Vietnam, November 2025

Angela and I recently returned from a trip to Vietnam. While there, we explored Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City (née Saigon). While we spent most of our nights in hotels, we were lucky enough to spend a pair of evenings sleeping on the water in Ha Long Bay.

We enjoyed our trip in spite of the bad weather that we experienced in our time between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam revealed itself to be a dynamic and vibrant country with good food, kind residents, and beautiful vistas. We would return in the future with an eye to journey to the middle of the country when it isn’t experiencing disastrous flooding.

Bookings

Activities

Flights

Angela and Nicholas
- 568.54USD per person
  - LAS-SFO on UA J
  - SFO-LAS on UA J
- 84,000 Cathay Pacific Asia Miles + 1,312HKD per person
  - SFO-HKG on CX J
  - HKG-HAN on CX J
- 20,000 Delta SkyMiles + 4.60USD per person
  - HAN-HUI on VN J
- 2,823,000VND per person
  - DAD-SGN on VN J
- 104,500 Air France Flying Blue miles + 279.12USD per person
  - SGN-SFO on VN J

Hotels

One room for three nights at the Pan Pacific Hanoi for 349.91USD, inclusive of taxes and credits, through The Hotel Collection
One room for two nights at the Melia Vinpearl Hue for 245.08USD, inclusive of taxes and exclusive of credits, through Citi Travel
One suite for three nights at the Hyatt Regency Da Nang Resort and Spa for 36,000 World of Hyatt points with a Suite Upgrade Award applied
One suite for three nights at the Park Hyatt Saigon for 60,000 World of Hyatt points with a Suite Upgrade Award applied

Transportation

Two tickets for the Heritage Train from Hue to Da Nang for 10.52USD per person

November 12, 2025

We headed to the airport in the mid-afternoon, dropping Fitz off for his boarding appointment on the way. After quickly clearing security, we visited the Capital One Lounge to nibble on a few small bites before our flight to San Francisco.

Our first flight’s takeoff was slightly delayed due to air traffic control issues, but we managed to land within ten minutes of our original arrival time. The landing was rough; we took quite the jolt when the airplane hit the tarmac. We deplaned and started our five-hour layover. I arranged for the extra time at the airport because of all the uncertainty about flight schedules given the federal government shutdown and air traffic controller staffing issues. Luckily, we ended up not being affected at all.

We walked to the G Concourse to visit the Centurion Lounge. Unfortunately, I misremembered where the lounge had relocated during the latest construction at SFO so we had to double back and make our way to the lounge’s actual location by the D gates. We relaxed for ninety minutes before heading to the Cathay Pacific lounge to see if it was any more comfortable.

To my surprise, the Cathay Pacific lounge was much nicer and more pleasant than the Centurion Lounge. There was plentiful seating, noodles made-to-order, and great espresso drinks. We should have gone straight to the Cathay Pacific lounge when it opened, although the hours were a little ambiguous.

We stayed in the lounge until the boarding announcement for our flight was made and then packed up and headed to our gate. The flight boarded ten minutes late, but the crew efficiently filled the 77W in less than twenty minutes. We were offered beverages before departure and our meal orders were taken. Because we’re long-haul flight professionals at this point, we both changed into our pajamas almost immediately after getting on the plane.

Because we’d eaten in the lounges prior to our flight, Angela and I both opted to skip the entree during dinner. She was responsible and had some fruit with a cup of chamomile tea, while I splurged on a blackberry crumble. We both enjoyed the Cathay Delight signature drink.

Once the lights went off, we tried to get as much sleep as we could. I actively rested for about ten hours of the fifteen-hour flight. This came with some difficulty as the flight was very turbulent for the first half of the journey. It was hard to stay asleep.

Eventually, we both woke up and read for a while before eating breakfast. Angela enjoyed her Chinese style breakfast with congee, while I loved my wellness bowl. As an added bonus, the coffee served with breakfast was absolutely delicious.

We both changed out of our pajamas, freshened up, and prepared for landing.

November 14

We landed slightly later than planned, so we had a shorter connection in Hong Kong than we anticipated. Luckily, we still had two hours to get through transit security and to our gate. For all the amazing amenities and efficiencies at HKG, I’ve always been surprised by how rudimentary the international-to-international transfer experience is. Hundreds of people have to line up in two lines to walk through a small security room. It takes much longer than you would expect.

