I didn’t know what to expect from Vietnam and we went there with an open heart. We took a flight from Manila to Ho Chi Minh city. By now we’re seasoned travellers and the first thing we did was to get a SIM card and then book a cab on the “grab” application to our homestay. Easy peasy and no cash required. It was only when we reached the homestay that Arjun realised he had selected the payment by cash option. The cabbie was kind enough to take us to the nearest ATM and obviously the most expensive one. Anyway, mistakes help you get smarter 😜
Ho Chi Minh city is still called Saigon by many. It was buzzing with energy. There were hundreds of scooters on any given street. There is such a variety of food and we found ourselves going overboard especially with streetfood. Leo never ceases to amaze me with his ability to taste all sorts of things. He tried the fertilised quail eggs and barbecued sea urchins amongst other dishes. There were many kinds of snails, clams, lots of fruits, all sorts of snacks and we tried everything we could lay our hands on. It got pretty hot in the day and we literally had bubble tea every single day.
We visited the post office built by the french architect Gustave Eiffel and the war museum to learn about the many wars fought by Vietnam. We hadn’t realised that Vietnam had been fighting China for centuries before they fought the french and the Americans. It’s commendable to see how determined the Vietnamese people are and how they managed to keep so many powerful bullies away. Tragically, the price of war is paid by many innocent civilians. The Vietnamese fought the Americans for 20 years! The war pictures were gruesome and I kept checking on Leo if he was fine. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia still pay the price of this war fought against the evil commies! At Least there isn’t too much Coca Cola or other American products here in Vietnam.
Our next stop was the Mekong Delta. We heard a lot about Chau Doc, the paddy fields and the riverside. Since we’re seasoned and tech savvy travellers, I know that even though the guest house mentions that it’s located in a particular area, it’s often not the case. I used to send a message to roughly know the location before booking. So I booked a homestay an hour away from Chau Doc! But hey, we’re here for the adventure. Arjun and Leo were good sports and we reached the destination after a taxi ride, a ferry and a bike ride with our heavy bags! Our host was super friendly and keen to show us his village, the local cuisine and the places to visit. David is an English teacher and he invited us to his class to interact with his students. It was an enriching experience and we enjoyed it. He then asked us if we’d like to go to the institution where he teaches and we agreed. We met the owner and his family. The day was spent meeting students of all age groups and speaking to them in English. We were treated like celebrities with kids actually asking us for our autographs! We took pictures with the students. Mr. Nghia Vo Trong reated us to lunch at his place with a remarkable array of local delicacies. On the way to his house, we stopped by his orchard to have coconut water straight off the tree. In the evening he treated us to dinner. We felt rather uncomfortable but very touched by his generosity. He even took us to a field full of people flying kites. It’s apparently a big sport in the region and we did witness other parts with people flying kites. It was time to leave all our friends and travel to Hoi An.
Hoi An is the Kyoto of Vietnam. The historical centre is full of old wooden houses and beautiful pagodas. We chose this town to celebrate Leo’s birthday. We were hoping that Leo would learn to appreciate the simpler things in life after the world tour but it doesn’t seem to be working 😂
He wanted to go to a hotel with a swimming pool! So I looked up 2 places with a pool. We took bicycles from the hotel to cycle around the paddy fields and the river in Hoi An. Twas a sight for sore eyes 👀 On his birthday, we went to a waterpark and we all had a great time. It was a weekday and we didn’t have to stand in a queue for any of the attractions! In the evening, the hotel staff had prepared a surprise for him. Rose petals on the bed, towel shaped like an elephant, a cake and candles! What else?
Hoi An is famous for its tailored clothes. There are loads of boutiques selling fabric where you can pick what you want, get them tailored and have it ready in record time! Hand made leather shoes and accessories are also a big thing here. You give them the design and they get it made.

After a relaxing week in Hoi an, it was time to leave. Leo had an entrance test for his middle school which could only be given at the french embassy. The embassy asked us to contact a french institute in Hanoi.
Once in Hanoi, the days were spent walking around in the rain and muck. We tasted many local delicacies like the famous Bo Bun and Bun Chau. One of the restaurants had a “Barrack Obama menu” which included Bun Chau, Nems and beer. Obama had apparently had lunch here with Anthony Bourdin, when he visited Vietnam. We tried the Obama menu of course 😜
Leo had a written test and an oral exam in English. The oral exam was by video call. Although he speaks the language since he was little, he hasn’t learnt it in an academic setting. Some of the questions were pretty complicated for a 10 year old to answer and I felt it didn’t go very well. Let’s wait and see. The results will be out by Mid June.
We stopped over in Ninh Binh after Hanoi. Ninh Binh is a quiet town close to a river. At night the town is lit up with LED lights made in China and it almost looks like it’s Christmas. The local delicacy here is goat meat. We found tiny handcarts on the streets with entire goats roasted and kept on display. I personally can’t stand goat meat but my father is a big fan. It was always prepared for Sunday lunch when I was a child 🥴 We went to a magnificent Buddhist temple called Bai Dinh which is built on a vast expanse of land. There are several temple complexes and a tall pagoda which is almost like a watch tower. We also took a boat ride on the river which took us through a long 1 km cave! Wow 😲

In North Vietnam, we wanted to go around the mountains on a scooter. We were told that Sapa has too many tourists and that we should go to Ha Giang instead. We decided to do a 4 day scooter ride called the Ha Giang loop. Arjun initially wanted to ride a bike himself but I read that there were many accidents. So we opted to go with an easy rider. We zoomed past paddy fields and then on the mountains with some spectacular views. There was a lake or a waterfall where we’d swim each day. The guesthouses were rather rustic but we met a cool bunch of tourists. Dinner was spent drinking beer and what was called “happy water” which I didn’t like much! It was too strong and didn’t taste good. I think I liked the last day the most. We got to see the local market with all the different communities in their colourful attire. There was a wet market with people selling chicken, ducks, pigs, cattle and dogs! Apparently, dogs are eaten in the end of a particularly bad month for good luck in the next month. The pigs in the market were squealing loudly and it put off Leo. He was vegetarian for an entire day after our visit to the market. Later, we went right up to the China border. Our guide explained how the Vietnamese have fought many wars with the Chinese to defend their territory and have always won. We also trekked to a cave which probably is the most spectacular one I’ve seen. It was huge and full of beautiful stalactites and stalagmites. We had to walk through a huge labyrinth to witness the entire cave. I loved it! After that our visa almost expired and we had to rush to Laos via Sapa. We’ll miss you, Vietnam! Such great people and such lip smacking food!