I have had the amazing opportunity to spend the last seven weeks in the beautiful city of Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. The vibrant and bustling city provides anything one could want, from delicious street food to unique coffee and beverage combinations; it even has plenty of shopping. My entire life, I have lived in the suburbs of Connecticut and then moved to the suburbs of Vermont when I went away for college.
I have never been a city girl. I enjoy the calm life of a suburb, so I was not exactly sure what to expect when I decided to travel to Ho Chi Minh. I was very surprised at how quickly I was able to adapt to this new environment, learning how to cross the crazy busy streets, dodging traffic when walking, and even riding my first motorbike.
With that being said, as much as I have come to love the city, I have said since my first week of arriving in Vietnam that my biggest goal is to make it up to North Vietnam. If you are not familiar, Ho Chi Minh is located in the South of Vietnam while the country’s capital, Hanoi, is located in the North. North Vietnam is known for its mountainous landscape, while the South is mostly flat.
Traveling to the North required buying a plane ticket and was a long journey. It was the farthest I had traveled in Vietnam. As the weeks passed, I continued to make other exciting trips to places like Da Lat and Dong Nai.
Finally, for my last weekend in Vietnam before traveling back to the United States, I knew I had to book a trip to North Vietnam. I booked a plane ticket to fly into Hanoi and planned a two-day boat tour around Halong Bay for the next day.
Halong Bay is by far the most beautiful place I have ever visited in Vietnam, if not the most beautiful place I’ve traveled to ever. It is unlike anything I have ever seen before. We spent two days sailing along bright emerald-colored water surrounded by towering rock structures.
On the first day of our tour, we had a delicious, multi-course lunch of seafood, chicken, and sauteed vegetables. We were taken to one of the various islands, complete with a stairway path that led to a stunning panoramic view of the entire bay once you reached the top.
This is the view from the top of our hike. From here you can see most of Halong Bay and all of the cruise ships.To cool down afterwards we had the chance to swim in the bay. Our afternoon continued with a trip to the largest cave in Halong Bay where our tour guide showed us around and explained the history behind the cave. We finished off the night by returning to the boat for a happy hour as we watched the sunset and another fantastic meal.
The next morning, we enjoyed a fusion-style breakfast, with international options like omelets and bacon and traditional cuisine like pho. We had the opportunity to kayak in the middle of Halong Bay, surrounded by enormous rocks. It was so cool to see the formations up close and personal. This relaxing paddle was the perfect start to the morning and the best way to say goodbye to the bay.
Kayaking in Halong Bay was the perfect serene way to start my morning.
If you did not want to kayak, you could tour Halong Bay in one of these wooden boats, which were operated by a local.Once back on the boat, we were surprised with a cooking class where we were taught to make our own spring rolls! Our creations were then fried up and served as one of the dishes in our lunch. Something about having a part in creating the food just makes it taste better.
For our last lunch, our tour guide taught us how to properly assemble and roll a spring roll.Bellies full, we packed up all of our belongings, got one more glimpse of the bay, and headed to the bus for our ride home.
Though one of my shortest trips yet, Halong Bay was far from disappointing. I believed that if I did not make the time to travel to North Vietnam, I would regret it once I returned to the U.S. I can now say how thankful I am that I had the opportunity to visit Halong Bay. This trip is one that I will remember forever.
Cassie Lathrope, Saint Michael’s College, is interning abroad in Vietnam with TEAN.
