Our Vicky, Brand and Campaign Manager here at Netflights HQ, got whisked off to Vietnam recently and wrote us a (pretty long!) postcard all about it. If you’ve ever wanted to learn your Hanoi’s from your Ha Long’s, give this a read.

Hey, I’m Vicky! I’ve been invited to Vietnam. Fancy finding out more about this wonderful country? Well, I’ll tell ya! Come along for the ride! Here we go! It’s my first time going to Asia, the longest flight I’ll have ever done, and my kids are not coming with me… I . CANNOT. WAIT!!!

First thing’s first: I’ve put this all on Instagram (gotta brag, obvs), and you can have a little lookie right here.

So, what’s the plan?

Things to know before I go:

Vietnam is quite a big country, so I’m gonna have to check the weather. It seems it’s colder in the north than the south (who’d have thought!) And I don’t know about you, but I never know what to wear so I’m gonna fill you in on my outfit choices along the way too as that’s the tricky bit!

Okay, lets get cracking, here is part 1 of my 7 day diary 😍.

Getting there

Where I am: Heathrow – Hanoi
What I’m doing: Travelling
What I’m wearing: Leggings, t-shirt, hoodie, travel pillow, massive shawl, trainers (comfy!)

Woop woop! I get to the airport, and for once it’s not ridiculously early – I’ve got an 08.30am check in, so I’m well happy! Off to the bar I go for a prosecco and then it’s Duty Free for a Dior lipstick – my little treat.

I’m flying Vietnam Airlines direct to Hanoi. On board, I settle in for the almost 12 hour flight. I’ve got an aisle seat with 2 blankets and 2 pillows because the middle seat is free – get in! Feet up with a film, I get some wasabi nuts and a cheeky glass of vino, of course. Now, the film selection isn’t amazing but there’s a couple of new ones. Plus, there’s a lot of Asian films so I give a Vietnamese love story a go. You know what they say, when 35,000 feet in the air on the way to Vietnam…

Food wise, I have a nice Thai Green Chicken Curry, with the bread roll you always get on planes (yes!) And later on I have a braised beef noodle and pak choi dish. Was all really tasty, washed down with a tiny cup of tea – eh, we even get metal cutlery, fancy!

So, two and a half films, chatting to my neighbour, a podcast, trying a bit of sleep (and failing) later and we arrive into Hanoi ready for our adventure!

Day 1

Where I am: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay
What I’m doing: Cruising and sightseeing
Climate: Not boiling, bit cloudy
What I’m wearing: AM – T shirt dress, denim jacket and sandals | PM – Nice long dress and heels

So, straight out the airport, we hop on the minibus to Ha Long Bay.

Then it’s a quick stop at the services, where we bump into a bunch of school kids – we’re instantly famous! They all want their pictures with us so there’s only one thing for it… peace and pout!

After 2 hours on the road we arrive at Paradise Suites, where we’re breakfasted and given a room to freshen up (this is a lovely little resting place while we wait to embark our ship – massive beds and a lovely shower, just what you need after all that travelling).

A few hours later, whilst we’re waiting for our transfer to the Ha Long cruise ship, I try my first Vietnamese coffee.

Now, let me tell you what this is – it’s condensed milk, a double espresso, and a milky coffee, over ice. It’s sooo sweet and bloomin’ gorgeous, it’s just like a milkshake. I mean, who even are you if you haven’t tried one yet?!

WARNING: Back home, I now have a weekly Vietnamese iced coffee every Friday. They are that good!

We board the beautiful Paradise Elegance, where they welcome us with rose petals from the higher deck! Now, this is nice – this 5 star boat sets sail and guides us through Ha Long Bay. I have my own balcony so as I sit, we slowly sail past the gorgeous tidgy islands. I am well happy.

We have a quick buffet lunch (well nice, loads of choice!) before our first excursion to Titop Island. We hop off the boat and climb to the top of the only island you can walk up – there’s so many steps, which is great exercise and it has the best view! Then we are straight into Luon Cave on a bamboo boat (think a big gondola and you’re there).

Back onboard, we have a couple of hours to rest before getting ready for dinner… I watched Vanilla Sky (it was that or Man United), and – typical of me – started dozing off with 15 mins to be ready for dinner (face palm). I’m talking 2 days without sleep here!

Evening on the Paradise Elegance is lovely. We have a cooking class, a European fine dining menu – so obvs I got the lobster and steak – and then it’s followed by cocktails, karaoke and DANCING!!!

Day 2

Where I am: Hanoi – Ha Long Bay
What I’m doing: Cruising and sightseeing
Climate: Not boiling, bit of sun
What I’m wearing: AM – T shirt dress (different colour), denim jacket and sandals. Shorts and vest for cycling | PM – Traditional Vietnamese outfit

So, I wake up with this view… I mean, pinch me!

Quick shower, then we’re off for an early morning excursion. Now, there were a few sore heads after the late night partying, so we grabbed a quick pastry and a coffee. I was just going to have a filter coffee until I remembered about Vietnamese coffee…. droooooool.

Oh, go on then!

Our first stop today is a trip to Surprise Cave… now I don’t want to give it away, but I was shocked… in a good way!

Back on the ship, we breakfasted like kings. I had a bacon, egg, and tomato butty on two massive slabs of bread – just what I needed. P.S. – it wasn’t me with the hangover, FYI.

We then packed up to move onto the sister ship Paradise Grand – which is just as beautiful.

While our luggage is being moved over, we’re off on an excursion to Cat Ba. This is a stunning little island. We opt to visit a rural village, and by bicycle too… ah, the freedom. I can’t tell you how big the smile on my face was!

A quick 15 minute ride takes us to this very rural village that’s the size of a local UK high street, where we get to see a traditional Vietnamese house, drink some local liquor, and get an insight into living in a very different way than we’re used to.

Well worth the trip.

Back on the boat we’re given traditional dress for the evening – check out what being an Emperor for the evening looks like here.

And what do we dine on, I hear you ask? Only an Asian banquet! The highlights for me are the steamed sweet snails, sea bass rolls and spinach and black clam broth – delish!

Day 3

Where I am: Ha Long Bay – Hanoi
What I’m doing: Kayaking and sightseeing
Climate: Ha Long Bay – not boiling, still cloudy | Hanoi – sorta chilly
What I’m wearing: AM – Top, leggings, denim jacket and sandals (bad choice) | PM – Thin jumper dress, massive shawl, denim jacket and flip flops

Last morning on the boat (boo!), so first things first: excursion time. Today we’re off kayaking and it’s not boiling, so I throw on leggings – big mistake! Word of warning to those who don’t do water sports (like me), when you go kayaking you’re going to get wet. The paddle drips into your kayak so your shoes and bottom will be squelching by the time you get out of there.

We have a lovely paddle up to a cave, then it’s straight back to the boat for breakfast. Obviously have a Vietnamese Coffee, and they serve us a local dish of Squidcake, which is lovely.

Back on dry land and sad to leave, we board the fancy minibus and try to get our heads down for the…