An escape-journey to Vietnam

It looks like I will soon need to change the name of my blog. Writing can become addictive.

My “overdue Vietnam baby” waited too long to be born and here it is – out and impatient to go around the world!

To visit Vietnam while living in Rwanda may not sound quite reasonable, and many friends in Rwanda asked how we came to the idea at all. “It is so far”, “Why exactly Vietnam?”, “Oh, is there any connection flight?” were questions we most often heard. Indeed, it is far from Rwanda; but yes, there is a connection flight. Vietnam was a long planned destination but most importantly we simply wanted to take a break from Rwanda, and from Africa in general.

Contrary to my usual habit of thoroughly researching new places, this time we entrusted the task to a good travel agent friend from Bulgaria. This not only saved us enormous amount of time but also brought more surprise and delight from discovering things on the spot.

Our 11-day journey consisted of three main stops – Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon) to the south, Phu Quoc – an island underneath Cambodia, and Hanoi – the capital of Vietnam located in the north. We could probably squeeze in one or two places from central Vietnam like Danang, Hoi An or Hue. But this would mean longer stay and overload of impressions and information, especially for the children. We already had lots of travel and itineraries on our plate, so we left out central Vietnam for the next time.

After 6,5 hours to Qatar, and then another 7,5 hours we arrived in hot and humid Ho Chi Minh, feeling quite dizzy and tired. Fortunately, our tour guide Henri was waiting for us at arrival, and the air-conditioned minibus refreshed us a bit on the way to the hotel.

Streets of Ho Chi Minh

Ho Chi Minh (or Saigon) is a sensory overload, yet charming in its own way. The border between roadways and sidewalks simply doesn’t exist. Scooters, push-bikes and cars drive everywhere. It’s fascinating to watch how they drive just centimeters apart, undertaking unexpected maneuvers at cross-roads, intertwining their way down the street, and driving up on the sidewalks just before you step back not to be overrun.

According to the not so official statistics, around 13 million people live in Ho Chi Minh, and there are 8 million motorbikes. Honestly, my impression was that their number is equal. Young and old, commuters and students, families of 3 or 4 including a baby – everyone rushes around on a scooter, beeping horns almost constantly pressed (do they really think others can hear them?!), in a traffic which seems to be 24-7 at its heaviest.

Crossing the road is a real adventure, drivers wouldn’t stop even if you hold a little child by your hand. By the time we arrived at the hotel, took a short rest and went out around the neighborhood, it was already a rush hour. We got terrified at the first street crossing. Nobody would stop despite of the green pedestrian street light. As if we were invisible. We made a clear hand signal. No effect. Even worse, our hesitation apparently only annoyed them.  As a friend of mine said “I still have nightmares of crossing streets in Ho Chi Minh” 🙂

Well, having grown up in Eastern Europe, we are not complete beginners in crossing busy streets with crazy drivers! Good old habits may get dormant but they never die. A little forgotten but proven tactic is to wait for a break in the traffic, collect some extra courage and simply cross the road in a very self-confident way, as quickly as possible. Two additional hints: never step backwards or de-route and always watch out for vehicles both ways even on one-way roads. That’s it! I am sure if we stayed a little longer in Ho Chi Minh, we would have become Masters of Crossing Roads!

However, don’t think you would feel more relaxed walking on the sidewalks. As this is where all the scooters ride over to park. In a nutshell, there is simply no break from the traffic chaos. You stay in this state of “alert” from the moment you step out on the road to the moment you step inside a building.

Another amazing thing to watch is all the impossible things being transported on scooters or bikes. We see that in Rwanda as well but I think that nobody can beat rider’s creativity in Ho Chi Minh. Big flower pots, wardrobes, crates of chickens, baskets full of vegetables… A pile of plastic containers passes by. It’s definitely funny for us as tourists; it doesn’t seem to be funny at all for the riders who probably make their living, risking their health several times per day.

Mesmerized by the traffic and all that is going on in the busy streets, we didn’t pay attention to all the various architecture styles at first. An incredible mix of traditional Vietnamese pagodas, contemporary business buildings and skyscrapers, French colonial buildings, street-facing tall and narrow residential buildings, all speaking about the rich history of the city.

We didn’t have a lot of interaction with locals but my first impression about Vietnamese people was very positive – kind, helpful and friendly people without being pushy (as it is the case in many tourist destinations like the beach boys in Kenya or Tanzania). Really genuinely nice people. Our tour guide Henri, including.

What I liked most about Henri was his incredibly good American English. I usually have no problems with American accents but with Henry I often struggled to understand him, especially after I found out that he “eats” the letter S when it falls at the end of words. I think he was just overdoing it a little a bit.

We had only 2 full days in Ho Chi Minh but our program was not crazy packed – we still had some free time to relax, swim at the hotel or go out in the neighborhood for dinner. Mirella was super happy to visit her favorite Starbucks, although she (fortunately) hasn’t tried coffee yet. It’s unbelievable how much influence books can have on kids. After her first visit to the famous café chain, she decided to read a marketing book about Starbucks and since then she always looks its address up on Google Maps before visiting a new city. Tell me that marketing doesn’t work!

Cu Chi Tunnels

Our first sightseeing stop was the Cu Chi Tunnels, about 70km north-west from Ho Chi Minh. I had a very vague idea about the tunnels from movies or books, but seeing them in real and hearing the story behind their construction was stunning. This is an amazing network of underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong soldiers in their resistance to the American forces during the Vietnam War 1955-1975. There are more than 200 km of tunnels, comprising a main axis channel with many branches connected to underground hideouts, shelters, weapon and food depots.

American solders used the term “Black Echo” to describe the conditions in the tunnels. Lack of enough air, water and food, combined with various insects including spiders and scorpions didn’t make the life of Viet Cong soldiers easier.

Today there are a couple of short segments open to tourists, specifically enlarged for westerners to be able to crawl in. The kids and I entered one of them but quickly returned out – it was too tight and dark to stay a minute more underground.

Afterwards we passed by the Cu Chi Shooting Range which offers tourists the opportunity to fire AK47 at targets. Merci! That was the last thing I would like to do with my kids. We preferred to attend a nearby demonstration of making rice paper, peacefully performed by some traditionally dressed Vietnamese women. This whole experience felt a bit surreal.

On the way to Cu Chi Tunnels we stopped by a traditional lacquer-ware craft facility. All crafts people in this center were with some sort of disability, victims of the so called Agent Orange – a powerful herbicide used by the American military forces during the Vietnam War to eliminate forest cover and crops for North Vietnamese (Viet Cong).

As we saw during a small demonstration, lacquer-ware craft is a very complex and time consuming labor, regardless how large or small the final piece is. There are three main types of lacquer-ware: pearls, eggshells and paintings. Some works may take up to 100 days to finish. Very fine work, requiring extreme patience and dedication.

Back in Ho Chi Minh, Henri took us to a Jade Emperor Pagoda – apparently the most famous one in Vietnam, especially after the visit of President Obama in 2016. I am not very much into religion but Taoism and Buddhism seem to have incredibly softening and relaxing influence on me. At least this is how I felt after visiting a few temples in Vietnam.

Our city tour finished with a visit to the Reunification Palace and then the War Remnants Museum, where we didn’t spend too long as we were already overloaded with impressions. However, if you are interested in the history of Vietnam – these two places are worth spending more time on.

Mekong Delta

Our journey on Day 2 took us to My Tho – the heart of the Mekong delta. After a short drive outside Ho Chi Minh, we took a boat trip on Mekong River and stopped by a cacao plantation and a local workshop for coconut sweets and handicrafts.

We also had an unforgettable experience at a local production facility and a shop for household products made of bamboo and coconut fibers.  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the chance to take pictures there but the visit was a real fun.

First we were invited into a small room for product presentations by a widely smiling Vietnamese woman whose English was just impossible to understand. The room looked like something between a WS Teleshop advertising facility and a space station laboratory – blinding light from luminescent lamps on the ceiling, bright white walls and floor, a sink next to the presentation desk and a shelf behind it with all products aligned like in the pharmacy. The next 15 minutes were hilarious. The lady tried really hard to present in her best English, yet her strong Vietnamese accent made her whole speech sound like a traditional Vietnamese song rather than a product demonstration. Despite the language obstacle, I think she managed to get across the main product USPs! lol

Jokes aside, I made my research homework and found out a lot of articles about the benefits of bamboo and coconut fibers in the clothing and household goods industry. Eco-friendliness and biodegrading, better UV-protection, durability, quick dry times, fighting unpleasant odors, resistant to moisture, the list goes on… You probably already know that but it was new to me so I got quite impressed.

