These journal pages take me back to January 2020, when I celebrated Lunar New Year with a family in Bến Tre, explored Vietnam’s history, and found a welcoming community in Đà Nẵng.
Lunar New Year’s Eve in Ben Tre – January 29, 2020
Ben Tre is a perfect place to relax and enjoy the silence. It is located 85 km south of Ho Chi Minh, being one of the 13 provinces at the end of Mekong River. Ben Tre is known as being the world coconut capital with more than 70.000 hectares and it’s also famous for its exported tropical fruit orchards, ornamental flowers, and seafood. It has the most typical landscapes of the Mekong Delta region with rice fields, narrow waterways, and peaceful villages.
We had the chance to spend the Lunar New Year in a homestay – Ben Tre Stay, being able to see how Vietnamese people are celebrating this holiday. I was amazed by the coziness of this place, the location, the people and the garden were exactly what I needed for me. They were waiting for all the family to come to visit so the grandfather was preparing a New Years Corner in the yard for taking photos with the family.
The tradition says that on the first day of the year, they visit all the relatives from the father’s side. They make a big family reunion and they start to talk and eat together. On the second day of the year, they visit the family from the mother’s side having the same purpose. My big surprise was to find out that the third day of the year is dedicated to the teachers. They respect teachers considering that they have a big impact in their life, so they visit some of their teachers and spend some time together eating and remembering moments from the school’s time. We were lucky to have such a nice host all the time smiling to us and being open to sharing their traditions.
For New Year’s Eve we went to assist the celebration in the main market and to watch the fireworks show. We enjoyed the traditional dances, music, and even a Vietnamese play. I was surprised to see how decent they celebrate avoiding the excess. During the fireworks show, everybody was speechless and amazed by the beautiful colors in the sky. It was a different kind of New Year for me and I totally enjoyed it.
If you travel in the south of Vietnam, I recommend to visit Ben Tre City, ideally situated close enough to bigger cities to allow easy access and yet distant enough to ensure peace and tranquility.
Impressions after visiting the War Remnants Museum – January 29, 2020
The War Remnants Museum is one of Ho Chi Minh City’s most enticing cultural and tourist sites having nearly one million visitors per year. I spent there a few hours and I found it really interesting, explicit and well documented presenting various faces of the Vietnam War. For a price of the only 40000VND, you could have an interactive lesson about the history of the war in Vietnam.
It is the unique museum in Vietnam to systematically study, collect, conserve and display exhibits on war crimes and consequences of the war on the Vietnamese people. Simultaneously, the Museum appeals to everybody to oppose unjust war, preserve global peace, promote friendship and solidarity among nations.
The Museum is endowed with 9 permanent thematic exhibitions and various special collections. I was profoundly impressed by the second exhibition called “Requiem” presenting stories of almost all the photographs that died on the war field. It was another perspective of the war consequences and for the first time, I saw an entire room dedicated to them and their last photos. It’s a mix of art, pain, history, and death.
Another exhibition that caught my attention was “The world supports Vietnam in its resistance to US aggression 1954-1975”. They show how different countries around the world organized manifestation to support Vietnam. One wall is reserved for Eastern Europe and you could see in one picture how Romanians showed their support. You could see also photos from peaceful manifestations in other countries like Sweden, Norway.
Finally, one of the most meaningful experiences in the museum was given by the temporary exhibition on the first floor. There you could find out the stories of some American soldiers that criticized the intervention of the US in Vietnam.
Being part of a community in Đô Đô’s house – February 2, 2020
One of the best experiences in Vietnam was living in Đô Đô’s house for almost one week and being part of the strong community that he built through his project. Basically, he is like a connector putting together foreigners and locals in a really friendly environment. Đô Đô is offering host up to 8 foreigners for free and the opportunity to have conversations with locals that want to improve their English. The idea is purely beautiful because on one hand it’s a good opportunity for the travelers to avoid the touristic places and do something meaningful and on the other hand it’s promoting a new way of teaching English by communicating directly to foreigners, in a relaxing environment without the pressure of the traditional schooling.
Actually, this is one of the main reasons why Đô Đô started this project, the lack of learning by doing in the public educational system. He felt that teaching English in public schools is not enough practical so he tried to combine the formal and non-formal education. In order to offer a more authentic way to learn English to his students, he founded Đô Đô English School.