We visited The Bridge lounge and immediately headed to the restaurant for some delicious dim sum and tasty noodles. The lounge is comfortable, but it was quite crowded when we visited on this trip.

Our next flight departed on time and was pleasant even though the service was a little disjointed due to the short time in the air. We continued to eat our way through the start of this trip.

Once we arrived in Vietnam, it took all of twenty seconds to clear immigration and less than ten seconds to clear customs. We withdrew some local currency from an ATM and then took a Grab to our hotel. We used Grab throughout our time in Vietnam because it was easy and the public transit system (when it even existed) didn’t seem particularly easy to use.

We arrived at our hotel at 1100 and were given access to our room without delay. The property was nice, although the five-star classification might be a bit of a stretch.

We dropped our bags and headed out into Hanoi to explore. Our first stop was the Tran Quoc Temple to see the Tran Quoc Pagoda. While we were able to take some pictures from the outside, the interior was closed for entry at the time we visited.

Leaving the pagoda, we walked to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long, taking in the sights along the way. The weather was perfect for our first day.

Once we reached the citadel, we purchased our tickets at a kiosk and then spent a couple of hours exploring the entire site. Our self-guided tour highlighted the D67 Bunker from which Vietnamese forces coordinated their armies and air defenses during the last stages of the Vietnam War. We also visited Hau Lau, the Princess’s Palace, as well as select exhibitions covering the complex’s grounds and unique features.

When we were leaving the complex, we noticed that organizers were setting up for the Hanoi Festival. It looked like it was shaping up to be a huge event.

As we continued around the city, we passed by Cột cờ Hà Nội before stumbling on a statue of Vladimir Lenin.

We walked past the famous train street on the way to Hanoi’s old quarter. This was the first tourist hotspot that we stumbled upon and it was quite busy. Feeling a bit peckish, we had our first banh mi of the trip at a small shop. We were surprised by just how cheap all the food was during our trip. If your income is denominated in USD, you can eat like royalty in Vietnam.

Our next stop was Hoan Kiem Lake. We opted to skip a visit to Ngoc Son Temple but snapped some shots from lakeside.

We made our way to Hoa Lo Prison, colloquially known as the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War. This prison was used throughout the French occupation of Indochina to punish political dissidents. During the middle of the twentieth century, it was converted to hold prisoners of war including, perhaps most famously, the late Senator and presidential candidate John McCain. Angela opted to rent an audio guide and highly recommends doing so.

This was the first of many sites we visited in Vietnam that touched on the tragic conflict that stretched from the 1950s to the 1970s. Every single one of them was heartbreaking in its own unique way.

Leaving the prison complex, we walked to Van Mieu Quoc Tu Giam, the temple of literature. The grounds are quite beautiful and include stele, stone tortoises, and an attractive pond.

We walked back to our hotel, passing the imposing Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Vietnam National Assembly Building. The city was preparing for a party conference while we were there, so there were a lot of decorations everywhere.

At the hotel, we ordered room service and passed out after a day full of adventure. Like most beds in Asia, the mattress was very firm.

November 15

We woke up early and worked out before freshening up and heading to the restaurant for breakfast. The buffet had a decent spread, considering the price, but there weren’t a lot of Vietnamese dishes. Options seemed to primarily concentrate around Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cuisine. The highlights of breakfast were definitely the coffee and fruit.

After breakfast, we walked to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. This should have been a twenty-minute journey, but, due to road closures in the vicinity of the monument, we had to go the long way around. Luckily, this forced us to walk right past the Bac Son Monument, which is quite beautiful.

We eventually made it to the mausoleum and took our place in a long line of people waiting to enter. Luckily, the queue moved quite quickly with things really speeding up once we made it through the security check. Immediately after the security check, everyone is required to deposit bags and water bottles at a small checkpoint before proceeding down a pathway upon which there is no stopping or pausing. Phones must remain in pockets and other electronic recording equipment has to be stowed. Finally, everyone has to take their sunglasses off.

Inside the mausoleum, you ascend a few sets of stairs, walk around the preserved corpse of Ho Chi Minh while soldiers tell you to hurry, and then exit the building. You are not allowed to stop moving at any point. It was an interesting experience and one I’m glad that we had, but it was also quite weird.

