Here is a brief travelogue on our immersive trip to Vietnam, for those who wish to make the most of their visit to Vietnam

We are a family of 4, Indira, my inspiring better half, and warrior daughters, Mallika and Svwara. We travel a lot, as we believe travelling is the best school to understand self and the world too.

We are immersive, minimalistic travelers and not behave as tourists. On the Vietnam visit, we lived mostly in home stays, except for a couple touristy places like Ha Long bay. When you live at home stays, you get to become part of the family, and involve in their daily livelihoods, kitchen for preparing food, farm to tend to their produce etc. Interactions with the family members give a lot of insights into where to go, what to see, where to eat and how to bargain, how to be minimal to get the maximum out of anything you do.

Whenever we get on an immersive travel by self-driven car, wherever we find exciting stuff, we stop and invest time – could be fields by the road, sunflower farm, rice mills, jaggery making, potters colony, weavers village, block printing – kalamkari artists…. There have been many many stories in the last twenty years. You may get some insights into it watching this playlist on youtube about our Tamilnadu trip in December 22 – Jan 2023 travel.

On this Vietnam trip, we had only two things pucca – flights – The day and time we landed in Vietnam, and the day and time we take off from Vietnam. Rest all planned and executed as we moved along with inputs from the local families – where to go next, how much time you need to see the places, and the place of stay, modes of travel. So, all things are booked a day before the next destination or the deed, which is very unlike most of my friends whose spouses insist on everything to be planned to the T, long before you take off.

I am indebted to my family, Indira, Mallika and Svwara who enjoy this kind of immersive travelling most of the times, though at times they also tell me, “Why can’t we go and stay put in a resort for a few days, the way most do”. Finally, they come around and say, that the travelling experience has been fantastic. Thanks to Indira and Mallika, the foodies that they are, we get to taste a variety of dishes (Vegetarian, a challenge) everywhere we go (mostly I have to finish whatever they order !!)

VIETNAM

Vietnam is a melting pot of natural beauty and cultural diversity. The scenery ranges from jagged mountain peaks to lush green rice fields and even picture-perfect beaches.

With 8 UNESCO heritage sites, vibrant food scenes from North to South, a stunning maze of rivers and canals, beautiful natural landscapes, and pristine sandy beaches, Vietnam is perhaps one of the most fascinating countries in Asia.

Vietnam is a long, narrow nation shaped like the letter s (dragon). It is in Southeast Asia on the eastern edge of the peninsula known as Indochina. Its neighbors include China to the north and Laos and Cambodia to the west. The South China Sea lies to the east and south.

We (a family of 4) travelled for 20 days covering the entire country, south to north – Ho Chi Min City, Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary, Ba Na Hills, Da Nang, Hue, Ninh Binh, Tam Coc city, Halong Bay, Ha Noi…

Here is a peep into the VISUAL DOCUMENTATION of Vietnam on my FLICKR account (tonnes of pics and videos). Enjoy the nature’s beauty and diversity, the terrains, the colors of the human’s vivacious creations and the cultural vividity.

The ROUTE and ITINERARY

Our itinerary, broadly, was

Ho Chi Minh City, (landed, stayed for 3 days)

Cu Chi Tunnels and HMC local city buses used , then went by Futa bus to

Can Tho (Mekong Delta, 2 days ) Came back by Futa bus to

Ho Chi Minh City (2 days), went by Futa bus to

Nha Trang (2 days) then went by a private tempo traveller [Limousine, they call] kinds to

Hoi An, (2 days) , rented a car from here, left early morning, then covered

My Son Sanctuary, first half

Ba Na Hills, second half, and reached by evening

Da Nang (2 days , went to monkey hills etc…), then drove to

Hue (2 days, imperial palace etc) gave back the car here, he came and collected, paid extra for collection in a different city; then took the train to Hanoi, 15 hours+, boarded around 3pm, reaches next day morning 6am

Hanoi (stayed there for 2 days , then went by Limousine, early morning to)

Halong Bay, (directly reached the ferry at 7:30am, put luggage in the hotel next to ferry. went for the day long ferry. came back, slept. And next morning left by Limousine to)

Ninh Binh, Tam Coc city,(2 days – covered the boating, bai din pagoda etc)

then left by Limousine to

Ha Noi… (stayed for 2 days, boarded the flight)

The three pics that I have uploaded here have the route maps, the itinerary along with places to visit, the modes of travel between the cities, the days you need at every place etc.

