Backpacking In Vietnam
I really enjoyed my time in Vietnam. It has a beautiful and diverse landscape. There are busy cities, mountains, a very long coastline, the world’s largest caves, and beautiful islands. It also has great cuisine and friendly people. Of course, it comes with a complex but proud history, which you can discover during your time there.
We stayed in a total of ten different places over thirty days. Travelling solely by bus, this meant a significant amount of time on the road, especially as the country runs narrowly from South to North. Night buses are available, which were relatively comfortable, to maximise the days for exploration. There are other quicker forms of transport, including a few trainlines, and internal flights – but beware of your carbon footprint!
The first stop on this whirlwind tour was Ho Chi Minh City – formerly Saigon – in the South of the country. It is a busy, brightly lit, commercial hub of activity. I thought it stuck out from the rest of the country, with many Western brands found in the central district of the city. There are plenty of shopping centres, endless traffic – consisting largely of motorbikes, and loud-music coming from late-night bars. Despite less than one in ten Vietnamese are Christians, the Christmas decorations were out in force.
To experience the more traditional areas of Saigon – as the residents still refer to it – you are best to explore the outer districts.
Behind the noise, the War Remnants Museum tells the story of the wars against the French colonial power, as well as the war with the United States of America. There are graphic and horrifying displays of those wars, which the curators have labelled as genocide. Given what I saw, it is understandable why the Vietnamese to feel so strongly about what happened during the years of foreign invasions.
Just outside of the city, you can find two sets of tunnels that were used by the Viet Cong during the US conflict. These are remarkable illustrations of the struggles the Vietnamese went through to resist and eventually repel the aggressors, just to rule their own lands.
The next destination, Can Tho, southwest of Ho Chi Minh City, is famed for its floating markets on the river. We were taken on a guided boat tour of the market, starting at sunrise, to witness the drama unfold.
From dawn, the locals bring their goods out on their boats, and trade above water – all while navigating aquatic traffic, other boat merchants, and passing vessels such as ours. The tour took us round to a quieter area of the river, too, passing farmland. At one point, after disembarking to stop at a café, we had to wait for ridiculously cute flock of ducks to pass by.
From Can Tho, via a bus back to Ho Chi Minh City, we took another bus to the coast – at Mui Ne. This small sea-side town was popular with Russians – even some of the signs written in Russian. It is also a well-known destination for windsurfers, that dominated the skyline from the beach.
A great tourist attraction here is the Red Sand Dunes. They are a short tuktuk ride or motorbike ride (which you can rent) from town. The dunes are vast mounds of striking orange sand (not red as the name suggest). They are steep in places, so much so you can feel lost in them, as if in the middle of a desert. While walking over them in the late afternoon, the sunset brought out the colours very powerfully, creating a great scene over the sand out to sea.
The next stop was further inland, to the colonial town of Da lat, in the Central Highlands. Vietnam is popular with motorcyclists because of the roads like this one, that pass hills and mountains, forests and large lakes.
Da Lat was built by the French as a resort town, and it still has that feel while wondering the streets. The most memorable part of the stay here, for me, was finding a café that sold the best desserts I had in Southeast Asia.
Throughout this Southeast Asia tour, especially in Vietnam, the food was delicious. You can find a mixture of rice and noodle dishes, soups, meat or vegetarian options. Da Lat was the first time I truly indulged in the sweet offerings. They were a mixture of rice, coconut, and cream-based desserts. As they were mini, I had to try several – and each was very tasty.
After being well fed, the longest bus journey of the trip was upcoming. Two connecting buses over a total of more than 18 hours took us up the coast. Skipping the popular tourist resorts of Nha Trang, Quy Nhon and Da Nang, to the ancient city of Hoi An. Hoi An is a myriad of narrow streets, canals, and colourful architecture of varying influences – including the Japanese Bridge and Pagoda. Simply wandering around town is entertaining, navigating the streets and waterways.
It is a relatively short bus ride north to Hue – a larger city – the former colonial capital. Here, you can take a boat ride over the river to the stone-walled Citadel which marks the Forbidden City (also referred to as a palace). There is a cluster of impressive ancient buildings, surrounded by a defensive moat, including mausoleums and a tall pagoda. Unfortunately, on our visit grey skies, light rain and scaffolding detracted from what is usually a bright exhibition of Hue’s dynastic history.
Heading further north still, making inroads again, we stopped at the least developed part of Vietnam on this tour – at Phong Nha, the entrance of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park. Here is a remarkable display of Vietnam’s nature. The area is known for the largest caves in the world – one of which was only recently discovered, beating the previous record of another cave nearby.
We took a tour on a long-tail boat, along the river, to one of the caves. The entrance was accessed on the boat – the water runs underneath the limestone wall, to a cavern. The spectacular formations inside adds to the grandiosity of the caves. The lights illuminate the wondrous shapes on the walls and ceilings, making you feel as if in an underground world.
The surrounding area in the national park is beautiful, too. Lush, green forests over hills and mountains. While touring on a rented motorbike, we even had a sighting of rare Vietnamese wildlife – a dark-coloured langur running into the trees.
The penultimate stop was the capital, the largest city in the north, Hanoi. We arrived early in the morning, after another gruelling overnight bus trip. Feeling in a daze from the lack of sleep, Hanoi had a very different feel to Ho Chi Minh. In part, because in January the temperature was much cooler in the north, and that morning was cold. There was a slight mist over the city, which gave the streets an eery feel, as we walked sleepily to the guesthouse.
Hanoi also felt less influenced by Western culture – perhaps because of the history – have far fewer of the Western brands and bright lights. We had only two days to explore the large city, which is centred around a large lake. Traffic, typically relentless, circled around it, and onto the roads darting out in almost every direction. The Vietnamese food continued to impress. I can’t recall having a single meal in Vietnam I didn’t enjoy.
For our final destination, we headed east to Ha Long Bay. This is famous for its boat trips around the bay, amongst the limestone islands that stand tall out of the water, with some including overnight stays. While the touring side of it appealed, I felt slightly put off by the sound of a boat party. Instead, I fancied staying on one of the islands – the largest – Cat Ba.
Cat Ba has an extensive coastline of, beaches and cliffs, as well as a significant amount of woodland in the interior. Scattered around the island are small farms, worked tireless by man and ox. There also appeared to be various larger industries, such as quarries. But the real draw for me was Cat Ba National Park – home to the endangered endemic Cat Ba Langur.
Sadly, I didn’t encounter one on a hike into the viewpoint. The jaunt was enjoyable, regardless. It may have been the time of year which meant the park was relatively quiet, to allow an undisturbed and peaceful trip in through the forest. There are large hotels developed by the port front, yet they were near abandoned on our stay. But for any visitors, there shouldn’t a short of accommodation choices, as well as places to eat.
Returning across the bay by ferry, we had to travel via Hanoi to the western border with Laos – another extended bus ride – to the last country on this tour of Southeast Asia.