A Journey through Quirky Vietnam

In parts Vietnam is careering into the 21st century at an unabated pace, sky scrapers soaring up towards the clouds and its communist heritage of recent past ignored and for all intents and purposes forgotten. In other parts the vestiges of Vietnam’s more distant past remain slightly faded but nonetheless apparent today, standing staunchly in the path of modernity and steadfastly defending its place in modern Vietnam. The evidence is woven throughout the tapestry of Vietnam from North to South and it is this that makes Vietnam such a fascinating and authentic travel experience and a quirky destination for family holidays.

Announce to any child who is still of an age to be obliged to accompany their parents on holiday, that their forthcoming holiday will be heavily accented with history and their initial reaction may be one of mutiny. But in Vietnam her history is stimulation for the senses from start to finish; it is raw, recent and without rancour and as the country propels itself into the future, nuances of its past are dragged along in its slipstream to create the quirkiness so characteristic of Vietnam today,

Vietnam is one of the last bastions of communism left in the world but with the entrepreneurial vibrancy that piques the air along with the smell of freshly baking baguettes and strong coffee, the political ideology has all but imploded. Vietnam is also a country which, during living memory, has successfully repelled occupation by France, Japan, China and the US; developed countries bristling with the latest technology and hardware, jettisoned by paddy field farmers.

Her coastline is 2000 miles long and bathed by the South China Sea. Aside from the South China Sea her neighbours include China to the north and Laos and Cambodia on the western boarder. Vietnam is pencil-thin and if you are touring the country really your only options are North to South or vice-versa. Let’s start in the North at Hanoi, the communist capital before reunification.

Hanoi

Flanked by the adventure-beckoning mountains of northwest Vietnam to one side and the South China Sea to the other, Hanoi is comparatively cool and characteristically drizzly. Often dubbed the older, more responsible sister of Ho Chi Minh City, the more wayward sister in the south, Hanoi is quainter and much less bustling than her younger sister but still a feast for the senses.

First impressions of Hanoi will likely be the traffic; the metamorphosis of the humble bicycle to the swarm of motorbike and moped spawn. Take care when crossing the road, walk deliberately and don’t stop! The narrow streets of the old quarter remain one of Hanoi’s greatest allures in which coffee shops, sumptuous restaurants and an Aladdin’s cave of impulse-buy goodies can be found in the depths of the warren.

Visit the Mausoleum and file passed the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh that resides within a sealed chill-cabinet. It is during visits to the sights and historic landmarks within Hanoi that one really appreciates the tenacity and rancour of Vietnam whose people today are completely charming and unguarded. The Vietnamese have mastered the art like no other of extracting all that was good about their various invaders which have been adopted and embraced in modern day Vietnam; the baguette, the coffee and aspects of Vietnamese food are all examples and it is in Hanoi where this is perhaps most evident.

Ha long Bay

No Vietnam trip would be complete without visiting Ha Long Bay with its astonishing limestone rock formations which makes for a perfect release if you are travelling with kids. Ha Long Bay practically demands to be seen aboard a boat which gives you the means to explore floating villages, home to fisherman who have themselves practically become aquatic. Around the endless rock karsts of Ha Long Bay there is swimming to be done, snorkelling, kayaking on the still waters, spooky local legends and folklore to hear, or how about taking a t’ai chi class on the beach?

Hue & Hoi An

A one hour domestic flight from Hanoi will deliver you into Central Vietnam and the imperial city of Hue. Nestling beside the Perfume River, Hue is tranquil, cultured and best experienced at a leisurely pace.

Jump on bicycles in Hue, which is void of the moped infestation, and peddle off into the countryside, visit the citadel and, above all, embark on a culinary adventure because if you like the fresh, zingy flavours of Vietnamese food, Hue is the capital of cuisine! Better still, earmark Hue as your destination to do a half day cooking course; Vietnamese food couldn’t get more authentic and a cooking course is great fun for kids as well.

Da Lat

Often overlooked by visitors to Vietnam but frequented by Vietnamese holiday-makers, Da Lat began life as a French colonial hill station an even today the identity crisis is unmistakable. Nestling up in the mountains and surrounded by dramatic landscapes.

Da Lat is an unsubtle palette of primary colours offset against a jungle backdrop of verdantly dark greens rising-up from a near crimson soil. The French colonials dubbed Da Lat a “Petit Paris” and in a funny sort of way the ambience is still rather romantic if a little eccentric and even Disney’esque. It has a red and white Eiffel Tower, their radio mast, a summer palace built for the emperor Bao Dai and is dotted with French villas, circa 1930’s.

Nha Trang

Nha Trang, the seaside resort of Vietnam, is getting busier by the day. Invaded by weekenders and fun seekers from Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang has a strip of restaurants illuminated with a neon glow, fun fairs hurl fun seekers from left to right, up and down and the tide of brand hotels is in the process of descending. Nha Trang is the undisputed seaside capital, beachside party town and centre for water sports including kite surfing, wind surfing, sailing, scuba diving and onwards in Vietnam.

If the beach nightlife combo is what you are after Nha Trang is where you need to be as this is the only beachside resort at the moment where you can party hard into the wee nocturnal hours. If this is not your scene there is escape in the form of Ninh Van Bay which is at the other end of the spectrum to Nha Trang; think retreat, natural beauty, spa treatments, island hopping day trips and onwards . . . heaven!

Ho Chi Minh City

Finally we find ourselves down in the southern reaches of Vietnam and in the midst of one of Southeast Asia’s most bustling and progressive cities, Ho Chi Minh City, the wayward younger sister! The elegant French colonial buildings of the inner district are fast becoming dwarfed by the 21st century but they are still here.

There are museums to visit including the War Remnants Museum, you can see a real guillotine, photos of the My Lai Massacre and mock-ups of the notorious “tiger cage” cells used to incarcerate Vietcong prisoners and in which so many died. Even more horrific perhaps are the photos that show vividly the catastrophic effects of Agent Orange.

If you are travelling with boys, beeline the Cu Chi Tunnels, a 250Km warren of tunnels about an hours drive from Ho Chi Minh City. Kids can clamour up on a US tank and older kids (aka adults) can fire live rounds from an AK47.

But over an above the city’s temples, museums and French colonial architecture, it’s the sheer vibrancy of Ho Chi Minh City that most visitors are affected by and love; this place just buzzes with energy! Ho Chi Minh City contrasts with Hanoi but is equally as attractive in her own way.

Mekong Delta

A little further south of Ho Chi Minh, the Mekong River spreads like fronds over a vast area of land to form the Mekong Delta and the last chapter of her journey from Tibet visiting China, Burma (Myanmar), Laos, Thailand and Cambodia along the way.

Thousands of tiny channels and creeks crisscross the delta that define a lifestyle of old and a glimpse of things to come in a watery world where fish farming has all but replaced subsistence fishing. On Mekong Delta cruises it is not difficult to let the imagination wander back into the realms of time and this waterway certainly has more than a few stories to tell.

These days though a Mekong Delta cruise is soft adventure, romantic and a perfect end to a Vietnam vacation package or beginning of a soiree into Cambodia.

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