When you want to type up your blog in Vietnam in an internet cafe, make sure the keyboard is set to English, because Vietnamese is very interesting to type. 2 x a = â, 1 x w = ư, er = ẻ, ar = ả, ij = ị. Crossing the street in busy cities like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City can seem a bit intimidating with all the mopeds driving past, but the most important tip: just walk. If you are walking with a steady pace, they’ll see and notice where you’ll walk by the time they get close to you, and will make sure they go around you. The first first times it feels like you’re crazy to walk across, but trust me, just walk with a fixed pace, without doubt, and you’ll get to the other side safely. Very friendly people, some just want to practice their English with you, others will try to sell something, but will leave if you tell them no nicely. People are a bit more reserved than in other Asian countries (like Thailand, where everybody will be your best friend because you are a wealthy tourist), but if a Vietnamese person likes you, he/she likes you.
Hanoi, old town with different trades in the different streets, puppet theater with a daily show of life in Vietnam, Hoan Kiem Lake with temple. Dong Xuan market is big with lots of different things. Compared to Ho Chi Minh City you feel like going 50 years back in time. There are usually not that many backpackers in Hanoi. Army Museum, very impressive. Ethnographic Museum interesting to see all the different tribes of Vietnam with all their different houses.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, go early, it is only open before 10.30 in the morning. Wear long pants and sleeved shirt. Ho Chi Minh is one of the forefathers of Vietnam who signed the independence in 1945 and helped with the reunification of Vietnam. He rather wanted to be cremated and his ashes had to be distributed over the mountains in the north, center en south of Vietnam. There is also the palace, where he rather not lived, and the houses that he did live and work in, which are much more sober.
Baguette & Chocolat has delicious real hot chocolate made of milk and melted chocolate.
Halong Bay and Cat Ba island (3 days, 2 nights trip). Beautiful bay with interesting, cone shaped islands. Sung Sot cave, with very interesting (to say the least) lighting of the various formations. Titop Island with a pagoda at the top, quite a walk to get up there via concrete stairs. Great view of the bay. Night on the boat. Next day Cat Ba Island National Park great walks, be aware of snakes etc. Hike can get slippery when it rains. ‘Hospital’ on the island, used by the Vietcong during the American War (that’s how they call the Vietnam War there): a cave with different ‘rooms’ where the injured were treated. Monkey Island really has a lot of monkeys, just be careful and respectful. Night on Cat Ba Island and last day boat and bus back to Hanoi again.
Sa Pa – trekking (4 nights, 3 days trip, with night train, and home stay). Important: organize Soft sleeper tickets (soft berth) in the train, because hard berth, really is HARD. Night train to Lao Cai, then transfer to Sa Pa. Breakfast at hotel, then walk to CatCat village with waterfall. The lunch in hotel, and afternoon free time. Sleep night in hotel. Next day, day pack with some stuff for sleeping at home stay and the hike, rest in luggage storage of the hotel. Hike between the rice paddies, and see people of the Hmong tribe. During the hike time to freshen up in river, then home stay in the middle of nowhere. Next day walking on between the rice fields and bamboo forest.
You can combine the trips to Halong Bay and Sa Pa, since you’ll be back around 16.00 from Halong Bay and be picked up for Sa Pa around 20.30 in the evening.
Hoi An, lovely town, has lots of tailors (so great to have some clothing made to size), Miss Ly cafeteria good food, cozy restaurant. Very nice local specialties (Cao Lau, thick noodles with pork, lettuce, croutons and a crispy pancake – Fried Wanton, crispy wanton dough filled with meat – White Rose, delicious soft wantons filled with prawn), See the little covered Chinese bridge, trip to Unesco World Heritage Site, the My Son temples in the style of Angkor Wat, built by the Cham (or Champa). See the little covered Chinese Bridge.
Mui Ne, relaxed, cute little ‘resorts’ with bungalows and some even with a nice little beach. Do a morning trip, wake up early (pick up at 05.00) to see the red and white sand dunes (go sandboarding, for just 1$ you can rent a plastic board from a kiddo, and go down the dune. You have to walk back up yourself), the Canyon (amazing red rocks that look great at sunrise, hence the early start of this trip), the fish market and a creek with a waterfall. It may not be clearly told and signposted, but to get to the waterfall, you have to walk through the creek, so be prepared with sandals or so.
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly, before 1976, known as Saigon), City Tour: War Remnants Museum, one sided (the Vietnamese side) story about the horrors from the war, but interesting to see. Giac Lam Pagoda, City hall, theater, Thien Hau Temple, Central Post Office, ‘Notre Dame’ of Saigon church with interesting neon lights around the saints and statues. Palace of the Reunification, where in 1975 the tanks of the North bashed through the gates, creating the fall of Saigon and reunified the country again. Palace still in use by the president. Very interesting are the underground chambers, with the radio room, decoding room and control room, where you experience the last days of the regime and feel the threat of the North-Vietnamese army. Nha Rong Wharf with nice museum of Ho Chi Minh. Trip to Cao Dai temple, which is a mixed religion of Buddhism, Hinduism, Catholicism, Islam and Confucianism. Actually very interesting, they believe that all different religions believe in one and the same God. Very colorful temple and interesting steps up to Nirvana / Walhalla. At 12.00 they have a mass, which you can see as a tourist from the upper balconies. The Cu Chi tunnels are incredibly fascinating. You’ll see how the guerrilla’s of the Cu Chi tried to stay hidden in tiny tunnels underground, sometimes even under encampments of the Americans. The tunnels have been digged a bit bigger, so us tourists can walk (well, waggle) through it. They used to be 80 cm (about 36 inch, not even 3 ft) high and 60 cm (about 27 inch, around 2 ft) wide. In a duck walk you can go through tunnels that are now about 120 cm (50 inches, not even 4 ft) high and 80 cm (36 inch, not even 3 ft) wide. The tunnel you can go through is in total about 100 meter long, with exits at every 30 meter.
Allez Boo nice bar / restaurant. Go2 Club also fun for a drink. There is also a small cinema with English movies, very cosy and funny to see the change of the film-rolls (about 6 rolls for a 2 hour movie).
From Ho Chi Minh City you can do a Mekong Delta trip, also with departure to Cambodia combined, great to have that transfer sorted as well. Great to be out on the water, different kind of boats, and see a floating market as well. Interesting how every boat on the market has a sign for what they sell: a stick on which the different fruits and vegetables hang. At Sam Mountain you can go for a hike up to the Lady Buddha Temple. Visa to enter Cambodia can be arranged along the way, please check before getting on this tour if this still applies so you won’t get stuck at the border.
Also possible to arrange a tour with a motor and driver, around $50 per day. A friend went from Dalat to Chau Doc.
Eat and drink: have some pho at a little street stall, piping hot and freshly made for less than a dollar. Especially sitting at the small tables with the low stools which make your knees stick out above the table, you’ll look like a typical tourist next to all the locals. Have some sticky rice with mango and coconut juice. Fried spring rolls, fresh spring rolls. Local specialties in Hoi An: Cao Lau, White Rose and fried wanton.
Interesting fruit: dragonfruit. Okay it doesn’t have much flavor, but looks so funny!
Interesting books: When heaven and earth change places by Le Ly Hayslip.
