I’m beginning to regret the decision to write our Indochina travel blog after I returned home for obvious reasons. While it made the most sense at the time, given how packed this trip was for us (and the aforementioned cell/wifi issues), life simply gets in the way once you return home. So, after a two-week hiatus due to work, travel, a house move, and Thanksgiving, I am finally journaling the final days of this wonderful trip.
Now, where was I? Ah yes, the final morning in Siem Reap began with an early luggage pull, followed by a bus ride to the outskirts of town, where the more adventurous of our group enjoyed an ATV ride through farm villages and rice fields. The rain from the previous day made this four-wheeling adventure that much more authentic – we sped through drenched paths and massive mud puddles and ended up with mud from our heads to our feet! What a fantastic way to end our time in Cambodia. My only disappointment was not being able to photograph all the beautiful people and scenery we passed on our ride (including two toddler boys playing in the puddles, farmers tending to their rice fields, and a gorgeous patch of water lilies in a small pond next to a rice farm).
Afterward, a quick lunch in the hotel bar delivered one of the best Pho dishes we had on the trip!
The rest of the day was spent traveling via plane to Hanoi from Siem Reap. This beautiful, modern, and new airport was built in partnership with China and opened in 2023. And it was virtually empty! We pretty much had the place to ourselves; we could count on one hand the number of planes that came and went before we departed.
Upon arrival in Hanoi late Wednesday evening, we checked into Sofitel Legend Metropole Hotel in the French Quarter of the city. While I chose to stay in, Mark joined others at the Binh Minh Jazz Club – a decision I quickly regretted once I heard how fantastic it was.
Thursday morning included a tour of Hanoi, starting with the famous Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh, the first president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (and its first Communist ruler), is on display in a glass casket. While his body is purportedly real, our tour guide quickly offered his opinion (and that of many other skeptics) that it’s actually a wax replica. They are very strict about no photos being taken; just ask one of our tour group members who was detained briefly following the unfortunate positioning of her iPhone on a crossbody strap!
Thousands of Vietnamese visit daily as a pilgrimage site. Ironically, Ho Chi Minh himself did not want a big, public display upon his death; he instead wanted to be cremated with his ashes spread in thirds across south, central, and north Vietnam.
We visited the nearby garden areas, where one of his traditional stilt houses still stands, filled with furniture and personal effects from his time living there in the early to late 60s. After leaving the garden area, we visited the Temple of Literature, which served as a Confucius Temple in the late 11th century. The first university of Vietnam was later founded here.
Our final stop of the morning was to the infamous Hoa Lo Prison. What originated as a French Colonial-era prison, Hoa Lo was used during the Vietnam War to house captured American pilots and other “war criminals” and became known as the Hanoi Hilton. I’m glad we stopped here due to its historical significance, but the propaganda from the Vietnamese perspective was a bit too much to handle. They painted a warped picture of their care of US prisoners akin to how you would treat tourists at a nice resort. Quite the stark contrast to the torture our US soldiers actually endured during their imprisonment here.
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the Ly Club, where two favorites included the banana blossom salad and the grilled beef in bamboo pipe. Afterward, we spent the afternoon packing and relaxing.
The final evening with our full tour group concluded with a beautiful walk at dusk through the city to our farewell party at the Skyline Lounge. (BTW, there are many so-called “skyline lounges in Hanoi – bars perched on a high floor of a tall building overlooking the city lights). Our views certainly didn’t disappoint. We toasted our wonderful Inspirato tour providers for their outstanding service and itinerary, reminisced about our shared travels, and embraced the new friends we made along the way. It was a magical way to end our journeys together.
Most travelers in our group had early Friday departures; however, a smaller subset signed up for the extended weekend trip to Ha Long Bay. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see this iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site, so we were among them! My final post – hopefully coming in the next few days – will highlight our weekend on this picturesque body of water.
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