By Maya Haziza
4 cities. 9 days. North to South. Vietnam was not only one of the most beautiful places I have ever travelled to, but was an eye-opening educational experience. My two roommates and I began our trip to Vietnam in Hanoi, which is in the northern region of Vietnam. Hanoi was exactly what I had expected it to look like with mopeds and motorcycles swarming the busy streets. I would often times see families of three on one motorcycle with their faces covered with sanitary masks. It was a bustling and exciting city in every way. We ate our way through the street food and carnivals that were happening in honor of the lunar new year. Our second day in Hanoi we visited the Hoa Lo Prison, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, and the Temple of Literature – all historical sites and museums in Hanoi. I have to admit that Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum felt creepy to experience at first because we were led into a small room with hundreds of tourists walking around his death bed and the guards in the room made the atmosphere rigid and cold. Later at night we explored Ta Hien street which is known for tons of “restaurants” and bars lining the streets. People flooded this street at night and sat so low to the ground to eat their pho noodles. The next day we took a bus from Hanoi to Ha Long Bay and began our overnight adventure on the bay. Ha Long Bay is probably is if not the most remarkable sites I have ever seen in my life. The entire bay is filled with more than 1,000 boulders and mini islands scattered throughout the water. It was unfortunate to see that the water was not very clean due to the amount of cruise boats and tourists that visit Ha Long Bay, but it still baffled me how such a place on earth can exist and still be in tact. We took a boat to one of the only islands on the bay that has a beach and hiked to the top of the peak only to witness the craziest view of the entire bay. We ate dinner on the boat and met people from Korea, Argentina, Israel, Holland, and more countries. The following day we woke up on the boat and headed towards one of the most beautiful caves in Ha Long Bay. The ceilings of the cave were indented by the water that had left dips in the ceilings over the years. It really is hard to describe the beauty of the cave from inside of it and the beauty of the greenery of the island. It is a UNESCO world heritage site, so that speaks for itself. We kayaked throughout the bay later that day, indulging in the serenity and quiet of the water. After we experienced Ha Long, our next stop was a city that I was recommended to visit by a close friend of mine in the middle of Vietnam. I had never heard of Da Lat before visiting it and my roommates and I truly had no idea what to expect. The two days we spent in Da Lat were the most beautiful and amazing days of my life. We rode on the back of motorcycles for two days exploring the entire city, visiting waterfalls, coffee farms, tea farms noodle factories, silk factories, black pepper farms, mushroom farms, and more. To this day, I am obsessed with this city and cannot wait to go back and visit it again, especially the couple in the hostel we stayed at who were the kindest people. Our Vietnam trip concluded in Ho Chi Minh city where we explored the huge markets and put our Chinese bargaining practice to good use. Ho Chi Minh particularly was an eye-opening experience because I learned more about the Vietnam War in two days than I ever have in a classroom setting or through a textbook. We visited the war remnants museum and learned about the tragedies that the Vietnamese people had experienced first with the French and later with the U.S. war on communism at the time. On our second day we went to the Cu Chi Tunnels which were dug by the Vietcong (communist rebels in the south) had hid and actually crawled inside of one. I was beyond amazed at how they built such a complex underground structure that helped them survive the Vietnam War. I could not stop thinking about how I, as an American, am so easily able to wander and explore a country that was invaded by Americans who had caused so much bloodshed and death. I asked my tour guide what Vietnamese people really think about Americans and he said that it is “generational.” The generation that endured the war hated the French and Americans, however my tour guide actually spoke about how much he loved Americans and looked up to former President Obama. It’s beautiful to see a country with people so strong and resilient after years of war. This is a shortened version and only small glimpse into my experiences in Vietnam, but what a special place on earth it is. If you haven’t been yet – make it the next stop, you won’t be disappointed.
