Vietnam last post.

What a wonderful place to have a holiday. Here are my final thoughts about Vietnam.

 

The good points:-

The people

They are so friendly. They take the time to say hello and the children run up to you smiling and respond when you say hello. I am not used to younger folk, teenagers probably, saying hi and trying to make conversation. It was though they were practicing their English on us. Lovely to be away from the western phobic state surrounding children. When we went into Vietnamese restaurants, the staff tried very hard to help us understand what was on offer and most times we ate very well.

The accommodation.

Yes we had asked for 4 star or better and better is what we got. Some of the hotels or resorts looked tired with wear showing but in general the rooms were clean, the linen fresh and the beds king + size. I enjoyed a massage most days in house for way below the cost at home. These were professionally conducted in clean and fresh surroundings. Swimming pools did not have a chlorine pong and the pool side service topped off our time at the pools. Again hotel staff were polite, smiling and trying to assist where ever they could.

The food.

OK my weak stomach let me down and I suffered with runny tummy. This happened on day two and the Active bacteria pills we had fixed me up AQAP. In general the breakfast offered were western or Vietnamese with some very interesting dishes on offer. Lunches differed between restaurant from western to Vietnamese but mainly Vietnamese. Seafood is plentiful and on the whole fresh. Rice by the plate full, steamed, fried or sweet. A good filler up. The chicken and red meats eaten were well prepared and have given us some interesting dishes to try at home. Soups are very tasty and come in many forms. Pam enjoyed them more than I did having them for brekkie. We ate at road side stops, back street cafe and local restaurants and rarely did we leave food on the plate. A must experience trying the different foods.

The scenery

Diverse, awe inspiring, wonderful. We went from river plains to high country. It amazed me to see rice paddies almost in the middle of towns. To see the diversity of vegetables growing, the huge array of flowers and the lushness of the surrounding bush. We were to enjoy only a few rain days but when they occurred, waterfalls abounded. To see water spewing out of a sheer rock face, amazing. The rivers full of colourful boats, floating markets, people going about their lives. The water hyasins floating by in the canals as we are propelled along by oar, little or no sound, few passers by.

The roads and air ports.

With 30 million scooters on the roads, it does not take much to imagine the situation. The road users are polite to say the least. They let you through, move over to allow you to cross and rarely appear flustered. To see a child walking across a busy highway by just setting out and everyone moves around them without slowing. A bit scary but so organised. Many of the roads are under construction so do not expect your trip to be fast or smooth. Air ports easy to navigate with clear signage or helpers willing to assist. Again nothing appears to create friction, it just happens.

The climate.

We were here in the hot and rainy season. Rarely did the temperatures or humidity become unbearable and drive us in doors. Of the 14 days we were here we had rain on 2 days. It’s not cold so we could stand out in it and dry off when it stopped. I feel we were here in the best time as the waterfalls were flowing and the plants looked fresh.

The down side.

Litter

This would be the only disappointment we had with Vietnam. Nearly every where we went we were confronted with litter. Plastic bags, shell fish and rotting vegetation. Human waste is not common which is a blessing. To swim in the sea and have a plastic bag wrap around your leg is off putting. This caused the air at times to be rank which when on the back of a scooter is interesting. One minute the fragrance of the flowers, the next rotting what ever. Still it became easy to look past the litter and see the country surrounding.

To round up, if you have not been, this is a must see destination. We will be back to enjoy more of Vietnam as soon as we can.