A Week in Vietnam

By Reuben Passi, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore

What is the perfect way to spend your reading week? Jet setting to a new country of course!! This is how we spent a week in North Vietnam. 

Normally a reading week would be spent catching up on missed readings and making sure any work is done before the deadline season kicks in, however, for exchange students at NUS, reading week equals the best opportunity to take advantage of the gorgeous countries all around in Southeast Asia. We decided on Vietnam, specifically Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, in the northern region of the country due to Vietnam’s unique geographical landscape and rich heritage which allowed us to truly soak in all of the different experiences the city and the natural world had to offer! 

Arriving in Hanoi was completely different to any city we had ever been to before, with the pavements completely full of motorbikes forcing you to walk alongside the oncoming traffic which very rarely ever followed any rhythm or rhyme. After a few days of feeling like we would nearly be killed whilst walking around, we learnt that the trick is to walk with as much confidence as you can muster and pray that any oncoming traffic just does not hit you! However, these chaotic streets are completely offset by the beauty of the city! If you are a nature lover, then Hanoi is the perfect place to visit as the streets are lined with trees and you are never far from some form of nature. These luscious green backdrops combined with the unique architectural style present allow you to feel completely transported to a unique destination and truly feel immersed in a well-lived-in and loved city.

Vietnamese food being some of my own personal favourite cuisines meant that I was also able to try some gorgeously inexpensive dishes and really delve into delicacies that none of us had ever tried before! Some of our personal favourites were Bánh xèo (Vietnamese Crepes) and Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich). 

Touring Ha Long Bay and enjoying the empty beach on the coast was also a perfect getaway from the bustling city and allowed us to sit back and relax with one of the world’s most gorgeous natural views. Truly Ha Long Bay does not look like a real place that is how stunning it was and very clearly deserving of its badge as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

I truly cannot recommend visiting Vietnam enough if you are on exchange, it is somewhere I want to return back to as soon as possible (fingers crossed for semester two!!) and will never stop talking about. 

Reuben Passi, National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore