Tales from Vietnam | 越南故事

April 24, 2026

After my trip to the U.S. for Christmas, I vowed to myself that I would not travel for three months, with hopes of recharging and getting back into a steady routine. That lasted all of…four weeks! In the first week of February, my company went on our annual retreat to Da Nang and Hoi An cities in Vietnam. This was my second time traveling to Vietnam. I realized that I didn’t share anything from my first trip to Ho Chi Minh City from November 2024.

Taiwanese companies often arrange employee retreats (員工旅遊) to encourage camaraderie and provide a time to relax. While I’d prefer more paid time off instead, retreats are a nice perk that allow me to see parts of Taiwan and the world that I may not otherwise. Last year, we spent four days in Hualien, Taiwan touring up and down the east coast. The area is somewhat difficult to travel to as a non-driver, so I really enjoyed my time. However, last year’s itinerary was super packed, not very restful, and had a lot of group activities, making me a little bit nervous for an international, non-business trip for five days with my colleagues.

When we arrived in Vietnam, my nerves were quickly calmed. Our itinerary had a few group activities, but also included a lot of time to explore independently or in smaller groups. I ended up spending the majority of my time with my colleagues Irene and Yeni, with others interspersed throughout the trip.

Day 1:

After landing at Da Nang airport (formerly a U.S. military airport which still contains one of the highest concentrations of Agent Orange herbicide left over from the Vietnam War), we headed directly to a pink church for a group photo, and then had the rest of the afternoon to explore the area. I got a coconut coffee with my colleagues, walked along the river, and took a brief stop at a history museum where I learned about the French colonial history of Da Nang. The city was the first point of entry for French colonists when they arrived in Vietnam in the 1850s. After my walk around and museum tour, I joined some other colleagues at Pizza 4P’s, a very famous wood-fired pizza restaurant in Vietnam. I’d tried it during my trip in 2024, and knew I couldn’t miss it again. It’s some of the best pizza I’ve ever had at an insanely good price, which is quite difficult to find in Taiwan. After dinner, we headed to check in to our lovely little hotel in Hoi An.

The pink church with my colleagues

Museum walk

River walk

Pizza 4 P's

Hotel for nights 1-2

Coconut coffee

Day 2:

On the second day of our trip, we started the morning with a river boat ride in coconut boats. The local tourist companies that run the coconut boat rides have floating stages in the water where there’s music and dancing. They even invited some of my colleagues to join on stage. After the boats, we had a seafood hotpot lunch which was quite tasty, followed by a massage. In the late afternoon, we went to Hoi An Old Village, a UNESCO world heritage site-turned tourist attraction. Despite the droves of tourists, I enjoyed walking around the village, soaking up the sunset and exploring the little alleys and shops. For dinner, I had bahn mi and spring rolls, both of which were delicious. I also found a local art store that makes unique clothing and art. I ended up buying a fun shirt and scarf for my hair, which I’ve been enjoying.

Coconut boat with my colleague, Vanessa

Coconut boat show

Swing!

Drinking lemon tea in the streets of Hoi An

The team in Hoi An

Bahn Mi (apparently Obama went here)

Hoi An

Cocktails with Irene and Charles

Day 3:

On day 3, we packed up from our Hoi An hotel and moved over to Da Nang. Most of our day was spent at Ba Na Hills, an amusement park up in the mountains near the city. Ba Na Hills was such a strange place. It’s modeled after a French colonial village and had almost no local visitors. Historically, the location of the amusement park is where French colonists would escape the heat of the city. Today, any visible remnant of that history is gone, and it has been replaced with a place built specifically for tourists. The closest equivalent experience I’ve had in the United States has been visiting a Midwestern Swiss Village.

Despite the strangeness of Ba Na Hills, I still had a really nice time. We took a gondola up the mountain and between areas of the park and had perfect weather, which, apparently, is quite rare for the area. I took lots of photos with my colleagues at the famous “Golden Bridge” (in Chinese we call it the “Buddah Hands Bridge”), enjoyed riding on an alpine slide, and saw a sea of clouds which was beautiful!

Golden Bridge

Taking a rest with Vicky, Irene, and Leo

Buddah Hands Bridge (spectacular weather)

Gondala Ride

This place was a little Hogwarts-esque

After a day on the mountain, we went to a fancy seafood dinner for our company’s 尾牙 (wěi yá; no direct English translation), a pre-chinese new year celebratory dinner that is common practice among Taiwanese companies. At 尾牙, companies often do a lucky draw for various amounts of money. Some companies even raffle off cars, vacations, and other experiences. At our 尾牙, there was a raffle, and everyone got some amount of money, ranging from $8000 NTD (about $275 USD) to $50,000 NTD (about 1750 USD). Company traditions like 尾牙 are still a strong culture shock to me; I’d rather them just pay me more money than spend it on a raffle and fancy dinner. 尾牙 serves as a way to thank employees, celebrate achievements, and build camaraderie, marking the end of another year of work together.

I won $9000 NTD which was nice!

My lucky-draw at the 尾牙

Day 4:

The fourth and final full day of the retreat was a free day, which I really enjoyed! I started off my morning quite slowly with breakfast at the hotel and enjoying the ocean view from the roof. I spent the later half of my morning in a lovely little coffee shop sipping Vietnamese egg coffee and reading my book. Later in the day, I got a massage and afternoon snack of spring rolls with my colleagues, followed by a sunset on the beach. In the evening, I enjoyed an incredible bowl of Pho, and ended the last night with another walk on the beach and a gathering of colleagues at a local brewery.

Hotel view nights 3-4

Pho

Vietnamese egg coffee

Food!

Eating a mango on the beach!

New shirt~

Day 5:

On the last morning, I went back to the little coffee shop I went to on day 4 because I loved it so much! Then, we headed out to the airport and back to Taiwan, landing uneventfully!

Would I go back to Da Nang and Hoi An? Maybe, but only for a very specific purpose.

I had a lovely trip, filled with good food and relaxation near the beach. Da Nang and Hoi An are great for this purpose, but less so for traveling in the way I usually do: focusing on local art and history, exploring neighborhoods, and walking a lot. If I want to go on a cost-effective beach vacation, I’ll head back, but otherwise, I feel like I saw the sights that needed to be seen.

Next time on Tales from Taiwan, I’ll be sharing “Tales from Korea,” the second trip after saying “I won’t travel for a few months!” Stay tuned.

With Love from Taiwan,

Miriam