in banana leaves-delicious despite the lack of information. Turns out our new friend Anh has a sister who lives in Calgary (crazy small world) who he called and woke up at 6am so we could be introduced. Hilarious. 

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  Albino snake for hire

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  White dunes we ATV'd up...and down

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  Red sand dunes

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  My driver alert

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  Overnight train cabin for 4

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  Table side BBQ with chef Jasper

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  New friends on the train

Hoi An

We arrived in the artsy city of Hoi An and immediately fell in love with it. This old town is full of streets lit up by gorgeous lanterns that close for walking in the evening and is known for leather making, tailoring, art and bánh mi (vietnamese subs).  

We spent a full morning as a family doing a leather workshop with Zen; she and her team helped us make creations we are all very proud of: two wallets, a passport wallet and laptop case. We all loved this so much and have such fantastic keepsakes. Erin, Ian and Jasper also took the opportunity to get custom linen clothes made. 

We enjoyed lovely meals - of both the very cheap and fancier variety while in Hoi An - and collectively developed a new addiction to a Vietnamese specialty called Salted Coffee. This coffee is a mixture of condensed milk, strong vietnamese coffee, topped with salted whipped cream - served both hot and cold - that is deliciously balanced and tastes like salted caramel. This became a daily indulgence for the rest of our time in Vietnam. 

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  Salted coffee

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  Beautiful lanterns of Hoi An evenings

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  Zen leather workshop

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  Banh Mi Phuong of Anthony Bourdain fame

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  Zen leather workshop

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  Beautiful restaurant by the river

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  matchy-matchy made possible in Hoi An

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Huế

Located in central Vietnam, this bustling city is a UNESCO World Heritage site known as the former imperial capital of the Nguyễn Dynasty (1802–1945). Here we visited the citadel, a sprawling and beautifully well preserved walled complex. Most days we strolled the public parks and promenades along the Perfume River. We enjoyed the local version of phớ called Bún Bò Huế - a spicy beef version, and many lovely meals. Many streets become walking streets on weekend nights - and this turned them all into street festivals thanks to the national holidays - we met many Vietnamese of all ages out enjoying the party well into the night (and again buying a case of beer and a bucket of ice to support said festivities). 

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  Imperial City outside the walls

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  Our guide An

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  The forbidden purple city

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  Many locals dress up for fancy photos within the Imperial City

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  Balloon fights in the streets meeting new friends

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Vinh Moc

We travelled to Vinh Moc specially to experience the Vinh Moc tunnels. These tunnels are amongst the few to have survived the American war intact. These are an elaborate network of tunnels 15 - 30 meters underground - dug mostly by hand with bamboo and shovels by the local community. Although used occasionally for military reasons, the primary purpose of these tunnels was to protect the 620 people who lived in them for almost 6 years during the war. As we walked through the tunnel network we saw the tiny 84 rooms that housed entire families, the maternity room where 17 babies were born (including the father of our tour guide that day!!), and where an entire village survived, mostly in the dark, while over 1 million tonnes of bombs were dropped and while all the vegetation on the land above was destroyed by agent orange. This experience left us all marvelling at the resilience of the human spirit and the impressiveness that has been preserved for us all to learn from. 

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  One tunnel exit

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  Maternity ward where 17 babies were born over the course of 6 years

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  Descending 30 meters down into the tunnels

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  Entering the tunnels

Phong Nha

We travelled to the National Park jungle near Phong Nha to trek into the caves that the area is famous for. The night before our trek our ‘farmstay’ had the enormous perk of also hosting an extended family on vacation from Hanoi - the kids played soccer and boardgames til the wee hours with their new friends. We signed up for a family oriented trek and were delighted to meet new friends from the Netherlands and from Canada (though the Canadians are living in Vietnam for 3 years). All the kids - ages ranging from 9-13 became fast friends as we packed up on this grand adventure, following our guides through streams, up and down steep mountain passes, over and under rocks, to discover five of the area's caves, trying not to flinch from the resident bats. We visited Secret Cave, only discovered in 2012 because it is hidden behind a steep rocky outcrop. The caves Little Rat Cave & Big Rat Cave thankfully not named because they have lots of rats which led us from one side of a limestone mountain to another. We slept (sort of!) in tents and enjoyed amazing Vietnamese camp food prepared by the fabulous trip staff. 

