Winter Vacation Part 1: Vietnam

Hi, everyone! We hope that you're doing well as winter continues to drive on. About 10pm on Sunday, February 1, we arrived back in Changnyeong from our three week vacation through Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand. We feel fortunate to have had this opportunity and have returned with innumerable lovely memories, many of which we wish to share with you.

We took a bus from Changnyeong to Seoul immediately after work on January 9, and stayed the night at a hotel near Incheon International Airport. The next morning, we flew to Hanoi, Vietnam to begin our trip. 

During parts of our four days and three nights in Hanoi, we toured many important government buildings and museums, visited beautiful Ha Long Bay and, most wonderfully, ate lots of delicious Vietnamese food. Our hotel was in the Old Quarter, a 1000 year old district which retained most of its original architectural traits despite the damages left in Hanoi from the Vietnam War. 

The streets were colorful, lined with vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, clothing, and more. Food stalls opened early and closed late, providing the best Pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) and local beer one could hope for. The people were kind, always smiling and willing to lend a hand to a tourist in need -- and sell us whatever we may or may not have been looking for. We felt welcome in Hanoi from the moment that we left the airport.

Below are some pictures from the streets of Hanoi. You can see some of the French colonial architectural influence.

Although we loved many aspects of northern Vietnam, undoubtedly our favorite part was the cuisine. While not especially spicy, the use of fresh herbs, rich meat, and spice combine to form flavors that are truly unique.

                  Spicy papaya salad:                                   

Pho (beef noodle soup):

One type of Vietnamese coffee includes a thick, egg-based foam on top:

                         

             

Our last meal in Hanoi. No crumb left behind. 

Most of our more expensive meals averaged around 10 USD, while lunch hovered around 5 USD or less. It almost felt insulting to pay so little for such terrific food.

Here are some pictures of important buildings we saw around Hanoi:

         The Flag Tower:                                                

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum:

                                            The Hanoi Opera House erected by the French

                                             colonial administration between 1901 and 1911.

The Presidential Palace:

                                                                                                 

                                                                                               

         Hoa Lo Prison, which became known during the                

                                          Vietnam War as the "Hanoi Hilton":                                                                                                                      

The uniform worn by Sen. John McCain when he was shot down and captured by North Vietnamese fighters:

                                         Depiction of Hao Lo prisoners during French colonial period:

The museums we toured in Vietnam were interesting, but by no means objective. Despite enjoying a high degree of personal freedom in many respects, the Vietnamese people nonetheless live in a state dominated by a single, all-controlling political party and its agenda. Thus, any official portrayals of their history have a highly nationalist bent and are, in short, propaganda.

We spent one full day touring Ha Long Bay, about 150 kilometers east of Hanoi. We were fetched by our tour guide from our hotel early that morning and joined 10 other tourists for a 3.5 hour bus ride to Ha Long Bay. We arrived at noon and boarded a nice boat where we were fed while floating through the bay. Our tour lasted about 4 hours and included a stop to explore a cave.

                                                 
                                                    Thien Cung Grotto:

On Tuesday, we departed Hanoi for Hoi An, a small town on the central coast of Vietnam. On the plane, we spotted Frank, a man we'd met on our Ha Long Bay tour. Frank offered us a ride with his hotel from Da Nang to Hoi An, about 35 km away. After being dropped off at our place and receiving a map of the city, we had another great meal.

Hoi An specializes in at least three dishes: cau lao, white rose, and crispy pancake

         

Left: white rose, a type of shrimp dumpling. Right: Cau Lao, a dark pork broth served with fat yellow noodles, tender pork, bean sprouts, fresh greens, and croutons.                                        

Tourists flock to Hoi An for many reasons, including beach, eats, and textiles. There are over 450 tailors in Hoi An, promising to deliver custom-made clothing to any tourist within 24-48 hours, depending on how much you order. We were aware of this before we left for our trip, so we were already considering having something made by a local tailor. Conveniently, our hotel suggested a tailor, who also happened to be family (or perhaps "family"). Overwhelmed by the number of businesses, we decided to pay a visit to T&C Tailor, as recommended by our hotel. Within a couple of hours, we had negotiated a price for two pairs of chinos and two dress shirts for Andrew, to go with a dress and a jacket for me. Lin promised that we'd have them within 24 hours.

The two of us with Lin, our spunky saleswoman:

This was a fun experience! Overall, we paid less than what we would pay in the US for off-the-rack clothing of similar quality. 

The next day, we were picked up from our hotel by a guide who took us to the local market where meet up with a group of tourists taking the same cooking class. The ten of us met our tour guide, who led us through the market in order to purchase ingredients for the items we would cook later that morning.

Here are some scenes from the local market: 

 From the market, we took a boat to our cooking school:

We spent about three hours here, learning to make four dishes: spring roll, spicy beef salad, crispy pancake, and pho. Here's Andrew grinding rice and water to make rice milk:

We had a great time here, enjoying the peaceful setting and our tasty dishes. They sent us home with the recipes, which are ones that we can definitely make at home.

When we returned from our class, we rented bikes and rode around Hoi An. Water buffalo are a common sight in farming areas such as this.

After a long afternoon of bike riding, we were ready for banh mi, a delicious Vietnamese sandwich. We visited the Banh Mi Queen for this: 

As you can tell, we ate nearly every chance we had.

On Thursday, we left Hoi An to fly to Ho Chi Minh City (still often referred to as "Saigon"). Truth be told, Saigon was far from our favorite part of our trip. There isn't any one particular reason for this but we are very glad that we had the chance to visit Hanoi and Hoi An, as our perception of Vietnam would have been distorted without. Ho Chi Minh is an immense city of 8 million people, which certainly contains pockets of beauty, but for us lacked the more intimate, romantic feel of Hanoi.

We did lots of sightseeing on foot, which included important government buildings, HCMC museum, markets, and temples. The most notable thing about Saigon was the traffic. The number of motorbikes and cars was unbelievable and crossing the street was like playing Russian Roulette. 

The Central Post Office designed by Gustave Eiffel, whose name you probably know from a structure in Paris. 

Notre Dame Cathedral:

Municipal Theatre:

Ho Chi Minh City Museum:

One day, we experienced two very interesting bus rides from HCMC to My Tho, a town on the Mekong Delta, and back. We sought to hire a guide who would take us for a tour of the Mekong. This worked out to some degree, as we did manage to spend some time on a boat on the Mekong. However, we'd recommend taking a package tour from HCMC to those who might wish to embark on such a journey. Doing things on our own definitely contributed a lot of adventure, but prearranged tours tend to come with fewer headaches.

Our last dinner in Saigon:

Pho and iced Vietnamese coffee for breakfast:

After four days and three nights, we left Saigon for Cambodia. Our time in Vietnam was spectacular. The people, food, and experiences have left lasting impressions and dreams of returning.

Next up: Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia. Thank you for keeping up with our travels!