A vibrant green paradise

It’s a country that has been the backdrop to many movies and is remembered as ‘Nam’ by many who fought in its war, but since then Vietnam has earned a massive following of travellers.

The food is divine, delicious, fresh and vibrant- Moyra Sammut

It is a magnificent country bathed in vibrant colours, with audacious landscapes and an intense coastline.

It has a captivating history with a culinary prowess to match. You feel it as the air hits you in the face, the smell of spice cajoles and entices you to just let go and submit to what this green paradise has to offer.

Ho Chi Minh, formerly known as Saigon, is a harbinger to the fabulous culture you can expect.

Though you’re loaded with excitement, your first day is inadvertently used up settling into your hotel, which should be at least a four-star, especially if it’s your first time there. Three-star accommodation is very basic and might be a shock to the system, since the standard can vary greatly between one three-star hotel and another. Nevertheless, it is what it is and you will soon get used to the way of life.

Today’s Ho Chi Minh city is a cacophony of smart new modern buildings married to a horrific amount of traffic that is positively mind boggling; it takes sheer guts to weave your way through it and this city is the bustling economic centre of the south.

Over the past few centuries, Saigon was called the ‘Pearl of the Far East’ and was an important trading centre for Chinese, Japanese and Western merchants who travelled along the Saigon River, which is still an important part of everyday life.

Eating is a very important part of Vietnamese culture and it is constant – little and often. The food is divine, delicious, fresh and vibrant. So I skipped breakfast at the hotel to eat from the multitude of vendors and stalls lining the streets.

I settled myself under a tarpaulin-covered space with the ever- present traffic in the background and tucked in to a dish of ga ban kho gung (chicken in ginger), which was somewhat different to my usual bowl of cornflakes, but I didn’t give it a second thought as it was so delicious.

Sated from my breakfast, I prepared to embark on a trip I had previously booked with a reputable company.

Our first destination was the bustling China Town (Cho Lon) still within Ho Chi Minh, which has the largest Chinese community in Vietnam. True to its name, it was like stepping into China.

The Thien Hau pagoda, one of the oldest Chinese pagodas in the area, is magnificent. Located in Nguyen Trai Street, the pagoda’s green ribbed roof is covered with bronze dragons chasing each other. Traditional Chinese red lanterns adorn the entrance and words of welcome trace the porticoes.

I look forward to our next stop – the colourful Ben Than Market in downtown Vietnam’s one district.

What an eye opener! There are bursts of colour coming from every stall in every direction; beautiful shiny silks, fantastic ornate silk shoes, spices, strange- looking medicinal ‘things’ (and I say things because they were unrecognisable), fresh vegetables neatly stacked in piles, silk flowers, silk kimonos, row upon row of fresh fish and gigantic prawns, exotic fruits with papaya, mango and plethora of fruits I did not recognise.

It was simply amazing, and if I could I would have bought all sorts of unusual artefacts, but of course I restrained myself knowing full well there was not enough room in my luggage and it was only my second day there.

I tore myself from the gargantuan market and headed to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was inaugurated in 1880 and became the spiritual and cultural crucible of the French presence in the Orient, as was the post office designed by Gustav Eiffel.

The church stands proud with its twin steeples, but I found it an odd structure to be in the middle of Vietnam; it’s just not something you expect to see no matter how beautiful it is.

After lunch we headed 70 km northwest of Ho Chi Minh City to Cu Chi Tunnels, an amazing complex of underground tunnels used during the Vietnam War. There are more than 200 km of tunnels, comprising a main axis system with many branches connecting to underground hideouts, shelters and other tunnels.

I was asked if I wanted to crawl through this amazing system and I did, though I got a bit claustrophobic after a while. I quickly retraced my steps and opted for a more ‘thrilling’ experience, testing my shooting skills with original AK47s and other guns from past wars. That was fun!

However, it did make me think for a bit how awful it must have been for the Vietnamese during the war. So when we stopped off at the War Remnants Museum it kind of pushed home their suffering. The day soon passes and I was happy to retire to the peace of my hotel room to contemplate the next day.

It was to be a three-hour drive to Cai Be, the early morning giving some relief from the intense heat. There on the Mekong River, a comfortable sampan built in traditional style awaited me.

Gently engaging its engine, the sampan cruised through the floating market in Cai Be and along the ‘Mighty Mekong’. We stopped at some local home factories, giving us the time to admire the making of rice paste, rice popcorn, coco­nut candy and dried longans.

We stopped for a delicious lunch at Le Longanier, a superb Indochinese villa located in a lush tropical garden by the river. It was heaven.

The picturesque Halong Bay has more than 3,000 limestone islets rising from the clear emerald water, many of them containing beautiful grottoes- Moyra Sammut

We were greeted by lovely Vietnamese women dressed in white, framed by the green shuttered façade and entrance, looking calm and serene.

Lunch was a sumptuous affair leaving little room to breathe or move, but move I did because it was back to the sampan to float along to Dong Hoa Phu canal, passing several islands famous for their fruit orchards.

Before long we were making our way back to Ho Chi Minh City for a well-earned rest.

The next morning I boarded a flight to Hue. After leaving my luggage at my hotel I was whisked away for another boat trip. This time it was on the Perfume River to Thien Mu Pagoda, one of the oldest ancient architectural structures for religious worship in Hue, and very eye-catching with its tower-like architecture.

I carried on the cruise upstream to visit the Minh Mang Royal tomb, set amid a lush pine hill by the river and considered to be one of the most beautiful mausoleums, with its stone mandarins guarding it eternally.

It’s certainly peaceful and a place for contemplation. All I could hear was the breeze wafting through the trees, a welcome respite from the afternoon heat which meant I was looking forward to flying to Hanoi – because it was time to relax on a beach.

After landing in Hanoi, it wasn’t long before we arrived at Halong Bay. I had a morning at leisure and wasted none of it before being taken to the pier to board a boat for a cruise through Halong Bay, a Unesco World Natural Heritage site. The beauty was breathtaking as we passed bizarre rock formations, like the Dinh Huong (the Incense Urn), Cho Da (the Stone Dog), islands with sandy beaches and Ga Choi (the Fighting Roosters) islets. Halong Bay is known in Vietnamese as ‘Dragon descending to the sea’.

The picturesque bay has more than 3,000 limestone islets rising from the clear emerald water, many of them containing beautiful grottoes, which is where we headed next.

Thien Cung and Dau Go grottoes are situated on the south-west side of the bay, four kilometres from the wharf outside of Ha Long City. The way to Thien Cung grotto is covered on both sides by thick forest.

After entering a narrow gate, the grotto’s 130-metre-long girth opens up. Entering Thien Cung was astonishing; awe inspiring stalactites were everywhere within the cave, and if that were not enough, the east wall has an imposing cave art on them. Painting them was no mean feat.

Legend has it that a beautiful young woman named May (cloud), caught the eye of the Dragon Prince and he fell in love with her. They were betrothed, and their wedding lasted seven days and seven nights in the very centre of the grotto.

Once outside the cave, the boat headed to the nearest beach where I spent a happy two hours drinking in the astounding scenery around me.

I spent a further two days in Halong Bay before my time there came to an end. Back on the plane I dreamt of temples, silks and the wonderful beaches.

Moyra Sammut is travel manager at Sullivan&Sullivan.