On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
UncleEbeneezer
One day in late 2015, I was between jobs and went to a crappy job interview in Silverlake. As I was heading back to my car, realizing this job wasn’t for me, I got a frantic call from my wife. “You’re never going to believe this. We just WON a trip to Vietnam.”
There was a travel company called Wanderable (RIP) that a friend of hers had helped start up. They did a Facebook promotional contest for an all-expense paid trip to Vietnam. On a lark, she entered it. She never even told me until that day. I had never really fancied visiting SE Asia. Just never really thought about it. But even though we were pretty strapped for $ with me being unemployed, this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. What follows will be a few posts of pix from the Saigon River, sights of HCMC, Siem Reap, Angkor Wat (we added a detour to Cambodia since my wife had always dreamed of visiting AW) and Hoi An, VN.
I have been obsessed and dreaming of going back ever since and we had been tentatively planning/saving to go back in 2020, but Covid amongst other things has put that off. We will definitely return at some point though. Enjoy.
We flew out on Valentine’s Day and arrived in HCMC after a brutal 17 hours of flying. After a REALLY long wait in line at Customs we finally caught our shuttle to An Lam resort along the Saigon river. Our heads spun at the sight of the BONKERS traffic and motorbikes but the shuttle provided warm towels in lemongrass water that were the most refreshing way to deal with jet lag. When we finally got to An Lam, starving, the kitchen was about to close but they stayed open to give us a meal. This was the night view of the river from the restaurant.
My first meal in VN was spectacular. Vietnamese pork chop with fried rice and egg. After nearly 20 hours of travel, it hit the spot. I only wish I had put on bug spray because I got several mosquito bites that bothered me for most of the rest of the trip.
This pool was a motherf***ing LIFESAVER, in the 100 degree, 100% humidity, days. My wife really loved the bougainvillea and plumeria.
As the name suggests, the resort is right on the river, with a boat shuttle that could take you to/from downtown HCMC a couple times a day. The grounds of the resort were incredibly lush and beautiful.
It was lovely to just sit and watch the river go by, with a cocktail. There were really HUGE flotillas of river plants that would drift by along with all sorts of neat boats.
The Gin & Tonics in SE Asia are incredible. We became addicted to them throughout our trip.
Before our trip, I couldn’t fathom the idea of eating soup for breakfast. But that’s how you do Pho in SE Asia. Every morning I would scarf down a yummy bowl with some fresh fruit, delicious pastries and a ca phe sua da (legendary Vietnamese, iced coffees). Now, I can’t really eat pho any time except in the morning.
My lovely wife Kelly, who is to thank for entering the contest that awarded us this incredible trip. The next set of posts will get more into sights and scenery etc., but this resort was really one of the most amazing places we have ever stayed. Lovely, wonderful staff, delicious food and a setting that was almost indescribably beautiful.
Van Buren
Great story & pictures. Vietnam would be tops on my list of countries in Asia I would like to visit.
raven
I can’t wait to see more, I crossed that river many a time. I’d hoped to go back and maybe I will but “as the days dwindle down, to a precious few . . . “
Wag
Beautiful. And delicious! The food pics are wonderful.
eclare
Amazing photos! Vietnam and Cambodia have been on my list for a long time. Looking forward to more photos!
Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes
My Vietnam trip in 2018 was one of the best I ever did. Our routing was a little different. We went Hanoi-Hoi An-Saigon-Phnom Penh-Siem Reap-Louang Prabang (Laos).
And yeah, pho for breakfast will always be on my top list.
Mary G
I’d like to be in that pool right now. Gorgeous place and I would probably be happy to sit and watch the boats go by the whole time I was there. Vietnam did so much better than the USA with the covid, who knows when they’ll let us come back.
raven
@Mary G: They call Russians “Americans without money”. There’s a hint.
Elizabelle
Am going to love your photographs, Uncle E. Vietnam is definitely on the bucket list.
What a beautiful, hospitable place and people. So glad you won the trip, and were able to take it!
Auntie Anne
My travel buddy and I had planned a SE Asia trip for early 2019, before my mom was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. We are both big Colin Cotterill fans, so Siem Reap was going to be a thing for us. Alas, my Mom’s illness made us decide that England was wiser choice (easier to return from, just in case.) While we both loved England, SE Asia is still on our list. I am going to savor your pictures, just so you know.
