I just can’t pick my favourite in South East Asia. I thought Phuket would seal Thailand for me but then, I visited Vietnam! I visited Vietnam for 9 days and 8 nights from the 24th of Dec 2022 to the 1st of Jan 2023. The country has modern cities to ancient towns, sandy beaches to limestone bays, natural cave systems to man-made war tunnels and the list can go on. One trip is not enough.
It was a NY’s trip with a close friend and trust me, we had a amazing time. Our itinerary looked like this-
| Date & Day | When Awake | Night in |
| 24th Dec, Sat | Hanoi City Tour | Hanoi |
| 25th Dec, Sun | Halong Bay | Cruise |
| 26th Dec, Mon | Halong Bay & Transit | Phong Nha |
| 27th Dec, Tue | Elephant Cave & Ma Da Lake | Phong Nha |
| 28th Dec, Wed | Hoi An Town Tour | Hoi An |
| 29th Dec, Thu | Ba Na Hills & Da Nang | Hoi An |
| 30th Dec, Fri | Coconut Village & HCMC | HCMC |
| 31st Dec, Sat | Ho Chi Minh City Tour | HCMC |
| 1st Jan, Sun | Return to India |
About Vietnam
On a political map, Vietnam is a thin long country (like Chile) that seems to have wanted to keep Laos a landlocked country. It has a very long coastline along the South China Sea. Hanoi, in the north, is the political capital and, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), in the south, is the financial capital. Both these cities are so far away, that we had to wear sweaters in Hanoi on 24th Dec and had to switch on the AC 7 days later when we arrived in HCMC. In latitude terms, Hanoi and Raipur share similar latitudes and HCMC and Kochi share similar latitudes, that’s how far the two cities are in an area-wise small country.
Vietnam has been a communist country since the Cold War days. The communist ideology was sealed when the communist leader Ho Chi Minh was able to persuade US forces in the US-Vietnam War. But visiting as a tourist, I felt that they practiced a much lighter version of the ideology as private businesses were bustling everywhere, with no curbs on consumption or personal movement and there seemed to be private ownership of property as well.
One can easily be a millionaire in Vietnam. 1 INR equals about 300 VND (Vietnamese Dong), so you just need about Rs 3500 to have a million dongs. But, as you may know, this has nothing to do with how expensive the country is. In PPP terms, the country will be about 10% more expensive than India.
Both of us were vegetarians, and we were really worried about our food options. Trust me when I say this, one each of the 8 days, we had 1 meal that just blew our taste buds away. Vegan food is not only widely available but also mind-blowing. Read the post further for the day-wise itinerary to know the names of these places. Veg food is not an issue but Indian veg food is.
In terms of safety, there was no part of our trip, where we felt even slightly threatened or even uneasy. The place seemed safe from both molesters and muggers. People can freely choose to wear whatever suits them without feeling awkward. The traffic sucked in Ho Chi Minh. Grab is very popular and easily available throughout the country.
Mapping Tourist Sites on the Map
As you can see, the country has a long thin shape. It is a country spread on the North-South lines, and so, despite being small in terms of landmass, travel within the country takes time. As a result, there are lots of airports in Vietnam, with good connectivity, if not directly, then definitely through Hanoi & HCMC.
Let’s look at each of the destinations from North to South-
- Sa Pa hills & rice terraces- Hilly rice growing region that has a rustic-small town charm.
- Hanoi- Capital City with lots of history and the Train Street
- Halong Bay- Limestone islands with tropical forests in South China. There are many sections of the Ha Long Bay.
- Ninh Binh- River Delta in rural Vietnam
- Phong Nha Caves- One of the world’s largest network of hollow mountains, resulting in the deepest and hugest caves in a tropical jungle
- Hue- Historical epicenter of the country
- Da Nang- City in Vietnam with Ba Na Hills, an airport for Hoi An and a beach
- Hoi An- Lantern river and overnight tailor-made clothes in old Vietnamese setting.