Đô Đô is a very kind person that puts the soul in his project and wants that everybody involved having a nice experience during the stay in the magic house. I use the word magic because that house is really special, it’s welcoming you from the moment you step inside, you feel part of a community. As a real connector, Đô Đô is making sure that everybody is having a good time, that’s why he is organizing different activities like hiking or camping together. He will also prepare a good egg coffee or coconut coffee for you, in order to have a taste of the best Vietnamese coffee.
In one week spent there, I’ve met many people with beautiful and surprising stories. I think this was the most beautiful part of my experience in this house. Almost every other evening I was meeting a new traveler coming to the house, travelers with different destinations and different experiences. Talking with the students during our morning meeting was a precious memory too. I had the chance to understand better the Vietnamese society, how important are the status of the job here and the role of the family. Discussing work, school, holidays and hobbies with locals is a real opportunity to have a better image of the ordinary people’s life. I left the house feeling that I was lucky to have this experience and meet so many people. I was thinking that at the end of my stay there, I’ll feel satisfied of doing something meaningful but more important than this I felt grateful to become a part of Đô Đô’s community.
Exploring Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary – February 8, 2020
One of the best cultural experiences in Vietnam was the visit to the Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary, translated from Vietnamese “Beautiful mountain”. You’ll have the chance to visit it from Hoi An or Da Nang by buying a bus tour with a guide or by yourself riding a motorbike, it will much cheaper. The bus tour is around 170.000 VND and the ticket to the Sanctuary is 150.000VND. But if you’ll go by yourself, you could pay a ticket only for seeing the monuments without a guide for 40.000 VND.
Constructed from the 4th to 13th century, the more than 70 temples-towers left in the heart of Mỹ Sơn Valley are typical examples of the Champa Hindu Civilization that once flourished on the central lands of Vietnam. There are many similarities in architecture between this sanctuary and the Complex of AngorWatt in Cambodia. In the main complex of the sanctuary, all the temples face the east sunrise, having the purpose of worshiping their gods. But in the burial area, the temples face west having the purpose of burying their kings.
After the 13th century, this Hindu Center was abandoned and forgotten in the deep forests until the 19th century. However, the conservation of Mỹ Sơn’s relics was stopped by the war of Vietnam when most of the monuments there were destroyed. The work of Restauration recommenced in the 1980s helping the Mỹ Sơn sanctuary to be placed on the World Cultural Heritage List, in December 4th, 1999. Over the last 20 years, conservation work has been given a new breath of life with more attention from both domestic and international communities.
If you want to see a piece of Indian history in Vietnam, I totally recommend you to visit this sanctuary. You’ll travel back in time and you’ll understand instantly how small is this world. We are more connected with each other than we believe. Indian civilization had a big impact in South-east Asia and these reminiscents of the past have the role to remember us of the ancient civilization’s power. “The ancient Champa people embodied their spirit in sand and stone and they knew how to rely on nature to create a majestic, solemn and superb Mỹ Sơn. This is an invaluable architectural museum of mankind which has taken us a long time to fully understand…” Kazimierz Kwiatkowski polish architect and conservator
Walking through the History of Hue Imperial City- February 12, 2020
I couldn’t leave the central part of Vietnam without visiting the city of Hue, one of the most important cultural cities of the country, famous for being the former imperial capital. The Imperial City at Hue is considered the best-conserved remains of a vast citadel and royal palace complex passing through more than 200 years of History. The Hue Imperial City is the remaining witness of the last dynasty of Vietnam facing the last moments of the imperial era.
The person who played a key role in founding this city was Gia Long, the first emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty. The Emperor wanted to make a smaller replica of the Forbidden City in Beijing so he consulted the geomancers to find the right place to build a new palace and citadel. The construction of the imperial city began in 1804 in Hue, the capital of the Nguyen Dynasty. Under the command of Gia Long, thousands of workers were recruited to dig a ten-kilometer moat and earthen walls forming the area of the citadel. The Imperial City of Hue was once a great complex full of all the executive institutions enclosed within a square fortress, known as the Hue Citadel. The Hue Citadel’s location is strategically chosen, along the Perfume River and the mountains here meant to protect the city because they looked like snakes and lions, important elements of the Vietnamese mythology.
I’ve spent one day walking through the remnants of the Imperial city feeling inside of a History bubble that was preserved to make us aware of cultural diversity and of the mixture of cultures around the world. The history of Vietnam and China intertwine over time and the architecture and the city of Hue it’s living proof of this fact. I was fascinated with each step visiting this city that gave me another vibe of Vietnam. The central part of the imperial city is the area where the Emperor decided to locate his own palace. Called “Purple Forbidden City,” it was a place designed to offer access only for the Emperor and his trusted people.
