Week 6 – Sunday 18th January – Saturday 24th January 2026
So that’s Malaysia done… We absolutely loved it, spending our Christmas and New Year in Kuala Lumpur. The people were lovely, they work really hard. They make a fantastic effort at everything they do. The only thing we noticed was that the food is not the healthiest in Asia. Largely made up of fried chicken and rice. Sure, there are other great dishes, but it is all fried. What we did discover is that life expectancy is 10 years less than the uk average due to heart related diseases. We are off now and on our way to Vietnam. Another fabulous, and totally different place. Here we go…
Sunday 18th January
We are up early today to finish our packing and leave for the airport for a midday flight. We are sad to leave our lovely apartment that has been home for nearly a month; we will really miss our fabulous view of the city of Kuala Lumpur.
The flight passes quite quickly, and we are soon landing in Danang, about 1000 miles north of KL. The queue for immigration is huge, or rather, there are 6 huge queues of hundreds of people. We get through after about 25 minutes and onto the baggage claim, but the belt is full, as everyone is still in the immigration queue and not picking up their bags.
We got through early because an immigration officer told us to go through the queue for Vietnamese citizens.
Eventually, we get out, and the driver, who our hotel in Hoi An has laid on, is waiting. It’s about an hour’s drive to the hotel. It has only been 9 months since we were last here, and nothing much has changed. Soon, we are checking in. This is our 4th time in this hotel, and it does seem like home.
We unpack and discuss “logistics” for the upcoming days. Del will be leaving in 4 days to go to Portugal to work, while H is staying here in Hoi An.
Once unpacked, we set off for a drink on the beach. It’s such a contrast from Kuala Lumpur. Gone is the constant hum of traffic and mass air conditioning, to be replaced by the sound of crashing waves of the East Vietnam/ South China Sea, lovely.
We set off for a wander around our local beach village. Not much has changed here either. We have dinner in one of our favourite places, it’s a small restaurant run by a family. Their children are the waiters and are very good at it, too. They do the best cocktail in the world here, it’s called Pho’s Cocktail and is the “taste of Vietnam in a glass“, it has cinnamon, cardamom and star anise in it. We have a delicious dinner of lemongrass chicken and banh mi.
We end the night early as we are up early to catch the bus to Hue tomorrow at 8:45. It’s great to be back in Vietnam
Monday 19th January
We have an early breakfast by the pool at the hotel; it’s all very calm and peaceful here.
We are booked on a luxury bus to Hue at 8:45, so we pack a small rucksack each for the overnight stay. We get a cab to the rather ‘rustic’ looking travel agent. Del is being his usual doubting self about H’s travel arrangements and is saying, “It won’t be a luxury bus, not here. This is Vietnam!” He’s imagining the type of bus you sometimes see on ‘race across the world’, with wooden seats and chickens running up and down the aisle. H just ignores his moaning.
The bus arrives, and it is indeed luxurious. Private leather lie flat bed/seats each with blankets, AC, TV, wireless charging and mood lighting. We get a bunk in the top and opposite each other. Del is beaming ear to ear. Not bad for £8 for the 3-hour journey to Hue. Del has been on touring buses in the UK and Europe, and this bus just beats them hands down.
After a few stops to pick up more people and to get fuel, we arrive in Hue three and a half hours later.
It’s feels quite quick, though, and we’ve enjoyed the journey, which takes us past some interesting scenery.
We make a beeline first for the imperial city, and after some complications of us not having enough cash and them not taking a card, we finally get a ticket online. A lot of places here only take cash, yet bizarrely the entrepreneurial beach ladies who sell jewellery, bookmarks and such like have a mobile card reader to take card payments.
The imperial city is very large. Hue’s Imperial City, built by the Nguyen Dynasty starting in 1804, was Vietnam’s imperial capital for over a century (1802-1945), serving as the political, cultural, and religious heart, inspired by Beijing’s Forbidden City but with unique Vietnamese elements. It’s absolutely vast. We spend a couple of hours walking around the old, but ornate buildings and the palace itself.
