Flying from Quy Nhon to Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam

Our nice and relaxing short holiday in Quy Nhon came to end. We would have loved to stay longer and travel by ground transportation to a few more places in Vietnam. Since we only had a few days left, we decided to take the plane and flew to our next destination, Ho Chi Ming City.

Though Quy Nhon is not a big city ( in Asian standard), there is an airport,the Phu Cat Airport, where travellers can take their flights to most of the destinations within Vietnam. Nost sure about international flights

We ordered a Grab taxi on our cell phone, and the driver came and picked us up from our hotel, very convenient indeed! The ride was smooth and it didnt take too long. We got to the airport in plenty of time before boarding. Though the airport looked small from the outside, once we checked in and arrived at the departure floor, there were many shops and a couple of restaruants open.

We ordered some food and beverages and were able to relax a little in the restaurant's patio dining area. There were quite a few shops at the airport. I went around to do some window shopping and saw something tied in a bundle and they were being sold everywhere in many stores inside the airport. J. struck up some conversations with a couple of Vietnamese passengers in the waiting area and being curious, I asked them about it.

 I thought it was some kind of bamboo decorative or household items used for sweeping dust around the house. Imagine my surprised when the women told me that they inside were cooked meat which Vietnamese would consume during holidays or while travelling. How about that! I almost bought a couple and would certainly leave them rotting in my lugguage if I had not learned about them. That is why we love travelling. We can always learn something new wherever we go!

Enjoying Life Any Evening of the Week at Quy Nhon, Vietnam

We spent three nights in Quy Nhon, southern Vietnam, and enjoyed a relaxing and slower pace of lifestyle. We did a lot of walking and observed some Vietnamese people's daily life and their patroitism proudly on display.

People were working hard and there were Vietnamese flags everywhere - hanging from lamp posts, from balconies, from windows, from tree branches.

  While most Most North Americans stay home om weeknights, and only go out to enjoy themselves on the weekends, Vietnamese we saw seemed to enjoy life any evening of the week - out with their friends and families at night,

having coffee/ desserts on restaurant patios, watching street performance

or enjoying their time on the beach. On the last evening of our stay in Quy Nhon, we strolled to the park near our hotel.

It was a busy place and a beautiful sight! The statutes and trees were lit up and the park gave a warm, inviting and welcoming feeling to visitors. There were people dancing in groups to music;

 

there were bikes decked out with bright lights for rental, families talking walks, kids riding bikes and couples and groups of friends snapping pictures of each other.

Treating Ourselves and Staying at a 5 Star Oceanfront Hotel in Quy Nhon, Vietnam!

We do a lot of travelling in a year. In order to stretch our travel dollars we normally stay in average/ mid range price hotels. In most cities, waterfront accommodations are usually quite pricy. However, in less tourisy places, the demand for accommodation and services are less, consequently the prices are more budget friendly. Quy Nhon, Vietnam, is a city just like that. We enjoyed our time in Quy Nhon! What made it special for us at Quy Nhon was the opportunity of staying in an oceanfront hotel.

Since the room rates for the 5 star hotel in Quy Nhon were resonable, our son treated us to the best and booked us an oceanfront room at a luxury hotel. What a treat it was! We moved to this luxurious place on the second day after arriving at this city shortly after 2pm which gave us a full first day in our oceanfront hotel. We loved our waterfront room!

Enjoying a fantastic ocean view, we could even hear clearly the pounding of the waves at night. J. and I spent a long time hanging out on the balcony. I loved it so much that I slept on the balcony for most of the night! J. loved the waterview too and he didn't mind doing some work on the balcony in the afternoon at all!

A stonethrow away from the front door of our hotel, the beach was beautiful but not too busy at all. Gradually as the sun slowly going down, more people started to come out to enjoy the beach. Some were playing beach volleyball while a few were swimming in the water and many were just sitting on the beach looking out to the ocean. The sand was soft under our feet as was the sunlight on our faces.

