With me being laid off the day before Rebecca was planning to announce a career change, it was clearly a a chance for a big vacation. Before I landed my new position we had bought flights in to Hanoi and out of Bangkok 23 days later. It was going to happen.

Since college, I’d been promising to visit an old college friend in Bangkok, and she’d always wanted to visit Vietnam. Cambodia, hugged between the two, was a natural inclusion to the trip.

Friends provided a wealth of information on the countries and what we didn’t get from them were able to pull out of a Lonely Planet Guide. Booking was fairly straightforward with Kayak (some shady airline sites and experiences excluded), Hotels.com, and Google Translate. All in all, not as difficult as expected. We had some unknowns in regard to bus travel, but hotel staff was typically more than happy to help (I’m pretty sure profit sharing is norm so it makes sense you get help with a smile). Flights between cities were all roughly an hour and ranged between $40 and $100 per person. Some airlines give you free checked baggage, some have odd weight limits, and all the seats are tiny. Busses worked for us from time to time, but I can’t recommend one longer than a couple of hours; as soon as you get far outside cities the travel can be really slow due to poor infrastructure.

While these regions could have easily supported a trip twice as long as ours, we did end up having to cut out some areas. We didn’t get into the forests of Vietnam, we didn’t get to Phnom Penh, we didn’t do anything tropical or beachy, and we didn’t relax or come back recharged in any way, but that’s mostly due to our nature.

Below you’ll find a city by city recap of our trip in chronological order. If you’re planning a visit to any of these places, please reach out as I’m going to try to keep this short and sweet (haha that didn’t happen!), but know I have a lot more to share.

Vietnam

Having not really supported tourism until the late 90s (foreigners could only go certain places and with strict permissions prior), the country still feels very untouched by the west and more-so in the north than the south. The communist party is still in power (no, we really didn’t win and somehow the world still didn’t collapse) and despite changes that have allowed for capitalism (Đổi Mới) and for the country to grow economically as a result, things are largely unchanged from how they were as they appear in The Vietnam War (available on Netflix and in my opinion, required viewing before visiting).

Corruption is rampant, everyone rides a scooter, red lights don’t matter, vehicles also use the sidewalks, cell phone service is better than in the US (pick up a SIM card for roughly $1 per GB at the airport), cash is preferred and the only thing accepted at many places, the Grab app is indispensable (their Uber), pho is breakfast, $1 can buy you a decent lunch, the coffee is amazing, there is trash everywhere (particularly plastic despite people devoting their lives to disposal), and you shouldn’t drink or brush your teeth with the tap water.

Perhaps most notable is people are very often trying to swindle you (check your bills, don’t let anyone touch your shoes, don’t accept offers to pose in photos, don’t drink too much, make sure your taxi driver doesn’t ask you for cash for a toll and also charge you on the app, and always negotiate a price before taking a ride). An interesting take on this is that it’s not that these people are trying to do wrong, but in a communist country it’s the norm that if you have more, you should pay more. We were taken by a donut vendor one night, but still, it’s all relative, and $2 for a donut that probably should have been $.25 isn’t the end of the world.

Visa info: You need to apply for and have your visa with you before arrival. This can be done online.

Hanoi


Located in the north, this city feels old and pretty beat up, but that also made it lovely.  We stayed a few [literal] steps outside the Old Quarter at Hanoi E Central ($50/night and probably the best stay I’ve had anywhere). This location provided a great jumping off to most of what the city had to offer. Aside from the rather lengthy trip from the airport, we ended up walking everywhere. We spent three days in town, which was probably the right amount of time.

Must Do

  • Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum – We didn’t get to see more than the outside as the hours and days are very specific, and you need to line up well before it opens. Don’t repeat our mistake. This was the thing I was most interested in.
  • Hoan Kiem Lake – Get up early and go for a jog with what seemed like all 7.5 million residents. On weekends you’ll find a bunch of kids from rural areas who come into town with their teachers to greet tourists and practice their English. We spoke to a few different groups and had a blast with them.
  • Bia – Various local breweries make a very good session beer that is delivered daily to bars. The best part is it’s cheaper than a soda and safer than water. Quan Bia Minh was a great spot with an enormous menu and a balcony that provides great people watching.
  • Temple of Literature – This ranks at the bottom of my must-dos only because I’ve spent time in Japan and these traditional style SE Asian temples simply don’t compare. Worth a visit regardless.

Was Okay

  • Thang Long Water Puppets – One of the most popular things in town. Interesting, but somewhat underwhelming. I became obsessed with the single-stringed lute here.
  • Hoa Lo Prison – Lots of history here and worth a visit, but I was slightly underwhelmed. Information wasn’t presented as well as it could have been.

Local Eats

  • Egg Coffee – Try it once. “The spot,” Old Town Garden Cafe is located through a silk shop and up a few flights of stairs on Han Gai. It’s… an experience. The yellow looking water they serve before your coffee arrives is tea. You’ll see everyone drinking yellowish water all day everywhere… it’s tea. It took us over a week to realize it wasn’t the color of the tap water.
  • Bun Cha – Find some on the street, pull up a child’s stool, and enjoy a tasty bowl of grilled pork and rice vermicelli. Look for one busy with locals.
  • Cha Ca Lang – A local dish of grilled herbed fish. It could have been how it was prepared for us, but did not love. You should probably get it anyway.
  • Banh Cuon – Rice rolls. All sorts of fillings. We ended up following a maze of alleys to end up Banh Cuon Ba Hanh, where you’ll witness emotionless grandma make you some absolute masterpieces.

Ninh Binh

Vietnam is famous for its karsts. To view them, you can head to the super touristy Halong Bay to view from boats or inland to Ninh Binh. As you may have guessed by the heading, we chose the latter. Fewer tourists, more chance to do our own thing, and we had received a recommendation from a friend who had just been there. Note: Try to schedule before the rice has been harvested for verdant fields galore.

Ninh Binh is a couple of hours south of Hanoi. We booked a bus from our hotel, which took us to Tam Coc. From there, a prearranged taxi, which we were almost double-charged for (watch for this sort of thing!) took us to our place of stay, Mua Caves Eco Lodge. Ninh Binh itself is not a town worth visiting. Tam Coc is a suburb of sorts and is the hub of local tourism.

Our lodging was on the site of a pretty spectacular view that drew a lot of tourists during the day, which kind of made it feel like we were onsite at Disneyland. The plethora of cheesy sculptures and water features certainly contributed to that feeling.

Both days we had here we borrowed bikes from our place and explored. The first day we checked out town, rural areas well off the beaten path, and really just got a feel for the area. The second day we scheduled an epic tour, but didn’t account for how long things would take and didn’t quite complete it.

Our first stop was Trang An, where we boarded a boat with a couple from Spain for a rowing tour of some of the most famous karsts. The area had been used in ancient times as a natural fortification. More recently, it had been used as the backdrop of Kong: Skull Island. The tour was worthwhile, but due to its popularity and some natural choke points, took a lot longer than we had hoped or needed. Note: The required bike parking here is legitimate (unlike some one of the temple complexes we skipped in Tam Coc), required, and reasonably priced.

From there, we began a “lengthy” ride (terrible bikes make the miles feel three times harder) to Bai Dinh. This is a relatively recently built temple complex that rivals some of the best I’ve ever seen. It’s absolutely massive and beautiful. We saw most of it, but wished we had more time so we didn’t feel rushed by the approaching dusk. Note: Bike parking is legitimate here as well.

Our final stop was to be Hoa Lu, the capital of the country in the 10th century, but we ran out of daylight. Maybe next time.

Local eat: Mountain goat

Hoi An

Private bus to Ninh Binh, private bus to Hanoi, a couple of hours back in Hanoi (our old hotel gladly accepted our bags and offered us showers), a taxi to the airport, a flight to Da Nang, a taxi to Hoi An, and we were in… Hoi An, a very well preserved old trading port. Lots of tourists, lots of shops, lots of street food, lots of beautiful lanterns strung across the streets, and a very relaxed vibe. We stayed at Lantana Riverside and would recommend it. It wasn’t in the heart of town, but an easy enough walk in.

The locals are most known for their skilled leather working. We took advantage of this to negotiate a great deal on three pair between the two of us (came out to $30/ea or so) from Tu-Chi based on this great review. Mine somehow didn’t make it home (thinking they were lost at airport luggage inspection), but Rebecca came home with two really awesome pairs that fit her feet perfectly and look great. Turnaround on custom sandals was less than a day. Do this.

The highlight of our visit was a bike tour with a new friend, Thinh, through Hoi An Cycling. Rice paddies, a local coffee roaster, reed weavers, and a charming old veteran of the Cambodian war who treated us to a song, his homemade rice whiskey, and some delicious coconut candied crackers he exports.

If you’re in Hoi An and looking to take some things home, know that the deals come on just before closing. The cheaper leather shops who deal in quantity versus quality (you’ll be able to tell the difference – they all sell the same stuff) will give you a 50% discount near COB. A quality shop should give you a 20% discount and if you happen to be their first customer of the day, maybe more, as the Vietnamese take their first customer of the day as a sign of their day to come (they really want to make that sale) for the good juju.

Local eat: Banh Mi Phuong (credit: Anthony Bourdain)

Ho Chi Minh City

Go ahead, you can call it Saigon; they’re both used. Similar in size to Hanoi, it felt familiar, but having had more foreign investment, it’s much cleaner and a bit more cosmopolitan.

We stayed at Lief Mojo Saigon in the heart of Japantown and the “happy” [ending] massage area. The hotel was wonderful and nicely located, allowing us to walk to most of what the town had to offer. It also provided us the opportunity to have some pretty decent Japanese food as we were fairly tired of Vietnamese at this point.

Worth mentioning was how comfortable the bed was at our hotel. For a few days, my throat had been getting worse and worse. Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, I was full-on sick and needed to spend a full day in bed. We’re pretty sure it was the flu, which stunk because I had been immunized. Luckily, Rebecca never picked it up. For a solid two weeks of our trip I had a hard time eating and drinking. Huge bummer.

Must Do

  • War Remnants Museum – Tells the story of the “Vietnam” (they call it the “American”) War and wars with the French. I’m sure there’s a slight bias here, but gosh, we [Americans] were quite terrible. The world seemed to be unanimously against us being there.
  • Cong Coffee – A hip chain of coffee shops.
  • Marou Chocolate – World renowned chocolatier we found out about from Somebody Feed Phil.

Was Okay

  • Reunification/Independence Palace – Entry was pretty cheap to this 60s/Austin Powersesque palace that was only used for a dozen years. Do it if you have time to kill. We were pleasantly surprised.
  • Propaganda Restaurant – Somewhat upscale place if you’re looking to have some slightly fancier Vietnamese. Tasty and full of white people.

Skippable

Ben Tre

A journey up the Mekong in the middle of our trip was our chance to take a load off and relax at Mango Home Riverside. While there wasn’t a ton to do in a small town, and we ended up eating every meal at our resort, we managed to keep busy with a guided bike tour and two of our own.

The guided tour took us to a brick producing factory and a coconut processing facility. Both of these the area was known for, with 2/3 of all coconuts in Vietnam coming from this area. We also stopped at a rice cleaning factory and had lunch with and learned to make rice rolls with a local woman. Rice all the things. We then paid a visit to a man who farmed eels and took a rowboat ride provided by two locals. This tour also included a private motorboat up and across the river a few times, which was pretty rad.

The bike tours we took ourselves took us through most of the local area. What struck us most in this region was how friendly the people were. I don’t think a lot of tourists come here, and if they do, they don’t ride bikes in random places so we seemed to be a novelty to a lot of folks. I always enjoy playing that part. Added bonus was one of our bikes losing a crank arm. Luckily some sign language at the local scooter shop got the fix done.

Cambodia

The Cambodian people are amazing. They’ve been through absolute hell and have come out as some of the sweetest people I’ve ever met. Steeped in history, this is not a country to miss on a trip to Southeast Asia. There are two major cities in the country, Phnom Penh, the current capital, and Siem Reap, near the historical capital. They’re not all that close to each other and we didn’t have all the time in the world so we opted on the side of history with Siem Reap. It’s worth noting USD is the primary currency with their currency used for change.

Required reading (skip the movie as I didn’t think it was that good): First They Killed My Father.

Visa info: You need a $30 visa to enter, which is available on arrival. It’s a pretty efficient setup they have going. You also need a passport photo. I read you can be “fined” $3 for not having one and they’ll make you one for the cost of that fine, but we brought our own.

Siem Reap

Located just on the outskirts of Angkor City (home of Angkor Wat among many other legendary temples), Siem Reap is a “small” town with an easily accessible airport (pick up a SIM card for Cambodia and Thailand here!), a ton of hotels, a ton of Chinese tourists, and a heart of gold.

With two days in town, we spent one on a bike tour of Angkor. The history of this ancient capital is pretty amazing. It was basically the capital of Southeast Asia, inhabitants were of many races, and many religions, and it ultimately outgrew what the area could agriculturally support. When that time came, the capital was relocated to Phnom Penh and this area more or less went forgotten for many hundreds of years. A century or so ago, French colonists discovered it, and over the past hundred years numerous more temples have been discovered by man, satellite, and radar; the jungle had taken the land back.

Our bike tour began at our hotel, meandered through some local villages, and into the temple complex where we hit all the major temples and a few minor ones. Given the size of the area (25km^2), bike was a great way to get around. Bring your sunscreen and lots of water. While Angkor Wat is the largest and most celebrated temple, Bayon was my favorite. It might have been the architectural style or it might have been the lack of lines to climb to the top.