After some first-class product demonstration we were taken into a small shop with an IKEA-like layout, no short cuts and you come across the same product items a few times on the way to the exit. Products looked really cheap on the shelves although I am sure their quality was way higher than some other goods with Asian origin.

Afterwards a horse carriage took us to one of the many orchards to taste some home-made tea and fresh seasonal fruits, before we got on a sampan boat on the Mekong Delta.

We were not that lucky with the views during the boat trip. First of all, it was a low tide and the river bed was hardly half full, with the roots of the surrounding vegetation protruding above the brownish waters. Secondly, there was no sunshine that day so it was actually quite gloomy and dark. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the trip and I managed to take some good shots while trying to keep balance on the boat.

The lunch we had after returning to the pier was impressive. 10 course menu! Many of them not really clear how exactly to eat. Like the elephant ear fish.

We started tearing small pieces off when a Vietnamese waitress appeared at our table, frantically gesticulating that we should immediately stop what we are doing. After we stopped, she got relaxed and proceeded with a demonstration – it turned out that we should have wrapped pieces of this fish together with some vegetables in a rice paper, and then dip it in some kind of sauce before finally eating it. We, ignorant barbarians! How could we possibly be so rude at the table and put the fish directly into our mouth!! 😉

Day 2 finished with a visit to a very beautiful temple – Vinh Trang pagoda, and then the rest of the day we spent in the warm swimming pool of the hotel and dinner at super tasty sushi place nearby.

We stayed only 2,5 days in Ho Chi Minh – definitely not enough to explore all its hidden beauties, still I can say it is not the type of city I would like to stay longer. Too hectic and disorganized, especially compared to the other major city of Vietnam – Hanoi. But first, let me take you to an idyllic beach destination – Phu Quoc Island.

Day 3 was a travel day, with an internal flight to the so called Pearl Island. Although it lasted only an hour from Ho Chi Minh, we basically lost the whole day due to flight delays and transfers.

Well, all the fatigue and frustration was gone as soon as we arrived at the hotel and sank into the comfort and peaceful atmosphere of our sea-view balcony. A bit too luxurious and shiny for my taste – I would prefer a simpler accommodation without all the conveniences typical for big hotels as long as it is close to the beach, clean and quiet. Anyways, it is also nice to have this kind of experience once in a while…

The next 3 days were just gorgeous. The girls had a blast. Swimming pools in Rwanda are very cold due to the altitude and chilly nights, even during warmer weather, so they really appreciated the heated pools and warm sea.

I could finally spent more time reading books or watching my favorite documentaries on Netflix. Our mornings started with a piece of dragon fruit, which is such a beautiful creation of the nature that I didn’t want to cut it at first.

Late afternoons and sunsets were magnificent, too. On some of them I was lazy enough to get out of the room, on others – we kicked ourselves to the hotel gym and enjoyed the sunset view from there.

Aside from the beach-side activities, Phu Quoc offers plenty of sightseeing and attractions – traditional villages, Buddhist pagodas, fish markets, a Waterpark and Amusement Park, and even a huge UNESCO Natural Park including wildlife safaris. Actually, I would rather call it a big zoo as this is not the natural habitat of many of the wild animals there but it is certainly a great place to visit as a family.

Hanoi

OK, it was nice to spend some time at the beach but on the 4^th day, 31^st December, I was ready and impatient to catch our flight to Hanoi. And here comes the best part of our Vietnam journey.

Unfortunately, our flight was delayed again and we arrived at our hotel in Hanoi just a couple of hours before the New Year. For our spoiled “African” organisms, the outside temperature was unbearable, understand 10 degrees Celsius J For Hanoi this is winter time and we knew it, but I don’t remember when we were last exposed to such “cold” weather. Our light jackets didn’t help a lot.

Have you ever spent the New Year in a hotel room and room service for dinner? Well, Vietnamese like other Asian countries celebrate it according to the lunar calendar, i.e. sometime in February, but there are enough Westerners living in Hanoi and people never mind celebrating twice so the city atmosphere was quite festive actually – street parties, traffic jams, loud bars, outdoor disco-light rays crossing each other above the city line. The New Year could be felt in the air. For us, it was unexpectedly cozy and warm in the hotel room. Plus, we had to wake up really early on the next day to take on yet another adventure.

It is 6.30 am on the 1^st of January 2019. I wake up by the alarm clock and spend a few seconds in a complete confusion about time, date and place. Then my brain starts up and all memories come back clearly to me. May the 2019 begin!