Tdjr
Also looking forward to more pics. These are awesome! Thanks!
Gin & Tonic
Thanks for the pics. I was in VN back in 2009, I think, but just in the north. This was primarily to go kayaking in Ha Long Bay, so we went into and out of Hanoi, and spent some time there before and after. The kayaking was four days live-aboard (i.e. living on a boat, and kayaking from that every day.) The karst formations are spectacular, but you need local guides to know the holes and the tides.
I’d go back.
Dagaetch
I was in Vietnam in early 2015 as well. Absolutely a wonderful adventure, with beautiful scenery, delicious food, and incredibly friendly people. There was such an energy to it, a feeling that they truly wanted to make their country better. I know it still has a lot of political problems and isn’t exactly a democratic wonderland, but of all the countries in SE Asia, it’s the one I’d bet on to do the best.
AndoChronic
Looks like UncleEbeneezer wasn’t in the freezer… Sorry, had to!
UncleEbeneezer
@AndoChronic: Somebody FINALLY made the joke! (Seriously, it took over twelve years). My alternate name for awhile was LookWhosInTheFreezer.
UncleEbeneezer
@Auntie Anne: Just had to Google Cotterill, my wife loves mysteries so that is potentially a great new find.
England is probably HER dream trip. We want to do a hiking-the-Cotswalds type trip where you hike from village to village through the countryside for her 50th B-day (2022) but we’ll see if that happens due to Covid, $ etc. Fingers crossed.
UncleEbeneezer
@Elizabelle: It was just an incredibly beautiful country. The trash sucks (a lot of it in river and along less maintained roads) but the scenery, people, architecture, food…all really just breathtaking. Get ready for lots of food pics and colonial architectural charm.
rose weiss
@Auntie Anne: I don’t know whether Colin Cotterill is rich and famous but he certainly deserves to be both! His books are terrific. I love the good-natured humor and the deep empathy he shows for his characters. All that on top of fun mysteries!
UncleEbeneezer
@Gin & Tonic: Hanoi is where I want to go next time. Ha Long Bay looks amazing but I think our plan will likely be to focus more on Tam Coc/Nin Binh and similar inland cave/mountain alternatives. Hanoi itself, looks like it might be a bit more our style than Saigon, which we enjoyed but the downtown wasn’t as much of our vibe and much of our time was really spent at the resort which was a good 10 miles outside of the city, iirc.
UncleEbeneezer
@Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes: Sounds like an amazing trip. It’s so frustrating that back in LA, most pho places don’t really open until 10am or so. So many mornings (especially rainy/cold ones) where a bowl of pho, first thing I the morning would really hit the spot.
UncleEbeneezer
@Mary G: Only problem with that pool was that on my first swim when climbing out I stepped on the ladder funny (or the piping making up the ladder was more round than usual) and I bruised the underside of my foot pretty bad. So I really had to hobble around for most of the trip.
Miss Bianca
@rose weiss: I just ordered the first book in his series from the library! “The Coroner’s Lunch” – guessing it ain’t going to be pho! ; )
UncleEbeneezer
Funny side story. The only downsides of An Lam were that our villa clearly had some critters living in the wall which were scratching and making noise all night (we are actually dealing with the same issue at home, currently, so not a huge deal) and on the first night a random dude (we assume one of the resort staff maybe) showed up at our door and started opening it at like 2am. I opened the door and was like “What the hell?” and the guy just apologized in Vietnamese and left. He didn’t seem like he was breaking in or anything. My guess is that he probably lived far away and was allowed to use vacant rooms to sleep in. The resort was very apologetic about the misunderstanding and comped us a bunch off our tab (which was ridiculously cheap anyways. Like maybe $200 for all meals/drinks over 3 days/nights). Vietnam is VERY affordable.
UncleEbeneezer
Also, my wife corrected me, they were COLD, lemongrass towels! Which is what made them so damn refreshing. Even at night it was probably 80 degrees and humid.
raven
@UncleEbeneezer: Did you get down to the Delta at all?
UncleEbeneezer
@raven: No. First day we explored Saigon on our own, mainly checking out markets and alleyways, street food etc. Second day we had a guided tour of Notre Dame, Post Office, Reunification Palace, War Museum and some temples (which killed almost the entire day). And the third, we had a mid-day flight to Siem Reap so we couldn’t really go far, plus we just wanted to chill by the pool for our final half-day.
raven
@UncleEbeneezer: Ah, most people I know who go don’t get down there unless they have a specific reason. I was in Can Tho, Vinh Long and Sa Dec a good bit but it was many moons ago.
