Vietnam’s Middle Ground: Discovering Da Nang, Hoi An, and Everything Between

Ask the backpacker clutching a tattered Lonely Planet from the ’90s, or the influencer piloting a drone over rice paddies—they’ll both say they’ve “done Vietnam.” What they mean is they’ve braved Hanoi’s honking, hyperactive chaos or drowned in Saigon’s neon and motorcycle fumes. The middle? That blank space on their itinerary, the part between the clichés. Which, to me, is exactly the point.

The Heat Is On In Saigon... After Nine Years

Happy 2024, everyone! We welcomed the new year full of hope. 2023 has been a great year despite some speed bumps along the way. Travel was the theme in 2023 and will be the same for this year. To start off the year, let me share some of the photos I took during my recent trip to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam, in November last year.

I visited this city twice. The last time was nine years ago. It wasn't part of my trip, but I booked a ticket months before the trip. My colleagues invited me, and I've already traveled with them, so I'm not worried about adjusting to new people on a trip. We stayed around the District 1 area since it's accessible to most places. Not to mention that Saigon is way cheaper than Manila! True enough, your dollars will go a long way–with so many zeroes in your wallet, it feels great when you're carrying literally millions of dongs in your wallet!

So many things have changed since the last time I've been in Saigon. There were local excursions that I hadn't tried during my last visit, ate some of the best Vietnamese food and coffee, shopped 'til I dropped, and partied hard late at night. Saigon may not be for the faint-hearted traveler. It's chaotic, the language barrier still exists in some parts of the city (but they're improving in most aspects of communication), and scammers are still present. Utopia doesn't exist, so I didn't really mind these.

I used my Sony a6400 35mm f1.8 to take these photos, and post-processing was done in Lightroom. Cam on, Saigon! I'll be back soon.

Journey to Halong Bay, Vietnam

It was one crisp morning when we left the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Aboard the bus, everyone has a hard time to hide their excitement. For the next four hours, we journeyed our way to the northeast part of Vietnam and explored the wonders of the emerald waters of Halong Bay.

Legend says that not too long ago, Vietnam was under war, and they had to ward off the invaders. To help the fighters, the gods sent the dragons. The dragons, possessing some magical powers, began spitting out jewels and jade. These precious stones then became islands and islets, linking with one another to form a wall of defense against the invaders. Several rocky mountains suddenly sprung underneath the emerald sea, causing the invader's ships to sink. The dragons decided to dwell on our world after winning the battle. The mother dragon was later named as Ha Long.

The Charming City of Hanoi, Vietnam

The moment I sat down on my assigned seat, I immediately fell asleep. Our flight took off minutes before five in the morning. I was seated at the window seat, and I thought of waiting for the sunrise at 36,000 feet above sea level. But no, sleep prevailed, and the next thing I knew, we were already on our final approach to Hanoi's Noi Ban International Airport. The queue to immigration and customs weren't that bad. However, it took me a while to realize that our hotel driver was already waiting for us outside the arrival hall! I should've gone there after claiming my local sim card. My bad, my bad.

Scam City: Saigon, Vietnam

One thing I learned about traveling is that you can't control everything. I am going to share a story about my bad experience in Saigon. Don't get me wrong, I love Saigon, but it's just the fact that not all things you see and read on my travel blog are pleasant.

It all started with a crazy weather disturbance in Manila. My flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) from Manila was scheduled to depart at 10:30 PM (PH time). The storm had just intensified after passing the capital, forcing airlines to cancel most of their flights in the domestic sector. Luckily, our flight pushed through, albeit the five-hour delay. We finally left Manila past three in the morning and arrived in Saigon a little past five in the morning, local time. Little did we know that our ordeal has just begun.

Photo Diary: Vietnam

Vietnam will always have a special place in my heart. It all started with my penchant for Miss Saigon. I would always listen to all of its songs whenever I'm bored and I got more curious about this country after studying its history back in high school and college (see, I was really a nerd). Two years ago, I got the chance to visit Vietnam twice on the same period. I was in awe. Saigon is beautiful. It's actually a beautiful mess - motorcyclists who were ready to bend traffic rules, buildings haphazardly built in the central district of the city, and huge sequoias beautifully lined up along the city's narrow streets and public parks.

