We arrived l
ate at night in Saigon from Tokyo very tired. We collected our luggage and were surprised to meet Xuroc, my cousin. He informed us of the welcome party outside and it was pleasant surprise to see an entourage of relatives. After saying our greetings and quick farewell, we took a taxi to our nearby hotel named after the SGN airport - Tan Son Nhat Hotel.
This was the second time I visited my parents' home country and we would be going to Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue in addition to a few days in Saigon. My parents took us to Vietnam for the first time in 2004. During that trip we visited Ha Noi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Mui Ne', the Mekong Delta and of course Saigon to catch up with relatives.
Exhausted from our travels, we checked in and relaxed in our rooms. Within minutes of relaxing, Mom had a sad realization, the absence of our camera. The only thing other than our memories containing the wonders of Tokyo was lost. Mom in her blind rage tried to recollect her steps and had a strong feeling the camera was at the airport gift shop. Extremely tired, we gave up for the night and told Mom to call Narita airport in the morning.
August 26, 2010 : Nha Trang
Mom did not sleep a wink and immediately called Narita airport as soon as their Lost and Found office and the Duty Free shop opened. After a relentless search, there was no sign of our camera. We were struck by this realization and our moods were at an all time low. We eventually went down for a buffet breakfast at the hotel. Bac Nam and Mr. Bac Nam dropped by to give our Dad our worst nightmare: a cell phone.
It was
almost time for our flight so we packed up our luggage and headed to the airport for our 12 pm flight to Nha Trang with Viet Nam Airlines. The streets were extremely hectic with hundreds of thousands of scooters zooming by. When we got to the airport, we were told, to our dismay, that our flight was delayed another 2 hours.
To pass the time, we took a taxi to Mom’s childhood neighbourhood. Mom’s old neighbourhood was small with many houses doubling as businesses. We first went to Cau Tuyen’s childhood best friend in order to drop off Cau Tuyen’s present. After Mom caught up with him we went down the street to see her old house. The current residents were kind enough to let us tour the house for Mom’s nostalgia. Many of Mom’s furniture were still intact and the many childhood memories flooded back bringing tears to her eyes.
After that trip down memory lane we returned to the airport for our flight to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a coastal city located in South Centre Vietnam. The city i
s renowned for its beaches and has become a very popular destination for national and international tourists. When we arrived we had to first take another long drive to the Sheraton hotel (taxi voucher was VN$230,000; C$1 = VN$18,500). Luckily, the view was fantastical comparable to the coastal mountains of Hawaii.
We eventually reached the Sheraton Nha Trang and were pleasantly surprised by the extremely luxurious and comfortable connecting rooms that we received. We had
an amazing view of the coast from our towering balcony.
We rested the majority of our night until dinner. We went out to a more local area for dinner to eat bu’n ca’, a delicious noodle dish and for dessert, che` with ice. To cap off the night we drove by a touristy area with many western travellers present. Dad and I bought some banh mi while the girls went around shopping. We finally were too tired to continue and took a taxi back to our grand hotel for an amazing sleep.
August 27, 2010 : Nha Trang
Our stop in
Nha Trang was a period of relaxation. To celebrate this, we slept in late burning the morning. We caught breakfast at a nearby restaurant for mediocre food.
Ready to enjoy the day, we refreshed and headed to the private beach reserved for Sheraton's guests across the street. Like usual, we spent hours: sun tanning, swimming and relaxing until the afternoon was spent. This day was a great break from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
When we finished our relaxation, Alex and Mom went
out to Su Spa for massages and a beauty salon for hair and nails. When they finally returned we went out for Vietnamese grill dinner at Lac Canh restaurant. The food was decent but the meat was like rubber in comparison to the Kobe beef in Tokyo. After that meal, we stopped by a night market for a bit to look at junk. The wares sold were very underwhelming and in no time we left. We turned in for the day to prepare for a city excursion the next day.
August 28, 2010 - Nha Trang
We started this day eating one of the best culinary delights in the world; P
ho. Nha Trang pho was really tasty and mouth watering however Mom said that Saigon pho is ten times better, and my taste buds exploded.
Instead of relaxing on the beach all day,
we took a taxi to explore the city for its few attractions. Our stops for the day were Chánh Toa Church (or Mountain Church), Long Son Pagoda with a massive white Budd
ha, Tháp Bà Pô Nagar Nha Trang (a temple used by the ancient Hindu Cham people) and the Hon Chong Rocks. At Hon Chong Rocks, we had family pictures taken by a "professional photographer" and scaled the many formations. We also b
ought artistic sand paintings and listened to a guide explain the rocks’ myths.
For lunch, we stopped at a touristy resta
urant called Lanterns for passable American food.
After our long day out under the beating sun, we returned to the hotel. Alex and I joined Dad in the pool, however in our usual luck, it was cloudy by the time we entered the pool. We played in the pool for a bit until we were tired.
For the rest of the night, we enjoyed our luxury and had banh mi for dinner. We eventually collapsed in our heavenly beds.
August 29, 2010 : Nha Trang
To start another relaxing day we decided to eat at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. The selection was massive with a good mix of Vietnamese favourites such as pho, banh mi and a variety of western food. We particularly enjoyed “café sua da’”.
After our sa
tisfying meal we had difficult decision to make: to relax at the local beach or to drive an hour for an obscure peaceful beach called Doc Let beach. We finally decided to go to the far away beach by a small taxi (VN$600,000 return). When we got there after about one hour drive, we had to hike down the beach in order to find chairs. We found chairs and umbrella from a nearby resort and rented them.
