Spending 3 months in Vietnam, teaching English to children, teenagers, and adults, getting in touch with the Vietnamese people. An authentic and intense experience, even if not always easy due to the language barrier but also to the culinary habits. Being a vegetarian I had indeed a bit of a struggle to make my way through the Vietnamese cuisine and discover dishes that did not contain meat. Vietnam, an evocative place for its history and its tragic past, is a Country full of interesting places to visit and to live. From the mountains and rice paddies of the North to the historical and naturalistic heritage of the Center to the South from the incredible beaches, there are many places where to spend time.
But let’s see together what are absolutely the things to visit during the first trip to this wonderful land:
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The northern part of Vietnam is undoubtedly my favorite, first of all, Hanoi, one of the most beautiful Asian cities, wherein Old Hanoi it is still possible to breathe an atmosphere of the past; I spent several days in Hanoi without ever getting bored, trying to immerse myself as much as possible in the local culture.
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By living most of the time in Hai Phong I was able to observe and be part of the daily life of Vietnamese beyond tourism. Hai Phong is not a tourist place but just a place of passage, being very close to Cat Ba. In that period I visited Cat Ba together with the other teachers and some students from the linguistic center; we slept in the bay of Lan Ha in a little house by the sea only reachable by boat, and to continue to complete my list of “things to do for the first time”, I did kayak, and I took a bath naked at night, surrounded by the blue plankton in a magical atmosphere. In Cat Ba, it is also possible to make very beautiful excursions in its National Park.
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A separate note deserves Ha Long, a perfect example of how a blind tourism can ruin a place to endorse it to others and make it lose any kind of uniqueness.
Before seeing it with my own eyes, I could not understand why my Vietnamese friends talked about it with so much regret. However, I would advise you to head to Ha Long only to climb the Ba Tho Mountain from which you can admire a spectacular view of its bay and the city of Ha Long but also of the new city of Ha Long. -
In the deep North, we decided not to go to Sapa on the advice of our friends and we went thanks to them armed with motorcycles in Ha Giang, one of the most spectacular places in Vietnam and South East Asia.
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A little further south of Hanoi, there is the beautiful Ninh Binh, an ideal place above all to unplug the city chaos. In Ninh Binh, you can visit temples, take boat trips through the mountains in the typical shape of the area, trekking through bucolic landscapes. The best way to get around is the motorcycle, do not worry if you are not a motorcycle expert or if you have never driven me in your life, this place is ideal for learning to drive right in its streets, and the absence almost total traffic.
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In the 3 months I spent in Vietnam, I witnessed several typhoons, an experience that the first time can prove unique and arouse interest, but that repeating itself proves a certain boredom. Once again, when I went to class, I went from home to the language center and found myself walking barefoot in the street with water up to my knees, in streets that I knew were not so clean and where I sometimes even seen carcasses of mice. Or that time when I and the other teachers were stuck in Cat Ba because it was raining so much that they stopped all sea transport, when it started to “rain” we were in the hotel restaurant where they were staying that after a few moments began to close the gate to prevent the water from entering the room. But returning to us, unfortunately, I could not visit Hué as I wanted, because that year was terrible for the number and power of the rains. Especially in the central area, there were deaths but also damage to cities and to the historical architectural heritage fortunately not serious. When I went to Hué, I was aware that it would rain even if I hoped for a miracle to the end. However, Hué was the capital in the past and was the home of the royal dynasty. The main attraction is, in fact, the old citadel. But apart from the citadel, there are other monuments to visit, such as the tombs of the emperors, considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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The best way to travel is to talk with people, whether they are other travelers or better still locals. I didn’t intend to move with the train but when people told me that the stretch of the train journey between Hué and Da Lat was one of the most amazing of the country as I could not verify in person?! And luckily, this time the weather has rewarded us great, breathtaking landscapes, lush vegetation, and a thousand-colored ocean!
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Hoi An, this town has become famous and therefore unfortunately very touristy for its hand-colored rice paper lanterns. Before tourism peeked out, the lanterns were not lighting every day but they are on special occasions, but now every evening the lanterns are colored in a magical fairytale atmosphere. This really nice town is also excellent for tailoring, excellent qua, ity and very cheap prices. It seems that many Westerners come here to redo the wardrobe, and how to blame him ?! The mastery of these people is really excellent, and I myself have made to sew a tailored suit that I long desired, at a very competitive price, by two very kind Vietnamese dressmakers.
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Ho Chi Minh or even better Saigon is a very chaotic city where people drive like crazy people, the prerogatives of Vietnam in general. There are several places of interest, such as the offices of the central post office, the Catholic church, corners of the city where you can savor a bit of tranquility. It is an aesthetically pleasing town, but in terms of personal stressful as many large cities. If you want to get out of the chaos of the city, I recommend going to the AoDai Museum, the typical Vietnamese dress, just outside the city, easily reachable by local bus in about an hour and a half. The most touching and significant experience of this trip to Vietnam was the visit of the War Remnants Museum, which reconstructs the Vietnam War in all its controversy and ruthlessness. The museum exposes the terrible effects of the conflict on the Vietnamese population and traces not only the horror of the American invasion but also that of French colonization. The museum describes Vietnam’s outlook on the conflict but also shows international support for the Vietnamese resistance. The most touching part is undoubtedly that of the exhibits, mostly photographic, dedicated to the tragic effects of the Orange Agent on the Vietnamese population whose consequences are still visible today. The city remains an excellent transit between the country and Cambodia. From here it is really easy to cross the border with Cambodia. From here it is really easy to cross the border with Cambodia, just book one of the many buses that make this route and you will not be disappointed, it will be a pleasure to escape from the chaos of the city and immerse yourself in the rural landscapes of a new land to be discovered.