Hello everyone,

I recently completed an awesome trip through Taiwan & central Vietnam. I usually spend most of my time in Hanoi, however prior to this trip I had never really been to central Vietnam (besides a quick trip to Nha Trang, a beach town, in August). On this trip, I went back to Ho Chi Minh City and then went to Da Lat, Da Nang, Hoi An, and Hue. 

But this trip began in Taipei, Taiwan, a new country for me. Taiwan is a cool place, and I find their political situation with China to be interesting. Taipei is a fun place, very developed and modern, however, there are not a ton of things to do. Taipei is home to Taipei 101, which stands at 508 meters or 1,667 feet (101 floors), making it the 11th tallest building in the world. Prior to 2010, it was the tallest building in the world, and only in the last couple of years did it drop out of the top 10. It’s a very impressive structure and is what many people see in pictures of Taipei.

Taiwan is mainly a food destination. If you know anything about Taiwanese food, then you probably know that bubble tea originated in Taiwan and now it’s very popular around the world. Besides bubble tea, dumplings, pork rice, breakfast fritters (Taiwanese style), beef noodles, and pineapple cake are all very tasty. The night markets had a lot to offer, proving that Taiwan really is a foodie destination! As I said, not a ton of things to do in Taipei but overall I found it to be very interesting, and I’d return in the future for the food and to check out more places in Taiwan.

After Taipei, I flew back to Vietnam and arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. It was my third time there. I mainly went to Ho Chi Minh City to lay low and get some work done, but it’s always nice to walk around - there is always a lot going on. There are also two walking streets, one mainly caters to foreign tourists (Bui Vien), and the other (Nguyen Hue) is more of a local spot. I find Bui Vien to be quite boring, it’s just loud music and bars and touristy restaurants. Nguyen Hue on the other hand has really cool views of the Bitexco Financial Tower and the city hall. 

After about 5 days in Ho Chi Minh City, I flew to Da Lat. Da Lat is northeast of Ho Chi Minh City but is a bit inland. If you take a bus it takes 7 hours. I don’t trust Vietnamese bus drivers nor do I like buses, so I opted for the flight, which was only $20 and was only 31 minutes! I’m pretty sure it was the shortest flight of my life to date. After being in the air for only 12 minutes the pilots announced we were starting our descent.

Da Lat is a cool town. It’s known for its nature, clean air, and strawberries. Coming from Oregon, I grew up with fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, etc. But in the tropics, those berries don’t typically exist, except in Da Lat! In Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia, instead, there are fresh pineapple, mango, and dragon fruit, among other fruits, things that you wouldn’t find in Oregon! (Actually, last time I was in Oregon, the price for a pineapple was $5.98 for ONE and it wasn’t even fresh- no thanks!) Anyway, in Da Lat, they grow strawberries, and they’re pretty tasty! Da Lat is kind of a hilly town, but everyone is pretty laid back and the air is very pure (the downside with living in Hanoi is the air isn’t always the best). 

Next up, I headed to Da Nang, which is Vietnam’s third biggest city. Almost as soon as I arrived I knew that I liked it. It just has a beachy feel to it, there’s good food and everyone is super friendly! One of my favorite things in Da Nang is to walk across the Dragon Bridge, which as the name suggests, is a bridge in the city with a dragon that runs down the middle. Da Nang is actually a city of bridges because the city is split by a river that runs right through the middle, so there are a number of picturesque bridges that cross the river. The architecture in Da Nang is cool! 

Just 30 minutes south of Da Nang is the ancient town of Hoi An, which since 1999 has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This year is the 20th anniversary. It’s a very historic town and it’s famous for its lanterns at night. At night, all of the streets are lit up with colorful lanterns. Unfortunately, I only had an evening there, because I wasn’t originally planning to go there this trip, but I will be back soon and will stay for a couple of nights. 

My favorite thing in Da Nang was the Hai Van Pass. The Hai Van Pass is the road through the “mountain” that connects Da Nang with Hue, to the north. I rented a motorbike and drove up about halfway through the Hai Van Pass, it’s very cool! The weather was very nice, the road was good and the ocean was below. A really fun excursion if you’re ever in Da Nang. 

The next day, I took the train from Da Nang to Hue. We went through the Hai Van Pass again, but instead of going through the mountain like the road, the train tracks were much lower in elevation and were close to the ocean. One of my favorite train rides!

Hue is home to the Imperial Citadel of Hue, the origins of the ancient city. Hue used to be the capital of Vietnam before the capital was moved to Hanoi. Hue also experienced one of the bloodiest battles during the Vietnam War, so there is a lot of history there. Hue is also well known for its food, in particular Bun bo Hue, the popular Vietnamese noodle dish. Personally, I wasn’t a big fan as I’ve never really liked noodle dishes that much, but if you like noodles then I’m sure you would like bun bo Hue. Hue also has some cool random attractions like an abandoned water park, built in the shape of a dragon, and massive cemeteries.

In my opinion, it’s kind of creepy to go to a cemetery, but in this region of Vietnam the afterlife is highly valued and people invest a lot to make sure their tombstone is huge. Some of the tombs were bigger than the temples I’ve seen!

This trip was a nice reminder of how cool Vietnam is. I’m already planning my next trip down south, there is a lot to see!

Zach