Vietnam

• INTRO VIETNAM

• IMPRESSIONS OF VIETNAM

• THE TRAVEL IN VIETNAM

• PHOTOS OF VIETNAM

• VIDEOS OF VIETNAM

• PRINTABLE FORMAT
  
  

INTRO VIETNAM

Kind of travel:
Me and my wife Elisa with our 3 year old daughter INES in an independent travel

When:
26th Dec'15- 8th Jan'16

Do I need a visa:
No, since till 30th June 2016 there's an agreement between Italy and Vietnam about no visa requirement for Italian Citizens entry Vietnam if staying less than 15days and reentering the country not before 30 days.

How I moved:
Mainly by train (even spending overnight), but also with some buses (a very cool VIP night bus) and by taxi inside the cities. Speedboat has been a convenient way to reach Cat Ba and Vung Tau

Freezing or baking:
In the north cold (max 12-13C) and wet (always!), in the center (Danang/Hoi An/Hue) ranging max 16-19C but still wet. The good weather I found only in the south where it was above 30C!

Where I slept:
Usually in Medium range Hotel (20€ room per medium/ high range) that I found clean and more than acceptable. Once I slept in a super resort in Cat Ba (paying 80€), but it was not worth given the weather. I particularly enjoyed sleeping on the train in the 4 bed berth (50€ per person)

What I liked:
The best memory of the travel has been Hoi An by night with the lanterns and floating candles. The we enjoyed travelling on the comfortable Vietnamese trains also get acquainted with Vietnamese thanks to our daughter. If passing by Hanoi you shouldn't miss the water puppet show and the last but not the least I liked Vietnam is cheap!!

What I disliked:
I hated the cold (max temp 12-13C) and rainy weather of the North. The full booked trains in the high season that didn't let us to find places available from Danang to Ho Chi Min.

How much daily:
All included (without flights) the budget turned out 45€/day pp: 20€ per room for accommodation; 15€ pp for food; if you use taxi for long distance it can be a part of your budget (15€ for 30min ride)

Tips:
weather in the north/center in december is rainy and cold! You might think to skip Halong Bay in December.Bring cash, since all ATMs I tried did not work with foreigner credit cards! Check carefully Vietnamese Railway website for the train schedules

About backpacking with a 3yo toddler:
At the end it turned out easier than expected in particular with the food (rise helped a lot), with the people (having a baby opens many doors) and with the health (not a single issue). The difficulties were to share the same bed on the train and travelling in the late evening.

Alby

TRAVEL IN VIETNAM

Our entry point in the country Hanoi turned out definitely worth to spend a day or two, since very representative of Vietnam, unlike his southern counterpart Saigon that I found unremarkable despite more lively for instance for an expat. During the full 2 days we were in the capital we hung around visiting the Sword lake with its characteristic pagoda settled on an island, the old quarter devoted to commerce and the Ho Chi Min Mausoleum (where the body of 'Uncle Ho' lies). Unfortunately the latter is open only in the morning till 10.45am so we missed. