I took a solo visit to Hoi-An and Hue in Vietnam in November 2016. I’d always wanted to visit both cities, but on our previous trips to Vietnam, the focus had been on our seashell hobby, this time I could go where I pleased…

The OH had headed off to Salt Lake City for a company conference, inviting me to join him.

But after researching Salt Lake City, the prospect of 7 days exploring Mormon America alone didn’t float my boat, so I decided to head East.

I had an amazing time as a solo, female and, ok, as an older traveler.

Age has its benefits, the Vietnamese were polite, charming, helpful and at no time did I feel uncomfortable traveling on my own.

In fact, I wished I’d added in extra days to visit Hanoi, maybe another time, when our world is safe to travel in again.

As it’s the time of coronavirus in the present day and I’m staying at home, I’ve finally had the chance to sit and edit my photo library and I realized I neglected my Vietnam trip on the blog.

So, a few odd memories from Vietnam…

When you visit Hoi-An, a world heritage site, there is no entrance fee for the old town but you are advised to buy a ticket book to enter the traditional heritage houses in town. It’s well worth buying as you enter the city gates, as you cant buy individual entrance tickets at the houses.

In the street, a fantastical dragon creation, a taste of what was to come…

One of the places I visited in town was the Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall. It was built in 1885 by Chinese overseas who came from Guangdong/ Cantonese (China). This hall is quite ornate and colorful.

An architecturally beautiful structure, with many Chinese paintings, lacquered furniture and spirals of incense sticks, the subtle fragrance permeating the air, but it’s the garden that sticks in my mind.

Walking down the corridor to this door, you could not imagine what lay beyond in the garden.

Through the door a traditional garden with a huge fountain of writhing dragons, decorated with pottery mosaic. Totally unexpected, quirky and quite fascinating. The random concrete goats added to the surreal surroundings…