When my friends invited me on a two-week trip to Thailand and Vietnam, how could I resist?
No way would I miss the opportunity to explore two new countries during the Lunar New Year. Also, I quite liked the idea of escaping the cold grip of South Korea for a little bit. So I happily relinquished all the planning to my friends like the passenger princess that I am. I had a magical time exploring Thailand and Vietnam. However, like any vacation, it’s hard to keep spirits high all the time, especially if you have multiple flights and little time for the packed itinerary. A year on, it’s time to reflect on my personal highlights and lowlights of a trip to Vietnam. Maybe you’ve experienced similar high points and low points on your trips away. Perhaps my list of good and the bad points can help you plan your next trip to Vietnam.
Highlights:
1. Lunar New Year
In celebration of the first new moon, several different countries around the world enjoy the Lunar New Year. China, Korea and Vietnam, to name a few. Staying in Vietnam for this celebration was a truly magical experience. It showed us a beautiful and unique culture, the likes of which I’d never seen. We were especially fortunate as, during this leg of the journey, we were staying at a family home and were encouraged to actively join the celebrations. This involved meeting extended family, eating together and watching a fireworks display at night. This holiday allowed us to grow closer to the people we were staying with. We found out about their way of life in a way that would have been impossible on a package holiday.
Additionally, we travelled to Hương Sơn for the festivities and were met with crowds upon crowds of people paying their respects at the numerous shrines in the area. We greeted countless people in our boat along the Yen River, as we made our way to the Hương Pagoda, otherwise called the Perfume Pagoda. Green mountains rose up from each bank as we sped past other boats, towards the Chùa Hương temple complex. We concluded the Lunar New Year by taking a short hike to Chùa Hinh Bồng. From up her,e we enjoyed the plentiful stunning views. The celebrations were thoroughly exhausting but were a precious memory and a highlight of my trip to Vietnam. If you don’t mind the crowds, this is a great time to visit the country.
2. Food and drinks
Man…the food was so good! I started off my trip to Vietnam strong by immediately eating bánh mì thịt at the airport. I loved how filling this meal was, especially after an early flight. The dish combined different cultures. It blended Vietnamese flavours and French tastes, a remnant of the French colonial period in the country. To this day, I still crave bánh mì thịt when I’m feeling hungry. As a caffeine lover, I also really enjoyed trying the coffee offered in Hanoi. I won’t forget my first experience with charcoal coffee, which had a strong, deep flavour and soon woke me up in the morning.
The Lunar New Year also gave us a great opportunity to sample some home-cooked dishes. My favourite was Gio lua, a type of Vietnamese sausage. Untying its wrapping of banana leaves, I enjoyed the richly flavoured meat dish. This was accompanied by other tasty foods like traditional Bánh chưng, a sticky rice cake, and Gà luộc, which is a boiled chicken dish. Of course, while in Vietnam, I also couldn’t resist trying Phở, which is a popular dish back home too. The warm broth infused strongly with coriander and the thinly cut strips of beef created a hearty dish, warming me up. Let me tell you, I ate well on my trip to Vietnam. If you’re planning a trip to this country, I can assure you that you won’t go hungry.
3. Hạ Long Bay
If I were to revisit any location in Vietnam, it would be Hạ Long Bay. Although I suspect this is where I caught my cold, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to experience the amazing scenery again. After an early start, we just about managed to catch our tour bus heading to the beautiful bay. If you’re planning a visit to Hạ Long Bay, a package trip is a real essential. With this package, we got transport to the bay, a boat trip, a hike to a cave, an opportunity to swim at a beach and a chance to go kayaking. Not to mention a very helpful tour guide and refreshments onboard the boat. As the adventurous sort, I really enjoyed the opportunity to go kayaking with my bestie, taking in the stunning rock faces and clear waters. We were given a good time to paddle around and those who were not keen on kayaking were offered a canoe trip instead.
