Goodnight Vietnam

 (Usual waiver applies to grammar, typos, spelling as I'm posting via a small phone screen on the hoof 🤭, click on the pics to zoom in)

21 April 2026

It's goodnight Vietnam, til next time.

We have loved all our Vietnam adventures. From the crazy chaos of Hanoi Old Town, to Tam Coc and the quiet rice fields, rivers and mountains, to Da Nang and the chilled out beach vibe, the glorious limestone Karsts in Lan Ha Bay and we'll never forget gorgeous historic 'chocolate box' Hoi An.

We've probably only scratched the surface in terms of history and cultural exchange, still so much more to discover but that will have to be next time. The food.....it's been amazing 😍 

Quick tourist observations, no one orchestrates the traffic....it just seems to flow smoothly. I'm sure there are mishaps but this kind of 'free for all' would never work in NZ, it would be fisticuffs and someone would end up limping away. I watched a little three year old run out from the cafe, climb up onto the back of a scooter and off he went with his dad. From a young age the kids see how the system works safely, the 'tooting for awareness /I'm coming past you' .....no harsh words or punch ups....maybe it's just they have to make it work due to sheer volume of traffic. 

Crossing the road goes take some getting used to, but they do weave around you and they don't stop for pedestrian crossings, they go around you.

Young people here must complete two years compulsory military service and you don't get out of it if you go to Uni, they give you until you are aged 27yrs to get your service completed.

There is high patriotism on display....they love their flag AND it's everywhere. Have to say as flag design goes, it's a goodie.  

There appears to be high levels of respect for public amenities, hardly any graffiti and the intergenerational family unit is strong. Retirement age is 57yrs for women and 60 for men but with a huge aging population the government is looking at options to extend this age.  Life can be tough, I saw many elderly working on construction sites, wheeling barrows of bricks, plastering and many appear to sleep at the worksite in very humble conditions.

We flew with Vietnam Airlines and they have been great (apart from a 60yr age restriction on sitting in Exit rows....only airline in the world that we have found this. We are a lot stronger and capable than some of the tiny folks sitting in our seats 😁😬😁). We used a local driver in Tam Coc and Da Nang and they were great, excellent drivers and great at sharing local info.

Tourism is booming. Russia, India, Taiwan and Korea represent the highest numbers, increased 40% post Covid. We saw Russian restaurants.  The developers are responding, high rise resort  construction everywhere. I wonder what it will be like in five years time? We saw a fair few Aussie's and Kiwis too.

Medical & Dental tourism is taking off. We had our teeth cleaned and polished in a highly professional dental clinic, 45 mins, lovely hygienist ( she's real, not a model, I had teeth envy😁) and it cost equivalent NZ$11.00. In NZ that would be around $250.00. If I need full on dental work I'm coming back here. We also had a couple of massages here - my back, neck and shoulders never felt so good. Again fully trained masseuse, immaculate clinic, beautiful aromatherapy oils, hot stones and who knew such little hands could be so Strong - best therapeutic massage ever, 60 mins equivalent NZ$16.00!

Did I mention the coffee here? Along with being a world leader in Robusta coffee bean production the coffee culture here is off the charts. Check out the egg coffee in the pic below - white foam, egg whisked for the centre 👌👌

So many different types of hot and cold coffee, egg coffee, salted coffee, coconut coffee...you get the idea. 

The cafe are uber cool and a hit with the Instagram crowd. We loved the vibe too although probably we're not quite the young groover demographic they normally attract 😁

We'll miss the food. We'll miss the little temple shrines dotted around the neighbourhood and the people...so lovely, kind and caring. 

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