Loren on Travelling Vietnam & Cambodia with OWR
Loren didn’t plan to fall for Vietnam & Cambodia—she booked it mainly due to the dates fitting her schedule.
But two weeks later, she was back home smiling, crying, and reflecting on a completely transformational experience. From Christmas Eve dance moves to kayaking in Ha Long Bay and birthday beers in Hoi An, her trip was everything she didn’t know she needed.
Here’s her story… and maybe your future one too!
I’m sat here writing this blog of the trip a week later both smiling and crying – what an incredible 2 weeks, which I didn’t know had affected me so much until I came home.
Vietnam & Cambodia hadn’t really been on my radar… South America has (had?) my heart, but I wanted to travel over the Christmas break and this was the only trip with OWR available (you can tell I’m a groupie now that I didn’t even look to another company!).
I actually booked this all the way back in Jan last year so was a slow burn of anticipation… It didn’t disappoint!
Hanoi –> Pu Luong –> Ninh Binh
I’ve gotten into the habit of unofficially tagging an extra day onto the front (and end) of trips by arriving into the country at an ungodly early hour – it ended up being one of my highlight days in Peru, and actually was my favourite day in Hanoi this time as well!
My travel buddy, Becky (who I met nearly 2 years ago on an OWR trip to Colombia and who has been galivanting around the world by my side ever since) and I landed at 5am in Hanoi, slightly bleary eyed, and had a seamless collection and transport to our hotel.
After a quick refresh and nap, we hit the streets… and just walked for hours.
For a busy, chaotic city, it feels so incredibly safe – the saying is correct though: If you can cross the street in Hanoi, you can handle anything in life!
We followed some pointers of where to go from Steve, but otherwise just followed our feet, Google Maps & our noses! (Banh Mi… words cannot describe the joys of Banh Mi.
Spoiler alert… best Banh Mi of the trip, as collectively voted by the group, was a little side stall in Hanoi at the night market (and we ate A LOT!) Hanoi highlight: Train Street… it’s as mad as it sounds, but where else in the world can you sit with a beer and have a train pass by you within 3 feet?!
We only get 1 official day here which is very structured to see all the sights, so I really do recommend arriving early to roam the city at your own pace.
After the hustle and smog of Hanoi, we moved to Pu Luong, the “countryside” of Vietnam.
It really was a stark change – our hotel room (more like a suite in a luxury spa) overlooked the paddy fields and towards the rolling hills, and was utterly breathtaking.
“OUR HOTEL ROOM OVERLOOKED THE PADDY FIELDS AND TOWARDS THE ROLLING HILLS, AND WAS UTTERLY BREATHTAKING”
For some reason, I didn’t really bond with Pu Luong but the others in the group loved it.
Onto Ninh Binh… and I should say we’re at Christmas Eve by this point.
Very important detail… We arrived at our hotel (again, pure luxury… I was definitely underdressed in Birks and jazzy pants!) and were told there would be a “small drinks reception” in the evening for those who wished to celebrate.
Small. Uhuh… We had a little toasting drink, lovely buffet meal… then the laptop and speakers came out!
Our “small drinks reception” turned into my favourite EVER Christmas Eve, with us teaching nations from worldwide the moves to Saturday Night (and I like the way you move…!), and the hotel staff joining us in dancing to Gangnam Style!
I think we all agreed in our group, it was one of our favourite nights!
Unplanned, unexpected… incredible!
We spent Christmas Day visiting the stunning temples and floating down the river with a local guide rowing with their feet… I’ll take my Christmas 2024 over presents & too much turkey any day.
Ha Long Bay –> Hoi An
Boxing day when we departed for Ha Long, we were all still on a high from Christmas.
I don’t think anyone of us came in with an expectation that we’d really acknowledge the holiday, so for it to have been such a joy had smiles plastered on our faces.
We arrived on our private chartered boat and changed straight away to head out and explore Cat Ba island by bike.
We were worried about the weather closing in the next day, so had a compressed cycle and jumped straight in the kayaks after for an active afternoon.
I wish we’d had extra time the Ha Long area (we moored in Lan Ha Bay as much quieter) as it’s one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been.
After the noise of Christmas Eve, I spent my evening lying on a lounger, under the stars, reading my Kindle. I could have easily had an extra day of doing just that and staring out at the water.
With so much to see and do in Vietnam, I understand why we had to move on after only 24 hours but that’s the one place I wish we had just an extra day.
On to Hoi An… and into a monsoon!!!