- Nha Trang- Popular for its beaches
- Ho Chi Minh City- Largest city & Financial hub of the country
- Phu Quoc- Resort Island of Vietnam
Airports in Vietnam
Vietnam has crazy airport connectivity. Vietnam with an area of 3,31,690 sqkm is smaller than the Indian state of Rajasthan which has an area of 3,42,239 sqkm. Where Rajasthan has just 6 functional airports in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Udaipur and Kishangarh; Vietnam boasts over 21 airports with daily flights. The important airports are Hanoi, Haiphong, Hue, Dong Hoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, HCMC, and Phu Quoc to name a few. Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways and Vietjet (Low Cost) are the 3 most popular airlines. Vietnam Airlines is the best. The below image will help.
The Visa
Indians need a visa before visiting Vietnam but the process is very simple and I was able to apply for one from my phone itself. If I remember right, one needs only a photograph, a passport to be uploaded and a visa fee of about Rs 5000.
The visa gets approved in 3-5 business days, one gets a mail. I had taken a print-out which too wasn’t needed at the time of immigration.
Cost of the Trip
| Cost (INR) | Comment | |
| Flights | 25k | Vietjet to Hanoi Air Asia from HCMC |
| Stay | 14k | Air Bnbs at Rs 2k/ night |
| Visa | 5k | |
| Food | 10k | |
| Ha Long Cruise | 14k | Mid-range fully paid |
| Internal Flights | 9k | Hanoi to Dong Hoi Da Nang to HCMC |
| Cave Experience | 5k | Elephant Cave & Ma Da Lake 1 day tour |
| Insurance & SIM | 2k | |
| Internal Transit | 4k | Ha Long Bay pick-drop from Hanoi Phong Nha to Da Nang Bus |
| Other Experiences | 12k | Hop-on Hop-off bus in Hanoi Ba Na Hills, |
| Total | 100k |
Our 8D8N Itinerary
24th December, Saturday
Landed early morning and used the money exchange at the airport to convert my USD to VND. I was surprised to find that the airport exchange rate was better than the online rate. I thought that I would find even a better exchange rate in the city so I didn’t exchange a lot but to my dismay that airport rate was the best that I came across on the entire trip.
We booked a cab and reached The Old Quarter/ Hoan Kiem Neighbourhood. This is inarguably the best place to book your stay. We started the trip with a cute cafe and ordered both hot and cold brews. Coffee culture is huge in the country, so keep trying coffee throughout. It is different and great in most places. From this coffee place, we took a manual rickshaw to our Bnb. We checked in, took a shower and got ready for the day.
We decided to start the day with some tourist-style sight-seeing and booked a ticket for a hop-on, hop-off double-decker bus tour. The bus covers major landmarks. We drove in it for a while seeing the city and then decided to get down and explore more freely.
The Quang An neighbourhood is home to tens of cute and unique cafes next to a lake. We took a cab and sat at one of the cafes in the area for lunch. Like, I had said earlier, vegan/ veg food is not a problem. The lanes don’t have a lot of traffic and cycling or maybe renting a two-wheeler to explore around can also be fun. There are a few shops in the neighbourhood itself.
From here, we headed back to the Old Quarter neighbourhood and strolled around the area. They have created large walking spaces for the public with no or little access to motorised vehicles. This gives place to carefree exploring while clicking pictures, eating along and visiting souvenir shops.
It was around 6-6:30 pm and it was dark outside. We headed to the famous Train Street. In Dec 2022, one can only go there if one is with someone who has a shop on the street. These restaurant owners are usually waiting for people like us and they then escort us to their shops. There are no entry fees but you need to order something- not expensive. Most things are non-veg but we ordered some unpalatable spring rolls. We waited for about an hour, and though the lady kept on saying that the train would be coming soon, it finally didn’t. It was a bit underwhelming, one can avoid it.
We returned to the big walking area around the Old Quarter where on some Saturdays or holidays, you will find concerts on the street itself. To our pleasant surprise, there were 4 performances on concert stages going on within a km and a lot of youngsters were enjoying to the tune of Vietnamese-English Music. It was a nice vibe.
But now we were extremely hungry and looked for vegan restaurants around us and we found UU Dam Chay. This is an all-vegetarian restaurant. It is super beautiful with the best staff and food. Among other things, we ordered a hot pot and in Vietnam, unlike India, hot pot is served with a stove on your table boiling a broth with types of vegetables, leaves, mushrooms, tofu, sauces, etc to be added as per taste. It was heavenly.
