Didn't plan on going to Vietnam this year because we were going to be saving up for going to Iceland next year... HEH.
Two years in a row now, only planned on 1 trip for the year and ended up on two in quick sucession. Went to Korea in June 2014, came back & immediately booked a trip to New Zealand for September 2014. Went to Bangkok in July/August 2014, came back & immediately booked a trip to Vietnam for September 2015.
I swear, having a prolonged peak and brief offpeak season for work totally screws with your decision making process.
We spent a total of about S$1800/pax for a 9 day trip. It could've been S$3-400 cheaper, but I'll admit to enjoying the comfy trip.
1. We took a direct flight from singapore to hanoi, and flew back from Hoi An, with 1 stopover at Ho Chih Minh. The Vietnam Airlines flight cost S$260/pax.
2. 5D4N Ha Long Bay + Sapa Tour via Indochina Junk was US$480 per pax.
3. 16 hr overnight train ride from Hanoi to Danang cost US$80 per pax. Danang is the closest airport/train station to Hoi An. Just gotta grab a cab from there. A couple told us they paid under US$40 per pax for their flight. But you save on a night's hotel and cab fare to Hanoi Airport.
As a general rule, check online to see how much your cab ride should cost, as it may be cheaper to negotiate a fixed fee. Also saves you the trouble of wondering if the meter had been tampered with.
Pictured from left to right are
1. Hot Egg Coffee & Ice Latte at Cafe Giang .
2. A small local market, next to the Hanoi Train Station
3. View of the Hoat Kiem lake at Cafe Pho Co . FYI, we prefer Bia Saigon over Bia Hanoi and Bia Lao Cai.
4. A bamboo shop we passed by in the Hanoi Old Quarter. Spied it on Pinterest months ago, and chanced upon it whiled heading toward dinner!
5. Banh Mi 25. The meat's a little thin on this one. Had me missing my favorite banh mi from Ba Xuyen in Brooklyn Chinatown.
6. Motorbikes are everywhere. You gotta suck it up and just cross the roads, make eye contact, and let the traffic weave around you.
Our time in Hanoi was really limited. We missed out on the french quarter, and froyo coffee! Anyhow, two things we didnt enjoy on this trip, were the food and the tourist prices. Some of the local roadside stalls were clearly overcharging us, at S$10/pax while seated on tiny plastic stools by the road side. The food's generally on the plain side, relying heavily on fish sauce for flavor and is supplemented by generous servings of fresh raw vegetables.
Ha Long Bay / Bai Tu Long bay
This part of the trip is fairly standard! Most tourists go to Ha Long Bay on a 2D1N trip, inclusive of a mini kayak trip at the bay. The drive is 180KM on a one lane dual carriageways that cuts through busy town after busy town. It took 4 bumpy hours to get there.
We went on the Dragon Legend Cruise with Indo China Junk. There were so many different choices, so we got lazy and just went the #1 rated tour provider on trip advisor. The room was gloriously oriental and comfortable, and provided much needed respite from the stuffy and hot weather. Although I wasn't thrilled that the food aboard catered to the ang moh palette, we were the only Asians on our cruise. What I did like, was that Indochina Junk cruises goes to Bai Tu Long bay, instead of Ha Long Bay. Fewer operators are licenced to go into Bau Tu Long bay, making it a lot less crowded.
1. There are many different operators for the 8 hour overnight train ride to Lao Cai, a city adjacent to the Chinese board and the closest train station to Sapa. E.g. King Express, Sapaly Express, Orient Express, etc. The trains are actually owned by the state, and the different companies just operate the different carriages attached to the train. I've only taken an overnight train one other time, from Stockholm to Kiruna. And I thought that my train rides on this trip was every bit as comfy and almost as clean as the one I took in Sweden!
2&3. In old Hmong lady's home located in the very touristy Cat Cat Tourist Village. Their homes tend to have no lighting, or even much natural lighting actually.
4,5&6. Along our morning trek in Ta Van Giay and Giang Ta Chai, we passed through the beauty paddy fields, a Black Hmong Village and Red Dao Village. The government discourages tourists from buying souvenirs from the local ladies who are bound to hound and follow along on your walks. You see, the rice harvest is predominantly for locals' own consumption. If they can get sufficient income from selling souvenirs, the paddy fields will be gone, along with Sapa's thriving tourism.
Dog meat is still consumed in many parts of Vietnam today. While we didn't see much of it in the touristy Hanoi Old Quarter, we passed by many shops selling it around Lao Cai and Sapa. Be on the look out for the words "Cho" on restaurant signboards and menus! During our morning trek, we saw a doggy locked in a cage on the back of a motorbike pass us, presumably headed for its inadvertent doom. Later that day, we heard the cries of another doggy near a restaurant that sold cho. I read that Vietnam banned the import of dog meat. Hence, thieves have resorted to stealing pet dogs to cope with the demand.
1. Our Swedish bunk mates on our train ride from Hanoi to Hoi An. While they snacked on fruit & nuts, read on their down time and bonded over playing cards... We binged on chips and episodes of Top Gear specials. We trashy.
2. Madam Khanh the Banh Mi Queen has her skills, but she still no match for my fave Ba Xuyen.
3. I wanted to take go on a sunrise tour to the fish markets to catch this view. But silly me read the brochures wrongly, and concludedthat either it wasn't available that day or was way more expensive than what I was prepared to pay. WELL NOPE. It was cheaper than the tour I booked. I still got to go on the cute basket boats that the Vietnamese created. For a time, the government taxed based on the length of the boat. The crew took us through the coconut palm flanked waterways that the Vietcong had lived in for months on end, to hide from the American army. Our guide was the most energetic and observant guide I've ever had. She also shared that her grandfather was a member of the Vietcong army as well, and that at the time, the communist idealogy was the only idealogy they knew of. They weren't aware of democracy or any other way that the international community were familiar with. Her eyes welled up with tears when she shared about the war and its impact on her family, and sparkled with excitement for love for her job and the economic boost that tourism brought to her home town. Her boss has really got a gem there.
4, 5 & 6. Dating back to the 15-19th century, the Hoi An Ancient town is well preserved. Apart from that, it was almost like being in the souvenir section of Asian Disneyland. The streets were peppered with rows of shops selling similar products - scarves, dresses/tops/shorts in identical styles and printy fabrics, other random souvenir.
Vietnam still is a socialist state. I'm not sure how that impacts the people or its development in today's context. But I do see a few characteristics of it around. For instance, we saw loud hailers attached to lamp posts and random vans cruising along the streets. Back then, it was the easiest way of spreading messages to the people, since most were not literate. They're still in use by the Government today.
While Vietnam is a beautiful country with that old South East Asia charm and history that westerners lust for, and has a deep love for coffee that kept me satisfied, we will not be heading back to Vietnam any time soon. We've had enough of fish sauce for now man. It's is now time to plan for Iceland.
