Vietnam: The alternative destination

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• Location: Vietnam
• Holiday Types: City break, Beach, Getting there

• by: louisecamp
• on: Wed 23 May 2012

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I always felt like I'd missed out on the 'year out' travelling the world in my younger years and so was super excited when me and my partner decided on a longish (3 1/2 week trip) to Vietnam.

Certainly not the first destination that comes to mind - but we fancied an exciting and unusual holiday that offered a variation of locations from cities and riverside towns to islands and beaches plus an amazing array of foods. We flew in to Thailand and onto Vietnam. It was a trip of backbacks and an impressive variation of transport including plane, boat, train, public bus, moped and bike. Planning the journey en route, we coped with unpredictable circumstances and successfully negotiated the country enjoying all of its cultural diversity.

We started in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and spent a few days exploring the city. Highlights included cocktails on the roof terrace at the Hotel Majestic overlooking the Saigon river - watching the most amazing rain storm roll in across the river; a typical Vietnamese BBQ on the top floor of an old temple (above the Temple Club: 29-31 Ton That Thiep Street); the best Ko Pho Bo (spicy beef soup with noodles and handfuls of fresh green herbs) for breakfast in a corner street cafe!

We then flew to Phu Quoc island in the Gulf of Thailand - the largest island in Vietnam . We had no accommodation booked but in a 'pin the tail on the donkey' fashion we pick a budget guest house out of the guidebook on landing. We were to be most pleasantly surprised. 'Beach Club' pronounce by the locals as Bee lub! was a small beach side set of bungalows on the West side of the island which offered simple accommodation in a lovely, relaxing environment on the sea front. The weather was a strange fellow during our time on the island with sun but also swirling rain and crazy winds! We heard reports of floods on the mainland so we battened down the hatches and stayed a few days longer than planned. We ventured out one day on a moped across waterlogged roads, and it led us to the East side of the island where the weather was gloriously sunny and the waters calm - an island of 2 halves it seemed! We read, ate, drank and did crosswords and enjoyed being 'marooned' for a while!

Once the rain were reported to have subsided by flew back to Mainland Vietnam to start our trip across the Mekong Delta. After landing in Rach Gia we took a bike taxi to the local bus station. Where after a near-miss 'almost paying a 10x tourist fare' - we got the correct ticket and caught a public bus to Chau Doc (via Long Xuyen) What a journey! The bus was packed to the nines and was hot but bustling with talk! The roads to Chau Doc provided a window onto life in Vietnam - passing characters, people on their daily routines, amazing loads being carried by moped (50 or so ducks to name but one!!). Chau Doc was a great little town. Lots of Chinese influence in the architecture and the food. The street food highlight being the bao - the street bun! Sweet white fluffy Chinese pastry covering a meat filling with an egg inside - delicious! Highlights included hiring a moped (the transport of choice) and taking a ride up the mountain road to the highest spot - with a wonderful view overlooking the town and the wetlands of Cambodia and evening cocktails by the river and more wonderful fresh and fragrant food!

Our trip in the delta next took us to Can Tho. A bustling town with a festival spirit. We ate dinner one night aboard a moored boat - a traditional 'hot pot' restaurant. We were served a simmering pot of stock and a wonderful selection of fish, shellfish, leafy vegetables, dumplings all to cook at the table. A little spicy but delicious - washed down with the local beer 'Can tho'. Afterwards we walked down by the river and enjoyed a traditional treat of sour cherries and brown sugar! Whilst in Can Tho we took a *very* early (5 am) morning boat trip to see the Cai Rang floating market. Fruit and vegetables traded between boats, a multitude of Vietnamese women in their colourful patterned matching top and trousers outfits bartering their wares, with produce thrown from boat to boat, money changing hands - a whole other world!

After passing through Mai tho, we returned to Saigon for one night and then took a coach to the beach resort Mui ne. Once a small 'backpackers' paradise Mui Ne has become quite the little resort with a great deal of accommodation choice. We decided to treat ourselves and opted for a hotel with four poster beds and air conditioning! The Full Moon Beach Resort was a lovely stay - amazing beach with great waves, sea view, garden swimming pool and a wealth of near-by restaurants to pick from Vietnamese, fresh seafood restaurants to French (our only steak and bottle of red wine of the trip!!) Mui ne has its own little micro-climate and provided amazing sunny weather for the week we stayed. It's wind swept beaches are the windsurfers dream and the beach skies were filled with the kites.

We jetted about on our moped and took the opportunity to drive 20 miles out to the Ta Kou Nature Reserve in order to see the largest reclining Buddha in Vietnam. We took the cable car up the mountain - up through the clouds to the mountain pagoda. The place was very atmospheric with the mist one could only just see a few meters in front. We continued our journey up the mountain on foot first seeing the three small (7m) standing statues and then after ascending the weaving steps through the forest, some 50 meters on at the highest point of the trail we saw the Thich-Ca-Nhap-Niet-Ban statue - breathtakingly beautiful, all in white and at 49 meters long very impressive. Well worth the trip!

After some relaxing beach time in Mui Ne we took the overnight train to Hoi an. The train ride was quite an experience a shared train car with 6 bunks and some noisy passengers! Dinner being a few beers, fish cakes and pork skewers!

Hoi An had been hit the hardest by the recent rains and floods and a week previous had been under water! We were quiet concerned so we called ahead to see if everything was ok and were happy to hear the place was getting back on its feet and was urging tourists to return. The place is just beautiful - frozen in time and quiet due to motor vehicles being banned from most streets. We borrowed push bikes from our hotel and set about investigating the town. Our highlight of our visit was our cookery school day at the Red Bridge cookery school. We booked the all day package and were not dissapointed. We visited the Tra Que Herb Gardens to see the herbs being grown and then had a tour of the local food market to buy some ingredients for the day. At the school we made Beef Pho (with accompaniments) and rice noodles from scratch! Also on the menu were banana flower barbeque chicken salad, lemongrass prawns and fish in a clay pot. We learnt so much and had a wonderful feast! The day ended with a lovely gentle boat ride back into Hoi An.
Excellent!

The bars, markets and dress shops are also not to be missed in Hoi An. I had a dress made for £15 overnight by a lovely (persuasive) lady called Hana!! and we enjoyed bartering away in the markets for souvenirs and watching the trading of the livestock and the catches/produce of the day. Hiring a bike is a bit of a must in Hoi An and allows you easy access around the town. Hoi An was a world away from the other parts of Vietnam - a lovely location with Vietnamese style cafe culture and great places to eat; the Lighthouse restaurant and the Cargo Club to name two. Food interest highlight however was in a small street cafe where they only served one dish Cao lau, a delicious noodle dish with pork, croutons and lots of greens - Delicious!

Hanoi was our last stop - a busy city although sadly a little rainy when we got there! We enjoyed the parks and surrounding lakes and perused the vast indoor markets buying some motorcycle 'eggshell' helmets as souvenirs of our 'moped' time there. Hanoi has excellent street food and a wealth of great restaurants to choose from. We were most adventurous in our dining experience at the Quan An Ngon Restaurant at 18 Phan Boi Chau St. The restaurant specialises in providing street type food in a restaurant setting. It was excitingly crowded with a fantastic bustling atmosphere. Little benches at long tables all covered with huge umbrellas! We had sparrow salad, some amazing Vietnamese pancakes plus what translated as 'black pudding' but we fear was something totally different!!

All in all the trip was wonderful. A truly interesting and challenging venture which was a step away from the conventional. Would highly recommend!

Top tip if considering Vietnam - you need a visa! We went to the Embassy in person and ours took a week to process ... so don't forget!

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