Okay, I'll just keep this short, Here's my Vietnamese photo diary. Places visited: Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), and Mui Ne. I am hoping to explore Hanoi, Hue, and Da Nang in the near future.

Seven Things You Should Know about Saigon

Busy motorways.

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City is not just about sunlights, moons, joined forces from the gods of fortune, midnights, and high noons. It is the center of trade, commerce, and industry, making it as an important hub of Vietnam with a current population of 7.5 million people. Like Metro Manila, Saigon is a bustling metropolis sans the ubiquitous Philippine jeepneys, westernized commercial districts, and a mass transportation system (currently on the works as of this writing).

Here are the 7 things that you should know about Saigon and I hope that this post will serve as a guide for those who are planning to visit Saigon.

The Hidden Gems of Mui Ne

Red sand dunes of Mui Ne.

Mui Ne is a coastal town in the Binh Thuan province. It is a popular resort destination in Southeast Vietnam, most especially to Russian tourists. No wonder why some shops and restaurants are named in Cyrillic characters.

At half past two in the afternoon, we had safely arrived at Mui Ne. Since we didn't have enough energy, we decided to tour Mui Ne the following day. We stopped by at a local restaurant and apparently, the bus company that we rode also managed it. We decided to pay for our fare back to Saigon and for the Mui Ne day tour the following day. We only paid $70 each. Not bad.

After paying for the day tour and for our fare back to Saigon, Vu, the operator and manager of the bus and restaurant, told us that the day tour will start at exactly 4:30 AM. We thought it was too early but we didn't protest. The following day, we woke up at around four in the morning, and by 4:30AM, Vu was already outside the hotel waiting for us. We boarded his owner-type jeep, earphones in, volumes up, and off we went to the first destination of our tour.

Now playing: Sweet Disposition - The Temper Trap

The Mui Ne In My Mind

Mui Ne's beach!

There was a sudden jolt.

The flight to Saigon was turbulent, all thanks to the severe weather disturbance off the northeastern seaboard of the Philippines. The plane started to descend, and before we knew it, we have safely arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport, after nearly two hours of flight. The sun was almost up when we finally left the airport terminal building and had our USDs exchanged to the local currency (Vietnamese Dongs). For the first time in forever, I became an instant millionaire. Multi-millionaire to be exact.

While searching for a cab, a frail-looking man probably in his early 50s, approached us. He claimed that he was a cab driver and even showed his ID to us. Because we were so exhausted brought about by the delay, we immediately hired him. Normally, the fare to downtown Saigon costs 210,000 dong. However, our cab driver charged us 200,000 each. Multiply it by 3, the total fare was 600,000 dong. Upon arrival at the hostel, we tried to haggle the cab driver to charge at a lower rate. Apparently, he wanted to press charges against us because we were too nosy. He started to raise his voice and we got afraid. We gave up and he sped off.

The first thirty minutes in Saigon was a bit traumatic, but I don't want to disappoint myself. Without a doubt, those scammers are scattered along the busy streets and murky alleys of Saigon waiting for its next victim.

But, I believe Vietnam is more than that.

The Great Indochina Adventure: Prologue

Hey, everyone! Look who's back! It's been a while since my last post.

I'm finally back in Tacloban. Back to work, back to controlling planes. You know what I really hate about going home from an awesome trip? It will take me forever to finally get over with it - the scenic Angkor Wat sunrise, the sand dunes of Mui Ne, and the delicious taste of Pho Noodles. And as the famous song of Nelly Furtado goes, "Why do all good things come to an end?"

Several months ago, my travel blogger friend, Robbie invited me to join him in his Vietnam and Cambodia trip. Since the fare in and out to these destinations were cheap, I immediately said yes. It was like hitting two birds with one stone - two countries with just one round trip ticket.

But the road to Indochina was rather bumpy. Literally and figuratively.