Vietnam

We just got back from a very impressive journey through Vietnam. It was everything we expected – and more!


We took the plane from Kuala Lumpur to Hanoi, in the north of Vietnam. It was only a 4 hour flight, so very doable with our 2 pint sized travelers. We arrived at the hotel at nine in the morning and received an incredibly warm welcome. We were offered drinks and food while Lorelei was admired and Quinn was grabbed in the crotch. Yes really. Apparently it’s an old-fashioned thing they do in Vietnam. Thank goodness for diapers, Quinn didn’t bat an eye.


Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we left our luggage behind and went for a stroll. Hanoi is a bustling city, noisy, dirty and full of traffic. There are hardly any regular cars, except for taxis. However, I believe that there are 6 million inhabitants and 5 million motorbikes. The strangest things are transported by motorbike. One of the most unusual things we saw was a guy with plastic bags filled with water and live fish (see pictures). For consumption or for pets? Not sure.


The traffic is crazy. There don’t appear to be any traffic rules and traffic lights seem to be just for show. It makes crossing the road quite the challenge, but luckily Henk figured out the tactic the locals use. Just step on the street and slowly make your way to the other side and the motorbikes will go around you. It can be quite daunting though!


Vietnam is a lot less developed than Malaysia is and there aren’t as many facilities. There is no public transport to speak of, so we would usually either walk or take a taxi. The taxis are a pain though. We were warned by our Lonely Planet travel guide, which has been our bible so far during our adventure in Asia. Taxi drivers often refuse to put their meters on, or have meters that have been tweaked, charging many times more than what they should. I’m glad we’re seasoned travelers by now and are usually able to spot a fraud in time. It is understandable though that those things happen. The average salary is US$100 a month and in their eyes we have a ton of money. It is frustrating though to be ripped off. We would usually overtip a driver not overcharging us to stimulate their doing good.


From Hanoi we made a daytrip to Halong Bay, which is nominated to be one of the world’s natural wonders. It was only 170km, but it took us 5 hours to get there. After the drive in a minivan (which was dreadful, with a whiny Lorelei, a fussy Quinn, a nauseous Henk and a cranky Michelle) during which we contemplated going back, we were glad we hadn’t when we arrived at the harbour.


We boarded a “junk-boat” and set off on a 4 hour boat ride through the bay where we enjoyed breath taking views. We stopped at a floating village selling local fruits and fish, and enjoyed lunch on the boat. The children loved being on the boat and it was very peaceful, with sunny, but comfortably cool weather. A literal breath of fresh air after our usual humidity in Kuala Lumpur. The islands we passed adn the general setting was stunning. Definitely worth the hellish trip over.


We really enjoyed our few days in Hanoi. It’s the kind of Asian city we love. The people are incredibly friendly and open and even more fond of children than in Malaysia. As usual our children were quite the attraction and in the museums we visited, there was a larger crowd gathered around our stroller than looking at most artefacts. Everybody was taking pictures of Lorelei and Quinn and I would take pictures of them making pictures, which would cause a lot of hilarity.


On our 5th day we took the train from Hanoi to Nha Trang. We boarded at 1pm and were due to arrive 24 hours later. Quite the trip. We had booked 2 beds in a 4 bed cabin and I was slightly anxious to see what kind of people we would spend the next 24 hours with. And mainly if they would still be able to appreciate our kids after 24 hours... To our delight it turned out we were sharing with a Vietnamese couple with a 1 and a 6 year-old. Perfect. Lorelei hit it off with the older girl and spent most of the trip playing with her. Quinn was happy to play on the bed, walk up and down the carriage holding our hands or be passed from stranger to stranger.


We enjoyed the most amazing views, driving past the coastal line almost all the way. Everybody slept well, being rocked to sleep by the gentle moves of the train and there was enough food to go round to pass the time. At the various stops along the way, local vendors would come up to the train and sell their goods. Every once in a while carts with local food would come through the carriage and our Vietnamese co-travelers would explain what everything was. I passed most of the dodgy looking stuff, but enjoyed a bowl of delicious pho ga (chicken noodle soup) and sweetened iced coffee.


Travelling by train is really a great way to travel with children. There’s no killing time at the airport, they don’t have to sit still in their chairs and there’s enough distraction going on. Also, travelling by night has as an added bonus that they can have a regular night’s sleep while you get to your destination. Admittedly this was not exactly a luxurious way of travelling (a squatting toilet in a moving train gives potty training a whole new dimension) but it’s definitely less hassle than most other kinds of transportation. And for me and Henk travelling by train still has a romantic ring to it, after our honeymoon during which we spent 8 days on the Trans Siberian Railway.


Early in the afternoon the next day we arrived at Nha Trang, which is a coastal town and one of the local go-to places for holidays. We stayed at a guesthouse close to the beach and spent the most of our 4 days there just chilling and enjoying the sun and the beach. We also loved the local food and with one of the small Indian restaurants as an absolute highlight. The curry, samosas, naan bread and poppadums were all so mouth wateringly delicious that we ate there twice.


We booked tickets for another train ride to our end destination Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We put the kids to bed at 7pm, lifted them out of bed at 9pm for the taxi ride to the train, where they fell right asleep again until we woke up in Saigon at 5.30 the next morning. Perfect.


After having dropped off our bags at the hotel we set off discovering the city. Very similar to Hanoi, but a lot bigger and slightly more developed. Although the anti-American feel can be felt everywhere. I believe it’s the first country I’ve ever been to where there’s no McDonalds! We started off at the War Memorial Museum. Vietnam’s history of war is very sad and you still come across many reminders of their various wars. In Hanoi we also visited a war prison where John McCain was held captive. In nearly all the exhibits the focus is on the Vietnamese revolution, conveniently glazing over the Vietnamese struggle between north and south.


We were in Vietnam on April 30th, which is Reunification Day. The day in 1975 when north and south Vietnam were brought together. We visited the Reunification Palace where the cabinet surrendered and the treaty was signed. In the whole of Vietnam, Reunification Day is a day of celebration, however in Saigon and with a lot of Vietnamese abroad, it is know as “The Fall of Saigon”, a day of mourning. Although you’re not allowed to say that out loud.


In Saigon it was noticeably warmer than in the north and often quite stifling, being in a busy dirty city. Air conditioning is rare, but luckily we were able to escape to a mall twice to cool down while the children enjoyed an indoor playground.


We also went to a couple of wholesale markets in search of stationery for our store. We love roaming around in narrow streets, where it’s always busy and there’s so much to see. You never know what you’ll find!


It was an amazing trip and the time we spent there was enough to get a taste of Vietnam, but it didn’t do the country enough justice. There is still so much more to see and we would definitely like to go back some day.


The flight back to Kuala Lumpur was un-eventful and it’s nice to be “home” again for a bit. We’re now going to enjoy our last few weeks here before we move back to Holland for a while (with a slight detour to Cambodia first). To be continued!


P.S. Click on “view all pictures” below to see them all! If you hover over the pictures you should be able to see the description.