Da Nang and Hoi An: Two of the Most Popular Cities in Vietnam
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After my feet touched the ground of Suwannabhumi Airport, my mom came to me and said, “Let’s go to Vietnam.” Though I just came back from Maine and still had not adjusted from the time difference, this trip killed my jet lag!
We planned the trip a month ahead and booked the plane tickets and three hotels for three nights in Vietnam. I’d longed for a backpacking trip like this with my family, and it was like a dream comes true. The first day in Da Nang was quite hot, but My Khay beach was so pretty. We went for seafood at the restaurant opposite the Diamond sea hotel where we stayed for the night. The food was excellent even for Thai people who are so proud of our taste like us.
Then, we went to Linh Ung Pagoda, which is located on a cliff 14 km far from the beach. After that, we called a grab and went to Da Nang cathedral. The cathedral was not that impressive, but the city was! There were tons of motorcycles and people, but it somehow made me feel at home. We walked along the river, crossed the bridge, and ended up at the head side of the dragon bridge.
On the second day, we spent the morning in Da Nang jogging at the beach. Almost noon, we traveled to Ba Na hills, one of Vietnam’s most popular vacation places. We took a cable car uphill and stayed there for a night. There was more than enough to do there. We started by visiting the gardens, the French village, the famous golden bridge, to the beer plaza at night. The weather was not at its best because of the strong winds, but we still enjoyed this place a lot!
One of the places I enjoyed the most on this trip is the tea house in Ba Na hills. We went there before we left this magical place. It was super relaxing and covered with Japanese-Chinese culture, definitely recommended!
After we enjoyed the tea, we went down to Hoi An, an ancient city in Vietnam. Nu eatery was where we had lunch before checking in to the hotel. The restaurant is tiny yet classic. The food was amazingly tasteful and well-designed.
We finished our lunch around 3 pm, and it was so hot out, so we decided to go back to the hotel.
In the evening, we were fully charged and ready to roam! We bought a ticket to enter the old town of Hoi An. The Japanese-covered bridge was the highlight but always crowded. We also went to the temple to get the most out of the tickets, but it seems like just walking around the old town and absorbing the cultural experience was more than enough for me. I also got the lotus iced tea, weird but quite delicious. We ended the night with the view of the lantern festival, which is probably the most colorful one I’ve seen.
In this family trip, we visited several famous places in northern Vietnam, namely, Sapa, Hanoi, and Ninh Binh. For some people, the more they see the world, the less impressive some places appear to them. We also did not find this part of Vietnam outstanding from all the places we have been together, yet it was still charming and gave us vacation vibes. I’d recommend those who like natures to visit Ninh Binh; Sapa is also beautiful, but it seems have some construction going on at the top of Fansipan mountain.
After having to postpone the Visa appointment for a year due to the pandemic situation, my parents have now got their first ever US Visa! A month right after they received their passports, now with the US Visa attached to, they flew from Thailand to the US to visit me in Illinois. To be more accurate, WE flew together from Thailand to Chicago, though on different flights. Our itinerary was to visit Chicago, Washington DC, NYC, and, of course, my beloved corn field city, Champaign.
The spring semester ended on May 12, marking the end of my first year as a Ph.D. student at UIUC. To celebrate the hard work, I invited my boyfriend to come visit me in Champaign. But since Champaign has nothing much to do, we also planned a short trip to Chicago and also Florida! Poy had never been to Disney World before, so we tried so hard to make it happen despite the price of Disney world’s tickets. Poy flew from England to Chicago, so our first short trip happened in Chicago! It was my second time in Chicago, so I tried to visit different places than the last time I went to in January.
I usually don’t travel over spring breaks as they are quite short and most schools in the US have spring breaks around the same time, so everywhere is just crowded. However, this break was special because I went to visit my boyfriend in England! We hadn’t seen each other for a while (aka 8 months at least), so I didn’t hesitate to go there when I had a chance. Though I had been to many countries in Europe, I had never visited England. I went there for 5 days not including the flight time, but I felt like I got a very rich British experience thanks to Poy.