Once you get passed aggressive nature of the touts on the street, it can be a wonderful and fulfilling travel.  The people will soon win over your hearts and it will become one of your top travel destinations like it is ours.

Here are a few of our favorite things that we did while visiting Vietnam.

View Incredible Ha Long Bay

Halong Bay Vietnam, A top site in Vietnam

Ha Long Bay is definitely the number one attraction on any one’s list of sites to see in Vietnam.  Located about 165 km East of Hanoi on the Gulf of Tonkin.  It is a spectacular destination.  You can book a two night, 3 day cruise from Hanoi at any hotel or hostel.   Tours range in price but start at $80 per person and rise drastically for more luxurious cruises.

Halong bay consists of almost two thousand islands.  Giant limestone karst formations just out of the sea for as far as the eye can see.  You will witness this natural wonder and UNESCO World Heritage Sight up close and personal from your wooden cruise liner.

Relax on the top deck of your beautiful Junk Boat.  A classic Chinese sailboat made of teak, as the crew prepares your dinner.  You won’t go hungry out on the water, a feast of seafood, fresh vegetables and traditionally Vietnamese dishes awaits you. You will be served breakfast, lunch and dinner while enjoying local beer and wine.

See Spetacular Sapa

Rice Terrace Sapa a spectacular Site

Located in the North West Corner of Vietnam, Sapa is a must for anyone wanting to add a little adventure into their travels while in Vietnam.  Book a tour from Hanoi, or catch a train north to Lao Cai and find a guide to take you deep into the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range.  Sapa has become a little overcrowded with tourists, but if you book a multi-day trek to stay in a home stay with one of the ethnic minority peoples, you will get a feel for traditional life and will be far enough away from the hustle and bustle of Sapa for an authentic experience.

The giant rice terraces cascade down the mountains as the sun reflects in their pools of water.  You will trek right on the ledge of these terraces following your guide through every corner where it feels as if you are in the middle of a National Geographic issue.  The days are physical as the climbs are steep, but you will be rewarded with a feast of rice and vegetables, meats and stews at the end of the day as your hosts prepare dinner over an open fire.

Buy a New Wardrobe in Hoi An

Ever wanted an Armani suite or designer dress?  Or are your tastes more practical and you are looking for trekking pants or a new shirt?  Hoi An is a town in Central Vietnam that attracts tourists for its tailor made clothing.  Even if you think that you don’t need a new wardrobe, once you arrive at this picturesque town on the South China Sea, you will be drawn into the excitement of shopping for quality clothing at extremely discounted prices.

You can’t help but buy an item or two.  The talented seamstresses will have you measured and sized up in an instant.  Just be sure to ask for double stitching. Otherwise your clothes won’t last to the next city.

The best thing about Hoi An is that even if you are backpacking through Asia, you can send your clothes home from the post office in town and they will keep your measurements on file for when you are ready to order more!

Cu Chi Tunnels

Try Going into the Original Cu Chi Tunnel Entrance

Agent Orange, napalm and constant bombing wiped out the jungle during the Vietnam War but it is now lush and green and Vietnam is capitalizing on tourism. The Cu Chi Tunnels are the most fascinating historical site of Vietnam.   Over 250km of tunnels weave their way underground and they were the key component in winning the war.

Most Guides are former soldiers that fought on these very grounds and they will tell you in intimate details of how the Vietnamese outwitted the Americans while living right under their noses.  Entrances were camouflaged by termite hills, cayenne pepper was sprinkled around to confuse the scent dogs and breakfast was cooked in the morning mist so that the smoke from their fires could not be detected.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can go into the original entrance and crawl through 150 metres of a tiny, dark and damp tunnel. If you are in the Saigon Area, make sure you go to see the Cu Chi Tunnels,

Mekong Delta

Don't miss the Mekong Delta Trip

Trips to the Mekong Delta can be booked from Ho Chi Minh City and it is definitely worth the trip.  This is the part of Vietnam that everyone envisions when they picture the country.  Hundreds of tributaries make their way through thick jungle.

You will explore the Mekong area by tour boat, traditional rowboat and minibus.  The highlight of the trip is a visit to the famous Cai Ba floating market. Hundreds of boats line the harbor filled with fruits and vegetable waiting to be sold.  You will also walk through villages and markets, cross canals on traditional bamboo bridges and visit rice paper mills and sample coconut candy and rice wine.

The Mekong Delta tours can be a little touristy, but it is worth the visit to explore the backwaters of this famous area of Vietnam.

Mui Ne

Vietnam's Grand Canyon, Go See it

It isn’t as popular as Na Trang, but Mui Ne is a beautiful beach area perfect for relaxing after the Chaos of Ho Chi Minh city.  Located North East of Saigon on the South China Sea, Mui Ne has everything for beach lovers and adventurers alike.  Perfect conditions allow for great kite surfing.  Be sure to take a lesson however as this adventure sport can be dangerous if you don’t know what you are doing.

There are some amazing sites around the  area such as the incredible sand dunes and red rock.  You can take a tour that includes a visit to the fishing village and walk on the dunes and a stop at the famous red rock and fairy stream.

If adventure is not what you are into, relax on the white sandy beach and enjoy a massage by ladies with bionic hands.