We are not sure what’s going on, but groups of girls are dressed in national dress and are having their photos taken. It’s a big deal as they come with wardrobe and makeup, and spend a long time getting ready for the photos.
We are staying at a hotel in town called Hotel Elegant. It’s lovely, very bright, clean and tidy and with a decent room. We booked last minute, and it was incredibly cheap at only £15 for the night…with breakfast!
Hue is a very vibrant and very modern city, but it hasn’t lost its traditional charm and culture, which includes a busy local market. After a while, we decide to have a beer at a bar that is situated on a major junction. The bar is a normal setting here in Vietnam, of a lady selling drinks out of a cooler with a few miniature plastic chairs and tables (Vietnam loves the small plastic chair for restaurants and bars when outside. Space must be a premium).
We walk back toward the hotel and find that there’s a specialist beer place right next to our hotel. We try some tasty local craft beers; they even sell St. Bernardus here, which is from a tiny town in Belgium that we have visited in Jess many times and which is one of our favourite beers in the world.
Dinner tonight is in a local backstreet restaurant called Nina’s. We have a traditional Hue pancake to share. H has a Bun Bo Hue, a local noodle broth very famous in Vietnam. Del has clay pot chicken, which is delicious, and we finish it off by sharing a coconut tart. With water, the bill is a princely total of £8! Unbelievable.
The streets of Hue have come alive now that it’s dark. There are vibrant bars and lots of restaurants full of people, mainly youth in gangs, just eating, drinking and talking. It’s quite different here from how we imagined, but we do like it.
Tuesday 20th January
We have a very simple breakfast at the hotel and set out to try some local coffee in a nearby coffeehouse.
The coffee culture here in Vietnam is huge, and they do it very well. Salted coffee originated from here in Hue, so we both order an iced one. It is fabulous, strong black coffee with condensed milk at the bottom and a salted foam at the top.
H is not a fan of milk in coffee, but is blown away by this; it could become her favourite coffee in the world. We hop in a cab to go to the Thien Mu Pagoda, which is 7 story Buddhist temple built in 1601. The grounds are very tranquil and calming, and the buildings are impressive.
They also have a famous car here that appears in a very famous and troubling photograph. It is the car that drove Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức to his suicide by fire (self-immolation) in Saigon in 1963.
You can read all about him and the events that led up to that terrible day here.
The car can be seen in the background of the famous photograph. It’s rather sobering to see the car and imagine the horror of that day.
The monk was protesting about South Vietnam’s, Catholic-led, government’s persecution of Buddhists, and this was the start of a few similar protests.
After spending about an hour here, we catch a boat back along the perfume river (named after all the blossom leaves that fall in it) to the centre.
We are the only ones on board, and they put 2 chairs out for us in what we think is normally their living room. It’s also a mobile shop, and of course, being Vietnamese, they don’t miss a chance to sell us some souvenirs, so we buy a couple of pretty pop-up cards.
Once at the station, we have a quick lunch opposite and board the train, which will take us to Da Nang (an hour’s drive from our Hoi An hotel).
The train will journey over the Hai Van Pass, which is famous for its mountain and sea views. Boarding the train involves walking along the tracks. Once inside, we find it spacious and comfy. Two women opposite us have bought a shrink-wrapped marinated whole fish and proceed to open it and eat it on the train; it’s rather pungent.
We make slow progress at about 35mph top speed and stop often to let trains pass, as most of the line is single track. There’s a carriage that sells food and drink and also has a local singer and musician entertaining people. Once on the Hai Van Pass, we slow down to about 12mph to climb up to over 100m above the South China Sea. The scenery is spectacular.
We arrive back at Da Nang after about three and a half hours and hop in a cab back to our hotel. We have dinner next door at our favourite place, H has barbecued squid in lemongrass and chilli, and Del has a traditional bahn mi.