The beach was amazing with a comfortable breeze alongside the burning sun over the white sand. We had to the beach to ourselves and we did our usual activities (sleep, swim and play). After about 3 hours we reluctantly pulled ourselves away from our isolated paradise. On our way back to the car,
we noticed the peculiar sight of local girls playing in the ocean fully clothed. We took another painful drive back in our cramped taxi.
When we returned to our room we bathed and rested for a couple hours until dinner. For dinner, we drove to a seafood restaurant by the seaside called The Lighthouse. We had terrifyingly fresh shrimp (cooked live right in front of us), fish and vegetables. After the good meal, we called it a day and headed back for our beauty sleep.
August 30, 2010 : Nha Trang
After I persuaded Mom to not give up on the search for our camera, Mom gave my suggestion a try and called Nippon Airways. The airline redirected us to Tan Son Nhat airport for their Lost and Found office. By some spectacular miracle, the camera was found! We cheered and relished in our Japan trip suddenly returned to us. We then looked forward to our return to Saigon where we
would be picking up our beloved camera.
We had to put aside our exc
itement and start our day. Yesterday, Mom booked a private boat tour around surrounding islands in Nha Trang (US$55 total). We took a taxi to the port and met up with the booking agent who volunteered to tag along as our guide for free (actually for getting commission from the restaurants and businesses that we would be patronizing on the tour).
We had a charming little speedboat driven by a nice and quiet boat captain. As we sped through the lush sparkling blue ocean, cool splashes of salt water grazed our
faces while the large green islands surrounded us. Our first stop on the tour was to deep sea fish in the middle of the ocean. Due to lack of experience and skill, Alex and I caught very few fish, continually lost our bait to the smart fish and quickly became bored.
Our next stop was a coast great for snorkelling. There was a variety of fish but unfortunately it could not compare to the many magnificent snorkelling spots we have visited such as Hawaii and the Red Sea.
After that we went to rest on a tiny but nice beach called Mini beach with white sand and turquoise water similar to beaches in the Caribbean but smaller. We did our usual: eat, sleep and play.
For lunch, we stopped by a fishing village and bought some fresh fish and lobsters. A nearby restaurant then cooked for us a delicious meal fit for seafood lovers. By now it was raining really hard and when it stopped we wanted to return home. We were driven back to the mainland, tipped the boat man and returned to the hotel to rest.
We were going to leave the next day for an early morning flight to Da Nang for Hoi An, so we slowly started to pack. Too exhausted from the day out, we relaxed, watched TV and enjoyed the last few hours with our hotel room. Finally we all slept for the last time in our majestic room.
August 31, 2010 - Hội An
Today was our sad farewell to Nha Trang. We left very early in order to go to Cam Ranh airport for the 7 am flight to Da Nang. We checked into our flight and within an hour we were in Da Nang. A driver from the L
ong Life Riverside hotel in Hoi An came to pick us up ($15). We then drove great d
istances for about one hour, passing by the famous My Khe beach (aka China Beach) and the Marble mountain, in order to reach the ancient, historic city of Hội An.
Hội An was notable for being an important trading port in the 16th and 17th century.
The town is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and many tourists enjoy the city for its charming traditional Asian houses.
We finally arrived at our hotel. We put away our luggage and soon we were hounding the streets for brunch. Our empty stomachs and the scorching sun wore us down and finally Mom chose a restaurant. The food was Hội An specials such as cao lau and won ton noodles. After our meal, we started shopping for ao dai for Alex and Vietnamese silk ties for Erik. D
ad left quickly for home, while I lasted another half hour. Alex and Mom shopped non-stop for many hours, getting ao dais and dresses made for Alex, Sammy and Shannon. Eventually they returned and we rested.
To continue the day, we set off for a be
ach called Cua Dai (taxi fare was VN$70000). The beach was not as nice as Nha Trang beaches but it was still comfortable to relax at. We ordered unsanitary but satisfying noodles from the beach vendors. We were approached constantly by vendors that carried a variety of snacks.
We finally left and returned to the old town around the hotel. It was already dark, so the many lanterns along the riverside town were lit. The multicolour lights provided ample photo ops. We roamed around the charming town until our legs grew weary. We found a nice restaurant in which Alex and I had margarita pizza (although they did bring us the cocktail drink of the same name first). The day finally came to an end and we happily retired to our separate bedrooms.
September 1, 2010 : Hội An
We woke up today to the
loud public announcements celebrating 65 years of independence of Vietnam. Our itinerary for the day was full of exciting culture and history that Hội An is known for. We ate a free breakfast at the hotel and in no time we were off.
We took a hotel taxi (US$22) to Mỹ Sơn Holy Land, a central worshipping ground for the ancient Hindu Chăm people and recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The drive was an hour long, but on the way up we had a great view of the countryside life such as drying of rice and corn on the road.
We finally arrived at the temple and it was high noon by then. We explored the ancient ruins that survived 2000 years of war and harsh climate. The remaining structures and statues of animals, dancers and Linga reflect the style and history of the art of the Cham people. However, the sun was blazing at this time and the heat burned away at our tolerance. The culture could only appease the heat for an hour until we finally could not take anymore.
We took the taxi back to the old town in order to look for lun
ch. We had lunch at a modern and artistic restaurant called the Mango Room. The food was good, but the prices were ridiculous and it was obvious that the joint was a tourist trap. Before we returned to the hotel, Mom, Alex and I went to go pick up all the dresses they had fitted yesterday. We went back to the hotel and rested for a couple hours.