All of these sites are stops on the Vietnam tourist bus that travelers can buy open tickets from Saigon to Hanoi or vice-versa.  Tourist can buy a one month ticket with hop on hop off privileges to take their time exploring the country from North to South.  Price is approximately $32 US dollars giving you the freedom to enjoy the countries top attractions at your leisure.

With so many amazing sites to see in Vietnam, you will need at least 30 days to explore the country properly.

Today’s destination is the Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam. A fascinating 200 km system of underground tunnels.  You can visit Cu Chi from  Ho Chi Minh City on a day tour.

We booked ours tour with Happy Tour and we were off in a comfortable minibus to see one of the most famous battlegrounds on earth. Then we paid $6 US per person, I see now that it is $20 online with Happy Tours, but I am sure that you can still book in Saigon for a better deal. How quickly prices rise with the onslaught of tourism.

For a great selection of places to stay with discount prices visit Ho Chi Minh Hotels for more information.”

A Recreation of the Cu Chi Tunnel system

Remember all those old war movies that you watched where the US soldier ran after a rebel in the jungle only to have him disappear in plain sight? How did the Vietnamese soldier be so clever? Well a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels explains all that.

It was a masterful system right under the noses of the US army. The American’s knew they were there somewhere they just couldn’t find them. Not for lack of trying however. Agent Orange, napalm and constant bombing was used to try to find the tunnel system that had eluded them.  The jungle was completely wiped out and barren.  It had been ruined by man, but Mother Nature’s is a strong entity and with time has healed herself and it is now lush and green.

Shoot Live Ammunition at Cu Chi Tunnels

Our guide, a former translator for the American army led our group telling the story of the North Vietnamese.  He explained how they could disappear in the jungle by sneaking into cave entrances camouflaged by termite hills being placed on top.  Cayenne pepper would be sprinkled around the entrance to disrupt the search dogs senses.

We learned that they fought in sandals made from tires to avoid jungle rot. The Americans struggled greatly with wet feet rotting in their boots.  Little did they know, sandals were their best defence.

We also learned about the booby traps laid out, waiting for the moment when the U.S. would find a cave entrance. I can’t imagine what it must have felt like for the tunnel rats (that was the name of the poor soul that had the task of exploring the cave when they did find an opening) to have to go into darkness knowing that bamboo spikes or other painfully slow ways to die were waiting for him around the corner.

We learned how the Viet Cong wore checkered scarves to announce to fellow countrymen that they were fighting for the North. Farmers would sneak food to soldiers as they were living underground in the Cu Chi Tunnels for years on end. They had an entire society set up underground. The had different rooms for planning and meeting, they had kitchens where they would only cook during the early morning fog to hide their smoke.  The Cu Chi Tunnels even had makeshift hospitals where wounds were tended and children were born.

There was a living civilization struggling and surviving underground for years on end.

And yet, the thing that we found most interesting was when our guide showed us the plants of the jungle. As you walked by, they would bend and their leaves would curl in the direction that you were walking. It was so easy to track the enemy once you knew this secret.  There was no walking through the jungle unannounced when the trees were telling everyone that you were there. Incredible.

Cu Chi Tunnels Original Entrance

It was then time for the star attraction of the tour. If we had the nerve to go into an original tunnel entrance and crawl 150 metres to the exit we could.   Only five in our group decided to go for it and it really gave a sense of just how uncomfortable the conditions were.

The dim lights went out for a few seconds but we kept crawling in the dark.  Earlier, I saw some lights leading to another direction through another tunnel, and I was starting to panic that we had taken a wrong turn.

The tunnel system is hundreds of kilometres long and the irrational worry took over that I would become lost in the maze.

The lights came back on, just in time for 3 bats to fly by our heads. I was definitely ready to get out of there. I don’t know how anyone could last in there for hours on end, let alone years on end. Unlike the Vietnam War, we didn’t have to worry about meeting up with an unexpected enemy in the tunnel, we didn’t have to worry about bombing, malaria, lice or infection.  We only had to worry  about making to from point A to point B so that we could catch our bus back to the city in time for dinner.

And that was enough for me

Snake Wine for Sale at the Gift Shop

War Remnants Museum

Part of the Cu Chi Tunnel tour is to stop at the War Remnants Museum. We were dropped off at the museum in Saigon and left to wander on our own time.  It is an emotional look at the effects of war.  Photos of Napalm and victims and acts of torture hung on the walls, the tools they used for torture and death were on display and devastating photos of the effects of Agent Orange we hanging all over the room.  There are tanks, bombs and planes outside. You will see torture chambers and the cages that POW’s were kept and cells.

It is a difficult museum to visit, I learned a great deal and it is something that should be seen to remind us all of the horrors of war. What sense is there in all this killing and suffering?

There is a display honouring photographers and correspondents who lost their lives covering the war. It is a moving tribute to the men that kept the world informed about the atrocities going on in Vietnam.

Kim Phuc’s picture is on display. She was the girl in the photo running down the road with her body covered in burns from Napalm.  I had a chance to meet her here in Canada a few months ago.  She now travels the world speaking about war, peace and healing through faith. I wrote about her a couple of months ago, in my Girl in the Picture post.

The Cu Chi Tunnels is a fascinating tour from Ho Chi Min City. It is a little bit on the touristy side, but well worth seeing. To be in a place where a momentous event in history took place is always an intriguing experience.