The short climb to Thiên Cung grotto, a stunning maze of stalactite, was also a breathtaking component of the trip. Not only did this hike demonstrate the awesomeness of nature and time in the cave’s interior, but it also afforded impressive views of the bay in the setting sun. The biggest benefit of this tour was being able to see the bay at all hours of the day, arriving in the crisp morning and seeing the sunset over the horizon, through rising rocks in the water. My only note would be to bring extra layers to wrap up warm, as you’re likely to go from being in the sea to sitting on the breezy deck in short succession, running the risk of catching a chill…
Lowlights
1. Sickness
I couldn’t avoid it. One moment of rest and relaxation and my body said “Nope”. I caught a strong cold during my trip to Vietnam, which really dulled the second week of the vacation. I tried to battle on (especially as it was my friend’s birthday) but I felt grim and walked around Ho Chi Minh in a daze. We visited some fantastic places in this city like the Bitexco Finance Tower and the Central Post Office, but I struggled to enjoy them through my streaming eyes and blocked nose. In hindsight, more time to rest in one location could have been factored into the schedule to avoid potential sickness, as jumping around cities did nothing for my immune system.
Have you ever been on a flight with stuffy sinuses? Not recommended. Thankfully, it was easy to pick up some medication at a local pharmacist, so I wasn’t a complete zombie during our final days of the trip. Plus, my sickness has only made me want to revisit Vietnam more, particularly Ho Chi Minh City, which I feel like I missed out on. If you’re worried about catching a cold while jetting around the globe, remember to factor in good periods of rest and break up flights as much as possible. Also if you’re travelling between countries with different climates, make sure to always keep warm.
2. Accommodation
Good old Airbnb for cheap and cheerful accommodation around the globe. We lucked-out with all the other accommodation during the trip, staying at a lovely resort in Thailand and a nice apartment in Bangkok (read about where we stayed here). But the accommodation in Hanoi was a lowlight. One bad place out of five is a pretty good stat, but I always think about how uncomfortable I was in Vietnam because of our less nice apartment. Not only was it at the top of a huge flight of stairs (a real ordeal when we forgot something or after a long day of exploring), but this location made it windy, and therefore noisy. I didn’t find peace in the apartment, which is what I really wanted on my vacation.
My lack of sleep because of the noise definitely made me grouchy and less thrilled for another jam-packed day. The noisiness of the apartment also played into my uneasy constitution, meaning one night my friend and I convinced ourselves our apartment had been broken into. Safe to say it was just the wind, and we felt quite stupid in the morning. Luckily we were only at this location for a couple of nights, so I didn’t lose too much sleep in this home. Putting my woes aside, this Airbnb was also in a great location with a number of attractions and cafes nearby, so I can’t really complain that much because of one bad place.
3. Group Tension
Your travel buddies can make or break a vacation away. Travel with a party of complainers and you’ll be wishing to go back to work within a day. Journey with a nonchalant bunch and you’ll struggle to get the group motivated to do anything. I travelled with the most wonderful group, and yet even we couldn’t avoid some group tension. An accumulation of travel fatigue, food problems and differing opinions, led to some tense conversations one evening while in Hanoi. Clearing the air definitely helped to relieve some of the rising tension moving forward; however, as the type to avoid conflict at all costs, this argument sticks out in my mind for being a lowlight in the trip. I don’t like people being sad.
Once again, I feel much of this tension could have been avoided with more time to rest during the trip. It’s no surprise that this argument came just a day after catching an early morning flight out of Thailand. No one is at their best or most patient when they’re running on four hours of sleep. Still, if you’re vacationing and you sense some strain in the group, caused by sleep deprivation or otherwise, don’t be shy about making your feelings known. You don’t want these pent-up emotions ruining the holiday for you. Being completely transparent with your travelling companions assures your harmony and safety as a group, while in a foreign country.
(Note: we’re all still good friends and I would travel with these lovely people again in a heartbeat)
Would I recommend travelling to Vietnam?
I would 100% recommend Vietnam. Where in Vietnam would I recommend? If you’re looking for just one place to fly to, that’s a more difficult question. While Hạ Long Bay was my favourite excursion on the vacation, I preferred staying in Ho Chi Minh City. You could happily stay in this wonderful country for two weeks and never get bored, with a wealth of things to do and see. Consider visiting this beautiful place during the Lunar New Year if you want a truly unique insight into Vietnamese culture, although note this period will be particularly busy in some locations. For me, the highlights of this trip greatly outweighed the lowlights, which were largely the product of a tight schedule and bad luck. Don’t be put off by my complaints and treat yourself to an amazing holiday in this captivating country.
Discover more from Nic-Nac Travel Pack
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