To enjoy the rest of our time in the historic town, we decided to rent bicycles (no charge) from the hotel. Riding around was
very fun, but very dangerous as the countless locals navigated through traffic ruthlessly. We biked around for a bit enjoying the non-existent traffic laws and local flavour. It was getting dark soon so we rode our bikes to find dinner. We went to a market-like area with local (unsanitary) restaurants. It was an underwhelming meal to end our stay in Hội An. We went back to the hotel, finished our packing and then slept to prepare for our next Vietnamese destination: Huế.
September 2, 2010 : Huế
This day
was a national holiday marking 65 years of independence of Vietnam from the French. We had our fill of the simple breakfast at the hotel and soon it was time to bid farewell to Hội An. The hotel arranged a good driver with a comfortable minivan for us for the 3.5 hour journey to Huế ($US55).
Midway to Huế, we stopped by Hai Van Pass for a break and to take in the scenic view of the m
ountain and the ocean.
Huế is a historic city well-known for being the imperial capital of the last dynasty of Vietnam, known as the Nguyễn Dynasty. Eventually we reached our hotel called Mercure Huế Hotel; a deserted but well maintained hotel with a view of the famous Perfume River.
We were going to spend only 2 days in Huế so we did not waste any time being talked into buying overpriced tours from the hotel: a river boat tour ($30 total) and a local folk show (VN$70000 each).
Before our activities we needed lunch so we went to a l
ocal restaurant to eat the best bun bo Huế in town (So 1 Bun Bo Hue). The meal was absolutely delicious paving the way for good time in Huế.
To start off our adventures in Huế, we went on the boat tour on the Perfume River. The boat ride was long and uncomfortable because of the constant vibration and the droning roar of the motor. After an hour, we stopped first at the Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc (built in 1867). We had to be driven to the mausoleum on scooters from the boat. The mausoleum was rather relaxing as the site had a peaceful aura with its history, lotus ponds and foliage.
We returned to the boat for another stop at t
he Hon Chen temple, in which the attendants worship the Cham Goddess Po Nagar. Our last stop was Thien Mu Pagoda (built in 1601), a famous Buddhist site and a symbol of Huế heritage. The whole area was very scenic with a picture perfect view of the Perfume River. There was also the interesting sight of young monks playing soccer. We eventually left and sailed back to the hotel.
By now, we were exhausted and refreshed ourselves at the hotel. Suddenly, we real
ized we were due for a show that contained local singers performing Huế style folk songs on a dragon boat. It was difficult to have any appreciation of this traditional art since the show could not be enjoyed under the circumstances of the boat. As this is a national holiday, there were way too many people on the boat crowding us on all sides. Additionally, almost every single person on the boat had their ow
n conversation going on while the singers were performing. After one hour of pure torture we were released of our torment.
Following our scarring experience, we went to dinner at floating restaurant, called Nha Hang Noi on the river. The meal was promising with decent Vietnamese food and a nice view of the brightly lit Truong Tien Bridge. However, the whole dinner was spoiled by the constant sightings of multiple rats crawling around in the dirty dishes. We still finished our meal (I took pictures of the rats) and left in a hurry.
After a reflection on the day, the once promising adventure in Huế was realized as a disappointing addition to our itinerary (but Mom and Dad enjoyed it). We finally were able to sleep after our hectic day.
September 3, 2010 : Huế
This
morning, we slept in for a bit as the day would be long and open ended because our flight to SG was scheduled for 8 pm. This was our last day in Huế so we planned to visit the rest of the attractions.
For breakfast, we had banh beo, another specialty in Huế, at a simple local rest
aurant recommended by the hotel. The meal was really good and partly brightened my outlook on Huế. We returned to the hotel to pack up our luggage and check out of the hotel. Our flight was late in the evening so we left our luggage at the hotel and went out exploring the riverside. 
We decided reluctantly to take two persistent cyclos to the Citadel. The Citadel was the residence for the royal Nguyen family. The Citadel was rather simple in comparison to the majestic Forbidden City in Beijing. However, we managed to find a comfy coffee shop in the shade to enjoy some café sua da (ice
d espresso).
We burned a couple hours at the Citadel and continued on to the Tomb of Khai Dinh by taxi. His tomb was styled in a blend of Eastern and Western style as he was the second last emperor of Vietnam. His tomb was very elaborate and it took 11 years to complete. It was scorching hot at this isolated
area so we soon returned to the main city for dinner. We once again craved for bun Bo Huế so we went back to the same place. To top it all off we had che` and soon it was time to leave.
We grabbed our luggage and went to the airport for an easy flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We rejoiced as we collected our greatly missed camera at Saigon airport.
We took a taxi (100,000 VND) to our Grand Hotel in downtown Saigon. The hotel was very fancy in French colonial style; we had a grand suite with two different bedrooms, two bathrooms and three plasma TVs. The suite also was very classy with French style furniture and high ceilings topped off with beautiful chandeliers. The suite greeted us with open doors and we collapsed almost immediately.
September 4, 2010 : Saigon
Today was our first full day in the glamorous city of Saigon, the famous Southern metropolitan area
of Vietnam. Dad’s family lives here so we expected to see them.
To start the day we ate the tasty breakfast buffet at the hotel. To begin
our tour of Saigon, we went to Dad’s old house to meet his brother and sister. The house was simple and years of history were very apparent. Unfortunately, I was rather bored as the many relatives spoke to Mom and Dad solely in Vietnamese and Alex and I did not have anything to do. Among the relatives was an interesting 3 year old girl named Moon; she was very hyperactive and soon her constant shrieking became irritating.