We travelled all terrestrial –

– by Futa Buses (Ho chi minh to Can Tho; Nha Trang; Nha Trang to Hoi An;) and city buses,

– by Boats (Can Tho, Ho Chi Minh),

– self-driven car (Hoi An to Hue via My Son sancturary, Ba Na Hills, Da Nang),

– by Train (Hue to Hanoi),

Ha Noi and North Vietnam

– Cruise on Halong,

– Limousines (shared: Ha Noi -> Halong -> Ninh Bin + Tam Coc –> Ha Noi)

Since I clubbed my official work too along with the travel, I had to invest in every city a few hours, and in Ha Noi a day for official meetings. All in all it has been a wonderful immersion of Vietnam, a bewitchingly, salubrious country that has everything you wish to experience in a country – Hills, beaches, water ways…beautiful roads, trains, flights, boat rides, cruises……food joints, cafeterias, street side…..with night markets…… night life with clubs, discotheques.

Some simple things we did –

• Apply for Visa from India on the website of Vietnam Embassy. Takes 2-3 days to get the e-Visa
• Carry forex card along, loaded in Dollars / Dongs. Unfortunately in most places they charge 2% for using it, but always handy
• Carry dollars to exchange at the airport where you land, as the boot-strapping becomes easy.
• Buy local sim at the airport always – cheaper and you get benefits; load mobile wallet if such service exists with the sim provider. Go only for the sims that have local mobile wallet, that makes your life easy when you hire cabs etc.
• We used booking.com or Agoda.com to book the home stays (The first booked before boarding the flight from India in HCM city, then on just a day in advance.)
• Have Grab app on your mobile for taxis – both 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler
• For booking Futa Bus in South Vietnam for inter-city travel, go to their website
• In the North Vietnam, mostly by 9 seater Limousines, that any travel agent shops on the street will give you details / book for you
• For Cruises (Halong Bay), Boat rides (Tam Coc), we reached the cruise terminals to understand and then book. It comes to 50% of what the agents / hotels sell it for. Yes, if you are not used to, you will get stressed.

Weather in Vietnam

In the northern regions, average temperatures range from 22–27.5°C in summer to 15–20°C in winter, while the southern areas have a narrower range of 28–29°C in summer to 26–27°C in winter. But, always carry a light jackets as up in the hills and by the sea it can become cold during nights.

What to carry to wear

Since the country is a long, with seashore from north to south on one side, and any part of the country is within a couple of hours from the sea, the days are usually sultry and evenings too, though it becomes a little pleasant. So, I had carried, breathing track pants / shorts and quick-dry sports T-Shirts that not only breath but also dry very fast.

As we are water crazy family, we always carry swimming costumes, with caps and goggles. Even on cruises, whenever the cruises stop for food or visits, we quickly grab a few dips.

Vegetarians Beware

If you are a vegetarian, you usually feel challenged to find what you want, wherever you go out of the India. So, over the decades, we have mastered a checklist to carry….

• In Vietnam, the struggle is no less, as most of the joints will be non-vegetarian. But you will find a few that have vegetarian choices also.
• In Ha Noi and HCM City, you will find Indian Restaurants, but they are exorbitant
• Thankfully you will find a variety of fresh fruits that becomes our breakfast
• The vegetarian choices are limited, mostly salads / greens / boiled noodles, and mock meat made of Soya.
• Fortunately you will get rice in the restaurants. Carry curd from any grocery store, when you head to a restaurant.

• Since we stay mostly in home stays, we carry a few things (one suitcase is dedicated to)
  • An electric cooker (though not used much in Vietnam, as homestays did have); but that will be handy whenever you are on road by car. You can plug and cook.
  • A USB juicer that runs on mobile back up battery pack – As you get fresh fruits everywhere, you can quickly use it for a refreshing drink
  • Indian spices and condiments that we are used to for thadka (garnishing)
  • Namkeens (Savouries), Haldiram kinds that you relish. You can have while traveling.
  • Achars (pickles) of your choice, that you may carry to the restaurant too, as you never know what is in store for you. Rice is available, mostly…
  • A kit with knives, peelers, spoons, forks etc is always handy
• In many places the locals / fellow travelers enjoy our Indian food when we cook and share with them… We throw our parties 😉

Vietnam has been very kind to us. But, I have come across a couple of stories where a friend, who booked a photography tour, by paying up, up-front online, to a photography-tour operator, got duped as that gentleman (operator) was nowhere to be seen. This operator had amazing Instagram page, with millions of followers.

Also keep all your belongings safe and sound, we are warned. We were saved. But make sure you heed to these warnings.

Hope this gives enough insights into Vietnam and what you need to do and take care of when traveling to Vietnam.