Outside the building, we turned a corner and were confronted by a walkway filled with junk for sale. It was jarring to go from the level of reverence displayed up to this point to a weird hyper-consumerist market. Besides that, though, there are plenty of beautiful buildings and art pieces including the Ho Chi Minh Museum.

We walked through the worst botanical garden we’ve ever been to. There was very little in the way of flora and a few disgusting cages filled animals. The statuary was nice, though.

A little treat was in order, so we stopped at Thaiyen Cafe. Angela ordered an egg coffee while I opted for iced Vietnamese style coffee with condensed milk. If you haven’t tried Vietnamese egg coffee, you owe it to yourself to do so.

We stopped at the hotel to change into shorts before ordering a Grab and visiting the Vietnam Military History Museum. The site explores the entire history of Vietnam through a military lens with a special emphasis on conflicts with French colonialists and the United States of America.

We started by exploring the Vietnamese military equipment, continued around the back of the building to see a memorial to Vietnamese soldiers, and then finished our loop by examining captured American and French hardware.

Afterwards, we spent some time examining the sculptures that occupy the left entryway as you face the museum. I was impressed by the depth of feeling produced by many of the pieces.

Finally, we explored the entire museum, starting with early Vietnamese history and finishing with the close of the Vietnam War and the unification of the country. It was a slightly surreal experience to visit the museum as an American. Almost half of the building is dedicated to the defeat of the forces of the United States and how terrible the Vietnam War was. At the same time, we had schoolchildren coming up to us and asking where we are from and then high fiving us after we told them America.

There was a pronounced bias in the way that information was presented, too, and not just for the conflicts from the twentieth century. I’m glad we visited the museum, but it felt a little bit off. There was clearly an effort put into presenting Vietnamese history with a specific viewpoint of how things should be correctly perceived. This is certainly not a Vietnam-only problem, but was more noticeable than at other similar museums we’ve visited.

Before we left, Angela made sure to capture me next to a cannon, continuing our ongoing series of similar photos.

We departed the museum shortly before closing and took a Grab to Bún Chả Hương Liên where former President Obama and the late Anthony Bourdain famously dined. We ordered the combo platter and enjoyed our meal. The pork patty was very tasty. The fried seafood roll was similarly very good. During this meal, I discovered that I’m not a fan of the sweetness of bun cha broth.

On the way back to our hotel, we first passed by St. Joseph Catholic Church, a surprising sight in a country like Vietnam. It seemed to be a popular spot, with many locals taking pictures with the church in the background.

We stopped for a sandwich at Banh My Mama. It was cheap, fresh, and delicious.

Our next stop was the Cau Long Bien bridge, but it was dark and we couldn’t find a safe way onto it. We passed by without taking any pictures and decided to stop at Guvie Artisan Ice Cream for a sweet treat. I ordered mint chocolate and Angela opted for passion fruit. While I enjoyed my ice cream, Angela did not like hers very much.

We finally made it back to the hotel and stopped at the patisserie in the lobby for a piece of chocolate cake. Unlike the ice cream, this was absolutely delicious. After eating our tasty cake, we headed to our room and fell into a deep sleep after a very long day.

November 16

After an early morning workout, we decided to pass on a full breakfast, instead enjoying a cup of Vietnamese coffee from the shop in the lobby. While this wasn’t our first brush with coffee culture in Vietnam, it really solidified in my mind just how uniformly delicious the coffee in the country is.

We finished our coffees and walked to the Hanoi Explore Travel office in the Hanoi Old Quarter to start the food tour we booked. On the way there, I stopped to admire a couple of monuments that we found about a block from our hotel.

We spent almost the entire day with our guide, Ha, enjoying delicious food and learning about Vietnam. Our first stop was Cửa hàng bánh gối Lý Quốc Sư where we sampled banh goi (pillow cake), bahn ran thit (salty donut), banh tom (crispy shrimp pastry), pho cuon (pho roll), and banh ran ngot (sweet donut).

Next, we were off to Bánh Cuốn Nóng & Phở Bò Bảo Khánh. Here we tried pho bo, which had an excellent flavor, and banh cuon nong, which was quite tasty.