Ha Long Bay

After fussing around in the hotel room, we finally got prepared, checked out, and got on a minibus that took us to one of the most beautiful places on earth – Ha Long Bay.

Rose, our tour guide in Hanoi is a small slim lady in her sixties, extremely kind and tactful. I think she could easily become a great magician – she always disappeared from our sight unnoticed, especially when we started discussing something in Bulgarian between the four of us, and then re-appeared again in the moment we wanted to ask her a question. As if she sensed when we needed her assistance, and when not.

Rose was born and raised in the North of Vietnam and she has visited Moscow and St. Petersburg for her husband study or jobs several times in the past. Like with Henry’s super American accent, we struggled to understand Rose but the reason was that she simply couldn’t pronounce (like many Vietnamese) some consonant letters when falling on the end of a word. Like “suitcaSe” which would sound like “su:tke”, or “have a niCe day” which would sound like “hæv ə nai dei” 🙂 My explanation was that most of the words in Vietnamese end on vowel letters or the consonants “n/nh” or “g”.

Ha Long Bay is approximately 3,5 hours drive east from Hanoi and has recently been declared one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature. Although we went there during the winter season, the bay was quite packed with cruises and boats. Can’t imagine what it is like in the peak summer season.

The lack of sunshine, the grey clouds and emerald green waters made this stunning place look even more magical.

The cabins were warmed up very well so we could finally relax and take our jackets off. While cruising out of the port and then through the wharf passing by green leaping rocks, we were served delicious Vietnamese lunch. A glass of red wine, and that was it. I could now stand even lower outside temperatures!

In the afternoon we stopped by a floating pearl farm and experienced the completion of a pearl, from culturing to harvesting and modeling.

The program also included kayaking around the area and there were a few crazy tourists (most probably coming from northern countries) who did it. After a long moment of hesitation, I decided to stay on the farm and promised myself to try it out next time!

Did I say crazy tourists? Actually, the really crazy ones were at the Ti Top beach. But first things first.

Ti Top Island is named after the Russian astronaut German Titov following his first visit to the island in 1962. So the name Ti Top is the Vietnamese version of Titov 🙂

Not only has Ti Top breathtaking views from the top, but has a charming small beach with fine golden sands. This is namely where those crazy guys were swimming by temperature of about 15 degree by Celsius. My record is swimming by 18 degrees in the Black Sea and that wasn’t very pleasurable, to be honest.

We sailed back to the cruise and enjoyed a cooking class, preparing Vietnamese spring rolls with rice paper, and then a 5-star dinner served with more wine.

We then all cuddled up in the warm cabin and laughed out loud while watching the second episode of Johnny English.

And again, the next day started early (Jesus, what vacation was this!?) with a delicious breakfast and without the early Tai Chi session on the sundeck or swim as featured in the program. But hey, nobody could take me out on the deck (it was not even a SUNdeck) by these temperatures.

We visited the Sung Sot Cave – one of the biggest caves in Ha Long Bay with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites.

I would never guess there was such a big cave in one of the rocks.

We then cruised back to the wharf, enjoying the emerald green views and having yet another delicious lunch.

Rose picked us up from the port and we headed back to Hanoi for a short afternoon city tour.

Back in Hanoi

Hanoi is my type of city. I immediately felt the difference to Ho Chi Minh. Although equally overwhelming with traffic, noise, lights and people, Hanoi allowed me to breathe more smoothly. It has wider streets and more open spaces making it easier to navigate through the city.

Our first stop was the Temple of Literature, also known as the first university of Vietnam and built more than 1,000 years ago. It is one of the several temples in Vietnam dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars.

We then decided to take a stroll along Hoan Kiem Lake and visit Ngoc Son Temple on it.

Rose was ready to show us more of Hanoi streets (and I was pretty ready to follow – my hope to try out Vietnamese street food hasn’t died yet) but the girls showed clear signs of tiredness so that was it for the day. We still had the whole morning on the next day to walk around Hanoi before leaving to Kigali.

To our surprise, the next morning turned out a bit warmer so we made a nice long walk from the hotel along the lake, and then in the Old Quarter to discover a lot of nice cafes, souvenir shops and traditional street vendors.

I couldn’t convince the rest of the family to sample Hanoi’s famous street food delights but hey, didn’t I mention I am planning to come back when it’s a bit warmer?

The End.