Two weeks in Vietnam with my partner and my sister and her partner flew by, but at the same time, it feels like i have been gone for a month. That’s one of my favorite things about traveling (besides food, obvs), how time seems to slow down and you go about your day at a completely different pace than you would at home. Since Vietnam is such a huge country we kinda had to pick a couple of places of most interest to us and stick to those places to have time to see the things we wanted to see. We spent our first week on the little paradise island Phu Quoc in the south, flew to Hoi An in Central Vietnam for the second week, and spent our last 3 days in the capital Hanoi in Northern Vietnam.

Vietnam has always been pretty high on my bucket list. It’s a gorgeous country with green hills and rice fields, white sand beaches, massive river systems, centuries-old temples and architecture, and one of the most famous archipelagos in the world. Oh, and don’t even get me started on the food! I feel like i’ve done nothing but eating delicious, authentic Vietnamese food on this trip. Bahn Mi sandwiches for breakfast, fresh fruit all day every day, egg coffees and ice coffees, Pho noodle soup from Hanoi’s street kitchens, spring rolls, rose dumplings, eggplant stew, sautéed morning glory… The list goes one (*drooling as i’m writing this).

Phu Quoc Island

The largest island in Vietnam, located at the very southern tip right by the border to Cambodia. It is a famous holiday destination for locals and known for its white beaches, turquoise water, and grand resorts. Unfortunately, because of the tourism, Phu Quoc has become very polluted and overdeveloped, but you can still find a few more secluded spots on the island away from the busy parts. That’s what we did, after our first 3 nights at a 4-star resort to catch our breath and recover from jet lag, we retreated to a local fishing village and lived at a local guest house right by the river mouth, leading out to the ocean. On the island, we didn’t do much more than eating good local food, relax, and scoot around to different beaches. We did a one-day excursion to the An Thoi islands south of Phu Quoc for some snorkeling and island hopping, visited the local night market (oh how i love the chaotic, overly stimulating night markets in Asia!), and discovered a little buffet joint owned by a local family. $2,50 each for all you could eat gourmet Vietnamese food, BUT if you left food on your plate you had to pay more. What a smart system to avoid food waste!

The one morning at the first resort Lukas and I got to act as models, as they were doing a photoshoot of the hotel’s breakfast buffet hahah. So much fun. The photographer, a young girl from Canada, approached us as we were eating breaky and asked if we wanted to pose as hotel guest models for the hotels new website, which included us sitting by a beautifully served table with all the delicious foods imaginable, pretending to enjoy a nice breakfast and smiling at each other.

Hoi An - Central Vietnam

Once we reached our second destination we adventured around a little bit more. Hoi An is the oldest city in Vietnam, dating back to the 7th century, and means “peaceful meeting place”. Hoi An has been one of the most important trading ports in all of South East Asia since the 15th century and UNESCO declared Hoi An a World Heritage Site in 1999 due to its shining and well-preserved example of the blend of local and foreign influences, and for its unique heritage, history, architecture, and culture. And, honestly, this is probably one of the most beautiful cities i have seen in Asia so far. We all loved every moment here.

Hoi An is today known for its tailors and tailor-made clothing. During our stay here we ordered a few pieces of clothing from a tailor shop, where we got to choose ANY piece of clothing we wanted. Their motto was that they can make anything. If we didn’t find anything in their brochures we were asked to look up our desired clothes on Pinterest. Then we were measured and got to choose our fabric. And oh man, i have never seen such a plethora of different fabrics in my entire life! My only regret from this trip is that i wish i would have arrived more prepared to the tailor and renewed my whole wardrobe when i had the chance. Well, next time! I ended up picking a pair of high waist, loose fitted linen pants, and a linen crop top, and Lukas had a really nice, more formal jacket made for him. The work was exquisite!

My Son Temples

Marble Mountain

Ba Na Hills

Hanoi City

Our last 3 days we spent in the capital, Hanoi. At this point, we were already a little burned out from all the intense adventuring in Hoi An and Phu Quoc so we mostly just chilled at some cafes and pubs, checked out the famous train street, ate lots of street food, had breakfast at Note Café, and strolled around in the big city. We were considering booking a one day trip to the famous Halong Bay (the famous archipelago i was talking about earlier) but decided to leave that for next time. Like i said, Vietnam is a huge country and there were so many places we didn’t get a chance to see. But knowing this, we will definitely be coming back to this beautiful country, hopefully with a little more time next time around.

Vietnam Highlights