We stopped for pho ga mien tron at Phở Hồng – 15 Hàng Hòm. I thought this was quite good, but not as excellent as the pho bo at the previous stop.

We tried bánh xèo at Mr Bảy Miền Tây. Our understanding is that this is more of a southern specialty, but we wanted to try it with our guide. It was decent, but probably our least favorite dish on the tour.

Our next dish was nem nướng nha trang at Nem Nướng Nha Trang Quế Hoa. In case you didn’t notice, the restaurants have a habit of spelling out exactly what their specialty is in their name. I loved building and eating these rice paper rolls while sitting at a one-foot-tall table as people tried to covertly laugh at how awkward I looked.

Finally, we went to one of the cafes run by the progeny of the inventor of egg coffee, Cafe Dinh. I tried the egg chocolate here instead of the egg coffee and wished I had ordered differently. The egg coffee was quite good and, our tour guide said, true to the original. We both preferred egg coffee at Thaiyen Cafe, though.

We were both full at the end of our tour and would definitely recommend booking something with Hanoi Explore Travel. Our guide was awesome and it felt like we got to eat at local spots without the intimidation factor that can come with not knowing any of the language in a place.

At this point, we were feeling a bit worn down given the number of miles we’d put on the previous three days. We headed back to the hotel and got some much needed sleep.

November 17

We enjoyed coffee in the lobby before checking out and meeting our transport to Ha Long Bay. The driver picked up two other couples on the way out of Hanoi and we enjoyed a comfortable three-and-a-half hour drive to our destination. The van was well-padded with good climate control. Unfortunately, about ten minutes before the harbor, we were all ushered out of the van and into a tourist trap coffee-and-retail space. This always leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.

After a forty-five minute stop, we drove another ten minutes to the Indochina Junk offices where we were asked to sit down and wait for other passengers to arrive. Our van was the first to arrive so we waited over an hour at the office before introductions started.

Afterwards, all the passengers piled into open-air shuttles and were driven to the port. Once we arrived at the port, the entire group slowly walked to one of the last berths where we hopped on a tender for final transport to our ship. Angela was extremely impressed by the group of people we were traveling with, as you can see in this photo.

Arriving at the ship, we enjoyed a welcome drink in the restaurant before checking out our cabin. The cabin was nicely appointed with relatively comfortable furnishings and, somewhat oddly, a large bathtub.

We returned to the restaurant for lunch and a briefing on what to expect during our time on the water. Most of our meals on board consisted of a set menu with a few different Vietnamese dishes that were uniformly tasty and well-prepared. We found out, thankfully, that we could request a second serving if we exhausted the first. Portions were, by default, fairly small.

After lunch, we rested for twenty minutes, taking in the beautiful surroundings, before heading out on an excursion. After a short ferry ride to a beach, we took a short walk to a cave entrance for a brief tour of one of the unique geological features of the area.

Angela and I were prepared for a hike up to the top of the island we stopped at and were a little surprised by just how short the visit was. After looking around at the other passengers barely able to catch their breath, though, it dawned on us that our expectations were probably incorrect. We returned to the tender and were transported to a floating kayak dock where we embarked on a quick trip around one of the many small islands. Kayaking was fun, but the whole experience felt just a little unorganized and disjointed (and the weather definitely left a bit to be desired).

After being ferried from the kayak dock to our boat, we enjoyed a spring roll making class before relaxing in our room for a bit, enjoying the views from our cabin window.

We enjoyed our dinner. The food was tasty and we were offered plenty of it. We ordered a couple of mocktails that didn’t match their menu description at all but were still relatively tasty. Unfortunately, the company at meals left a bit to be desired. While we were seated at a private table, there was a large party on the boat who were so loud during meals that the crew had to repeatedly ask them to quiet down.

Full and happy, we headed outside to briefly enjoy some stargazing before returning to our cabin for the night.

November 18

We slept well and, before breakfast, Angela did yoga on the sun deck while I occupied myself with some body weight exercises. Afterwards, we joined the Tai Chi instructor for a class as the boat got under way. It was an extremely pleasant start to the day.

At breakfast, we enjoyed pho and eggs made-to-order. The pho was surprisingly delicious. The coffee was just as surprisingly bad. After our meal, we briefly braved the cold and wet conditions before heading to the boat’s lounge area to relax and read.

