Here’s the deal: a “fruit vendor” comes up with her hanging baskets and asks if you want a picture. We (being educated about this scam) say, “No, no, that’s okay,” and she says, “Free! Just take picture! Try!” And we’re still protesting as she hangs her wares on Skyler’s shoulder and plops her hat on her head. And at that point, we say, “Wellllll... okay, I guess....” and she takes my phone and snaps this picture and then asks for equivalent of two dollars. I think the only thing we could have done differently was to run the other way, but we had found a rare quiet spot in Hoi An to enjoy some gelato. So we are two dollars poorer, but we have this amazing picture.
Last week, I hit “purchase” on our plane tickets for spring break this year, and it occurred to me that I never wrote about one of my favorite things we did last year, which was our trip to Vietnam. Normally I would not do a post about a trip I took nine months ago, but it was so much fun. Since I’m spending a good chunk of my time daydreaming about warmer climes and making plans and chatting with local friends about their spring break plans, I am pretty sure others are as well. So I thought that I’d do this long overdue post just to have all the information in one place.
Our itinerary:
Two nights in Hanoi followed by five nights in Hoi An (with day trips to Da Nang).
Hanoi:
Our hotel in Hanoi was the Serene Boutique Hotel in the Old Quarter.
I had arranged an airport pick-up through the hotel, and after a somewhat frustrating and tiresome experience in the passport line at the airport, it was so nice to walk out and see our van driver waiting for us while others from our flight were still waiting for their rides. We arrived at the hotel and were greeted by the staff with juice and snacks. They asked us our names and used them in all our conversations during our time there. They were incredibly helpful, providing maps and recommendations (which we should have listened to more). The only problem with our stay is that it kind of ruined our expectations for all hotels since.
The next day, we were up early thanks to the two-hour time difference. We headed to the infamous prison Hoa Lo, aka The Hanoi Hilton. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about taking my young kids there. I did because I felt like it was educational. I mean, Matt and I remember how when we were kids (born in the 70’s), Vietnam was almost a bad word. We didn’t want to dwell on the pain and turmoil of the past, but at the same time, we felt like it was important for context, and it would be the one place directly related to the war that we would see.
There was an almost palpable darkness, though, for lack of a better word. Some of the displays were a lot to take in, like a guillotine that was used for several years and some photographs and testimonies I don’t even want to describe here because they still turn my stomach. I mention this because I’ve been asked several times since if I would take the kids there again, and... I’m not sure. I don’t think it scarred the kids, but they unanimously say it was the worst part of the trip. If you do plan a trip, just know it will be an extremely heavy experience, and that might be too much for young children.
We spent the rest of the day around the Old Quarter, visiting the beautiful St. Joseph’s cathedral
The next day we got up and walked around some more before heading back to the airport to fly to Da Nang, just taking in the sights, sounds, and atmosphere. We loved the architectural style, especially around the Old Quarter. But I have to admit that two days in Hanoi with the bajillion or so scooters
Da Nang/ Hoi An:
We arrived in Da Nang after a short flight that afternoon, and once again, I had pre-arranged a driver to the hotel, which was outside Hoi An but about 45 minutes from Da Nang. We stayed at the Ally Beach Boutique Hotel. It had a very different vibe about it, and while still nice, it was a little more basic. We found an amazing place for dinner, Baby Mustard,
The next day I met with Tommy Dao of Tommy Dao Tours who had come recommended to me by a friend and was able to arrange two tours for the week. This was one of the best things I did for our trip. Our hotel had a tour as well to the same places, but it cost more and meant a longer day with lots of people. I just couldn’t see doing that with my kids. Tommy put together itineraries to exactly the places we wanted to visit with a private van for less money.
After spending the rest of the day at the beach,
The next day was our first tour. We visited Ba Na Hills, which is an amusement park with the famous Hands of God bridge. We were advised to go very early in the day, and while we were waking up early thanks to jet lag, breakfast at the hotel wasn’t served early enough. I didn’t want to take my kids out on empty stomachs because I knew how tiring and stressful it is to look for food, so we went later than recommended though still quite early. It was very crowded as you can see from the pictures, but we still got some decent pictures, thanks to our amazing guide.
We went to the Marble Mountains and visited a temple and a Buddha in a cave. It was really beautiful. I loved the use of broken blue-and-white ceramics, for instance, and the green tile roofs.
I was honestly a little nervous about that too, especially when we arrived at the pier and everyone was loaded into small speedboats with two long benches. But suddenly, the guide said, “You two!” (motioning to Skyler and I) “This boat over here!” And we were taken to a huge boat that kind of looked like a pirate ship. It was slower than the others, but much more comfortable. There were drinks included (we opted for just bottled water), and a sun deck with an awning stretched over it. I’m still not clear how this happened, if it was a fluke or what we’d paid for, but gosh. It was nice.
Our last day, we took another tour to a traditional Vietnamese farm,
We flew back to Korea the next day, all having loved our time in Vietnam. My only regrets are that Jayna wasn’t with us (she was at university stateside and couldn’t join us) and that we didn’t hire a driver for a tour in Hanoi, but other than that, I just wish we’d had more time. It felt like we were going and doing things every day and a busier itinerary would have been more stressful, but we still missed so much — like going to Ha Long Bay. While we aren’t spending this Spring Break there, we had to fight ourselves to decide to go anywhere else. We’d go back in a heartbeat.
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