We took an overnight bus leaving Phong Nha - these contain ‘luxury’ pods for each person to sleep, mind you these are designed for the Vietnamese body and not the longer Ian version. He was however able to get semi-comfortable sleeping diagonally across the berth. Despite arriving 90 minutes late to pick us up at 10:30pm, the bus arrived in Hanoi an hour early at 5am, giving us little time to sleep. Luckily our hotel had a room we could crash in for a small extra fee in the early hours. Not sure the Sharp team is going to rush into another overnight travel adventure anytime soon!

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  Gorgeous Phong Nha landscapes

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  River crossing

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  Trekking

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  Our guide Lam on the left

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  Caving

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  Cave swim

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  Back to daylight

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  New friends

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  Camp breakfast

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  Cave lunch

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  Foot massage After the Trek

Hanoi

Erin & Ian had travelled to Hanoi on their honeymoon 16 years ago so were excited to reconnect with the exciting city they remember. Hanoi is even busier than they remember, and the art of crossing the street (just start walking, slowly and predictably, and trust that the scooters will avoid you) is more important than ever. We stayed in the mania of the old quarter, where streets close down at night and hundreds of tables and chairs take over for drinking and eating. We were intrigued that these outdoor patios are apparently unsanctioned because one evening we were unceremoniously whisked off our plastic chairs, our table was folded up and taken inside all within a few seconds while a police vehicle drove by. We and many other tourists were left with beers in hand scratching our heads about what just happened, outdoor drinking is OK just not outdoor sitting? This whole process lasted a few minutes until the green light was given amongst the bustling street and the whole scene was set up again. 

As the capital of current day Vietnam, Hanoi is the cultural and historic capital that has cooler temperatures and more seasonality than the south (the south is said to have only two seasons: hot and humid, and hotter and humider). It has drawn significantly more international travellers each year for all that it has to offer. 

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While there, we went to train street (where the train literally comes within 6 inches of your face as you sit on the patios), the temple of literature (finally a temple to something other than a god - celebrating knowledge instead!), and enjoyed walking all around Hoam Kiem lake when all the streets were closed thanks to the holidays. We also spent a day trip to Ninh Binh - a stunning UNESCO World Heritage site south of Hanoi known for its dramatic limestone karsts, serene rivers, and lush rice paddies. We hiked the 500 steps up the famous Mua Caves and took a boat trip around Trang An to see its caves and hidden temples by the water. 

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  National flags all over the streets

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  Hoan Kiem Lake

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  Ban Xeo at Quan An Ngon

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  Moments before the raid LOL

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  Pho 10, famous pho in Hanoi

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  Hoan Kiem Lake

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  Ancient capital near Ninh Binh

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  Ninh Binh temple

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  Hiked up 500 steps on Mua Caves

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  Train street

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  Tuk tuk ride

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  This guy's PPM (Pho Per Minute) was incredible

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  Ninh Binh

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  Hanoi streets

Hanoi can also be said to be the well deserving capital of this foodie heaven of a country - with many of the most famous dishes and restaurants found here, including many Michelin starred and rated experiences that can be had for cheaper prices than anywhere else in the world. We braved line ups on occasion to not miss out. We had bib gourmand ranked phớ at Phớ 10, experienced Michelin star food at Tầm Vị, enjoyed the best vibe and bánh xèo thanks to an insider recommendation (merci Fabs!) at Quan An Ngon, and Ian and Erin even recreated a memory going back to Bo Nuong Xuan Xuan for street side bbq beef and baguette. We mixed in plenty of salt coffee and Hanoi beer. 

Despite spending a long time in Vietnam, we felt sorry to be leaving such a wonderful place. 

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Finlay

While we were in Vietnam we did a lot. One of my favorite things that we did while we were there was caving. Caving is where you go into a cave and explore some really cool things. For example we saw Gecko eggs, giant spiders, stalagmites, stalactites and bonus, we got to do it with new friends. In Vietnam I also loved the food, the phớ and the bánh mi and the bun, some of the best food I have had in a while.  

Jasper

While we were in Vietnam we went to Phong Nha where we went hiking into caves that was my favorite part of Vietnam. I found the food to be my favorite soup phớ, my favorite sandwich bánh mi  and my favorite salted coffee. I ate the best mango I’ve ever had in the Mekong Delta.