 If I expected rapturous applause when I announced a family holiday to Vietnam, I was disappointed.
“If we can afford to go overseas, why don’t we try a resort in Fiji?” was the predictable response.
Are they spoiled brats? No, not really, but as anyone with teenagers will tell you, the peer group is always trumps – and our daughters’ peer groups seem to have done the Thai, Balinese or Fijian resort scene pretty thoroughly. Then I recall the other golden rule of parenting adolescents – get them involved and they’ll be committed to a positive outcome. With the availability of Internet travel bookings, this works a treat.
Our tentative itinerary was Hanoi, Sapa Valley, Halong Bay, Hue and Hoi An – you could call it the “H” tour of Vietnam. I start the ball rolling by booking the grand old lady of Hanoi, the Sofitel Metropole, thus ensuring a soft landing in this challenging destination. I also book the Victoria Express overnight train to the Sapa Valley as the sleeping cars fill very early. But after this it’s open slather, and Lucy (14) and SJ (16) spent hours checking out guide books, brochures and web sites before booking our accommodation in Hue and Hoi An.
The result? A diverse and rewarding family adventure which all agree is the very best thing we’ve done.
The traffic in Hanoi is our first shock. Some three and a half million people live here and three-quarters of them seem to be on motorbikes, with the other quarter evenly divided between car, cyclo, bicycle and foot. With a paucity of pedestrian crossings, or indeed traffic lights, our road-crossing styles vary as much as our personalities. Dad – David – strides out purposefully, regardless of traffic density, speed or direction. He is very successful until a rampant police van seems to try to deliberately mow him down. The look on his face is priceless as he leaps back towards the kerb and his family of females collapse with laughter by his side. SJ has a more tentative approach, but her inner determination means she is usually the first to reach the other side. And Lucy and me? We cling to each other for dear life, teetering on the brink, but rarely daring to take the plunge, until a grandma with a long pole balanced by a tray of pineapples each end offers to shepherd us through the relentless traffic. And so we hang on to her, and her pineapples, performing some kind of mad minuet until she safely delivers us to the rest of the family. The ride is worth every bit of the 12,000 dong she charges.
Our five days in Hanoi allows us time to explore many aspects of the city, mostly on foot. We visit KOTO restaurant, established by ex-Sydneysider Jimmy Pham, to create training in the hospitality industry for local street kids. Afterwards we spend time soaking up the ambience of the Temple of Literature, site of Vietnam’s first university in 1076, and an oasis of peace in the traffic chaos.
Decisions about what to visit and where to eat were democratic. Each day a different family member selects a restaurant and navigates the way there. We spent much of our time in the Old Quarter, where guilds named the 36 streets; Hang Dao – the street of silk, Hang Non – the street of hats, Lo Su – the street of coffins. Not surprisingly, with three females, Hai Tuong, the street of sandals was the runaway winner.
Staying at the Sofitel Metropole doesn’t just mean enjoying French colonial grandeur, but also close proximity to Hoan Kiem Lake and a daily opportunity to observe Hanoi residents practising Tai Chi, reading, jogging, enjoying family gatherings and blossoming romances.
The Victoria Express leaves Hanoi for Lao Cai, near the Chinese border in the far north. Dinner in the wood-panelled dining car is a great treat. From Lao Cai it is a 45-mintue bus trip to the town of Sapa. The surrounding valleys offer stunning scenery, trekking opportunities and diverse local markets. It is also home to the montagnards, or hill tribes, identified by the rich colours of their costumes. Our two day break was not long enough.
Returning to Hanoi, we fly to the ancient imperial city of Hue in Central Vietnam and enjoy a boat trip on the Perfume River, visiting heritage-listed temples and the tombs of the emperors.
But our favourite destination is Hoi An, a former trading port, and now a UNESCO world heritage site, home to 800,000 and the perfect size town in which to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of Vietnam up close. Upon arrival, we head straight for the Old Town and Japanese covered bridge, near which we discover a beautifully preserved Chinese trading house where Michael Caine stayed during the filming of The Quiet American. It’s just a short ride or cycle out of town to the coast and a meal of fresh seafood served on the beach. For those who rise early, the market near the river is an excellent opportunity to experience the local colour and action. Hoi An also boasts many local food specialities, and Madame Ly’s restaurant serves a banquet including Lucy’s favourite – the best wontons you will taste.
 We have started our trip at a 5-star level, and gracefully descended to one star, but like a frog in a pot of boiling water we barely notice the “downgrade” – the longer our stay in Vietnam, the less interested we have become in being served and more interested we become in connecting with local people and their daily lives.Many families with children, whether toddlers or teenagers, assume they need to travel with a tour company in Vietnam. On the contrary, Vietnam is a safe, inexpensive and intensely rewarding destination for independent travellers – particularly curious teenagers, where we manage in just ten days to visit cities, mountains, the coast, and two World Heritage sites.
Siblings often differ, but on the topic of Vietnam, SJ and Lucy are in total agreement – the landscape, the food, the culture and, most of all, the friendliness of the local people, are just unbeatable. |
