Country 3 - Vietnam

8-18th August 2018

We didn't have the most stress free start to our trip to Vietnam. On arrival to Saigon, hubby presents his evisa for entry. What ensues next is 30 mins of will they/won't they let him in as they don't have record of his visa approval even though we present a copy of it on government letterhead. His passport is passed to one person then another before someone just walks off with in entirely. Eventually they return verifying that the visa is authentic and after a few more key strokes on the computer we're given the stamp we'd been waiting for while our tour group patiently waits for us outside.

Our first tour day we explored the Chu Chi Tunnels. This place is something else. During the Vietnam war the Vietcong, or VC, built 3 layered tunnels in the jungle to evade the US troops. It was later discovered that approx 250km of tunnels were built here to house the VC for over 10 years during the non-stop fighting with the US. Booby traps and camouflage tunnel entries were dotted everywhere in the jungle and some examples of the steel traps were on display. Hubby, who is 6ft 3, crawled through 40m of open tunnel and he along with half the group came out the other side complaining of how cramped and dark it was. Imagine that for 10 years of your life...

We finished the day at the War museum which gave us a one sided version of events from the end of WWII until the US departed after the Vietnam war. Graphic content was shown to highlight the effects of Agent Orange that was used on the villagers by the US troops.



To lift the mood a little, the next day we took a saipan through a local village and stopped at a local candy factory before some of the group tasted a local Snake/Scorpion rice wine. Swapping the saipan for a larger boat, we sail down the Mekong Delta and enjoy a local lunch on the water. To finish the day we visit Saigon's indoor markets on the way back into town. Before our flight up to Hoi An, we visit the Reunification Palace, the last stronghold to fall, leading to the end of the Vietnam war.



Hoi An, about 45min drive from Da Nang, is a resort town growing by the day. Here we spend our morning walking through the streets of old Hoi An followed by a cooking class and farming tutorial in the Tra Que village. The Hoi An night markets are a big and busy sight to see featuring everything you can think of.

After a quick stop in Hoi An, we hit the road heading north to Hue - the ancient capital of Vietnam. We travel by bus via the mountain pass and enjoy the afternoon with a relaxing ride down the Perfume River. Before flying north to Hanoi we walk through the Purple Forbidden City before a leisurely cyclo tour in the afternoon.


Hanoi is wet and miserable when we arrive so our first
night is spent inside watching an amazing water puppet show. Waking up the next day we are told a typhoon is headed our way and our overnight stay at Halong Bay had been canceled. As a consolation prize we are treated to Nihn Binh, known as inland Halong, a lake between limestone mountains and got rained on there instead.





The weather gods turned it on for us the last day as we got our wish and headed to Ha Long bay for a 4 hour cruise. There are over 3000 islands in the bay so this short cruise just confirmed that we definitely need to come back and spend more time here.


After a very quick 10 days, we say goodbye to Vietnam and 20 of our new friends and head back to Hong Kong before jumping on a ferry over to Macau. I leave Vietnam torn. A country so corrupt is rich for many and poor for so many more, A communist country who dictates what their people can and can't do yet the people just want freedom, to earn a good wage and provide for their families. Yet we learn't in Cambodia that although they have a democracy in place they are ruled by countries like Vietnam who are taking advantage of smaller players in SEA. I suppose there is always a bigger fish in the sea. Vietnam's bigger fish? China.

Traveler's Tip - There were another Australian couple that this evisa issue happened to as well. Just stay calm and let them do their thing. You will be put to the side and told to wait an unknown amount of time but it will go through. Vietnam is not a country you want visa or passport issues.

Traveler's Tip - We were warned against eating street food to avoid getting the stomach bug. We saw cups and dishes being washed in dirty street water so I would strongly advise to follow as well.