Vietnam
Vietnam’s
Hidden Treasures
The old city of Hoi An and the commercial city of Da Nang are the lesser-known parts of Vietnam that transport you to another world. History, culture, nature and flavours wrap up this little tour, put together by Four Seasons Nam Hai
Text: Lyle Michael
F resh off the heels of my Singapore sojourn, I was whisked off to another Southeast Asian locale, one known for its history, its beaches and its mountains, its food and its people, and colonial remnants that keep you mesmerised. While the Lion City fed me well on its sights and tastes, and iconic landmarks, Vietnam stole my heart, left me with a melancholic sentiment when it was time to fly back home from my luxurious resort, the Four Seasons Nam Hai.
‘Goooooood Morning, Vietnam’ was the preface that instantly came to mind when I sat down to write this piece on a rainy afternoon, sketching out the details as a diary unfolding, page by page. The late Robin Williams remains my favourite actor ever and the movie a childhood reel that plays on loop. To be visiting Vietnam was like a dream come true. Images of the war are etched in your brain from popular culture and books, for sure, but to be there, in real time, in the flesh, reveals to you so much else…leaves you with a new set of images and memories that you can proudly call your best souvenirs, better than the fridge magnets with the Vietnamese flag on them and the bamboo bookmarks with slender women amid floral surroundings, their faces covered with atypically large bamboo hats.
As fate would have it, two of my friends were travelling to Vietnam right before I was – a day or two apart – and had the usual suspects on their list: Ho Chi Minh in the north to Da Nang in the centre to the capital, Hanoi, down South. For me, it was just Da Nang and Hoi An, and for a short, packed itinerary, it was perfect!
Three days in the ancient city of Hoi An, where the resort is located, and Da Nang, the commercial and educational capital of Central Vietnam, are just enough to give you a taste, one that you will want to return for, time and again. From the Marble Mountains which present a collection of pagodas to walk through, to the Cham Museum, one of the city’s finest sculpture museums, to a rhum distillery that pours out the smoothest rums made of sugarcane to boat rides along the Thu Bon River – where lanterns holding your prayers and dreams are set free to float on by… And food that is unlike most of what your taste buds are used to, especially dessert! Not sweet, not calorie-laden, but fresh, light, and an amalgamation of local ingredients, served to you straight off the kerb.
Then comes the markets and the cafés of Hoi An, the old town, juxtaposed with the uber lavish beachview villas at Four Seasons that put the cherry on the cake. With their raised poster beds that have you waking up to the ocean and the rising run (if early morn is your scene), in-room tubs with a range of bath salts, lounge area with cushions you could sink into and al fresco bathrooms that work perfectly when its temperate outside. Warm-as-toast weather had me sport the traditional canopy bamboo hat – with my name knitted into it – by day and shorts and a tee for the light breeze by night.
Vietnam has weather that varies from the north to the south with dry and wet months through the year, spread along a 3260 km coastline as it is. I was right as rain on my trip, riding my bicycle, with its little wicker basket, around the immense property that was my resort, admiring the foliage that lined my cobbled path and the spa cabins that lay in a row along the man-made lake. There’s also a fabulous lagoon that makes for the perfect Instagram profile picture and the Dioriviera pop-up boutique where a shiny miniature accessory caught my eye and the selection of fragrances my olfactory senses. And the Nam Hai Cooking Academy, where yours truly learnt how to make a rice paper roll from scratch while grooving to some Sia, and employ it in a Vietnamese Summer Roll, along with a clear chicken broth with vermicelli, and the freshest of salads with coloured cabbage, bean sprouts, shredded carrot, chicken and blue pea flower. I even graduated, apron, certificate et al, and set off on a Vespa tour ride to explore Hoi An, feast on all the local delicacies, shop, frolic, eat and drink some more, click away and jot down every little experience to bring back home to you, as enticingly as I can. You know where you have to head next, if you haven’t already ticked Central Vietnam off your wanderlust list!
