A recent change in business circumstances gave my man the perfect opportunity. My excuse of “I can’t be away too long and I really need to keep an eye on things” was gone, so he swooped. How about a holiday to Vietnam? 
Why not?

Something outside the norm could be just what I needed to regroup. We picked a customised tour with Active Asia, which didn’t cost much and could be rejigged by us as we went if we needed time out or wanted more time shopping or exploring a particular area. It also provided a guide meeting us at each airport and checking us into our hotel and then meeting us for the organised bits of the holiday.


First stop – Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City (but only when written down). The local guide met us as the airport and immediately told us that the 7km drive from the airport would take 45 minutes. In the last 10-15 years, the modern world has arrived in Vietnam and this new consumer society is mostly transported by motor scooter. There are hundreds on them on all the roads and they carry people and boxes and almost anything that needs to go from A to B. So the roads are packed and 40 kmh would be the top speed for a city journey and you never know when a bicycle, motorbike or buffalo may wander out in front of you. And of course the other obstacle is pedestrians, including us, who quickly learn to just walk into the traffic and keep walking as it drives around you. 


Once Tuang had us checked into our hotel on that first day we bravely learnt how to cross a street and went off to the local market and then later found a yummy and busy restaurant and had our first Vietnamese meal. Bring on the chilli, coriander and fish sauce!


The following morning Tuang took us to Cu Chi to see the amazing tunnels that foiled America’s stupid war! We lunched in a local restaurant on a river where the food was grown by local farmers. A visit to the War Remnants Museum back in Saigon that afternoon added to my anger at 1960s and 70s America and my incredulity that they hadn’t learned much about interfering in other parts of the world with their own gain in mind!


The next day we journeyed a couple of hours to the Mekong Delta. We took a traditional wooden boat across the river to a local orchard and coconut candy maker, before walking into the jungle for a hidden local gem of a restaurant. Then we rowed down a jungle stream back to our boat.

When we arrived back in Saigon, we visited an ancient Chinese pagoda and then the wholesale market that the local retailers visit. High end labelled products from clothes and shoes to suitcases and confectionery were all stacked in plastic bags in tiny stalls where people were doing business, or napping or eating. This was a full on experience. After a long, hot day it was a pleasure to escape back to our hotel for a swim and then a drink at the rooftop bar that was frequented by GIs back in the ’60s.


The next day we farewelled Tuan and flew with Vietnam Airlines to Danang about halfway up Vietnam on the coast. Our destination was the medieval town of Hoi An and a few days rest based at the Golden Sands beach resort. We spent 4 days in Hoi An with Tuong as our local guide. The resort had an amazing pool which we did use but it rained and rained and the wind blew in between the fine periods. One day the river came up and low streets flooded. During this we took a boat to Red Bridge cooking school along the river and cooked spring rolls, shrimp pancakes and other yummy local food. The instructor had a great sense of humour and entertained as well as teaching us the local cuisine.


After days of full on Vietnamese food, I began to appreciate French colonists. The people here love to eat baguettes. So I had a baguette sandwich for dinner. I had been eating too much chilli and my upset stomach needed something plainer.


At local tailors Yaly, I had a new suit tailor-made for me. Its size is not L or XL, it is size “Andrew”. It all took just two days and looks very smart. I loved the personal service and the huge choice of fabrics on offer.


Vietnam! The people are delightfully welcoming. The country is a land of contrasts. There is a diverse history of sadness and hope. There are lots of pagodas and temples which shape the context of Vietnam’s history. Shopping is fun and bargains are there if you negotiate cleverly. And tailor-made clothing would be a key reason to head back again!


| Andrew Rumbles
NB: Column not sponsored – Andrew and Bevan paid their own way to Vietnam.