Aft
er about an hour of conversing, we all left together to go see Bac Nam’s dog farm. On the way we stopped by the temple in which my grandparent’s ashes are kept. We paid our respects and continued on our long drive to the countryside.
We soon arrived at the dog farm and I remembered it clearly from 6 years ago. The dogs were just as loud as before but they were friendly to me. We stayed at the dog farm for a few hours enjoying a great lunch of fresh snails, clams, seafood and variety of delicious tropical fruit. It was soon time to leave and we took another long taxi ride to our hotel.
We rested at our room afte
r our long day, but in no time, another group of cousins came to visit us. They stayed until about 10 pm and we were starving when they left. We quickly went out to eat at Pho 2000, a restaurant made famous by Bill Clinton in his tour around Vietnam. The pho was the usual but nothing compared to Pho Hung in Toronto. We walked around Bến Thành Market a bit, but we were too tired to extensively shop. We went back to our grand suite and prepared for another day of relatives tomorrow.
September 5, 2010 : Saigon
Today was hopefully another fun filled tour around Saigon. However, Dad left us as soon as he got up to spend time with his family. Alex, Mom and I went out to eat breakfast at Com Tam Moc. The meal was absolutely delicious and from my memory, better than in Canada.
We returned to the hotel to freshen up and soon we hit the city to shop. We went down Dong Khoi Street, a shopping district with many clothing stores lining the road reminiscent of Yonge Street. We then took a taxi to a bootleg shopping plaza called Saigon Square 2 to buy more counterfeit merchandise. Next, we stopped by the famous local banh cuon Tay-Ho restaurant. Mom and Dad used to always go here when they lived in Saigon 30 years ago for delicious fast food. The banh cuon was exceptional and its experience was apparent from its history.
After our lunch, we went to an art store to browse for art. For some unknown r
eason, Mom bought a small painting to br
ing home. We then moved on to the claustrophobic indoor Bến Thành Market. The place was filled with hundreds of little shops sent up in extremely cramped passageways. The combination of tons of people, the heat, the various smells, and the constant noises was a full on assault to my senses. Mom had to do a full circle of the market however, buying such things as “mam tom” to bring home, silly souvenirs and fake LV bags. Finally, after about an hour we were allowed to leave the torturous confines of the market. We hailed a taxi and returned to the hotel.
At the hotel we took a much needed rest from our busy day. Mom left for a bit to go shopping again, leaving Alex and I alone. To our surprise, Alex and I were forced to entertain our unexpected visitors. There was a huge language barrier preventing any real meaningful conversation while we waited for any other Vietnamese to return home.
Eventually, Dad returned with Bac Nam, Mr. Bac Nam and Co Cuc. Finally, Mom returned home and we all went out for pho (pho Tuong Lai). The pho was good just as expected and we were exhausted by the end of the meal. We finally were able to have peace and quiet at home, with sweet, sweet solitude.
September 6, 2010 : Saigon
This was our last day in Saigon and by now our vacation had worn us down. Co Cuc was there bright and early to meet with us. We went for breakfast to eat hu tiu Hong Phat: a special noodle dish.
We went back to the hotel and Dad already left us to spend more time with his family. So Alex, Mom and I went out again for the day. We shopped once again for the majority of the time. We bought such things as clothes, souvenirs and food. During our excursion we stopped at an ice cream parlour named Fanny’s Ice Cream. The ice cream was very rich, tasty and well presented.
We burned the whole day quickly until it was time for dinner. Without Dad, we went to the national treasure Pho Hoa. The pho was top notch and deserving the title of best pho in Vietnam.
As we returned to the hotel, a whole convoy of relatives met us at our room. Eventually they left and we said our final farewells for this trip.
To enjoy the last bit of Saigon, we walked to Bến Thành Market to hopefully shop for the last time. Alex bought iPho t-shirts for her VSAR group, while Mom bought an extra travel bag for our many souvenirs. We retired to our grand suite for the last time. We packed our belongings and endless piles of souvenirs and prepared for our early flight home the next day.
Finally, after three weeks of adventuring Asia, it was time to return home. We left the hotel bright and early (4 am) and arrived at the airport on time. Thankfully, no relatives came to see us off and in no time we were at the gate waiting for our UA flight.
We first flew to Hong Kong for a simple connection. We ate delicious dim sum at the Hong Kong airport and mentally prepared ourselves for our next torturous flight. We eventually boarded our painful 15 hour flight to Chicago. The flight was just as painful, if not worse, as the flight to Tokyo. No personal television and limited space tested our sanity to the breaking point.
When our liberation was finally reached, we had to rush out of the airplane, went through US immigration, collected our luggage, dropped off luggage again, went through security again and ran to our 1 hour flight to Toronto. When we reached Toronto, we took a van taxi and we met sweet, sweet home.
Conclusion
Our latest adventure in Asia had left many timeless and unforgettable memories and experiences.
Japan was absolutely amazing, with an extremely different culture, complete with various fashions, food and lifestyle. Japan will definitely be remembered in my memories because of the incredibly modern and lifestyle that many Japanese have adapted, similar to mine.
Vietnam was a completely different experience. The country was rich with historic culture and relatives. I enjoyed seeing the many remnants of my people’s past such as the Cham people. The relaxation in Nha Trang was top notch and the history of Hội An was amazing. However, the last few days in Vietnam had left a bittersweet impression on the trip. Huế, in my opinion was not a very fun experience. With Saigon, with limited time, we could not explore Saigon to its fullest. Unfortunately, we did not get these opportunities and my impression of Saigon is construed by boredom.
