A sense of Vietnam

Today we explored the city, beginning unconventionally by joining a group of local people practicing Tai Chi and aerobics at Hoan Kiem Lake. We then headed to a traditional café with only one thing on our brains – the local iced coffee. After, it was time for our first Vietnamese dish of the trip, a banh mi at a street food stall.

Delving into Hanoi's famed Old Quarter is on the agenda today, where we’re told we’ll meet legendary pilot Nguyen Hong My – the first Vietnamese pilot to shoot down an American fighter jet in 1972. He’s retired now and lives in a small house on the Red River. I’m told we’ll get tea with a side of fascinating stories.

Leaving Hanoi, we decided to take the road route to Halong Bay. Now, aboard our traditional junk, Ginger, we’re cruising this World Heritage Site packed with natural wonders. We’re about to visit Lan Ha Bay and its main island of Cat Ba, before returning to the boat for a cooking class with the chef and sundowners on the deck before dinner.

After an early swim and Tai Chi on the deck, we flew to Hue yesterday where we are for one more night. Here, we’ve explored the emperors’ tombs, ancient pagodas and the remains of the Citadel. We were totally enchanted by the Garden Houses and couldn’t believe some of the artefacts from the days of the former Royal Empire.

We’ve been in Hoi An for the past few days slowing down the pace. Well, not really. We’ve already been for a walking tour through the ancient town and taken a boat to An Nhien farm, which is a sustainable gardening, low-impact communal living and youth education project. Despite this being a beachy destination, we just have to explore.

Today we had the honour of meeting up with a local family. Getting to do these things just makes a trip all the more special. We chatted a bit about their lives here and then had a masterclass in lantern making. Later we’re going for a chilled out cycle along the countryside trails just to wind down.

After arriving in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) we wasted no time hopping onto the back of a vintage Vespa with a guide zipping us around to the best street food eateries and coffee shops. Today, we took a trip to the city’s most historic landmarks and went underground to see the Cu Chi tunnels led by a Viet Cong veteran.

We’re not wasting any time on our last day, but we do want it to be a little more subdued. So we’ve opted to venture to meet some local families along the Mekong Delta to discover what it’s like living amongst the rice paddies and fruit farms.