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Tip to Tip of Vietnam 🇻🇳
  • Emily Tierney
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  • Emily Tierney

Tip to Tip of Vietnam 🇻🇳

Starting at the southern tip of Vietnam and slowly making our way to the north tip of Vietnam whilst embracing the backpacking style of life. Read more
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    🇻🇳 Phường Cam Ly - Đà Lạt, Vietnam
    Emily TierneyTip to Tip of Vietnam 🇻🇳Traveler

    Heading north, arriving in Da Lat

    Yesterday in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    7am we arrived in Da Lat via an overnight sleeper bus. Approx 7hrs north of Ho Chi Minh. Although we missed the scenery throughout the night, Da Lat is a much smaller country town vibe compared to the big city.

    We dropped our backpacks at our hostel reception and began the day with some Mario cart! Whilst the track was rather quiet because we had arrived so early in the morning, we still had a great time! I won the race!
    We watched a random tribal performance which had lovely music, walked around some gardens and then got a car back to town.
    Our 15min car trip back to town was enough for us both to fall asleep in so we decided to have a quick bite and head back to the hostel for some down time.
    Later in the evening we visited a locals restaurant for some Chicken noodle soup and chicken curry for dinner! Both were absolutely amazing! So delicious!
    We wondered the Da Lat night market for an evening stroll and then both popped into bed by 8pm for some good sleep!    Read more

  • Emily TierneyTip to Tip of Vietnam 🇻🇳Traveler
    111

    Cu Chi Tunnels

    September 15 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    8am checkout from our accommodation and we were picked up for our half-day tour to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels.
    The journey there was around 2 hours by bus, and it was crazy watching the scenery change from the busy city to countryside, and eventually into jungle. As soon as we arrived, we were greeted by an immediate soaking of humidity. The air was so thick, hot and wet that it felt almost impossible to stay dry! Our tour guide took us on a walking tour through the jungle, showing us some of the Vietnamese traps that were used during the war. A lot of them were surprisingly creative — and definitely not something you’d want to step into!

    Then it was time to descend into the Cu Chi Tunnels. The tunnels were narrow and the entire time we had to stay crouched down just to fit. I couldn’t imagine having to live and fight in these tunnels for 20 years.
    For much of the tunnel, we had to crawl our way through — and I won’t even mention the humidity trapped inside!
    Was
    After the long bus trip back to Ho Chi Minh City, we arrived around 3pm and went straight in search of Bánh Mì for lunch. Our afternoon was spent grabbing Grabs to visit a few unique cafés that Amos found. Each one was such a cool experience, and getting to drive through some of the more local areas was great!
    For dinner, we headed to Ho Thi Ky Food Street, where we sat amongst the locals on plastic chairs and ate calamari, beef skewers and drank beer. It wouldn’t be Vietnam without the unpredictable weather, a heavy shower pasted over but as per usual, it only lasted 20 minutes before clearing up. One thing about the heat, is an hour after it pours down, majority of the roads will be dry again as if it never rained.
    With a few hours to fill before our sleeper bus, we headed back to the famous Bùi Viện Walking Street to farewell Ho Chi Minh City the same way it greeted us — loud and full of life!
    Our previous accommodation kindly kept our backpacks in lockers for the day, so later that night we went back to collect them, headed to the bus bay and jumped on our 1am sleeper bus to Da Lat! Boy were we tired and struggled to stay awake until our bus came.    Read more

  • Emily TierneyTip to Tip of Vietnam 🇻🇳Traveler
    131

    Exploring Ho Chi Minh City

    September 14 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    We wasted no time today jumping straight into exploring Ho Chi Minh City! We started the day mapping out exactly what we wanted to see and decided to make our own walking tour! A quick 7eleven stop was needed to get some energy into us and we began walking to our first stop - War Remnants Museum. Was not a fan, this place had way too many graphic photos … my stomach started turning. I waited for Amos, he learnt lots and enjoyed it though.
    A short walk away was the Cathedral Notre-Dame and the Central Post office. Unfortunately the Cathedral was having renovations so we couldn’t see much past the scaffolding. The Central Post office was huge! The inside was filled with locals and tourists sending post cards out! A few markets were also located inside the building!

    Next up was Book-street! A quaint little street filled with book markets and little coffee shops! This was the perfect place for a quick drink stop!
    Lunch was our first Bahn Mi’s of the month! Bahn Mi’s being filling and cheap is an added bonus to how yum they are!
    Across from lunch we entered into the Ben Than Markets… aka your ultimate hotspot for buying high end brand dupes. Nothing quite prepares you for the hassling, bartering and yelling that goes on inside these markets. Every shop, every sales lady has the exact same thing and all say “special price for you”. Amos was quite successful here with getting a pair of sunnies!
    Our walk continued on to the famous Apartment Cafe’s, although we didn’t go inside, this was an interesting place to sightsee! The Apartment Cafe’s are on a main strip, so we wondered around the streets experiencing the Vietnam heat and welcomed a light shower to pass over in the afternoon!
    Amos and I came to the realisation that only bringing thongs over possibly wasn’t the smartest idea which lead us to popping into a Sketcher’s store and walking out with some supportive shoes on our feet!! Such immediate relief!
    A quick break from the heat back at our hostel before going out for dinner. Pho again, how yum!
    For an evening adventure, we booked our first grab motorbike rides and visited Landmark 81 (the tallest building in Vietnam and the 2nd tallest building in South East Asia). Level 81 had spectacular views, we popped on some safety harnesses and walked around the edge!
    An early morning tomorrow called for an early night prior, we headed back to our hostel and into bed - a great Day 1 in Vietnam! 🇻🇳    Read more

  • Emily TierneyTip to Tip of Vietnam 🇻🇳Traveler

    Sydney - Ho Chi Minh City

    September 13 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    Departure day from Sydney went smoothly! We were on a new remodelled plane which was great! 8 hours later, we landed in Ho Chi Minh City, the immigration lines were a breeze .. nothing like what I saw online or stressed about.
    We booked a grab to our hostel, checked in and immediately headed out for some dinner!
    Our first Pho experience was 10/10! Amos and I both got the Beef Pho with a side of Coke! Definitely looking forward to having it again!
    We wondered the streets to stretch our legs and came across Bui Vien walking street - insane lights, loud music and lots of foot traffic! What a lively welcome to Vietnam! I was definitely amused with watching a few ladies try to pull Amos inside their venues as we walked the entire strip.
    We visited a 7eleven before heading back to our hostel and heading into bed!    Read more

    Trip start
    September 13, 2026