UncleEbeneezer
Check out this blog VietnamCoracle for tons more pix. It was a crucial part of our planning. He goes all over the country and gets into lots of lesser-known places.
Origuy
I love the pictures but they made me a little sad when I realized most of my images of Vietnam postwar came from Antony Bourdain’s shows. He loved the place.
raven
@UncleEbeneezer: Do you know about the Coconut Monk?
raven
@UncleEbeneezer: So cool!
Gin & Tonic
@UncleEbeneezer: 16-17 cents for a pint of beer (“bia hoi”) in Old Town Hanoi. So, yeah, affordable indeed.
raven
@Gin & Tonic: No “Ba Muoi Ba” ?
Benw
I was lucky enough to visit Quy Nhon (via HCMC) for a week in 2018. It was beautiful. I’ve been completely converted to savory soup for breakfast!
Great pics!
laura
No way I could safely travel to this beautiful part of the world due to increasingly serious shellfish allergies. These photos are a treat and it sure looks to be as lush and relaxing a place to be fortunate to find yourself in. So the Colin Cotteril books are my consolation. Clive Chaffer’s narration on the audible is my jam! Add me to the chorus with rose Weiss and Auntie Ann.
UncleEbeneezer
@laura: It wouldn’t be real hard to avoid shellfish altogether over there. Pork, beef and chicken options abound pretty much everywhere. Also, unless you go somewhere very remote, most places have tons of street food options to choose from. Major cities you’d be fine. But even in smaller villages, there’s always alternatives to seafood available.
UncleEbeneezer
@Origuy: We went to both Banh Mi places that Bourdain highlighted in Hoi An (pix to come). One was the best sandwich I think I have ever had. EVER!! It’s worth going to SE Asia for the food alone, honestly.
way2blue
Oh. I’d love to sit along that river and watch the boats drift by. Cabin fever is increasing now that vaccines are w/in reach. Looking forward to the rest of your photo journal.
Emma
Ooooh, an OTR series where half the pictures are of food, I’m in! I don’t know if this is just me, but no one does a fried egg as good as chefs in SE Asia. First off, waiters in the US look at me blankly if I ask for my egg to be fried. Then, when I get my sunny-side up, the bottom is never browned and crispy enough! Sometimes, it’s just all white ;_; I can see from the thin brown ring at your egg’s circumference that it was properly fried, so thumbs up to them.
Soup noodles (and soup in general) hits the spot at any time of day. When I’m in Singapore, I’ll happily order our version of beef noodles soup (goo bak kway teow, Teochew dish) with a mug of hot teh. And then an iced Milo and/or kueh if I have space afterwards.
Emma
@laura: I think if you research what dishes in your destination incorporate sambal and patronize restaurants and food carts that specialize in those non-sambal dishes, you should be good. Also, those might be prawn crackers in the first food photo, so steer clear of those, too.
For example, pho (as far as I know) doesn’t involve sambal, so researching the specialist pho places will already give you like 50 vendors within a mile of a hotel in Vietnam. Another method is looking for Buddhist vegetarian places, because they definitely wouldn’t involve any meat and shellfish in their food.
Sandia Blanca
@Miss Bianca: I did too! Sounds like a good find.
UncleEbeneezer
@Emma: We took a significant number of food pics because we got to try so many new and interesting things. There’s definitely a few more when we get to Cambodia and then Hoi An.
We just watched a Better Feed Phil episode from Singapore and the food looks really incredible. Also, there’s just something about sitting in those little plastic chairs, outdoors with a beer and some yummy grub amongst a bunch of total strangers. It’s such a great communal experience. And really my first time (as a Cis-Het, White Man) really being in ANY scenario where I was the obvious minority. People were very friendly everywhere we went.
UncleEbeneezer
@Emma: I can only think of one meal for certain (the lunch in the village after our bike tour of Angkor Wat) that definitely had seafood (and a bunch of other stuff). All of our hotels catered mostly to Western and Chinese tourists so there were always plenty of non-seafood options there. And then a lot of the street food was straight up grilled pork, beef, chicken and noodles. I don’t think any of the broths were seafood based.