THE END
ate at night in Saigon from Tokyo very tired. We collected our luggage and were surprised to meet Xuroc, my cousin. He informed us of the welcome party outside and it was pleasant surprise to see an entourage of relatives. After saying our greetings and quick farewell, we took a taxi to our nearby hotel named after the SGN airport - Tan Son Nhat Hotel.
This was the second time I visited my parents' home country and we would be going to Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue in addition to a few days in Saigon. My parents took us to Vietnam for the first time in 2004. During that trip we visited Ha Noi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Mui Ne', the Mekong Delta and of course Saigon to catch up with relatives.
Exhausted from our travels, we checked in and relaxed in our rooms. Within minutes of relaxing, Mom had a sad realization, the absence of our camera. The only thing other than our memories containing the wonders of Tokyo was lost. Mom in her blind rage tried to recollect her steps and had a strong feeling the camera was at the airport gift shop. Extremely tired, we gave up for the night and told Mom to call Narita airport in the morning.
August 26, 2010 : Nha Trang
Mom did not sleep a wink and immediately called Narita airport as soon as their Lost and Found office and the Duty Free shop opened. After a relentless search, there was no sign of our camera. We were struck by this realization and our moods were at an all time low. We eventually went down for a buffet breakfast at the hotel. Bac Nam and Mr. Bac Nam dropped by to give our Dad our worst nightmare: a cell phone.
It was
almost time for our flight so we packed up our luggage and headed to the airport for our 12 pm flight to Nha Trang with Viet Nam Airlines. The streets were extremely hectic with hundreds of thousands of scooters zooming by. When we got to the airport, we were told, to our dismay, that our flight was delayed another 2 hours.To pass the time, we took a taxi to Mom’s childhood neighbourhood. Mom’s old neighbourhood was small with many houses doubling as businesses. We first went to Cau Tuyen’s childhood best friend in order to drop off Cau Tuyen’s present. After Mom caught up with him we went down the street to see her old house. The current residents were kind enough to let us tour the house for Mom’s nostalgia. Many of Mom’s furniture were still intact and the many childhood memories flooded back bringing tears to her eyes.
After that trip down memory lane we returned to the airport for our flight to Nha Trang. Nha Trang is a coastal city located in South Centre Vietnam. The city i
s renowned for its beaches and has become a very popular destination for national and international tourists. When we arrived we had to first take another long drive to the Sheraton hotel (taxi voucher was VN$230,000; C$1 = VN$18,500). Luckily, the view was fantastical comparable to the coastal mountains of Hawaii.
We eventually reached the Sheraton Nha Trang and were pleasantly surprised by the extremely luxurious and comfortable connecting rooms that we received. We had
an amazing view of the coast from our towering balcony.We rested the majority of our night until dinner. We went out to a more local area for dinner to eat bu’n ca’, a delicious noodle dish and for dessert, che` with ice. To cap off the night we drove by a touristy area with many western travellers present. Dad and I bought some banh mi while the girls went around shopping. We finally were too tired to continue and took a taxi back to our grand hotel for an amazing sleep.
August 27, 2010 : Nha Trang
Our stop in
Nha Trang was a period of relaxation. To celebrate this, we slept in late burning the morning. We caught breakfast at a nearby restaurant for mediocre food.Ready to enjoy the day, we refreshed and headed to the private beach reserved for Sheraton's guests across the street. Like usual, we spent hours: sun tanning, swimming and relaxing until the afternoon was spent. This day was a great break from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.
When we finished our relaxation, Alex and Mom went
out to Su Spa for massages and a beauty salon for hair and nails. When they finally returned we went out for Vietnamese grill dinner at Lac Canh restaurant. The food was decent but the meat was like rubber in comparison to the Kobe beef in Tokyo. After that meal, we stopped by a night market for a bit to look at junk. The wares sold were very underwhelming and in no time we left. We turned in for the day to prepare for a city excursion the next day.August 28, 2010 - Nha Trang
We started this day eating one of the best culinary delights in the world; P
ho. Nha Trang pho was really tasty and mouth watering however Mom said that Saigon pho is ten times better, and my taste buds exploded.Instead of relaxing on the beach all day,
we took a taxi to explore the city for its few attractions. Our stops for the day were Chánh Toa Church (or Mountain Church), Long Son Pagoda with a massive white Budd
ha, Tháp Bà Pô Nagar Nha Trang (a temple used by the ancient Hindu Cham people) and the Hon Chong Rocks. At Hon Chong Rocks, we had family pictures taken by a "professional photographer" and scaled the many formations. We also b
ought artistic sand paintings and listened to a guide explain the rocks’ myths.For lunch, we stopped at a touristy resta
urant called Lanterns for passable American food.After our long day out under the beating sun, we returned to the hotel. Alex and I joined Dad in the pool, however in our usual luck, it was cloudy by the time we entered the pool. We played in the pool for a bit until we were tired.
For the rest of the night, we enjoyed our luxury and had banh mi for dinner. We eventually collapsed in our heavenly beds.
August 29, 2010 : Nha Trang
To start another relaxing day we decided to eat at the breakfast buffet in the hotel. The selection was massive with a good mix of Vietnamese favourites such as pho, banh mi and a variety of western food. We particularly enjoyed “café sua da’”.
After our sa
tisfying meal we had difficult decision to make: to relax at the local beach or to drive an hour for an obscure peaceful beach called Doc Let beach. We finally decided to go to the far away beach by a small taxi (VN$600,000 return). When we got there after about one hour drive, we had to hike down the beach in order to find chairs. We found chairs and umbrella from a nearby resort and rented them.