Sadly, my walk into the History of Hue showed me also the consequences of the wars for this magnificent complex. During the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army wanted to take over Hue in 1968 and the American forces responded with bombings. Of the 160 significant buildings within the site, only 10 major ones survived the battle. This is not the only example of a cultural massacre in this country after the Vietnam War.
Nowadays the city is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1993. With all the damages, the city is still a fascinating proof of how the Vietnamese interpreted Chinese imperial architecture and introduced it to their culture. I hope you’ll have the chance to visit the Imperial City of Hue and have a long walk into its History.
My travel itinerary in Vietnam – February 12, 2020
- Ho Chi Minh City – 2 nights. I arrived in Vietnam on the 21st of January in Ho Chi Minh City or shortly Saigon. It’s a typical big-city very crowded and colorful, honestly not my type?. Still, it has some advantages: cheap hostels, many places where you could hang out, many travelers to interact with. Personally, I didn’t like it and I wouldn’t go again there, but it’s an important city in Vietnam providing many jobs for people from all the areas of the country.
- Ben Tre – 3 nights. We spent the Luna New Year in this city of Mekong Delta in a HomeStay. It was an amazing experience leaving with a Vietnamese family, we had the chance to learn more about their customs and to have a good rest in a magic place. Riding the bike along the canal, seeing the Flower Market and attending the New Year’s Concert and Firework’s show were some of the things that I did there. I totally recommend visiting the cities from Mekong Delta, you’ll have an immediate experience.
- Da Lat – 3 nights. After a few days in the exotic scenery of Mekong Delta, I arrived in a place of mountains, valleys, lakes, and waterfalls. You’ll be charmed by Da Lat, the city is really crowded especially in the evening but the nature around the city is amazing and you have the chance to find some silence there. I had my first experience in Couchsurfing here too, a little bit weird but still grateful for it. I’m confused by the people that are accepting Couchsurfers and AirBNB guests at the same time…but overall it was nice. I recommend you to go to the Elephant Waterfall and nearby it’s a huge Happy Buddha statue at Linh An Pagoda. You could travel there by motorbike or by a local bus only for 25.000VND. The waterfall is spectacular but I think I enjoyed more to walk around the Linh An Pagoda, it’s really nice and quiet, a peaceful place. Another beautiful place is worthed to visit is Tuyen Lam Lake. To go there I took the cable car from Robin Hill and I visited the Truc Lam Zen Monastery too. The cable car ride is truly beautiful, you’ll have the chance to see the panorama of the city and of the mountains around. From the Truc Lam Pagoda, you’ll have a short walk through the Forrest and you’ll reach the lake. You could walk around or better take a boat ride and enjoy better the scenery.
- Hoi An – 3 nights. My favorite city from Vietnam, Hoi An a small town on the central coast of Vietnam, an old trading port that succeded to preserve its Ancient Town. It’s known as the tailor’s town and you could find many clothes and tailors shops in the center. The old center will show you another side of Vietnam full of history, cultural diversity, old architecture, colors, and smiles. Hoi An has another kind of magic, you feel the history, the culture and the diversity here. It’s still a main destination for the tourists and it’s awful crowded but somehow I succeeded to find more magic here. The Ancient Town of Hoi An will open for you a gate to the past… I’ve always felt that I belong to another time maybe that’s why I like it so much…
- Da Nang – 8 nights. The first two nights I stayed in a hostel in the center of Da Nang and then I went to volunteer in DoDo’s English School. Da Nang is the biggest city on the central coast of Vietnam and the fifth-largest city as the population from the country. I already started to be tired of touristic places so in Da Nang, I gave me more time to connect with people rather than seeing places. Da Nang has beautiful beaches and mountains around so it’s a perfect spot to chill down and just enjoy nature and relax. My initial plan was to reach north of Vietnam but I discover that I could leave Vietnam without seeing all the famous places but I would regret to leave it without trying to connect with people in a meaningful way.
- Hue – one day trip. During my stay in Da Nang, I went for one day to Hue by bus, one ticket ride was 75.000 VND. Huế is a city in central Vietnam that was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors and the national capital from 1802 to 1945. A major attraction is its vast, 19th-century Đại Nội Citadel, it’s truly impressive the old imperial city.
Three weeks in Vietnam, two about traveling one about connecting, were enough for a first experience. Next time I’ll reserve it for the beautiful North of Vietnam.