The day of the cycle tour, there was a horrendous rain downpour – don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t cold so was funny to start with, but after a few hours of every pore on your body being wet, we all collectively agreed we’d had enough and called the cycling short.
The rain gods listened to us then and the weather abated… enough for us to go SHOPPING!
Have you really been to Hoi An if you don’t have any shoes/clothes tailored?!
No is the answer… and I’m now the proud owner of 2 new pairs of Birks!
Not only are they great quality, but it was so much fun picking materials & colours and being measured… an experience not to miss.
Another experience not to miss – COCONUT BOATS!
A group of us used our free day to go to a cooking class which included a coconut boat, and they really are as whacky and fun as they seem in the videos!
Cackling with laugher for the whole spinning ride!
It also happened to be my birthday in Hoi An, and the group made it such an amazing experience – they surprised me with a cake and we all spent the evening drinking beer and lighting candles on the river.
It’s no exaggeration to say Hoi An looks like a scene out of Tangled at night – utterly magical!
Ho Chi Minh aka “Saigon”
Time to leave the rain and head to the sunshiny south!
I didn’t have any expectations of Saigon other than that it was likely another big city.
We went to the Cu Chi tunnels first, and although it’s a “must do” when in the area, it didn’t really make an impression on me… I think there were too many people there that the impact of the place was lost.
“SAIGON CAPTIVATED ME”
Saigon, however, captivated me – it reminded me of New York with its high-rises intermingled with beautiful older buildings.
A small group of us found a rooftop bar and had an amazing evening on the 30th Dec overlooking the city.
NYE daytime, we spent the day in Mekong Delta which was such a change of scenery from Saigon.
Cruising down the river drinking from a coconut… exploring around the area in Tuk Tuks… I challenge you to plan a better day to close the year out with. I’ll wait!
“EVERYONE IN VIETNAM IS SO POLITE AND GENTLE THAT I NEVER FELT IN DANGER”
New Years Eve then… I’ve never been in a city for NYE as I get claustrophobic, but I loved it.
It was chaos, it was busy, but everyone in Vietnam is so polite and gentle that I never felt in danger.
One for the memories (especially as they aren’t big drinkers, so I wasn’t hungover on New Years Day!).
The Vietnamese still have that childlike wonder and joy at fireworks, and it’s honestly infectious. I’ve seen fireworks countless times, but surrounded by people who are just HAPPY (and not drunk) was a beautiful moment.
New Years Day turned into one of my trip highlights… We only had a morning to really see Saigon, so was recommended to do a whistlestop tour on the back of a moped…!
By this point, we knew how mad the driving was in Vietnam, but if you can’t beat them, join them!
It was amazing – I don’t know how they don’t have accidents but somehow it works, and my face hurt from smiling so much by the end!
A perfect end to the Vietnam segment of the adventure.
Cambodia
I thought Cambodia would be a bit of a deflation after the highs of Vietnam – a tag on just to see Angkor Wat.
WRONG!
So wrong… the serenity of Siem Reap & the temples after the hustle of Vietnam was just what my senses needed and enabled me to appreciate Vietnam so much more.
The first day, we spent the morning meandering around multiple temples – I’m sorry to say but once you’ve seen one, you kind of have seen them all unless they have something unique about them (Lara Croft temple for example, or Beng Mealea given it was completely ruined…) but they still have a peacefulness about them.
Given the heat, we spent the afternoon around the pool at the hotel which was just what the doctor ordered.
“SO GLAD WE CAME HERE AND SAW THIS WONDER [ANGKOR WAT] BEFORE LEAVING THIS PART OF THE WORLD”
Then came the piece de resistance of Cambodia… you got it, Angkor Wat.
It is as magnificent as it seems, in its grandeur and pristine-ness (not sure that’s a word but best describes it!).
I’m so glad we came here and saw this wonder before leaving this part of the world.
For those 80’s/90’s kids amongst us… yes I recreated Temple Run whilst in one of the smaller temples. How could I not?!
“OWR REALLY DOES ENABLE YOU TO JUST ENJOY EVERYTHING AROUND YOU WITHOUT ANY STRESS”
And so the trip came to an end… and my heart broke at having to say goodbye to these amazing people and also the person I seem to become when I’m travelling.
OWR really does enable you to just enjoy everything around you without any stress of “where should I be, how will I get there” etc… you just switch off and enjoy the world around you!
So, signing off from another amazing adventure with new friends, new memories and an insatiable desire to go do it all again.
If you enjoyed reading Loren’s story and feel like these two countries are calling you, check out our 15-day Vietnam & Cambodia itinerary.