There was a treadmill on board located directly underneath the diesel exhaust. Angela was brave enough to go for a run and, while I made an attempt, the equipment was not nearly powerful enough to run under my weight.

The itinerary for the day called for a beach barbecue. We were pretty sure the activity would be modified, but the crew decided to go ahead with the original plan. We were ferried to a small beach with tables and cooking stations set up and then proceeded to eat our meal in a rainstorm. The food was relatively tasty, but the experience wasn’t very enjoyable. While no one can control the weather, we feel like the crew could have done a better job adjusting to conditions. I’m sure they have very limited agency to make changes, though.

It was made even worse by the fact that we didn’t really enjoy the other people on this excursion. This has never been a problem for us before, but everyone seemed a little standoffish and I ended up getting into a very brief debate with a Facebook employee about whether the company is a net positive for the world or not. It was a very disappointing and odd conversation.

We returned to the boat where Angela and I played Uno and ordered a couple of Vietnamese coffees to warm up. They were so bad that we didn’t even bother finishing them. Afterwards, we headed to our cabin to try to dry off and warm up before dinner.

The second night of our cruise included an “Elegant Dinner” so we dressed up for the occasion, but I think we were the only ones who got the memo. The meal was tasty and the chef carved some sculptures out of food that were displayed for us at the end of the night.

Back in the cabin, we had hot water for the first time since we’d been on board and each enjoyed a warm shower to end the day.

November 19

After packing up, we headed to breakfast. Breakfast was quite good with eggs made-to-order, banana bread, and a seafood roll. The weather remained gray and rainy, so we skipped morning kayaking in favor of staying dry and warm. We checked out of our cabin at 0900, leaving our luggage outside the door to be picked up. We then proceeded to the bar to pay our tab and ate a buffet brunch before disembarking. Like all of the other meals, the dishes on offer were tasty and plentiful.

We enjoyed the cruise but would not necessarily recommend the one we chose to others. Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay are beautiful, but we feel like our experience would have been better if the sun ever decided to pay us a visit.

We were ferried back to the port, picked up our luggage, and hopped in a van with several other passengers. The driver asked if we all wanted to skip the water puppet show that was included as part of our cruise booking. While the other passengers wanted to head directly to Hanoi, we specifically wanted to see the water puppets and made sure that we didn’t skip it.

Our van arrived at a cultural center about an hour later and we enjoyed a five-act show. It was quite interesting and I’m really glad we were able to experience such a uniquely Vietnamese art form. Before leaving, we purchased snacks from the proprietors of the venue.

The driver dropped us off at our Hanoi hotel and we popped inside to enjoy some coffee and a sweet treat before heading to the airport. Once there, we checked in, retrieved our boarding passes, cleared security, and headed to the Vietnam Airlines lounge. The lounge had good seating, interesting drinks, and unremarkable, but plentiful, food options. We enjoyed our time there before our flight.

The short journey to Hue was uneventful. We were served a hot meal on board in spite of the short flight time. At the airport, we made it from the arrival gate to the taxi area in less than two minutes. Angela called us a Grab and we relaxed on the thirty minute drive to our hotel. Compared to Hanoi, Hue is practically bucolic.

Once at the hotel, check-in was friendly and informative. Our room was spacious and comfortable and we got a great night’s sleep in the amazing bed.

November 20

We woke up early and worked out at the decently equipped gym. There were plentiful cardio machines and enough strength training equipment to get a good workout in.

Breakfast at the hotel was excellent. The spread was varied and delicious with a great combination of local foods and dishes from other regions. The local specialty soup was a particular highlight, in my mind, and the coffee options were excellent. I’d return to the hotel for the breakfast spread alone.

It was raining quite heavily, but with only two nights in the city, we wanted to see what we could. We set out for the Imperial Citadel. By the time we reached the Perfume River we were both so wet and uncomfortable and visibility was so low that we decided to skip the outdoor attractions and head inside.

We visited Đa:mê Cafe where we enjoyed Hue’s specialty drink, salted cream coffee. The drinks were absolutely delicious. It was honestly surprising how tasty they were and even more surprising how cheap the experience was.