With the sand massaging our feet, we walked barefoot on the beach soaking up the gentle sun and cool breezes while J. was running in and out of the ocean, chasing after the waves and jumping all over them. He was having a blast and so were we! Staying right by the ocean was great as we could go out there anytime from our hotel or just relaxing in the hotel's front garden watching all the activities happening on the beach. Never a dull moment!

We really enjoyed our time by the ocean and could have easily become a Canadian snowbird in Quy Nhon for the entire winter! RT, Quy Nhon, Vietnam, 2026

An Excursion to the Banh It Tower, Central Vietnam

Before we visited Vietnam, we knew very little about the history and culture of this country excpet for the part that it was under Chinese rule for over a thousand years. This explained why we saw a lot of Chinese buildings, traditional writings, temples and many other cultural customs heavily influneced by the Chinese.

After landing on Vietnamese soil, we have learned a bit more about its history and past religious and political practices. We took an excursion today and visited the Banh It Tower close to Quy Nhon. We hailed a taxi which took us to the closest point at the foot of the hill but there was still quite a distance before reaching our destination. It was quite a walk and we were glad that we didn't visit this site in the summer otherwise this climb up to the hill would have been exhausting. We reached the gate of the site but there was hardly anybody there. We paid an admission fee and were touring the site on our own. Before climbing up the hill, we visited a building with a small exhibition explaining the history, the religious practise, the musical instrument and different costumes worn by the Champa people.

Banh It Tower - Vietnamese - Tháp Bánh Ít, also known as Silver Tower, is located in Tuy Phong Village, Tuy Phuoc District, Binh Dinh Province in South Central Vietnam. It sits on a hilltop approximately 20 kilometers southwest of Quy Nhon City, the provincial capital. It is one of the most prominent surviving structures of the ancient Champa King.

The part we enjoyed most was climbing the hill and enjoying the scenery as we made our way up. There were also a few flights of stairs to climb before reaching the towers. But the climb was worth it as we had a 365 degree panoramic view of the sprawling countryside, coconut forests, the vast rice fields of the Tuy Phuoc district, the **Con River**, the distant East Sea and the modern city of Quy Nhon in the distance. It was nice and breezy too at the top!

The tower sits on a hill about **100 meters above sea level. This location was not just for religious symbolism (mountains were considered the home of the gods), but also for strategic defense. It served as a visible landmark for travelers and sailors along the ancient maritime routes.

Banh It Tower is a surviving monument of the Champa civilization, which flourished along the central coast of Vietnam from roughly the 4th to 13th centuries. Built in the late 11th to early 12th century, it belongs to the architectural style of the later period of Champa, characterized by tall, graceful brick towers and intricate sandstone carvings.

Aside from its historical value, the hilltop location offers one of the best view in Central Vietnam making it a popular spot for photography at sunrise and sunset. We were glad to have made this excursion and enjoyed the view from the tower! RT, Banh It Tower, Vietnam, 2026

Our Second and Enjoyable Day in Quy Nhon, Vietnam

We have been spending our vacations together with our loved one in Asia for the past few years. However, instead of visiting famous tourist attratcions, J. seems to be drawn to smaller cities and towns. We agree with him as we have found that there are so much to discover in these less famous places. People are less hurried, more relaxed and friendly. We arrived at Quy Nhon in late evening and had a fantastic breakfast the next morning in the hotel's dining room!

We were surprised by the quality and variety of food items offered in a less touristy city such as Quy Nhon. Though not an oceanview, the view of the city from the dining room was beautiful! There were mountains in the distance and beautiful houses and modern but not so tall buildings all around. Quy Nhon had this nice quiet and peaceful feel of a small city. We enjoyed this lovely view and loved lingering over our coffee and chatted. We were at the breakfast for a long time!

Though there were no world famous attractions here, we stayed for a few days in this quiet city and relaxed. After the delightful breakfast, we went out to explore the city on foot.

The streets and stores were not busy at all as we didn't see too many people around. We checked out the prices and found that they were cheaper than in other big cities.