Our second day involved some town exploration. We ended up getting our feet “massaged” by fish, toured a local artisan complex, eating some great food at Pou (pronounced “poo” – YES!!), a little shopping, and a lot of walking.

Two of our three nights we ate at Marum. The first on recommendation and the second because it was that good. It was here that I ate red tree ants atop my stir fried beef. The other night we really splurged (still relatively cheap) at Chanrey Tree. Claim to fame? They had a picture of David Beckham so I’m assuming he ate there, otherwise that’s just weird. Tasty.

We stayed at Silk D’Angkor. It was a great room, but we felt like we were the only guests… Odd. And that damned rooster that crowed all day. Recommended, but not.

One thing we didn’t get to do that I wish we had was visit the Landmine Museum. First, it was kind of far out of town. Second, our reception told us it was closed be “There were some booms. I think they are in jail.” Apparently regulations are kind of loose around this sort of thing, the folks running the show might enjoy explosions a bit too much, and they got in some hot water. They were out of jail by the time we were there, but not yet reopened. Landmines, to this day, are a big deal in this part of the world.

Local eat: Fish amok

Thailand

I was introduced to anything Thai thanks to a good friend named Jak. He is Thai, we met playing video games 18 years ago, and have stayed in touch ever since. Visiting him has been a long time coming.

Bangkok

TRAFFIC! Sadly, if I had to describe Bangkok in one word, that would be it. There’s a rich history here and it felt a lot like the other large cities we had been to, but the Thai economy has done well enough that everyone can drive a car instead of a scooter! Unfortunately, roads couldn’t match that change so there is bumper to bumper traffic EVERYWHERE. Going across town for dinner? Two hours.

I think we could have spent more time in Bangkok, but seeing Jak was our real focus and we got that in two fine evenings with him. One with his wife at a rooftop restaurant that supplied incredible views of the city, and the next at a traditional fine dining establishment followed by some roaming of the streets of Khao San and Chinatown for some sketchy, but delicious eats.

We stayed at the Royal ThaThien Village. It was the only superbly located place with a reasonable price. Wasn’t great, but wasn’t bad. Would stay there again for location for the buck.

Must Do

  • Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha) – Massive Buddha. Very impressive.
  • Bangkok National Museum – Art, history, relics. We made it through one building, were pleased, thought we were done, were leaving, and then realized we had another eight or so buildings, which we skipped. Lots to see here.
  • Chinatown – It’s all about the food here. Go at night and be ready to: wait in line, get dirty looks for not ordering enough, and sit down dark alleys with rats.
  • Mall eats – Thai people love malls. Some are truly incredible and most boast a food hall of sorts. You buy a card with credit on it and hand it over to any of the countless vendors to be charged. You can get any type of food here and in any combination. We ended up at CentralWorld thanks to a friend’s recommendation.

Was Okay

  • Wat Saket (Golden Mountain) – Large temple built onto or as a hill in the center of town. Provides great views of the city. Be sure to look out for the alms bowl hammerers. We wish we had known these were a rarity when we saw them. Would have been a great souvenir, but by the time we realized it we were far off and could only find cheap factory made crap.
  • Ferry service – A fun way to beat the traffic and traverse the river up, down, or side to side. Fares are stupid cheap and Google Maps can give you a good timetable.
  • The Grand Palace – THE ONE PLACE YOU NEED LONG PANTS FOR. We traveled our entire trip with convertible pants. We didn’t need to zip on our legs anywhere other than here. Unfortunately, nearing the end of our trip we had grown tired of not needing them so this was the one day we didn’t wear them. Luckily, this is a common problem and they’ll gladly sell you some traditional looking rayon pants for $5. This place was massively busy, did have some cool things like The Emerald Buddha (way smaller than in the photos), but overall I can’t say it was a must do. Information/history/culture was kind of lacking and I dig knowing what I’m looking at.

Skip It

  • Khao San – Tourist trap. Unless you’re 22 and looking to be scammed, steer clear. Or unless you’re at the end of your trip, want to eat some sort of bug, and haven’t yet – this is your place.

Chiang Mai

The final stop of our trip was in the northern mountains of Thailand. We had originally planned to get there via overnight train, but apparently that books very early, (we did book early) and we were only able to get 2nd class fare on the “old” train. The day before that journey we did some research and were horrified by the conditions described. Had we been 1st class or on the new train it may have still happened, but we pulled a huge BAIL and bought some plane tickets. Saved half a day of travel and only ate $40 in fares.