I had the cutest Vespa rider, from Vespa Adventures, who, I learnt – as he gave me a lowdown on not just the city but his life, too – is a chef by day and a tour rider by night. As he rode us around, from Da Nang to Hoi An, and back, I imbibed the Goa-esque, Pondicherry feel, that the place proffers, be it in its architecture, its food joints, its people and its clean, green roads. One glaring aspect that would set it apart from Pondicherry, though, is its expense. The value of the Vietnamese dong is 0.000041 to the US dollar and 0.0034 to our rupee!! You would think you’re spending loads when you’re buying with the dong but do the math and you’ll be fine. Vietnam is a low cost-of-living country, FYI.
So off I went, to Hoi An, the ancient city of Vietnam, with its multi-storeyed cafés and stores with clothes, souvenirs, foodstuffs, bags and Buddhist temples neatly laid out. A mix of eras and styles from wooden Chinese shophouses, with courtyards and rooms intact, and colourful French colonial buildings to ornate Vietnamese tube houses… A view from the top of the chic café we chose to wind down in presented an all-yellow brick canvas with tiled rooftops and lanterns hanging along strings, with bougainvillea spilling over verandahs... Oh, so French! After some delicious chicory-laced coffee, we headed down for quite some retail therapy which consisted of bamboo shirts and co-ords and linen dresses, totes with all things Vietnam, and this sesame sweet – quite like a flat chikki. The lantern shops stood out for me and called me in like a moth to a flame, though bringing any back home would be implausible!
Lanterns are a big part of the culture in Vietnam, of course, and the highlight of this trip was the boat ride down the Thu Bon River when the skies were dark and the lull of the boat’s gentle movements put me in a deep trance. I lit my lantern and tenderly placed it on the water, letting it go along with my wish, with the hope of it coming true. There were so many people out, along the bay, in the boats, lanterns bumping into each other and wishes floating in the skies above, dancing to a tune that was playing out somewhere, that night in Hoi An – one I will cherish for a long time to come.
Similarly, the food tours are a thing to treasure, starting off with a lovely champagne sundowner at Tok, a bar and restaurant where you can laze for hours with rice fields before you and the setting sun. Next up, the staple Chicken Rice was served at a local eatery in Hoi An, along with the Larue Smooth beer. A docile Dalmatian welcomed us next, into another eatery where dishes such as Squid and Shrimp Pancakes, Beef Satay, DIY paper rolls and banh mis, those quintessential Vietnamese sandwiches, make their way to the table.
Speaking of DIY, nothing beats making your own ‘white roses’ with the help of an expert, a pretty lady who’s been in the family business for decades. The recipe is a secret that’s been held dear for three decades, we’re told. White Rose is the name for dumplings made of flour with fillings like pork, beef or chicken, given by the French. Momos, but not really. These soft, silken, sheer dumplings are no mean feat to conjure up and I gave it my all, my dexterous fingers pressing into the dough to form a rose. Oh well, rose or no rose, it tasted delicious, topped with some fried shrimp. Saving the best for last, I sat down with an elderly lady to sample some che and gobbled up the whole dessert. She sits on the kerb and has all her ingredients laid out in containers from which she rustles up this sweet dish, with black-eyed peas, mung beans and kidney beans, tapioca and jelly, fruit like mango or durian, and coconut cream, topped with some ice chips.
The Vespa ride back to my resort was a serene one where my rider recapped the days that had gone by in a flash as I recalled the richest moments of my trip. A romantic dinner on the beach outside of my hotel room, a make-your-own rhum session at Sampan Rhum Distillery, an exquisite omakase dining experience at Nayuu at Four Seasons put together by Chef Alexander Moranda, a laid-back dip in the private pool and a 60-minute spa treatment at the Heart of the Earth Spa, to wrap it up on a relaxed note.
Vietnam, you got me hooked with your blend of the ancient and the new, but it’s your old soul that truly stole my heart, that will keep me coming back for more. That is, if my lantern wish comes true!