GRAND VIEWS
The Golden
Bridge in Ba Na
Hills, Da NangELLEExplore
263InterContinental DanangInterContinental DanangDa NangInterContinentalDanangELLE.COM/UK September 2O19BATHE IN
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Private pools
(top) and
VIP villasFollow Katie O’Malley on Twitter @KatieOMalley. Photography: Chris Caldicott, Getty Images.
“ I HAD never
CONSIDERED
HOW FUN IT
WOUL D BE
to H AV E A
SLEEPOVER with
my MOTHER ”In our last week, we sailed across the UNESCO World Heritage
Site of Ha Long Bay, where we tried sunrise tai chi on the top deck of
a boat, tiptoed underneath stalactites in the Sung Sot Cave and raced
each other up the 4OO steps of Ti Top island (Instagram gold). We
headed back to Hanoi to watch a traditional water puppetry show,
and dined on crab spring rolls and stir-fried lobster at the popular
Grandma’s Restaurant (grandmarestaurant.com). We laughed and talked
and didn’t fall out once. I was mostly the ‘adult’, making sure we got
to places on time, whereas she seemed to relish not having to make
the decisions and threw herself into everything.
So, there we were, on our final night, two grown
women standing on a bed, armed to defend each
other from the unknown threat outside our room,
when two mice scuttled in under the doorway. We
burst into a fit of giggles at how ridiculous we were.
Would I go backpacking with her again? In a
heartbeat. We found a new understanding of each
other – as people, not just as mother and daughter.
The trip allowed her to gain a new confidence – she
may be older, but she has lost none of her wanderlust.
Mum loved travelling with me; we have almost
identical likes, dislikes, strengths and vulnerabilities,
which makes us want to take on the same challenges. She felt proud
that she and my dad have nurtured my love of travelling, and she
enjoyed taking the foot off the pedal for once and allowing me
to take the lead. I came to realise that making new memories
with my mum is just as important as doing it with my friends. And
while I may be her child, as I have grown older I have developed an
instinct to protect her – even if it is just with a metal fork.