The weather was cold, one will need proper layered clothing to enjoy the outdoors. In Vietnam, Grab two-wheelers are quite popular, and they agree to take triples if you tip them a little. Hanoi will remind you of Indian cities a lot.
On a scale of -5 to +5, I will give The Old Quarter/ Hoam Kiem Neighbourhood a +4, the coffee culture of the country a +4.5, the hop-on hop-off bus a -1, The Quang An neighbourhood a +2, the Train Street a +0 and the UU Dam Chay a +5.
25th & 26th December, Sunday & Monday
We woke up early, got ready and quickly did breakfast at our accommodation as we were expecting our ride to the Ha Long Bay cruise meeting point. The pick-up guy came at around 8 am and we packed our bags in his huge car. He picked a couple of other people and off we headed to the departure waiting station for the cruise. It took about 2-2:30 hours to reach.
On reaching, the check-in happens on land and our suitcases are collected and then handed over to us on the cruise. A little about the Bay and the types of cruises. People can do day cruises as well as overnight cruises. We chose the latter and we think it was the right decision. Day Cruises are 3-4 hours long and can be quite tiring as you are seated in a boat throughout. Add the 2 + 2 hour drive from Hanoi and we have a long day of sitting which can get quite frustrating.
Overnight cruises have 3 categories- basic, mid-tier and premium. They all offer similar tour packages of rooms, all meals, kayaking and a cave tour on a 2D 1N option. We had chosen the mid-tier option and trust me our cruise was great. We paid around Rs 14000 per person for this.
So, we reach the meeting point in the pick-up van < check into the cruise on the land itself < sit in a transfer boat to reach our cruise (30-40 mins) (we go through the Limestones islands) < We directly head for lunch (they had a special menu for vegetarians and it was delicious) < We check-into the rooms and settle ourselves < Post 2 hours, its time to head for kayaking < We return and have free time to enjoy on the deck, karaoke, hot tub etc < We have a barbecue dinner on the deck (limited veg options) < We sleep < We wake up early morning to head to a cave on one of the islands < We return, bathe and check-out < We have brunch (decent vegetarian options) < Head to the small transfer boat back to the meeting point on land < Drop-off van drops us to the Noi Bai International airport.
Even though, it was a mid-tier cruise, the hospitality, room interiors, amenities were all top-grade. The only issue was the internet, it was very weak.
We have a flight to Dong Hoi. At the domestic Hanoi airport, there is a lounge that accepts both Diners and Priority Pass, both of us had those cards. We got it and feasted ourselves on one of the best airport lounge meals ever (I love BLR T2 the most though). We landed at Dong Hoi. Dong Hoi is a small town and it was quite dark. We had pre-booked a pick-up with our stay that night. The cab was waiting for us and it took us 45 mins away to Phong Nha, a village amidst the hollow cave mountains.
We had booked a homestay with Jungle Boss. It is a cute little place and they also have a restaurant there itself. We ordered dinner, and it was great. There are no restaurants around as it is a village, so ensure that you plan for your meals in case you are also arriving late at night. After dinner, we slept off for an early morning adventure the next day.
On a scale of -5 to +5, I will rank the Cruise interiors a +4, the Cruise lunch a +5, The cruise overall a +3 (poor internet, Ha Long is prettier in the pictures), the Kayaking a +2, the Cave a +1, Airport Lounge Food a +3.5, The Jungle Boss Home stay & dinner a +3.5.
27th December, Tuesday
The best day of the trip starts. It starts at 7 am. We have booked the 1 day Elephant Cave and Ma Da Lake experience directly through Jungle Boss (contact@junglebosstours.com). The Vietnamese government has divided the discovered and explored cave and jungle routes among 5-6 agencies. So, the same route can’t be commercially sold by anyone else.
The experience starts with a basic brief. We sit in a van that drops us to the starting point which happens to be 15 mins away. We walk for about an hour and reach the Elephant cave. It has a huge opening but isn’t very long. It opens up on both sides, i.e. one can walk in it from one side and come out from the other. The beauty of a cave is not when you look in it from the outside but when you look outside from within the cave. It is absolutely breathtaking.
