Travel Report on Vietnam

This travel report describes some of my personal impressions and experiences during a three weeks trip to Vietnam in 1993. I've heard that many things have changed since then, the place got increasingly visited by tourists. I haven't included much information about monuments, cities, history or about what to bring there in this report, as I think you can find more detailed and up to date information in good travel guides. You can also check out other websites about Vietnam.

Clickable map with travel itinerary. Original map Courtesy of The General Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin.

Autumn 1993, my second trip to Asia. I just spend three weeks in Singapore where I met some friends and made myself feel comfortable in this Asian - Western way of life mix. Enough time to get a visa for Vietnam and to book a flight and the first night in a hotel.

Why Vietnam? Simple question, but not easy to answer. A friend of mine went to Saigon one year before, and his stories made me very curious. I discussed this with a French relative of mine who was an officer in the French army during the "Guerre d'Indochine", and he told me about the beauty of this country (and he was more than right). Then there were some good books like "The Quiet American" from Graham Green, "Der Tod im Reisfeld" (The Death in the Rice Fields) from Peter Scholl-Latour or the very good travel guide from Lonely Planet... and the Hollywood movies, 2000 years of history, the thrill of travelling on your own in a country not spoiled by mass tourism, fellow travelers you meet, Saigon, the Mekong river... so many reasons.

DAY 1: SINGAPORE ==> HANOI Arrival at Saigon's Tan Son Nhat Airport in the afternoon. I'm a little bit nervous, as I read things about trouble with the police, but there are no problems with the visa and the customs, my travel agent in Singapore did a good job. I have to wait one or two hours to take the flight to Hanoi, as I decided to travel from North to South, unlike most of the other travelers. The advantage is that you meet more people who have information about the places you want to go. And you give them information about the places you've been.

On international routes, Vietnam Airlines has retired the Soviet-built aircrafts, but that's not the case for domestic flights. The prop-powered aircraft I'm heading to doesn't inspire much confidence. At least it seems that it has neither air-con nor heating, as it's very hot while the plane is on the airfield whereas it gets quite cold during the flight. However, the trip is O.K., and finally I arrive at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport in the late evening.

The guy who was sitting next to me during the flight is an official guest of the Vietnamese government. He and his hosts are very friendly and offer me a ride to the city... in an official black Russian limousine of the Vietnamese government. Not bad for the first day.

DAY 2, 3 and 6: HANOI I move from the 'expensive' hotel I stayed at the first night to a cheaper one next to the Hanoi railway station. After my trip, somebody told me that it was a former brothel of the French army. That explains why there are so many small rooms...

In the middle of the night, the train from Saigon arrives. No way to overhear it, as all the loudspeakers seem to be oriented towards the place in front of the railway station located opposite my hotel. At 4am I can go to sleep again... Hanoi has many interesting places to see, the city is rather quiet and pleasant, people are very friendly, but a little distant towards foreigners. That's maybe normal, as they haven't seen many during the last 40 years, except the Russian 'consultants'. There are almost no cars, but many bikes and cyclos. It's possible to pay with US Dollars (I don't know many places in the world where it isn't possible) and to buy American cigarettes almost everywhere. The food is good, and they even have French white bread here. I meet fellow travelers and start to feel well in this country.

DAY 4 and 5: HALONG BAY I book an organized two day tour to Halong Bay. Halong Bay is one of the most fantastic landscapes I've ever seen, thousands of small islands spread throughout the sea. Two boat trips are included in the tour, one in the afternoon and one in the morning. There are not too many boats out here, we take a swim, enjoy the good food on the boat, just relax and admire this fabulous scenery and the sunset. Whoever goes to Vietnam should come here. In the evening, I take the train to Hué. It's a very very slow train, sometimes I think that it might be faster to walk. That's another thing to do in Vietnam: take the train.

DAY 7 and 8: HUE the former imperial city. Here again a very nice scenery, especially around the Perfume River and the Royal Tombs. In the early morning, I go to the beach with some French travelers I met the day before. At 9am some fishermen come back from their 'night shift'. We have a look at their boats, and soon some of the Frenchmen start negotiating the price for some lobsters and crabs.

Ten minutes later we're walking with the fishermen to their small village. There some women prepare a seafood brunch for us, and we have a beer. We seem to be the attraction of the year, the whole village is watching us while we're eating. Most probably they haven't seen any foreigners for years. These people are very poor, but they offer us their hospitality and they are extremely friendly and natural. I think to myself that the simple things in life are the most wonderful ones, and that I forget this fact too often.

DAY 9 and 10: HUE ==> HOI AN In the morning I leave Hué together with another traveller. We hire a car with driver to Hoi An. It's a half-day trip (140 km) which costs us 10USD per person. The National Highway 1 climbs to an elevation of 496 meters and passes over the Hai Van Pass (Pass of the Ocean Clouds). It's a very mountainous stretch of highway with spectacular views. Before reaching Hoi An we visit the Marble Mountains. They consist of five stone hillocks made of marble. Some of them have natural caves in which sanctuaries have been built.

We don't visit Danang, as other travelers told us that it's not necessarily worth it. Hoi An is a very charming small riverine town south of Danang with a long history. It was one of the major international ports in South-East Asia from the 17th to 19th centuries and has many nice places to visit.

