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Best friends for 12 years traveling around Vietnam together

Phuong Linh and Nguyen Loan have traveled to 50 provinces and cities in the country, from a “dirty” trip when they were students to nights at the resort with tens of millions of dong.

Nguyen Loan and Phuong Linh, 32 years old, have known and been close since they were high school students. When it comes to Loan, Linh still calls her friend half of her youth.

In mid-December, the two took a trip to Phu Quoc (Kien Giang) to celebrate 16 years of friendship. The trip lasted 5 days and they stayed in a 5-star resort. Linh and Loan shared that in recent years when there are economic conditions, their travel style is to choose beautiful resorts and check-in infamous destinations. Even so, the memory of the miserable trip together more than 10 years ago never fades.

Best friends for 12 years traveling around Vietnam together
Phuong Linh (left) and Nguyen Loan (right) take pictures in Da Lat.

It was 2009, when they were second-year university students, Linh and Loan first decided to go out together, to Da Nang. At that time, to have money to travel, they saved for 3 months, did not drink smoothies, lemon tea, or buy new clothes. And they bought a sleeper ticket and rented a small homestay room.

Both Linh and Loan remember lying on the car swaying, shaking for 16 hours before arriving in Da Nang, but no one complained of being tired or even happy. That year, the city held an international fireworks festival, the streets were bustling with people. That atmosphere both still remember to this day and are always happy to recall.

“Now that we have more conditions, we only need to fly an hour to Danang, stay at a beautiful hotel, but we can’t feel the same excitement and anticipation as that first trip,” Linh said.

After graduating from university, Loan became a teacher while Linh pursued her passion for fashion. Seeing that you are under a lot of pressure, the job does not bring high income, Linh convinces you to start a business with your own designer fashion brand. At the beginning of the business, there were many difficulties, love to travel but did not dare to go much, the couple looked at photos on the internet and wished. Every time they have the opportunity to go out, they calculate the cost of each plane ticket, hotel rental … to save. The two carried a suitcase of clothes to wear and take pictures of themselves.

Years after the fashion brand grew in popularity, the business grew, the trips became more and more frequent and now it’s once a month. In the past 2 years alone, they have traveled to Ninh Binh, Yen Tu (Quang Ninh), Da Lat (Lam Dong), Sa Pa (Lao Cai), Ninh Van Bay (Khanh Hoa), Con Dao (Ba Ria – Vung Tau) Ship), Phu Quoc… In which, Phu Quoc is a destination that almost every year goes several times, so they often joke that going to the pearl island is “going home”.












Most of the trips are not planned far away, but if you see a good point, go right away, because of the freelance business. There is a day trip but sometimes it is almost a month. Most recently, Linh and Loan checked in at the ancient persimmon tree in Ninh Binh and took a romantic photoshoot in the pine hill in Da Lat. As a good couple, when going out, Loan is always the one to prepare costumes for the two to ton-sur-ton together. And Linh will be in charge of finding beautiful spots and delicious restaurants to visit.

In many beautiful places, but travel memories are the most idyllic moments. They still remember the flight from Hanoi and Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa). There was a storm that day, so everyone was worried about flight safety. However, when the storm was over, the plane reached out to the warm sunny sky. “That moment was both thrilling and impressive. That is probably the best proof for the saying that if we want to see the sun, we must overcome the storms that we often enjoy,” Linh said.

Or another time they went to Da Lat and stayed in a villa on the hill, like a house in the valley in the movies, about 30 km from the center and peaceful. Together, time goes by very slowly, they spend time reading books, breathing fresh air, playing with dogs, and forgetting all worries of life.

Linh shared, not only in trips but also in life and work, Loan is always the one to give in. So 17 years of friendship, they have never had an argument, many people may not believe it. The longer they play together, the more they know each other’s eating, sleeping habits, behavior, and hobbies, so there’s no reason to be angry with each other.

Photo of the couple in Tam Dao, Vinh Phuc in 2010. Linh said that at that time, when she was going out, she did not have a phone or camera, so it was difficult to save moments together.

For them, the trip is not only playing but also opening up about the country, people and culture. They commented that domestic tourism not only has beautiful and diverse scenery but is increasingly developing in terms of infrastructure and services, so there has never been an accident of hacking or fishing. In particular, they always believe that they must become happy women and travel is a good way to enjoy life.

Linh and Loan both have their own families, a 6-year-old Loan son and a 3-year-old Linh son. They often organize family trips, so that the children have the opportunity to meet and get closer to each other. However, in the two years of the complicated Covid-19 epidemic, most trips were only 2 people.

For 10 years, the couple has traveled to more than 50 provinces and cities across the country and shared many beautiful pictures on the travel community. They have a promise to hunt the aurora borealis together in Iceland as soon as international tourism resumes. A dream beyond economic enough will be to go to space together.

Follow (vnexpress)/Photo: Internet

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