Vinh city - Sen village - Cửa Lò beach

Houses in Sen village
Neighboring houses of President Hồ Chí Minh
 in the early 20th century

Central Vietnam, 29 May to 1 June 2014 - We traveled by train from Hanoi to Vinh city and stayed a night there. I used to visit this city in the past, but it was just a day trip on business for submitting tender documents of my company. There was a place that I had not been to in Vietnam yet. It was the home village of President Hồ Chí Minh (1890 - 1969) which is 15km away from Vinh city. The purpose of our trip this time was to visit his home village and Cửa Lò beach.

On 30 May, we made a day trip to Sen village which was the place where President Hồ Chí Minh lived from 1901 to 1906 during his teenage. This is also the home village of his father. We walked around the village and visited an old well, houses of his neighbors, his house and museums.

Students from Sơn La province visiting Sen village
The girl wearing pink traditional dress and conical
hat on the right side was telling stories about
President Hồ Chí Minh and his childhood in
his home village. Other students are from Sơn La
 province in North West Vietnam.
Most of them are ethnic minority people.

The next village we visited was Trù village which is his mother's home village and also the place where President Hồ Chí Minh was born. We met a group of students from Sơn La province in North West Vietnam. They are from different ethnic minority groups and wore their colorful traditional dresses. The local guides shared touching stories about President Hồ Chí Minh's family and his childhood. We spent much time in Sen village as the two major sites were closed during the lunch time. We had to go back at 2pm for visiting them and by chance we met this group of students.

Another interesting experience on the trip was to visit Cửa Lò beach. This is a popular tourist destination for the northern Vietnamese during the summer time. The water was very warm and there were many jelly fish.

Súp lươn (Eel soup)
Eels are local specialty of Nghệ An province.

I got skin burns caused by jelly fish and it was really annoying. We took an electric car and went to Lan Châu island as well as fishing village and Mai Bảng temple. There was a festival at the temple and the local men invited us to join their party.

One of the highlights of our 4-day trip was to meet so many friendly people along the way. We also enjoyed local food made from eel which is local specialty of Nghệ An province. This place is still off the beaten path and we didn't see any foreign tourists during the visit.

Travel tips: It's easy to buy a train ticket between Hanoi and Vinh city. The train ride takes 7 hours during the day and ticket costs about USD 7-10 depending on hard seat or soft seat in aircon wagon.