DAY 11 and 12: HOI AN ==> NHA TRANG Early morning in Hoi An. The driver I asked to bring me to Danang railway station yesterday doesn't show up. Most probably I bargained too hard. The only alternative I have is to ask one of the guys with a moto to take me to Danang. I offer him 5USD for the 35 km ride plus 5 more USD if we arrive on time at the railway station. That's a lot of money in Vietnam, but I don't have the choice. The guy drives like crazy, and I'm not sure whether I should start to pray or enjoy the ride. Finally, I arrive at the railway station, just two minutes before the train leaves.

Nha Trang is a pleasant beach resort with some nice pagodas, Cham towers and a huge Buddha statue to visit. But the main reason why I wanted to come here is that it's the only place in Vietnam (at least in 1993) where it's possible to go scuba diving. I have a look at the diving equipment before I book a diving trip for the next day. There are just the captain, a guide and two divers (me included) on the boat. I know better places for scuba diving, but spending a whole day on a boat, diving and visiting some small islands is a nice thing to do.

DAY 13: NHA TRANG ==> SAIGON The distance between Nha Trang and Saigon is about 450 km, that is 8-10 hours by car. The day before I met a taxi driver who brought some tourists from Saigon to Nha Trang and was looking for people interested to go back to Saigon. We agree on a price of 20USD for the ride, and now I find myself alone in a car with a driver on the road to Saigon. The driver is very friendly and we talk about many different things. Somebody offered him old cassettes of Creedence Clearwater Revival and other music from the early 70s, the kind of music you hear in films like Apocalypse Now. The situation seems unreal to me: I'm driving with a Vietnamese guy on a Vietnamese highway, the milestones are French, the scenery reminds me of some places in Texas, the people here had a terrible war with the US not even 20 years ago, and I'm listening to American music from the 70s. Somehow, I wouldn't be too surprised if some US helicopters appear behind the hills.

DAY 14, 15 , 17 and 19: SAIGON Visiting Saigon was one of the main reasons why I wanted to go to Vietnam. And I'm not deceived. The way of life is maybe not what it was before the 70s, but it is still a very interesting and busy city. Compared to Hanoi, Saigon is fast-paced, there is more traffic (especially Honda motos), more noise, more pollution and more stress. But people here are more communicative and they seem to have a more entrepreneurial spirit. Saigon constitutes the industrial and commercial heart of Vietnam, with certain neighborhoods having a vaguely French atmosphere, others having a more American or Chinese one. Maybe it will become again what it once was.

DAY 16: ONEDAY TRIP TO TAY NINH AND THE CU CHI TUNNELS In Tay Ninh are the headquarters of a very interesting religious sect, the Caodai. Caodaism is a mix of various philosophies of the East and West. In addition, the variety of colors in their temple goes along with this mix. Strange, but interesting. The tunnel network of Cu Chi is part of the remains of the two Vietnamese wars. It became legendary during the 1960s when the Viet Cong used it to control a large rural area located only 30 to 40 km from Saigon. The area of Cu Chi was also called the 'Iron Triangle', and the Americans eventually turned it into what Tom Mangold and John Penycate have called 'the most bombed, shelled, gassed, defoliated and generally devastated area of warfare'. Some of the tunnels can be visited, fortunately they are 'tourist-sized'.

DAY 18: ONEDAY TRIP TO THE MEKONG DELTA I realize quite fast that one day is not enough to see all the things worth being visited here. Unfortunately, I only have one more day in Vietnam, so I decide that the next time I go to South-East Asia I should come back here.

DAY 20: SAIGON ==> SINGAPORE My flight back to Singapore leaves in the morning. I hire a Honda moto that brings me to the airport. No problems with the customs and the immigration. As the plane takes off, I look out of the window to see Saigon and the Mekong Delta disappearing in the clouds...

Three weeks is not really much time to visit Vietnam, especially if you're not on an organized tour. I regret that I couldn't stay longer in Halong Bay and that I didn't see the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), Dalat and more of the Mekong Delta. I don't regret that I traveled on my own and alone. "Alone" is not really the right word, as I often met fellow travelers with whom I traveled a few days and even shared hotel rooms with. In every city there are bars and restaurants where you can meet other travelers and exchange information about places to stay, places to go and travel opportunities. Most of the people I met were open-minded, communicative and friendly.

Finally, I would like to quote a statement I found in the introduction of my travel guide:

"Of the 30 or so countries I have been to, Vietnam is easily the most beautiful. I saw more shades of green then I knew existed. Rice fields manually tended from dawn to dusk were always in view as were forest-covered mountains. I also frequently caught glimpses of pristine deserted beaches from the train window as we made our way along the coast..."

It's not too difficult to agree to this statement, although I haven't seen 30 countries yet, and saying that one country is more beautiful than another is by no means a matter of course. However, in Vietnam I found a unique mix of beautiful scenery, cultural and historical background, good food, and people who are of not only a natural friendliness, but who also have an aura of dignity even if they are poor. This mix is what makes this country so interesting and the trip unforgettable to me.

Some links

• Lonely Planet - Destination Vietnam - Very good travel guides
• The VietNam Pictures Archives at SunSite - More than only pictures...
• Vietnam - The Internet Travel Guide - Useful information

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