We left Hue after our short 1 night visit. We found the time to be sufficient for the key sights.
For our trip south to Hoi An we were on a bus for a 4 hour ride. Some unusual seating for sure. But for $9, not too bad.
Hoi An is a smaller city just south of the busy, and up and coming, larger city of Da Nang. The sheer influx of hotels being built just south of Da Nang was interesting and worrisome at the same time. I hope they will manage the impact on the local environment sufficiently.
One of the first stops in Hoi An was the scooter place across the street. One stop shop for water, snacks, laundry, and scooter rental. We took our scooter down to the beach and grabbed lunch. Weather was not on our side as we were in the middle of the monsoon season. Note: Vietnam has three separate climate zones so you are bound to have some rain somewhere on your trip. It wasn’t bad and we were quickly in the dry again.
After the beach and lunch we zoomed to downtown Hoi An for some custom made/tailored clothes which Hoi An is known for. A few dresses, shirts, and blazer were designed and ordered for us. Turn around time 24 hours, and at a fraction of the cost of the USA. Hello custom made clothing.
Hoi An’s beautiful walking streets and canals were great to immerse yourself in. Less hectic than Hanoi for sure.
We also rode bicycles to an organic farm where we got to do some planting, and then cooking some lunch afterwards. We succeeded at both, but we’re experienced farmers 🙂
From Hoi An we drove north to Da Nang and caught a flight south to busy Ho Chi Minh City, formerly, and to some degree, known as Saigon.
Since it was Jessica’s birthday I may have requested some help with party preparations at our trusted Marriott family hotel (home sweet home Renaissance Saigon)
We walked and walked, checking out this more modern city. Also managed to visit the War Remnants museum which showed the very ugly side of the Vietnam war. The sheer destruction and impact that the war had left some impressions on both of us. Agent orange, napalm, torture, bombings. All terrible things that war brings. Unfortunately, as most war related information, the museum was single sided only and only showed what the USA and their allies did during the war. I am sure there were equally ugly sides of War from the North Vietnamese side. Welcome to communism.
We also had a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels located outside Saigon. These tunnels stretched over 250 km/155 miles. People simply lived underground fighting the Americans during the war. Terrible traps and killing methods were used here.
We did get to go through these tunnels, located around 20-50 ft underground, and these were certainly not designed for walking, more crunched over or crawling. They did a great job at concealing everything from chimneys for smoke located far from kitchen areas, and ventilation shafts concealed as termite mounds.
From Saigon we headed south west to the Mekong Delta. A larger river area where people truly utilize the river as their livelihood, transport, and pleasure. Small islands with no bridges, instead they use canals linking houses, and the river keeps the commerce flowing.
We spent 2 days here with our own boat, and enjoyed a local homestay for a night. No a/c, plenty of mosquitoes at night, and a palm sized spider in the shared bathroom. Those things aside… we did get to learn some cooking and I got to make some mean spring rolls in the fancy kitchen, over a wood fired stove.
During our Mekong tour we got to visit local factories, fruit farm, bee farm, and a coconut candy “factory”. All very interesting.
Back in Saigon we had a buffer day before our trip to Cambodia. We managed some shopping and an evening food tour by Motorbike/scooter. I was thoroughly impressed with these drivers skills, and that’s coming from me as as motorcycle rider! Food was great, and our young university students were great guides and they were eager to talk to us in almost perfect English.
And that’s it for Vietnam. Next stop Cambodia. We had a great time touring this country, but the cities are a bit of a chaos, but I guess that’s part of the experience. Hoi An was a beautiful city and a great stop. Cruising Halong Bay was also very pretty. Overall I hope that Vietnam takes care of their country and manages development and tourism better.