The beach was amazing with a comfortable breeze alongside the burning sun over the white sand. We had to the beach to ourselves and we did our usual activities (sleep, swim and play). After about 3 hours we reluctantly pulled ourselves away from our isolated paradise. On our way back to the car,
we noticed the peculiar sight of local girls playing in the ocean fully clothed. We took another painful drive back in our cramped taxi.When we returned to our room we bathed and rested for a couple hours until dinner. For dinner, we drove to a seafood restaurant by the seaside called The Lighthouse. We had terrifyingly fresh shrimp (cooked live right in front of us), fish and vegetables. After the good meal, we called it a day and headed back for our beauty sleep.
August 30, 2010 : Nha Trang
After I persuaded Mom to not give up on the search for our camera, Mom gave my suggestion a try and called Nippon Airways. The airline redirected us to Tan Son Nhat airport for their Lost and Found office. By some spectacular miracle, the camera was found! We cheered and relished in our Japan trip suddenly returned to us. We then looked forward to our return to Saigon where we
would be picking up our beloved camera.We had to put aside our exc
itement and start our day. Yesterday, Mom booked a private boat tour around surrounding islands in Nha Trang (US$55 total). We took a taxi to the port and met up with the booking agent who volunteered to tag along as our guide for free (actually for getting commission from the restaurants and businesses that we would be patronizing on the tour).We had a charming little speedboat driven by a nice and quiet boat captain. As we sped through the lush sparkling blue ocean, cool splashes of salt water grazed our
faces while the large green islands surrounded us. Our first stop on the tour was to deep sea fish in the middle of the ocean. Due to lack of experience and skill, Alex and I caught very few fish, continually lost our bait to the smart fish and quickly became bored.Our next stop was a coast great for snorkelling. There was a variety of fish but unfortunately it could not compare to the many magnificent snorkelling spots we have visited such as Hawaii and the Red Sea.
After that we went to rest on a tiny but nice beach called Mini beach with white sand and turquoise water similar to beaches in the Caribbean but smaller. We did our usual: eat, sleep and play.For lunch, we stopped by a fishing village and bought some fresh fish and lobsters. A nearby restaurant then cooked for us a delicious meal fit for seafood lovers. By now it was raining really hard and when it stopped we wanted to return home. We were driven back to the mainland, tipped the boat man and returned to the hotel to rest.
We were going to leave the next day for an early morning flight to Da Nang for Hoi An, so we slowly started to pack. Too exhausted from the day out, we relaxed, watched TV and enjoyed the last few hours with our hotel room. Finally we all slept for the last time in our majestic room.
August 31, 2010 - Hội An
Today was our sad farewell to Nha Trang. We left very early in order to go to Cam Ranh airport for the 7 am flight to Da Nang. We checked into our flight and within an hour we were in Da Nang. A driver from the L
ong Life Riverside hotel in Hoi An came to pick us up ($15). We then drove great d
istances for about one hour, passing by the famous My Khe beach (aka China Beach) and the Marble mountain, in order to reach the ancient, historic city of Hội An.Hội An was notable for being an important trading port in the 16th and 17th century.
The town is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and many tourists enjoy the city for its charming traditional Asian houses.We finally arrived at our hotel. We put away our luggage and soon we were hounding the streets for brunch. Our empty stomachs and the scorching sun wore us down and finally Mom chose a restaurant. The food was Hội An specials such as cao lau and won ton noodles. After our meal, we started shopping for ao dai for Alex and Vietnamese silk ties for Erik. D
ad left quickly for home, while I lasted another half hour. Alex and Mom shopped non-stop for many hours, getting ao dais and dresses made for Alex, Sammy and Shannon. Eventually they returned and we rested. To continue the day, we set off for a be
ach called Cua Dai (taxi fare was VN$70000). The beach was not as nice as Nha Trang beaches but it was still comfortable to relax at. We ordered unsanitary but satisfying noodles from the beach vendors. We were approached constantly by vendors that carried a variety of snacks.
We finally left and returned to the old town around the hotel. It was already dark, so the many lanterns along the riverside town were lit. The multicolour lights provided ample photo ops. We roamed around the charming town until our legs grew weary. We found a nice restaurant in which Alex and I had margarita pizza (although they did bring us the cocktail drink of the same name first). The day finally came to an end and we happily retired to our separate bedrooms.
September 1, 2010 : Hội An
We woke up today to the
loud public announcements celebrating 65 years of independence of Vietnam. Our itinerary for the day was full of exciting culture and history that Hội An is known for. We ate a free breakfast at the hotel and in no time we were off.We took a hotel taxi (US$22) to Mỹ Sơn Holy Land, a central worshipping ground for the ancient Hindu Chăm people and recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The drive was an hour long, but on the way up we had a great view of the countryside life such as drying of rice and corn on the road.
We finally arrived at the temple and it was high noon by then. We explored the ancient ruins that survived 2000 years of war and harsh climate. The remaining structures and statues of animals, dancers and Linga reflect the style and history of the art of the Cham people. However, the sun was blazing at this time and the heat burned away at our tolerance. The culture could only appease the heat for an hour until we finally could not take anymore.
We took the taxi back to the old town in order to look for lun
ch. We had lunch at a modern and artistic restaurant called the Mango Room. The food was good, but the prices were ridiculous and it was obvious that the joint was a tourist trap. Before we returned to the hotel, Mom, Alex and I went to go pick up all the dresses they had fitted yesterday. We went back to the hotel and rested for a couple hours.