From here, we walk for another hour, amidst the jungle, to reach the Ma Da Lake. The lake has beautiful blue waters. There are two places from which one can cliff jump ( both not very high). We jumped and swam in the lake, the water was cold but we had a short-cool swim. On the banks of this lake, we had our packed lunch. Vietnamese rice paper spring rolls. They were absolutely amazing, and didn’t require any heating. We made them ourselves. It was a delight.
From here, we headed to the best part of the trek. We headed for a swim inside the Tra Ang cave. The cave is completely dark and it is very spooky to swim in the deep waters when you can’t see anything. We swam against the current for about 500 metres and then stopped at a small bank inside. We had proper life jackets and head torches. At the bank, we were asked to switch the head torches, which is when we realised its enormity and how small we are against nature. It was quite scary. The cave is several kilometres long but 500 metres were enough to give us the thrill. A must-do. We swam back out of the cave.
We walked for about 40 minutes more and reached back to our stay. We were completely exhausted, so we just ordered some dinner at the homestay and slept.
On a scale of -5 to +5, I will score The Elephant Cave a +2.5, The Ma Da Lake a +3, the spring rolls a +3.5 and the Tra Ang Cave a +5.
28th December, Wednesday
We comfortably got up early in the morning and had a car pre-booked to drop us to the bus stand at Phong Nha. We bought an instant sleeper bus ticket to Da Nang. Da Nang was 6 hours away. We boarded the bus at around 8 am and reached Da Nang around 2 pm. We were hungry. The bus had stopped at a place on the way but it had no veg options. We just bought some packed peanuts. We immediately took a Grab and headed 45 mins further South to Hoi An where we had booked our stay for the next two days.
We were starving. Yet, we first checked in, took a bath, got ready, and picked the free bicycles that every stay provides in Hoi An. Hoi An is a completely post-sunset place. During the day, it feels like an ordinary town with old Vietnamese culture but in the evening the lanterns and the candles make the whole place look magical. We headed to one of the many coffee based cafes in the town, then went to my favourite Banh Mi place in the whole country called Phi Banh Mi. Bahn Mi is a sub-sandwich usually served with meat but there are vegetarian options with tofu and avocado too. I can’t praise the taste enough.
We spent the next 2-3 hours walking the well-lit streets. We even took the boat ride and released paper lanterns in the stream. There are a few unique things you will see in Hoi An. First, there are hundreds of tailor-made clothes shops. You can go there and get suits, dresses or anything else tailored for yourself overnight, i.e. give your size and an advance in the night and come back at 12 pm on the next day to collect it. Second, people have rented shops and have placed 100s of lanterns in them which may make you think that it is a shop that sells lanterns but no, the place is just for people to get themselves clicked only, in about Rs 34 pp. Third, the whole place uses similar kelvin light, maybe 2000K, the same yellow colour that you see in lanterns and candles. This makes the whole place come together as one. It is beautiful.
After strolling the entire area, we found a cute place to have dinner, most restaurants have a veg section on their menu as well. Weather wise, it was cold and a thin layering is advised but it wasn’t as cold as Hanoi. We returned and slept cosily.
On a scale of -5 to +5, I would score Hoi An post sun-set a +4.5, cycling in Hoi An a +5, the Phi Banh Mi a +5, the boat ride a -1 and the shop with 100s of lanterns a +1.
29th December, Thursday
We had negotiated a pick and drop to Ba Na Hills with a Grab driver on the previous day. He had agreed to 1.2 million VND or around 4k for both of us. We had also told the driver that we would stop for breakfast in Da Nang. We went to I-vegan restaurant for some delicious smoothie bowls post which we headed for Ba Na Hills. It takes about 90 mins to reach the base of Ba Na Hills from Hoi An. Our driver had stopped at a point on the way and we had bought the tickets from there. I don’t know if we ended up paying more or less.
