Not so much an invasion, more like an expedition as the journey took 8 hours, 5 types of transport and our refusal to pay a border-crossing bribe. But eventually we arrived in Can Tho on the Mekong Delta, our first stop on what has turned out to be an amazing and eventful 7 weeks.
Can Tho
We were here for all of 18 hours but it was an amazing way to start our Vietnam adventure. We were here simply to do a 1-day Mekong Delta tour and it didn't disappoint.
A hair-raising motorbike ride from the bus station to our hotel, with me on one bike with Eyal, carrying around 30kg of luggage on my back and hands, Shoshi on another bike with Mili, Guy and another 4 rucksacks, we survived to reach our hotel. A few hours sleep and we were up for our 5am start which was pretty tough but turned out to be well worth it.
Ngoc Paul was a brilliant guide, taking us on a boat trip through the floating markets where we saw huge boats carrying every type of fruit and vegetable known to man, then down the Mekong River, experiencing local markets where the kids got a spontaneous chance to make waffles, watched on by the locals who took a liking to our little 'foreigners'. We enjoyed a brilliant lunch, bizarrely in a 'restaurant' in a local electrical store, served by local woman in pyjamas, but it all added to the magic! After lunch, we carried on up the river, visiting a coco bean plantation and a rice paper factory. We learnt how chocolate is made by hand and then how the locals still make rice paper in the traditional way. This was real 'world-schooling' at work, at times like these it was hard to think that the kids are missing anything by not going to school for a year.
Along the way, had our customary touching and hugging of the children, we're now so used to this that is really doesn't bother us, the kids seem to like the attention and it is all done with real affection from the warm-hearted locals.
Aside from being a wonderful tour in itself, spending our first day with Ngoc meant we got to talk about Vietnam in general, ask questions, get expert information and 'colour' for our onward journey.
This was definitely one of our favourite guided tours of our travels so far, both because of Ngoc and also the amazing experience on the Delta.
Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon
So after 8 hours on thw Delta, we climbed aboard our first Sleeper Bus and headed for Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It was only a 4 hour journey but the bus was an absolute luxury after the buses in Cambodia and the Philippines. Separate seating, full-length recliners. First Class travel at 3rd Class prices - a winning combination in any country.We then spent a great 3 days in HCMC, packed full of history, food, football and 8m motorbikes.
Let's start with the history. For a country that endured nearly two decades of war between the mid-50s to the mid-70s, at first glance, HCMC is a shining example of how time can heal and the resilience of the human spirit. This is a sprawling, growing, vibrant city which is full of youthful energy. But we started our time here by visiting Independence Palace, the War Museum and the Cu Chi Tunnels. The 2 days we spent at these places gave us all a real insight into the Vietnam War, the horrors of war in general and also the ingenuity of a largely peasant army who used their knowledge of their own country to wage a guerrilla war against the military might of the US.
I grew up on brilliant movies like The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Apocalypse Now and the brilliant series MASH. While these didn't glorify the Vietnam War, they gave a portrait through the prism of Americana, whereby in HCMC, we saw another side, a less sexy Hollywood side. Having said that, I have to admit to a little bit of a thrill when standing next to a US 'Huey' helicopter, one of the icionic images of the war.
Some people had warned us against taking the kids to all of these places due to the difficulty of some of the images and stories but we believed then and continue to believe that exposing them to unfiltered history is the best way for them to learn. Some of it they understand, some they don't but they still get to see things first hand. There were a couple of areas that we kept them away from at the War Museum, the 'Agent Orange' images being particularly distressing, but we explained to them what they were not seeing and they seemed to understand the significance.
The second most important thing in HCMC, after understanding the history, is without doubt the food. Soups, spices, rice, noodles, spring rolls, Banh Mi sandwiches...the list goes on and on and the options are endless. $3 gets you a great meal, full of fresh ingredients and tastes. We have been predominately vegetarian on our travels and Vietnam offers such great choices that it really hasn't been a challenge at all.
Of the 4 countries we have visited so far, Vietnam is definitely at the top for food so far...
Our final abiding memory of HCMC was the traffic. 100% organised chaos, impossible to explain how busy, impossible to understand how it works, but it just does. More motorbikes that we have ever seen in our lives, crossing the road was like a game of Frogger. The advice is just to look straight ahead, start crossing, walk in a straight line at constant pace and never look back. To be honest, it works, we attempted a number of road crossings and live to tell the tale.
That was our first 4 days in HCMC, as we left for Dalat, we were't to know that we would be back for Guy's operation but as it turned out, it gave us the chance to see much more of the city the second time around.
With another 10 days to explore - and Guy not able to walk too many long distances - we explored flower markets for Tet (the Lunar New Year), experienced stunning rooftop views, relaxed by the pool, strolled around Chinatown and generally just soaked up all the city had to offer.
Dalat
Sandwiched in-between our two visits to HCMC, was a few days in the picturesque mountain city of Dalat, around 8 hour sleeper bus from HCMC.
Putting side that we had a hospital visit here and spent a day or so in dialogue with doctors and our insurance company as we tried to sort out Guy's hernia operation, we really enjoyed Dalat. It has a real European feel, from the French-styled architecture to the golf course and cooler, European climate. We stayed at the wonderful La Na Ni hotel - small, simple but with the friendliest owners we have met so far on our travels. Without speaking much English at all, they were wonderful hosts and looked after us throughout our 5 day stay.
Highlights of our time in Dalat were the Crazy House, the Maze Bar, a great day out with the Veteran Easy Riders who took us around the area on the back of their motorbikes, visiting a small coffee plantation and learning about the different coffee beans that have helped push Vietnam to the top of the world's coffee exporters.
into the inevitable passing of time and bought reading glasses. To make things a little easier, we just bought the one pair to share, means only one of us can read properly at any one time but at least it allows us to hang onto the last semblance of our youth.
