Suit up!

Xin chao, Mitchell here.

Bryn and I spent 3 nights in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) center so we could take in many of the historic sites and still have some time for fun. The War Remnants museum was very informative but also very heavy stuff to take in. I won’t go into too much detail, but another name for it is the US aggression war museum and it’s mostly made up of photographs from the brutal Vietnam war.  The next day we went to independence palace, which was also full of history, most notably where a North Vietnamese army tank drove through the gates on April 30, 1975, ending the Vietnam war.   

Independence Palace, Ho Chi Minh City 

Games night!

That night we made friends with some locals at a bar, enjoyed a few nice cocktails and played games. The next day was early rise to hop on an 8-hour bus to Da Lat.

We chose this destination for something completely different because as much as we are loving the warm weather, some mountain air was very refreshing. At 1500m, this charming mountain city required long sleeves and/or pants for wandering the streets at dusk.  Before we went to find dinner, we rented a swan shaped paddle boat on the lake for sunset. It was quite fitting for this romantic place, which some consider the “Paris of Vietnam.” Maybe a stretch..

All aboard the sleeper bus!

Eternally Spring in Da Lat

The vibe here was way more chilled out than the nation’s capital so as we walked through the night market, we were not accosted by Vietnamese ladies, demanding we buy something.  As usual, we just looked at the goods, then made our way to a restaurant for some pho and tea.

Keeping with the early rise, we rented a scooter at 7:30am in hopes of beating the crowds and heat.  We drove to elephant waterfalls, enjoying coffee filled valley vistas on the way.  If you could look passed all the garbage littering the walking trail and rocks, it was pretty magnificent.  

Elephant waterfalls

Silk factory 

We then stumbled upon a really cool silk factory.  We were able to see the process from silkworm cocoons, to the cleaning and unravelling of thin strands of silk on to large wheels, to the threading and dyeing of silk scarves. There was no guide and very little signage, so we had to try to figure out each stage on our own, and I’m not 100% I have it all figured out...but cool nonetheless!

There was a wild display of creativity by a Russian trained Vietnamese architect, Dang Viet Nga, at “the crazy house.” It’s still being built but was worth a visit, so after a quick couple bowls of pho, we wandered around the narrow staircases and themed rooms for a couple of hours.

Crazy House!

The next waterfall at Datanla park was a little smaller but arguable more scenic, and getting to it was much more fun. We took alpine coasters, (similar to the alpine slide they had in Kimberley or what Revelstoke has) and controlled separate cars down two steep tracks to the waterfall and then two more back to the beginning.

Datanla Waterfall

It was a busy couple of days in Da Lat but we had to make moves, so made our way to the beach resort town of Nha Trang. The beach was directly across the street from our hotel and as convenient as it was, crossing the busy street with the mass of Russian tourists was anything but easy.  

Early morning (but still too hot) run in Nha Trang

Getting into cheap drinks

Hanging out with our Swedish friends 

In a nutshell, Nha Trang was very hot and very relaxing, giving us a chance to get back into our books.  We also befriended a Swedish couple, talked hockey, had some nice meals and learned a new card game, “Chicago.” We can only play so much crib, so it was nice to learn a new game.

Finally, the highly anticipated rendezvous with Krysta and Brian was upon us! We took a night bus to Hoi An to meet up at the the Airbnb that Krysta booked for the four of us.  It was such a space that our 3 nights turned into 6.  It seemed a good decision for the four of us, as we all had been travelling quite quickly.  Krysta and Brian did an amazing motorbike tour of northern Vietnam for 10 days before flying down to Hoi An, and so we were thrilled when they were okay to spend a few extra days with us.

Brian and Krysta

Putting our AirBnB kitchen to use 

Out for a rip!

Brian and I were keen to have some suits made in Hoi An, as there are more than 350 tailors!  It was a bit overwhelming so were glad to have our Airbnb host recommend one nearby. Unfortunately it wasn’t a great experience... Brian decided to look elsewhere and I toughed out the four fittings until I was satisfied. In hindsight, I should have gone with my younger brother’s recommendation of A Dong Tailors. They were so professional and had such quality product that Bryn and Krysta ended up having so stylish work slacks made there, too.

Getting fitted

Final product 

Between fittings, we did a variety of things: We spent several afternoons at Hidden Beach, where we had chairs, umbrellas, full service bar and restaurant (on the beach) and massages!  We rented scooters for four days to explore the town and area. We ripped around short distances to pick up food and drinks for our apartment and long distances to check out some ruins (My Son), and the Marble Mountains.

Marble mountains

Hidden (Wild) beach

My Son ruins

The old town is flooded with pedestrians so we also walked around the old town and ate at some wonderful restaurants (eg. Mot Hoi, the happy buffalo, the dingo deli, Am Restaurant and Viet Chopsticks). We could’ve stayed for weeks and enjoyed quality meals at different places every time. But alas, we had to make moves. 

Happy couples at Happy Buffalo

Cruising through Old Town Hoi An

Mot (1), hai (2), ba (3), yo (cheers)!

It was a very early morning seeing Krysta and Brian off to their flight to Saigon, but we’ll get to see them in just a few months to grab our newly acquired clothes they were so generous to take back with them. A great excuse to make a trip to Victoria before snapping back to reality and going back to work somewhere. 

Our bus was only a few hours after we said goodbye, and though we had intentions of staying up to exercise, we opted for another hour of sleep in the super comfy bed.  The bus ride to Hue was only 3.5 hours, but it was a sleeper bus, so for even more shut eye!  

Inspired by Brian to try the muzzy

We’re coming up to Reunification Day (April 30) and it’s apparent that festivities are in the works. In Hue, there is a music festival and our hotel is booked up on the weekend, so if we decide to stay more than two nights, we’ll certainly need to change hotels.  As it appears now, we’ll spend tomorrow seeing the city and then continue north towards Hanoi.