Ba Na Hills is a hill based theme park and resort west of Da Nang. It boasts one of the world’s longest cable cars and honestly, it felt that way. The cable car seems never ending. Once we reach the top, we see the famous hand bridge and there are multiple venues, experiences and food joints on top. We were unlucky as it rained really bad that day. There were clouds around us throughout and it was raining so bad that we couldn’t take proper pictures. There were those use-and-throw raincoats being sold, which we had purchased. The hill has multiple attractions and one may wonder how they would have constructed all that on a far-away hill.
From Ba Na Hills, we headed to the Da Nang Beach. On reaching, we realised that the waters were very rough and that swimming was prohibited in these waters at that time of the year. So, we just strolled around the area, and did some shopping. X70 is a Westside type clothing chain there, we liked it. We got a little hungry and headed to An’s vegetarian restaurant. The food was okay.
From here, we headed back to Hoi An and explored the place a little more on the bicycle. We found a popular Greek restaurant and got a table. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite like the veg food they had served but loved the free tasty desserts they gave at the end.
On a scale of -5 to +5, I would score the Ba Na Hills a +3, the I-vegan restaurant a +3, An’s vegetarian restaurant a +0.5 and the Greek restaurant a -3.
30th December, Friday
We got up and cycled 7 km one way to reach the Coconut Village near Hoi An. The place has a small stream of a river where you find these coconut shell round boats. The boat person uses an oar to do tricks if you pay him a little more. The ride is short and fun. They have even made small DJ stations where to make the experience entertaining.
We returned to our stay, checked-out and headed to the Da Nang Airport to catch our flight to HCMC. Unlike the Hanoi airport, the Da Nang domestic airport did not have a lounge that accepted Diners or Priority Pass, so no free food. Regardless, we reached HCMC, it took forever for the luggage to come.
Once the luggage came, we headed to our Bnb in the Ben Thanh area. I would recommend you stay in the same. We took some rest before heading out. In the evening, we headed to the 4P’s Pizza. It had a 45 mins waiting time but it was so worth it. There are 4-5 veg options, and you can get half & half of two variants in the same pizza. It was Mamma Mia! There are two 4P’s very close to each other, one in the mall and one next to the Ben Thanh market, choose the latter for a better ambience.
From here we headed to the Saigon Skydeck. It is the highest tower in Vietnam. It was a bad decision. Please avoid. End of Day.
On a scale of -5 to +5, I would score The Coconut Village a +1.5, 4P’s Pizza a +5, The Saigon Skydeck a -5.
31st December, Saturday
We were planning to do the Chu Chi Tunnel tour but we were so tired as it was the 8th day of the tour that we decided not to even book it.
We got up late. We headed to a cafe called the Godmother’s Cafe– Was too expensive and so, we didn’t eat much. But then we went to the best restaurant for vegetarians in Ho Chi Minh- Be An Vegetarian. I wish I could have that lunch every day.
We decided to do some shopping and went to a few independent stores of budget brands that we don’t see in India- again X70, Onways + a few others and did some shopping. We then went to the classic The Old Post Office and The Ben Thanh Market too. The Post office was blah and the market was too pedestrian for us. I can’t buy anything from there.
In the evening, we wanted to have some Indian food as it had been a long time and so we went to an Indian restaurant. It was not great, very muttony/chickeny like those Arabic restaurants starting with the word “Al” in them, so, didn’t like the vibe.
It was NYE and we strolled around Bui Vien Street– It is the party street. Vietnam has a huge culture of putting small tables and stools on the road and serving hot pots, coffee and spring rolls there. Here too people were sitting on the small seats on the street having beer and snacks. We went to one of the clubs and raised a toast for The New Year.
On a scale of -5 to +5, I would score the Godmother’s cafe a -3, the Be An Vegetarian restaurant a +5, X70 & other stores a +3, The Old Post Office a +0, the Ben Thanh Market a -4, The Indian restaurants on Bui Vien a -4 and the Bui Vien Street a +3.
1st January, Sunday
We got up and had another great smoothie bowl before heading for the airport. We reached the HCMC International Airport and headed straight to the lounge. It accepted both Diners and Priority Pass. We had a lovely hearty meal again. We flew back to India.
the 100 countries club 
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