To enjoy the rest of our time in the historic town, we decided to rent bicycles (no charge) from the hotel. Riding around was
very fun, but very dangerous as the countless locals navigated through traffic ruthlessly. We biked around for a bit enjoying the non-existent traffic laws and local flavour. It was getting dark soon so we rode our bikes to find dinner. We went to a market-like area with local (unsanitary) restaurants. It was an underwhelming meal to end our stay in Hội An. We went back to the hotel, finished our packing and then slept to prepare for our next Vietnamese destination: Huế. September 2, 2010 : Huế
This day
was a national holiday marking 65 years of independence of Vietnam from the French. We had our fill of the simple breakfast at the hotel and soon it was time to bid farewell to Hội An. The hotel arranged a good driver with a comfortable minivan for us for the 3.5 hour journey to Huế ($US55).Midway to Huế, we stopped by Hai Van Pass for a break and to take in the scenic view of the m
ountain and the ocean.Huế is a historic city well-known for being the imperial capital of the last dynasty of Vietnam, known as the Nguyễn Dynasty. Eventually we reached our hotel called Mercure Huế Hotel; a deserted but well maintained hotel with a view of the famous Perfume River.
We were going to spend only 2 days in Huế so we did not waste any time being talked into buying overpriced tours from the hotel: a river boat tour ($30 total) and a local folk show (VN$70000 each).
Before our activities we needed lunch so we went to a l
ocal restaurant to eat the best bun bo Huế in town (So 1 Bun Bo Hue). The meal was absolutely delicious paving the way for good time in Huế.To start off our adventures in Huế, we went on the boat tour on the Perfume River. The boat ride was long and uncomfortable because of the constant vibration and the droning roar of the motor. After an hour, we stopped first at the Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc (built in 1867). We had to be driven to the mausoleum on scooters from the boat. The mausoleum was rather relaxing as the site had a peaceful aura with its history, lotus ponds and foliage.
We returned to the boat for another stop at t
he Hon Chen temple, in which the attendants worship the Cham Goddess Po Nagar. Our last stop was Thien Mu Pagoda (built in 1601), a famous Buddhist site and a symbol of Huế heritage. The whole area was very scenic with a picture perfect view of the Perfume River. There was also the interesting sight of young monks playing soccer. We eventually left and sailed back to the hotel.
By now, we were exhausted and refreshed ourselves at the hotel. Suddenly, we real
ized we were due for a show that contained local singers performing Huế style folk songs on a dragon boat. It was difficult to have any appreciation of this traditional art since the show could not be enjoyed under the circumstances of the boat. As this is a national holiday, there were way too many people on the boat crowding us on all sides. Additionally, almost every single person on the boat had their ow
n conversation going on while the singers were performing. After one hour of pure torture we were released of our torment.
Following our scarring experience, we went to dinner at floating restaurant, called Nha Hang Noi on the river. The meal was promising with decent Vietnamese food and a nice view of the brightly lit Truong Tien Bridge. However, the whole dinner was spoiled by the constant sightings of multiple rats crawling around in the dirty dishes. We still finished our meal (I took pictures of the rats) and left in a hurry.
After a reflection on the day, the once promising adventure in Huế was realized as a disappointing addition to our itinerary (but Mom and Dad enjoyed it). We finally were able to sleep after our hectic day.
September 3, 2010 : Huế
This
morning, we slept in for a bit as the day would be long and open ended because our flight to SG was scheduled for 8 pm. This was our last day in Huế so we planned to visit the rest of the attractions.For breakfast, we had banh beo, another specialty in Huế, at a simple local rest
aurant recommended by the hotel. The meal was really good and partly brightened my outlook on Huế. We returned to the hotel to pack up our luggage and check out of the hotel. Our flight was late in the evening so we left our luggage at the hotel and went out exploring the riverside. 
We decided reluctantly to take two persistent cyclos to the Citadel. The Citadel was the residence for the royal Nguyen family. The Citadel was rather simple in comparison to the majestic Forbidden City in Beijing. However, we managed to find a comfy coffee shop in the shade to enjoy some café sua da (ice
d espresso).
We burned a couple hours at the Citadel and continued on to the Tomb of Khai Dinh by taxi. His tomb was styled in a blend of Eastern and Western style as he was the second last emperor of Vietnam. His tomb was very elaborate and it took 11 years to complete. It was scorching hot at this isolated
area so we soon returned to the main city for dinner. We once again craved for bun Bo Huế so we went back to the same place. To top it all off we had che` and soon it was time to leave. We grabbed our luggage and went to the airport for an easy flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We rejoiced as we collected our greatly missed camera at Saigon airport.
We took a taxi (100,000 VND) to our Grand Hotel in downtown Saigon. The hotel was very fancy in French colonial style; we had a grand suite with two different bedrooms, two bathrooms and three plasma TVs. The suite also was very classy with French style furniture and high ceilings topped off with beautiful chandeliers. The suite greeted us with open doors and we collapsed almost immediately.
September 4, 2010 : Saigon
Today was our first full day in the glamorous city of Saigon, the famous Southern metropolitan area
of Vietnam. Dad’s family lives here so we expected to see them.To start the day we ate the tasty breakfast buffet at the hotel. To begin
our tour of Saigon, we went to Dad’s old house to meet his brother and sister. The house was simple and years of history were very apparent. Unfortunately, I was rather bored as the many relatives spoke to Mom and Dad solely in Vietnamese and Alex and I did not have anything to do. Among the relatives was an interesting 3 year old girl named Moon; she was very hyperactive and soon her constant shrieking became irritating.Aft
er about an hour of conversing, we all left together to go see Bac Nam’s dog farm. On the way we stopped by the temple in which my grandparent’s ashes are kept. We paid our respects and continued on our long drive to the countryside.We soon arrived at the dog farm and I remembered it clearly from 6 years ago. The dogs were just as loud as before but they were friendly to me. We stayed at the dog farm for a few hours enjoying a great lunch of fresh snails, clams, seafood and variety of delicious tropical fruit. It was soon time to leave and we took another long taxi ride to our hotel.
