When we planned our honeymoon back in 2017, we chose Sri
Lanka as our destination. However, fate intervened when a week before we were
due to set off, suicide bombers attacked a number of hotels and churches across
Sri Lanka killing hundreds of innocent people. This threw our plans into chaos
due to the UK government advising essential travel only.
Full of anxiety and upset we desperately called our travel
agents who completely reassured us and put our minds at ease. Less than 48
hours after that initial phone call we were in the Trailfinders office
designing a brand-new honeymoon. ❤
Thanks to Trailfinders we were able to Fly on Saturday 27th
April as planned with our main destination being Vietnam.
Doha, Qatar –
Saturday 27th April - Tuesday 30th April
We planned a short stop over in Qatar as my brother and his
wife live there and it gave us the perfect opportunity to visit them. We
arrived at around midnight on the Saturday, so after a short drive across the
city we went straight to bed. We spent the morning in their apartment sleeping
off our jet lag before heading out to Almayass
for some delicious Arabic food! I also tried Limonana, a classic mint lemonade
which is a favourite in the Middle East (and a new favourite of mine!)
After our lunch I treated myself to a mani-pedi at BD Nails to ensure I was flip-flop
ready! We also took a walk along Iusail
marina, marveling some of the city’s iconic architecture before driving to
the Museum of Islamic Art for some
great Dhow Harbor photos! For
dinner that evening we went to Belgian
Bar at the InterContinental Doha. The warm Doha air meant that we could
enjoy our dinner outside on the terrace whilst admiring the city skyline.
For our last day in Doha, we spent our morning at the pool
outside my brother’s apartment before heading to Galleries Lafayette for a look around the luxury mall and eating
lunch at Joe’s café. We also visited
the Amphitheatre in the Cultural
Village, a beautiful modern landmark. We spent our evening at the iconic Souq Waqif
with all its bustle and atmosphere before heading to the airport to catch our
flight to Hanoi.
Hanoi, Vietnam– Tuesday
30th April - Friday 3rd May
We arrived into Hanoi at around 3pm. Thankfully the drive to
the hotel (Hilton Hanoi Opera) was only a 40min taxi journey as we were
both fairly exhausted. Dinner that night was at a Vietnamese restaurant called Nha Hang Ngon – where I tried the
famous Pho noodle soup. This was a nice restaurant for our first night the only
issue was the long wait to be served.
We spent my birthday (1st May) doing a tour of
Hanoi with a local guide. This gave us a whistle stop tour of Hanoi’s highlights
including the Temple of Literature, the one pillar pagoda, Ho Chi Minh’s
Mausoleum and Hoa Lo Prison Memorial. We ended our tour with a walk around
the atmospheric old quarter before stopping off at a theater to see a
traditional water puppet show.
Our last day in Hanoi was spent doing a cycle tour along the
banks of the red river. This gave us a chance to see some of the surrounding
countryside including ancient pagodas, quaint villages and lively markets. I
did unfortunately fall off at one point (cycling clearly isn’t my forte) but
overall it was a good way to see a different side Vietnam!
Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam– Friday 3rd May - Monday 6th May
In Ho Chi Minh we stayed at the InterContinental hotel
which was located right in the city center and had excellent cityscape views!
We kicked off our time in the city in style with an evening street food tour on
a vintage vespa. This was my favourite tour and it really made me fall in love
with Vietnamese cuisine. Our first stop was a rooftop bar followed by several
paveway eateries, all just as fantastic as each other and offering authentic
street food. I loved the fresh spring rolls and banh xeo (happy pancakes!). We
ended the tour in a hidden café listening to live acoustic music and drinking
iced coffee (or eating ice cream in Scott’s case).
We were up bright and early the next day for a tour of the Mekong
Delta. Here we boarded a private boat with a small group of fellow tourists
to visit the bustling port of My Tho. Along the way we stopped by numerous
farms and gardens to taste local produce, before going to a coconut candy
factory to see how the locals make it. We also took a small drive in a Xe Loi (Vietnamese
Tuk-Tuk) to visit a bee farm before boarding a row boat back to our main boat.
We were able to take advantage of the Hard Rock Café situated next door to our
hotel that evening for dinner. Collecting a Ho Chi Minh City Hurricane glass
for good measure!
Day three involved a drive through the countryside to the
incredible Cu Chi Tunnels, constructed by the Viet Cong. I was amazed and
saddened by history of the tunnels and the way the Viet Cong survived in the
tunnel network – this is a must see if you ever visit Vietnam.
We returned back to city for lunch stopping by Hoa Tuc
for a bite to eat before getting a tour around the city’s main sights including
the reunification palace, the colonial style post office and the colourful Ben
Than Market. We stayed close by our
hotel of dinner that night choosing to eat at the Propaganda Bistro
which was just a few blocks from our hotel.
Phu Quoc, Vietnam–
Monday 6th May - Friday 10th May
We stayed in La Veranda Resort in Phu Quoc. A 5 *
resort which has a beautiful 1920s French colonial style mansion as its
centerpiece. Here we were transported to a different world for a few days as
Phu Quoc is largely untouched and has been out of influence for most of its
modern history.
Our room overlooked stunning gardens and we ate breakfast
each morning with a view of a white sand beach. Here we were able to relax and
unwind, enjoying a slower and simpler pace. Most days we lazed about by the
pool, enjoying cocktails and seeing what restaurants were close by. Two of our
favourites actually weren’t Vietnamese restaurants! If your ever in the area
I’d highly suggest visiting Winston’s Burgers & Beer and Sher-e-Punjab
Indian Cuisine.
Bangkok, Thailand –
Friday 10th May – Sunday 12th May
We were lucky enough to be upgraded to a suite when we
arrived at the Anantara Riverside hotel in Bangkok (defiantly played the
honeymoon card!). It was a great hotel with a fabulous location on the
Chaophraya river which is the major river that runs through the city. We spent
the only full day we had in Bangkok doing a city tour to get a taste of the
city and what it had to offer.
We caught a river boat from our hotel to the atmospheric old
quarter where we could marvel at the glittering Grand Palace before taking a
tuk-tuk to Wat Pho to see its famous reclining Buddha. We finished the tour
with a visit to the impressive Golden Mount where we could take in some views
of the city!
Where we ate in Bangkok:
Basil Thai
La Scarpetta
The Pizza Company
❤
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