Page 30 - Seniorstoday November 2023 Issue

Travel
An Enchanting Encounter
with Vietnam
Malti Gaekwad narrates her recent holiday to Vietnam, recounting every
unforgettable moment
Most of us when we hear about Vietnam
are reminded of the war and the horrific
stories we have heard of, but these days
it has become one of the hottest tourist
destinations. So I was there too with a
group of friends. It’s amazing to see how
they have overcome the destruction and
devastation, rebuilt and redeveloped with
the help of friendly countries (like India).
After the much damaging impact of SARS
and then COVID, tourism started picking
up last year and now it’s booming.
Here I do not intend to give you a travel
itinerary which your travel agent or
tour organiser or internet will tell you. I
would rather share my experiences and
observations, to prepare you as to what to
expect and enjoy to the hilt. The place is
full of Japanese, American and Australian
tourists as well as many Indians (few by
comparison though.)
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We landed in HANOI via Singapore. After
clearing immigration etc. it took us more
than an hour to our hotel. A good one in the
middle of a busy street in the central part of
the city, just like many more. Not far from
the Old Quarter and quite like any street in
Karol Bagh with different stuff in the shops,
but the crowd and the mentality of haggling
just the same!
Our first outing was to HA LONG BAY... a
2 hour drive from HANOI. HA LONG BAY
is in northern east Vietnam and is popular
for its emerald green waters and thousands
of limestone islands (and caves) topped
by rainforests making the area look blue
and green and a pleasant site to look at. To
take an overnight or longer Cruise on one
of the junk boards or luxury ones is a great
option to enjoy the surrounding beauty of
the 3000 odd big and small Islands. Almost
1000 of them have names and specific