Vietnam holiday
The evening of Rory’s 23rd birthday we flew to Auckland, on to Singapore, then to our destination of Da Nang for a three week family holiday in Vietnam. It was everything we hoped it would be and more. We have been saving for another overseas holiday since our fantastic trip to Australia, to see Auntie Teri and Uncle Graham in 2023. The success of the Australia trip, in spite of Rory’s disabilities, took us by surprise. We were keen to give it another go. I wanted to take the boys to a non-western country so they could experience a new culture, just in case it would be their only other opportunity to travel overseas. Everyone spoke highly of Vietnam so a decision was made at the start of 2025. I have been researching and planning the holiday in my spare time with the help of my adventuring friend Cindy (a big thank you). As it drew closer I felt excited but also a reasonable amount of trepidation about how Rory would cope, also about how Sean and I would cope as his 24/7 support carers in an unfamiliar less-developed country. For three weeks Rory was flown, driven, paddled, pushed, guided and carried across central and northern Vietnam! The Vietnamese people were very helpful everywhere we went. Thankfully Rory remained well, although he and I came home with an influenza virus which Sean caught in the later stages of our holiday.
We travelled to six areas in central and northern Vietnam; Hoi An /Da Nang, Hue, Pu Luong, Tam Coc, Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. There were many highlights in each quite different location:
Hoi An / Da Nang – Old Town market especially at night lit up by lanterns with the lantern boat rides, Precious Heritage Art Gallery museum with images of the 50+ indigenous tribes of Vietnam, sacred caves in the Marble Mountains, a Basket boat ride in the water coconut forest, wandering back in time at My Son Sanctuary within ancient Hindu temples (4th-13th century), and moving quietly along the road side on Son Tra peninsula to see the endangered Douc Langur and mixing with the crowds to visit the 67m high Lady Buddha.
Hue – a tour of Imperial tombs, temples and pagodas, making incense sticks at Incense village and admiring beautiful coastal scenery and long dark tunnels on the train ride to Da Nang.
Pu Luong – walking through vivid green rice paddies, riding a bamboo raft on the Cham stream and learning how to make brocade by hand in Lan village.
Tam Coc – a boat ride is the most common way to get around – at Thung Nham bird park which was full of lake and wetland birds, at Trang An through a 1,000m long cave full of stalactites, at Van Long Nature Reserve which is the largest in the northern delta and making the sweaty climb up 500 steps to the top of Ngoa Long Dragon Mountain.
Hanoi – shopping and eating in the Old Quarter and taking a history lesson at Hoa Lu Prison museum built by French colonists in 1896 for Vietnamese people and used for American POW during the Vietnam war (Hanoi Hilton).
Ha Long Bay – a three day / two night cruise through the UNESCO World Heritage site composed of thousands of limestone islands rising from an emerald sea – kayaking, swimming, cycling, trekking, squid fishing, eating seafood and drinking Vietnamese beer and rice wine made with a snake (which was still curled in the jar).
The Vietnamese people are very patriotic, there is a flag flying outside most buildings. They are innovative, we watched all manner of objects being repaired. Their electrical wiring is impressive, multiple wires tangled on power poles and attached to the side of buildings.
The Vietnamese drive in the middle of the road. Everyone uses their horn to indicate they are approaching from behind telling you to move aside. Everyone uses the road, including dogs who sleep there. Its chaotic but everyone seems to give way. We didn’t see one accident. There are a huge number of scooters, carrying up to five people and many varied large and long loads! The footpaths in many places are non-existent, broken or used as parking for scooters. We mostly pushed Rory in the wheelchair on the road in amongst the traffic. We were caught in a traffic jam in the middle of a large and busy intersection!
The exchange rate is 1 million VN Dong to $65 NZ dollars. You haggle over the price in the markets and tip people who serve you. The market are full to overflowing with all the goods you can imagine. A variety of good and bad smells emanate from the fresh food section. The food was incredible; fresh, delicious, cheap and unusual. We all enjoyed the Vietnamese dishes; fresh and fried spring rolls, Pho (noodle soup), Banh Xeo (crispy Vietnamese pancake), Banh Mi (baguette with a delicious filling). Massage studios are everywhere. The massages were too cheap and too good not to enjoy. Colt had his first massage.
The native flora and fauna have been greatly reduced to small populations confined to small sanctuaries. The hunting of native animals for meat, medicinal products and the pet trade has been particularly horrific. Even so we saw a variety of birds, lizards, fish, monkeys, giant moths and spiders, bats at dawn and dusk and we even saw a snake crossing the road in front of Rory’s wheelchair in rural Pu Luong.
It is hard to know what Rory enjoyed the most. He definitely enjoyed the food and the coffee (ca phe) culture. He and Sean tried many different types of coffee with egg coffee and coconut coffee their favourite. Rory liked visiting new places to see how the Vietnamese people lived and worked. Every household seems to have a dog (and chickens). He was able to do some shopping in the stores and markets, although he left bartering to me. The cruise at the end of our trip in beautiful Ha Long Bay was a great way for all of us to disconnect from the busyness, relax and unwind prior to heading home. It was hard to pick just one photo to capture the wonderful experiences we had together and the lasting memories we have created. We are very fortunate to have been to Vietnam together.
We have spent the last week recovering from jet lag and illness, wrapping up the holiday and getting our lives back on track. Rory was happy to head out into the community with support carer Shaun on Tuesday, and resume Thursday mornings at NP Men Shed now Peter is back from a summer of birding.