We walked back to the hotel and went to the lounge to relax for a bit, wiling away the afternoon reading. In the early evening, we went to COZY Restaurant for dinner. We tried nem lui and banh khoai, each of which was quite good. The service at the restaurant was excellent, with the waitress offering guidance on how to eat each dish.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at the local grocery store for some snacks to eat during our train ride the following day. For dessert, we popped into the hotel lounge to grab some cookies. While there, we met a father and daughter traveling together and chatted with them about their journey and what they thought about Vietnam so far. We discovered that the young woman is an artist who had recently exhibited in Tokyo.

November 21

After another delicious breakfast, we returned to the room to pack up before heading to the gym. Afterwards, we visited Thuong Coffee for another salted cream coffee. It was good, but not as tasty as the one at Da:me Cafe.

We returned to the hotel, visited the lounge a final time for some drinks, and then checked out. Angela called us a Grab to the train station where we waited about an hour for our train journey down to Da Nang. We decided to take the train for this leg of our trip because it is supposed to be one of the eight most beautiful train trips in the world.

The landscapes certainly didn’t disappoint even if the weather didn’t cooperate as much as we would have liked. That being said, even in the gray drabness, you could see how beautiful the coastal region is.

Once in Da Nang, we called a Grab for the thirty-minute ride to our hotel. At check-in, we were immediately whisked to the Club Lounge to grab a bite to eat before finalizing the paperwork and being shown to our room. The suite we had for our three nights in Da Nang was enormous, well-furnished, and very comfortable.

November 22

We started the day with a walk along the beach. We passed by several large hotel complexes, including one that was built and apparently never opened. The sky was still gray, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying some peaceful moments by the sea.

The buffet spread at breakfast was extremely varied, with almost every single major Asian cuisine represented in one way or another. The coffee on offer was strong and delicious and the food was uniformly tasty.

After breakfast, we decided that we were just going to take it easy and enjoy the resort. We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon exploring the amenities on property. First, Angela showed off on a small climbing wall.

Then, we went to the game room and played Time Crisis 4 all the way to completion, something that I’m not sure I’ve ever done before.

We enjoyed some time in the gym in the late afternoon. The quantity and variety of both cardio and strength training equipment was good. When we returned to the room, we decided to dive in to the fruit plate we received as a welcome amenity. Unfortunately, I bit into shards of glass when I started to eat a piece of watermelon. I immediately called guest services and they sent someone over right away to apologize and take it away. Luckily, the glass did not injure me in any way.

We opted to stay low-key and went for an early dinner at the lounge. The lounge spread is good and we ate our fill and chatted for a bit before heading back to the room. Unfortunately, I’m fairly certain that I consumed something that was inappropriately handled or cleaned because, about an hour after returning to the room, I started to experience symptoms of food poisoning that disrupted the next thirty-six hours of our trip. I was very happy that we had a suite so that Angela could get some sleep while I attempted to rest in the living room.

November 23

In the morning, I went to breakfast with Angela and ate a few very bland foods but still felt awful afterwards. I spent the rest of the day in bed while Angela made the best of a bad situation. She worked out at the gym, got a massage, and headed to the lounge for a coffee, all so I could get some peace. I was happy that she was able to get out and enjoy the day while I tried to recoup my strength.

In the evening, I visited the lounge with Angela to drink some ginger tea. The concierge heard I wasn’t feeling well and offered to get me any medicine I needed, but I informed him that was unnecessary. The situation was awful, but I got through it with the help of Angela and a lot of rest.

November 24

I was finally feeling like my normal self, so we went to breakfast together. I stuck with fairly basic foods before returning to the room. Angela headed to the gym while I packed up and relaxed. Shortly after she returned and freshened up, we headed to the lounge to checkout and meet our driver for the trip to the airport. The hotel offered us complementary transport to make up for the glass on our fruit plate.

At the airport, check-in was efficient and we cleared security in less than three minutes. We visited the lounge before our flight and it was a bit disappointing compared to the lounge in Hanoi. We left the lounge early to stretch our legs before our flight. At boarding time, we discovered our flight was delayed, so we ventured over to Highlands Coffee and tried their Vietnamese coffee. It did not disappoint.

We declined to eat on the flight. The journey was pleasant and service was great. We were offered several bottles of water during our short trip.

