It’s a week or so since we’ve gotten back and had some time to digest and reflect on our trip. Been over ten years since I last visited and everyone wonders why so long… so do I! Since the madness of Saigon everything here seems incredibly orderly and so very quiet.

No background of constantly beeping horns and the endless shuffle of people everywhere at all hours on the pavements and roads. Unhealthily we’ve developed a disregard for traffic but no black cabbies, cars or trucks will be swerving to avoid us.

This trip was mostly about family. Catching up with parents who we haven’t seen since our last visit to Sydney over 18 months ago, grandparents, many aunties, uncles and relatives i’ve not seen since a long time basically. My grandparents and my remaining great grandma live about 45 min drive out of Saigon.

Also wonderful to see my very sweet uncle Xiu, who kind of chaperoned us around Saigon, kept us out of trouble and took us on a couple of awesome scooter cruises around Saigon. You get an entirely different perspective and an amazing appreciation for how fluid the traffic is despite the madness it appears like from the sidewalk or back of a taxi.

My grandpa is a dapper chappy but in his age is off the booze and fags so our gift of whiskey was met with a few words from grandma. It was pretty awkward for me and even more so for the white girl. My vietnamese is pretty bad these days and getting progressively worse since moving to the UK. We managed okay and was able to bumble my way through most things. Was pretty funny though when at times in the north they totally didn’t get my accent nor me theirs so it was easier to deal in english.

We spent a few days in Saigon, staying at the Grand Hotel is only worth staying at if you can get a room in the old wing (happily we were). High ceilinged, big French colonial style rooms overlooking the courtyard and swimming pool and great value for us as everything is priced in USD.

We spent alot of time wandering about from one meal to another (a wonderful situation to be in) and Ben Thanh market seemed on our route all too often. Reunification Palace is worth the visit for the awesome furniture and furnishings alone. Cho Lon is great way to get a sense of local life and the many temples and pagodas a bit of culture, colour and the heady scent of incense.

A couple of days me time in the Con Dao islands, 45 minute flight out of Saigon or a shortish boat trip from the Mekong delta. There were only 20 other tourists on the island it felt like we had the place to ourselves. It’s a beautiful archipeligo of islands home to turtles and dugongs (of which we saw none) and a few hotels. The place is nice and sleepy for the moment though it may be shortlived as a new 5 star resort is being developed. Took a rickety boat ride to a neighbouring island where there’s a turtle conservation and a hike up the top of the mountain to try and spot some monkies. Well worth the visit and make sure to hire a scooter to get around the island and some remote beaches.

The last part of our journey involved a tour up north my mum had organised. This led to untold tensions and was at odds with almost everything we hold dear about travel and in six days we took on Hanoi, Halong and Sapa. We had some shocking hotels and ALL meals were included leading to further angst and frustration.

Hanoi is architecturally far more impressive than Saigon with much of the elegant French buildings intact. The crazy old streets in the old quarter a maze of narrow streets and cyclos trying to catch your eye and some business. Sadly Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum was closed but we got to mingle with the hoardes around the grounds and stilt house. The Temple of Literature is beautiful and the fog lending a chill and an air of mystery over the city.

Minibussed to Halong via Hoa Lu and ancient citadel of the Dinh and early Le dynasties. Impressive mountains and landscape surround the family temples and palaces.

Things got touch and go in Halong, we were expecting to overnight on boat in the bay but alas it was a night on land and a day cruise. The bay is beautiful and the floating fish markets a wonderful way to get some super fresh seafood there’s an amazing tranquility and we’re pissed we didn’t get a chance to explore. Our meal on our boat though was the best I’d had all trip.

There’s a pissweak resort near Halong City which we really failed to see the point of and Halong City is rather unimpressive. Just a strip of hotels and a wierd theme park along the waterfront though there’s some rejuvination the place reaks of a badly executed Sentoza (Singapore).

Back to Hanoi and then onto an overnight train to Lao Cai so we could head to Sapa. Worst travel experience ever. The 1st Class sleepers were like being stuck in a metal coffin with three others, the toilet you don’t even want to go there. Awful Awful Awful. We paid for an upgrade on the way back and the rooms and the bathrooms were clean. Though its such a rickety old train line that you can’t really sleep anyways in the 9 hrs it takes to cover the 400kms. There are some well posh carriages if you’re feeling flush but i doubt you’d be able to sleep in those either!

The drive in to Sapa as the sun rose was beautiful up a windy mountain road as a heavy fog descended on the valley. There’s not too much about the town but it’s a popular spot and rightly so for treks and wanders into the local village of indiginous mountain people.

We took an amazing half day trek guided trek through a couple of the villages. We were amazed by how good our guides English was, she says she’s only learnt from speaking with tourists. The H’mong have certainly been very business savvy and taken advantage of the influx of visitors.It’s very rustic and so much continues in the manner it always has. Hemp is used to produce material which is woven on old looms that produce narrow strips of fabric and the H’mong use indigo to dye their materials. The mountainside is filled with layers and layers of rice paddies.

There was a funeral that we walked past and our guide took us into the house to see the mourning family. It was filled with the mourning getting juiced up on rice wine. It was a sombre experience but i was so amazed that the family welcomed us in to it. Really humbling but we didn’t stick around long it just felt a bit intrusive and the tiny house was filled with people and smoke from the open fire.

I love the crap plastic furniture that is prevalant all over Vietnam. Whilst it seems impermanant you gotta love the portability. Need a table for three? no problem out whipped a few chairs and a makeshift table and you’re happily scoffing and swilling. There was so much eating i didn’t get to do and yes you do have to be careful with what you eat but its pretty safe to do as the locals do… if they don’t touch the herbs you prolly shouldn’t either and just follow your nose and where that mysterious plate that got delivered to that stall came from i bet theres good eating there.

The trip was all far short and oft very frustrating but we’re commiting to visiting every 2-3 years. There’s still the central parts like Hue and Hoi An which were flooded just before we arrived, the mekong delta, Phu Quoc Island (get there before it gets all touristy) and i look forward to going back but definitely doing it in our own sweet time and own terms.

Photos uploaded here…