Wednesday 21st January
Today is Del’s last full day here before he flies off to Portugal. H will stay in Hoi An for another 6 days, then move on to Da Nang for 3 days, followed by a quick flight to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), where she will meet up with Del again a day later.
After a delicious breakfast, we go to the town of Hoi An. We have been here a few times before and love it. It’s a UNESCO heritage site with a well-preserved ancient town and is famous for its coloured lanterns.
Last time we were here, last April, the town was heaving with tourists, but it’s a lot quieter now and much more pleasant to walk around. We have a coffee in one of the ancient houses.
This whole town was flooded in October 2025, with a loss of 90 lives across the central Vietnam region. The coffee house has markers on the wall of the different floods over the years. It’s unimaginable to have to deal with that amount of water.
Lunch is a vegetarian bahn mi at a little stall in the backstreets, which is very tasty.
We take the 5 min cab ride back to our hotel as we plan to spend some time on the beach together, but the clouds are rolling in, and soon we have heavy rain! This lasts all afternoon. Del has a business call at 5 pm so after that we go down to the beach to see if we can get a drink. It’s all a bit blustery and deserted, so we head back to our restaurant next door to have their amazing Pho cocktail and some dinner. We have local prawn and pork herb rolls, Del has a barbecued fresh fish, and H has Cau Lau, which is a Hoi An speciality – the chewy dark noodles are supposed to be made with water from a local well, and therefore it can only be authentic if it’s from this area.
For the last part of the night, we have a walk around and stumble on a bar where there are a few musicians jamming.
It’s a strange collection of people here, including a woman with a recorder who adds a few flat and unneeded notes every now and then. We have a glass of wine and enjoy the vibe for a while, and then head back. Del has packed his bag ready for his morning departure.
Thursday 22nd January
We breakfast together, and it’s all too soon that Del is off in a cab to Da Nang airport to catch the first of 4 flights to Portugal. He will fly to Saigon, Dubai, London and then to Lisbon for a regular job. He doesn’t want to go, and it’s a bit weird saying goodbye.
H is sad to see him go, but will be fine here as she knows the area well. It’s a bit cloudy today and breezy, so plans to go to the beach are off. H heads to the gym and then sets off for a back massage in a nearby spa. She follows this with a lovely lunch of grilled beef with lemongrass and a jasmine tea. Poor Del is now at Saigon airport waiting for his 7-hour flight to Dubai.
H gets a cab and sets off to the town of Hoi An tonight. The evening is when it comes into its own. It’s famous for lanterns, and many of the shops and restaurants, especially those in the historic buildings, light lanterns. You can also take a boat (also with lanterns) and put a little floating candle lantern on the river for good luck.
When we first came here in 2018, there were hardly any boats, but now it is bonkers. It makes for a very pretty sight, though. She finds a restaurant on the river where she has ‘white rose’ (steamed Hoi An shrimp in rice paper) and a baked aubergine clay pot. It’s all very nice.
She walks around the night markets and gets a small coconut ice cream roll (they spread ice cream paper-thin, then roll it with a scraper). As she’s walking back through the pretty streets, she comes across a bar with two live acoustic guitarists who are very good at bashing out a tune or two.
She sits and has a glass of wine, listening to this in the balmy evening air. What a lovely night, such a shame Del isn’t here.
Del’s day…
My cab to Da Nang airport gets me there with plenty of time to spare. Vietnam Airlines will take me for a 1-hour flight to Saigon, where I’ll pick up an Emirates flight to London via Dubai.
My domestic flight arrives at the domestic terminal in Saigon. Next, it’s a shortish bus ride to the International departures terminal via shuttle bus that takes you away from the airport before heading back and dropping you off at another terminal and leaving you there. Which was nice! Fortunately, it’s a short walk to the terminal and to check in.
I’ve got an Emirates partner lounge here in Saigon, so I get a small dish of chicken and rice with some fish. It’s ok, but the fish is a bit ‘iffy’. I leave the rest.