At the airport, Angela called a Grab and we headed to our hotel. Check-in at the property was friendly and efficient. Our suite in Ho Chi Minh City was fantastic; spacious and comfortable with a real sense of design, neatly embodying the French colonial style.

The hotel was decorated for the holidays and was very pretty.

We unpacked a few items before putting on some comfortable clothes and heading out into the city.

First, we made our way to the Saigon Central Post Office, a combination of tourist attraction and working government building. The facade is beautiful, the interior is cavernous, and we enjoyed the statuary on the outside.

Our next stop was Independence Palace. With the sky darkening and plans to visit on the following day, we paused only briefly for a quick picture.

We walked to Tao Dan Park where Angela showed off by hitting out a quick set of pull-ups.

Finally, we headed towards the Saigon River, walking along it to the city center. We had to cross a main street in Ho Chi Minh City for the first time. While it was a little nerve wracking, you just need to have a little confidence and go with the flow.

Upon returning to the hotel, we decided to eat at Opera, the Italian restaurant on-property. We ordered grilled octopus and Parma ham to start. I chose spaghetti carbonara as my entree while Angela opted for the San Daniele pizza. We shared the tiramisu for dessert. The food was amazing but we found the service to be a bit lacking. I believe they had a big party either in the restaurant or dining privately and we subsequently spent a lot of the meal being completely ignored. Even with the slightly underwhelming service, we had an excellent meal and a great experience.

November 25

We both went for a run in the morning, with Angela opting to stay inside on the treadmill while I headed out to run along the Saigon River. By the time I was done, I was absolutely drenched in sweat. While I was on my run, an elderly Vietnamese man asked me to help him lift his motorcycle onto the sidewalk, so I did so. He was very thankful. It was only later that I realized that I burnt my leg on the tailpipe, resulting in a huge scar.

After a quick shower, we headed to breakfast. The spread at the Park Hyatt Saigon was, without a doubt, the best breakfast experience we had on this trip. The food was extremely high-quality and varied with an emphasis on Vietnamese dishes. The pho bo, in particular, was incredible. The coffee was very good, especially after we learned to order it strong.

We walked to the other side of the shopping center near our hotel and took a picture of the building from the famous photograph depicting one of the last helicopters to leave Saigon. The building still stands, but the perspective from which the photograph was taken is a little harder to find.

Afterwards, we headed to Independence Palace. As a note, almost all of the tourists sites specifically say that you should cover your shoulders and wear long pants or skirts. It seems very few people got the memo and, while we followed the rules, that meant we suffered somewhat unnecessarily in the heat.

We started by walking around the building, seeing a tank identical to the one that liberated the palace in the 1970s and an F5E jet identical to the one that bombed the palace as part of a daring mission by a communist infiltrator.

Afterwards, we visited the exhibit housed in the Norodom Palace, a holdover from the French colonial era. In my opinion, this was the most historically grounded and even-handed treatment of recent Vietnamese history that we witnessed during our trip. It appropriately covered the complexity of the situation on the ground from the late nineteenth century through the late twentieth century.

Then, we visited the Independence Palace. The architecture is stunning with beautiful construction techniques and decorations throughout. Visiting the building made me feel like I was walking through history.

While there, some Vietnamese college students asked if they could interview me. They asked me about my time in Vietnam, what my favorite local dish was, and what I thought of the Vietnamese people. I believe that I handled the interview well enough to not cause an international incident.

After leaving the palace, we stopped at Pearl Garden by Umber where Angela had salted cream coffee and I enjoyed an iced egg coffee. Both drinks were quite good, but the salted cream coffee was definitely better. More than anything, it was nice to take a break in an air conditioned space.

Our next visit was to the War Remnants Museum (otherwise known as the Museum of American War Atrocities). We spent the next several hours being emotionally disturbed by the horrors that human beings can inflict upon one another. However, there were at least some redeeming stories, including the heroism of an American helicopter crew who stopped the Mai Lai Massacre from being even worse than it already was.

The museum was exceptionally one-sided and didn’t offer any commentary on the terrible acts committed by Vietnamese forces. I’m not trying to both-sides atrocities, of course, but I think the impact could have been even deeper if the true horror of humanity’s capability to dehumanize out-groups was portrayed.