We stayed at Joy’s House based on a friend’s recommendation, and couldn’t have been happier despite it being just a touch outside of town. Like Marun (restaurant in Siem Reap), the mission here was to support and develop at-risk children for success in the hospitality industry. Our entire stay was managed by these youths who are full of life, happiness, and gratitude. We may have paid a little more than we would have for similar accommodations, but it was for a great cause you can see having a direct effect.

Like all the cities we’d been to, Chiang Mai has a healthy collection of temples. We got our dose of those, traversed the downtown region at least twice on foot, but more importantly got to spend some time in nature thanks to a guided hike we set up with a friend of a friend.

Must Do

  • Hike in the Doi Suthep region – We arranged this through a friend of a friend and had a great time with our new friend, Hod, of Hod Ecotrek. We meandered over hills and rivers, and dodged giant spiders and cobras on our way to see how folks in the hills lived. It was just a hike, but so different from what we were used to. A great time.
  • Cooking class – Very popular all over SE Asia, but we chose to only do one and I think we nailed it at Zabb E Lee. We had a blast and made some outstanding food.
  • Get a massage by a female prisoner – This is a thing. Getting reservations at the actual prison is difficult (get there before they open) so we ended up visiting the ex-prisoners a couple of times. Note: these are public massages. You will be in a room with up to 20 other people,.
  • Thai boxing – At the last minute I remember this was something we should do. Luckily, our hiking guide was really into it, knew everyone in town, and got us amazing seats at the best place for it (a couple have staged fights or really crappy ones, but this one seemed to get the best reviews and was the one he recommended too – and he accompanied us for extra legitimacy). We had a great time and we kind of sort of want to sponsor one of these kids (it’s a popular way for impoverished kids to build a future). Specifically, there was a girl who fought at the end of the night, won, and had a bit of a bonding experience with Rebecca. Ask her about it…
  • Find a local soccer match and sit down – Walking down the street on a weekend day we heard hoots and hollers. I peeked through a school fence to see a bunch of adult men playing the absolute worst soccer I’ve ever seen… and that’s coming from someone who is really bad at soccer. After much convincing, I got Rebecca to agree to walk into the grounds and have a seat. It turned out to be a hoot as the men were just as interested in us as we were they. I was offered whiskey, beer, and I think we were invited to the after party. It turns out once a year there is a tournament of all the local villages. Everyone gets drunk and puts on the spectacle that we witnessed. An unforgettable experience.
  • SP Chicken – Roasted chicken. Just do it.
  • Monk chat – We didn’t do this, but you should. Many of the Wats, but specifically Was Phra Singh have times of day where you can sit down and talk with a monk. They desire to learn English and are willing to share all about what it means to do what they do.
  • Farm Story House – Really cute coffee run by a family. “Grandpa” as we’ll call him makes a killer pour over of his own roasted beans. They also have amazing looking soaps that drew us in – we thought they were dessert.
  • Nowhere Coffee – What a cool place! Tiny, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled. While making our coffee, I got to know the owner. It turns out he travels to Portland and has association with Stumptown. Thai coffee is still in its infancy, but they’ve got the climate to be a major power. His hope is that he and his friends at the nearby local roasters can make it happen for the country. Great cup of coffee to boot.

Was Okay

  • Lanna Folklife Museum – Tells all about the local history. Just about everything was reproduction so it was a bit tacky, but it contained lots of really good information.
  • Tha Phae Market – An absolutely bonkers market. You could easily get lost in here. If you’re looking for something, you will find it here, but it may be in its depths and you’ll probably need to rely on your GPS to get out.
  • Wats – Phantao (teak), Chedi Luang (ruins), Phra Singh – So many temples. Town is small so it’d be hard to miss these, but none of them were particularly special.

Closing Thoughts

Everyone asks me “what was the highlight?” There really wasn’t one. Everything was a pretty similar level of great. I suppose if anything it was seeing my old friend after so many years. Nothing changed with him (minus a wife and a child) or between us. It was amazing how the friendship picked back up just like that.

Would I go back? I don’t know. My list of places to go is incredibly long. What this region does have going for it is cost. I can get there for $750 and get away with spending less than $100 a day with ease. I’d love to visit Jak again, I’d love to do some island hopping, and I’d really like to spend more time in Cambodia, but again, the list is long and maybe it’s Jak’s turn to visit us.

It was a truly great trip at its surface, but deeper and to get a little heavy on you – surviving with someone in a hot, humid, wildly foreign place for more than three weeks is a huge testament to a relationship. We made it!

Before You Go