We rested at our room afte
r our long day, but in no time, another group of cousins came to visit us. They stayed until about 10 pm and we were starving when they left. We quickly went out to eat at Pho 2000, a restaurant made famous by Bill Clinton in his tour around Vietnam. The pho was the usual but nothing compared to Pho Hung in Toronto. We walked around Bến Thành Market a bit, but we were too tired to extensively shop. We went back to our grand suite and prepared for another day of relatives tomorrow. September 5, 2010 : Saigon
Today was hopefully another fun filled tour around Saigon. However, Dad left us as soon as he got up to spend time with his family. Alex, Mom and I went out to eat breakfast at Com Tam Moc. The meal was absolutely delicious and from my memory, better than in Canada.
We returned to the hotel to freshen up and soon we hit the city to shop. We went down Dong Khoi Street, a shopping district with many clothing stores lining the road reminiscent of Yonge Street. We then took a taxi to a bootleg shopping plaza called Saigon Square 2 to buy more counterfeit merchandise. Next, we stopped by the famous local banh cuon Tay-Ho restaurant. Mom and Dad used to always go here when they lived in Saigon 30 years ago for delicious fast food. The banh cuon was exceptional and its experience was apparent from its history.
After our lunch, we went to an art store to browse for art. For some unknown r
eason, Mom bought a small painting to br
ing home. We then moved on to the claustrophobic indoor Bến Thành Market. The place was filled with hundreds of little shops sent up in extremely cramped passageways. The combination of tons of people, the heat, the various smells, and the constant noises was a full on assault to my senses. Mom had to do a full circle of the market however, buying such things as “mam tom” to bring home, silly souvenirs and fake LV bags. Finally, after about an hour we were allowed to leave the torturous confines of the market. We hailed a taxi and returned to the hotel.
At the hotel we took a much needed rest from our busy day. Mom left for a bit to go shopping again, leaving Alex and I alone. To our surprise, Alex and I were forced to entertain our unexpected visitors. There was a huge language barrier preventing any real meaningful conversation while we waited for any other Vietnamese to return home.
Eventually, Dad returned with Bac Nam, Mr. Bac Nam and Co Cuc. Finally, Mom returned home and we all went out for pho (pho Tuong Lai). The pho was good just as expected and we were exhausted by the end of the meal. We finally were able to have peace and quiet at home, with sweet, sweet solitude.
September 6, 2010 : Saigon
This was our last day in Saigon and by now our vacation had worn us down. Co Cuc was there bright and early to meet with us. We went for breakfast to eat hu tiu Hong Phat: a special noodle dish.
We went back to the hotel and Dad already left us to spend more time with his family. So Alex, Mom and I went out again for the day. We shopped once again for the majority of the time. We bought such things as clothes, souvenirs and food. During our excursion we stopped at an ice cream parlour named Fanny’s Ice Cream. The ice cream was very rich, tasty and well presented.
We burned the whole day quickly until it was time for dinner. Without Dad, we went to the national treasure Pho Hoa. The pho was top notch and deserving the title of best pho in Vietnam.
As we returned to the hotel, a whole convoy of relatives met us at our room. Eventually they left and we said our final farewells for this trip.
To enjoy the last bit of Saigon, we walked to Bến Thành Market to hopefully shop for the last time. Alex bought iPho t-shirts for her VSAR group, while Mom bought an extra travel bag for our many souvenirs. We retired to our grand suite for the last time. We packed our belongings and endless piles of souvenirs and prepared for our early flight home the next day.
September 7, 2010 : Back to Toronto
Finally, after three weeks of adventuring Asia, it was time to return home. We left the hotel bright and early (4 am) and arrived at the airport on time. Thankfully, no relatives came to see us off and in no time we were at the gate waiting for our UA flight.
We first flew to Hong Kong for a simple connection. We ate delicious dim sum at the Hong Kong airport and mentally prepared ourselves for our next torturous flight. We eventually boarded our painful 15 hour flight to Chicago. The flight was just as painful, if not worse, as the flight to Tokyo. No personal television and limited space tested our sanity to the breaking point.
When our liberation was finally reached, we had to rush out of the airplane, went through US immigration, collected our luggage, dropped off luggage again, went through security again and ran to our 1 hour flight to Toronto. When we reached Toronto, we took a van taxi and we met sweet, sweet home.
Conclusion
Our latest adventure in Asia had left many timeless and unforgettable memories and experiences.
Japan was absolutely amazing, with an extremely different culture, complete with various fashions, food and lifestyle. Japan will definitely be remembered in my memories because of the incredibly modern and lifestyle that many Japanese have adapted, similar to mine.
Vietnam was a completely different experience. The country was rich with historic culture and relatives. I enjoyed seeing the many remnants of my people’s past such as the Cham people. The relaxation in Nha Trang was top notch and the history of Hội An was amazing. However, the last few days in Vietnam had left a bittersweet impression on the trip. Huế, in my opinion was not a very fun experience. With Saigon, with limited time, we could not explore Saigon to its fullest. Unfortunately, we did not get these opportunities and my impression of Saigon is construed by boredom.
THE END