We are off to Dubai in an A350. It’s not bad. It’s their latest plane, and they are making a big noise about it. My plan is to stay awake for this leg and sleep for the Dubai / London leg. I have no choice. The part of the cabin I was in was chock full of noisy Russians, who, like some parents think it’s ok for their kids to run around and make as much noise as they like, because they are only children after all, and we all like them… Not!!
In Dubai, I get use the lounge again and have a shower there. I have a 4-hour layover here, so I make the most of it with something to eat and a glass of fizz. This next leg, I’d like to sleep. I arrive at Gatwick early in the morning, so it will be a good reset.
The Emirates 777 is much more comfortable and ‘solid’. It’s much quieter, and I get over 4 hours of sleep during the 7-hour flight. A couple of hours before landing, I wake up with horrendous stomach cramps, bad though, which soon turned into ‘regular‘ toilet visits! The crew are sympathetic, but I’m avoiding all liquids and solids. I think it was the rubbish fish back in Saigon… I will never know…
Friday 23rd January
It’s cloudy and breezy in Hoi An again, so H won’t be going to the beach. She reads on the balcony and then goes to lunch next door for a bahn mi and a beer. Del has just landed in Gatwick. It’s 13:40 here, and he left yesterday at 9:30 in a cab. We built in some extra time for connecting domestic flights, a shower and a refresh at Dubai. He still has a flight from London to Portugal to get.
Del’s day…
My stomach cramps are much less, but when they do come, it’s catastrophic. My next flight is a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Gatwick to Lisbon, Portugal. I’m keeping my fingers and legs crossed!
All good, all safe as I get a quick Uber to the hotel and get settled in. It has taken 36 hours door-to-door. Once settled in, I have a long bath and just relax for the rest of the day and night. The weather here is grim. Cold with heavy rain. In at 8am tomorrow…
Saturday 24th January
Finally, at last it’s sunny in Hoi An after a few days of cloud and rain, so after visiting the gym, H sets off for the beach and rents a sunbed for the day. It’s a beautiful day, and the temperature here is very comfortable both day and night after our very hot and muggy weeks in Kuala Lumpur.
It’s an odd thing to see, but there’s a group of cows and bulls here sunbathing on the sand and looking very chilled and relaxed.
Sadly, after only an hour, a big grey cloud comes over, and it starts to rain. She tries to sit it out under her parasol, but it just gets heavier; even the cows are calling it a day and packing it up. H gives in and returns to the room.
Tonight she is heading back into Hoi An town to see the ‘Hoi An Memories’ show. We both saw this show last year and were very impressed by it. It is a cultural theme park built on a large island in the river.
It’s highly decorated with lights and traditional features and has temples, bridges, and an old Vietnamese village. But first, dinner…
There are a few pre-show scenes with dancers and actors displaying cultural stories from different times, which lead you through the park to the large auditorium.
It’s purpose-built with lots of special effects hidden in the ground and the mock-up buildings of the old town.
The show is recognised by Reuters as the ‘most beautiful show in the world’, has won world travel awards and is on the scale of an Olympic opening ceremony. It has 500 performers depicting 400 years of the city’s history. Even though we have seen it once, it’s definitely worth coming back again.
Del’s day…
Having had 9 hours’ sleep, I have woken up feeling much better and ready to start the day. After a light breakfast, work starts at 8 am.
The day has gone well, and we are in a good position. I have also seen a couple of work friends that I’ve not seen in years, 10 plus years in fact, so I got off to a bit of a slow start, catching up on the gossip. Back at the hotel by 7 pm, in bed by 10. It’s freezing in Portugal; there was a flurry of snow early this morning. I did this same show at the same time last year, and the weather was completely different. It was warm and sunny every day. We wore T-shirts all day. That’s global warming for you.
To see many more pictures of our first week in Vietnam, have a look here
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