Vietnam

Phú Quốc

Phú Quốc island, also known as the holiday island, was a peaceful and beautiful place where we spent much more time than intended. This island had peaceful beaches where we bought delicious fruit from a lady walking the shore with a double basket contraption. There were restaurants and bars on the beach where we started our own parties, since the island was relatively quiet.

We took a hike to the middle of the island where there was an outdoor temple. The food on this island was so delicious. We found a restaurant with stir fry vegetables topped with a fried egg that was soul rocking. We also found a beach resort with a giant chess board and swimming pool. We didn’t stay there, but for the price of two Blue Hawaiians and crinkle cut fries we were able to enjoy the day there!

Anti-American Propaganda

From Phú Quốc we took a ferry to mainland Vietnam. This ferry rattled us to the core and we almost fled from Vietnam. On the ferry there was a large projector where movies were shown. A very graphic and violent movie of Vietnam soldiers killing Americans was playing. Young children giggled as white actors in American uniforms were blown up. My sister and I tried to hide as a fully Vietnamese boat (minus us) watched this anti-American propaganda. Of course Vietnam has justified reasons for hating America but being on a boat where you see that children are being taught from a very young age to hate Americans is alarming to say the least. Next a children’s show that was glorifying suicide came on.

We reached Ho Chi Minh and wondered if we should leave. When bus drivers asked us where we were from we feared admitting that we were American and instead said Canadian. As we got more into our roles we decided to be from Vancouver since we do not speak French.

Mũi Né

This small town is famous for its proximity to golden sand dunes. Still adjusting from the culture shock on the ferry, I spent a lot of time in the guest house. We explored the sand dunes and had an amazing time. We ran up massive sand mountains and then jumped down, getting some major air before sinking into soft sand. Mũi Né is situated on the Pacific Ocean. This beach is known for extreme water sports. However, the wind was too rough while we were there to try windsurfing.

Nha Trang

Next we headed north up Vietnam, stopping at Nha Trang. We had an excellent time in this town and it is definitely a must see when traveling in Vietnam. We took a boat tour and made friends with a chill Spaniard. Unfortunately, we got caught in a lie when our Spanish friend asked where we were from as the boat captain was hovering nearby. We stuck to the story and said we were Canadian. The boat captain was tickled pink to meet two Canadians and made us the theme of the day. The boat anchored for lunch and as the crew initiated a karaoke/dance competition the two “Canadians” were brought up front to dance to “I would walk 500 miles”. Apparently this is a Canadian classic and we had to pretend to know the words and sing along. Somehow, they believed us!

Besides tricky social situations, the boat tour included snorkeling, boom boom soup which is made of sea urchins (we skipped as we are both vegetarians) and supposedly makes you very strong, lots of singing, dancing and jumping off of the roof of the boat to a floating bar in the sea.

A friend of mine in LA has family that lives in Nha Trang so we decided to surprise them and stop by. Despite speaking very little English and having no idea we were coming, they showed us incredible hospitality. They gave us food and drinks and we took lots of pictures together to send to my friend.

Hội An

This was my favorite place in Vietnam. I try not to repeat places (because the world is so huge and I have so much more to see) but I hope to one day return here. This town is charming with many lanterns, a canal with tiny boats you can take a ride in and cooking classes. We met a Vietnamese family that taught us how to make lanterns of our own.

A two kilometer walk from the town is the beach. While walking I passed fields of rice, water buffalo, locals in classic Vietnamese hats, and tiny canoes docked in the river. Everything was so beautiful, I took many pictures that I later framed and put on my walls.

Ha Long Bay

H​a Long​ Bay is one of those places that will have you in awe of nature. Huge rock structure pop out of the bay, often much smaller on bottom than on top. As the ferry navigated through this seemingly endless amount of rocks I felt like I was in a fantasy novel. How could this be real?

Feeling brave by this point, we outsmarted the system and found a cheap ferry to Cát Bà island. The bus we took to Ha Long Bay dropped us off at the tourist ferry with exorbitant prices. We refused to pay and asked around until we located a different ferry that the locals take. As the only Caucasian girls on this ferry the locals took many pictures of us. However, we saved money and it was definitely worth it.

Cát Bà is an island full of rocky mountains and tiny farms. There is a larger settlement called Cát Bà Town located on the southern tip of the island. Our guest house was two kilometers from the popular tourist area which was fine until night came and we had to try and walk by territorial guard dogs. We simply were not going able to pass so we had to walk back to town and ask a motorbike driver to drive us home. Watch out for aggressive dogs while in SEA.

In the main town o​f Cát Bà w​e found a rooftop bar playing electronic music. My sister and I tore up the dance floor (in the way that Europeans are too hesitant to and immediately draws us to fellow Americans or Canadians) and had a great time.
The next day we took a boat tour through Ha Long Bay. We somehow ended up on a boat with many middle aged couples. We had fun discussing politics, the mysteries of nature and our different cultures. We kayaked in the bay and the boat docked in deep water where we could jump off the boat. It was a epic day in a stunning place.

From Ha Long Bay we booked a bus to Lao.

General Info

Less touristy than Thailand, I often booked rooms in advance using bookings.com. It was very affordable to get private rooms when traveling with a companion. WiFi was widely available. You meet fewer tourists in Vietnam giving it an authentic feel that you don’t necessarily get in Thailand. There is a lot of untouched nature, fields, farmers and water buffalo. There were not a lot of parties, but always an opportunity to make your own.

Bus transportation is quite fun and comfortable. The seats are tiny beds stacked like bunk beds. I’m 5’10” and I was too tall to fully stretch out my legs so they are definitely designed with Vietnamese people in mind. The buses had neon lights hanging from the ceiling and it always felt like we were in a party bus.