The crowd at the museum was interesting to me. Outside, you had people taking smiling selfies with military hardware right next to a sign describing how it was used to disperse Agent Orange on and around villages. Inside, you had a lot of people looking at their phone and just breezing right by descriptions of some of the most horrendous acts that have been committed in recent memory. It was just so incongruous.

We returned to the hotel to grab a shopping bag before stopping at a local grocery store to buy ground Vietnamese coffee and a phin to brew it with. We also grabbed some energy drinks and assorted snacks. Afterwards, we headed to Mad Roosta for dinner. While we enjoyed all the Vietnamese food we ate on our trip, we had a hankering for something a little closer to home. The burgers at Mad Roosta didn’t disappoint.

November 26

After another delicious breakfast, we made our way to The Venerable Thich Quang Duc Monument. The monument is beautiful and a worthy commemoration of one of the most consequential events in the history of the Vietnam War and, possibly, the entire latter half of the twentieth century.

Upon returning to the hotel, I went to the gym before getting a delightful massage at the spa. I was able to take advantage of a promotion whereby I paid for a sixty minute treatment and received a ninety minute one. I opted for the Xuan Signature Muscle Release, which I sorely needed after my discomfort in the middle of our trip. After the massage, I was invited to sit and enjoy a pot of ginger tea.

When I returned to the room, Angela headed down to the gym to lift weights. Afterwards, we went for a joint run alongside the Saigon River. In fact, we unexpectedly ended up running a 5k during our evening jaunt. Please see the following photos to witness our increasing level of perspiration.

To cool down, we finished our day with a few fruit-flavored iced teas from the Starbucks along the river and enjoyed the breeze. A small rat, acting as a patio bouncer, kept popping up to say hello.

November 27

We ate a leisurely breakfast on our last day before packing up and preparing to switch rooms. Without any meaningful communication, I eventually called guest services and asked someone to come give me a new key so we could move ourselves. The base room at the hotel, while not as spacious as our suite, was still quite nice.

Angela headed to the gym while I went outside to run a few miles before our journey home. Unfortunately, my knee started acting up and I had to throttle back, but I still enjoyed a sunny walk.

Upon my return to the hotel, I went to the pool to read while Angela rested in the room. The pool deck was quite nice until children started doing cannonballs right next to me and soaked the book I was reading. I was a little frustrated and opted to return to the room, shower, and pack up the rest of our things.

We checked out at 1500 and Angela secured us a Grab to the airport. Check-in took very little time, but exit immigration was quite slow. Once we were in the terminal, we visited each of the Vietnam Airlines lounges, starting with the one on the bottom floor. Neither was very good, but the top floor option was better. We were pretty surprised by how much worse the international lounges were compared to the domestic lounges in Hanoi.

We boarded our flight at 1800 and departed at 1840. The flight was quite pleasant with comfortable seating, plentiful storage, and proactive flight attendants. The menus were a little odd in terms of the selection offered, but the food was quite tasty and I ate everything they offered me alongside several Vietnamese coffees.

Our flight landed on time and we sped through immigration due to Global Entry. We made our way to the hotel shuttle stop and on to the Hyatt Regency SFO. The rooms at the property are nice enough for a simple overnight, but the Grand Hyatt at SFO is certainly better.

Once we were in the room, an alert notified me that our car’s battery had dropped to zero percent charged. I hoped this meant we would be able to drive it a mile to a charging station by the airport, but there were no guarantees. Because of this, we decided to change our flight the next day to an early morning departure so we would have as much time to figure things out as possible.

November 28

We spent the morning worried about our car before getting on our short flight to Las Vegas. When we arrived, the available range said zero miles, but we were able to drive to the nearest Supercharger and recharge the battery without any issues. It was certainly a stressful experience, though.

Afterwards, we picked up Fitz and headed home, ending one of the longest trips we’ve taken in a while.

Our journey to Vietnam had some pronounced ups and downs. The weather didn’t cooperate and my food poisoning didn’t help things. That being said, we enjoyed our time in the country, found the people to be friendly and pleasant, and loved almost all of the food we ate. It is likely that we will return to Vietnam in the future in an attempt to visit some of the places we didn’t get to see this time.

The Ohrns