Since Quy Nhon is not a main tourist city in Vietnam, we didn't encounter too many people who could understand English. We asked a few people for directions to a shopping mall. Though not very good in expressing themselves In English, the Vietnamese we met tried their best and they were friendly and helpful.

We passed by many nice residential and commercial buildings during our walk.

We could see that tourism in Vietnam has been taking off in the past few years as many hotels have been built recently. We saw numerous new hotels and building activities happening everywhere.

We went in a good size modern shopping mall close to our hotel and did some shopping there. I bought some nice Vietnamese tea while my hubby and J. bought some clothes at the department store. I was glad that we were able to use our credit card in the store. We had an enjoyable afternoon exploring this beautiful city and looked forward to enjoying the fabulous beaches close to our hotel

and what Quy Nhon has to offer in the next couple of days!

  RT, Quy Nhon, Vietnam, 2026

A Train Ride from Da Nang to Quy Nhon, Vietnam

We have visited many big cities and stayed at numerous nice resorts during our travels and this time we wanted something a little different. Vacationing in Vietnam recently, we desired to experience life in a smaller city in this Asian country. We decided on a smaller city randomly. After researching the different modes of ground transportations to reach our next destination, we found the best way for us was taking the bus from Hoi An back to Da Nang where we would continue the next leg of our vacation.

From Da Nang, we took a train to Quy Nhon, a city about 500,000 residents and approximately 320 km south of Da Nang. Though the train was not the most modern type of trains, it was comfortable and relaxing. The train ride was smooth enough so that we were able to get some work done on our labtops. Throughout the ride, the train personnel pushed carts loaded up with refreshments and went around on the train so that passengers could purcahse snacks and drinks if they wished.

After a while, we took a walk to stretch our legs and went to the dining car where we purchased and enjoyed a cold beverage. A couple hours later, the kitchen prepared some hot food and passengers could even purchase hot meals on board! We passed by farms, rural buildings and green pastures and enjoyed the peaceful scenery outside. The train ride was about 5 1/2 hours and it was uneventful.

We arrived at the train station shortly after 6 p.m. Immediately, we noticed the difference of the small town feel - the prices of food were much cheaper and the people were friendlier. Luggage in tow, we walked along the streets and discovered a night market not far from the train station. Since it was close to Chinese New Year, a lot of street vendors were still opened. We went around to the different stalls looking at various things. Then we realized J. was without his suitcase. He traced his steps back to the stores but due to the language barrier, people didn't quite understand what he was looking for.

I went looking for him in a store and the people there tried to hold me back telling me to stay put. Eventually, using body language, we understood each other and the kind people at the stalls helped us to retrieve J.'s lost luggage left in one of the stores. This was our first experience of the kindness of people at Quy Nhon. They were very patient and considerate with us genuinely trying to help us to recover our lost item. Thank you, Quy Nhon, for your kindness and patience! RT, Quy Nhon, Vietnam, 2026

A Hotel Review in Hoi An , Vietnam - The Ancient Garden Boutique

Located outside the ancient city of Hoi An, the Ancient Garden Boutique Hotel is within a walking distance of about 10- 15 minutes to the centre of all the activities.

There are a couple of restaurants closeby to the hotel. After walking a little closer to the Ancinet City, we found a lot more interesting restaurants from which to choose for meals. The front desk staff was friendly and helpful. The receptionist gave us some ideas of what were happening in the city when we asked and she offered us some tickets for a cultural show on the same evening but we had other things in mind. Another amenity offered to guests by the hotel - free bikes to ride around in this ancient city!

Our room was on the ground floor, clean and spacious with a set of French doors leading to the outside garden. The hotel came with an outdoor swimming pool but the weather was a little too cool therefore we didn't take a dip there. Breakfast was served in the hotel's outdoor patio garden filled with lush green plants while birds were chirping in the morning crisp air. Enjoying a nice hot beverage and a delicious hot breakfast in the lovely garden setting, we were happy that we booked this hotel in Hoi An - a nice, comfortable and afforadable place!

RT, Ancient Garden Boutique, Hoi An, Vietnam, 2026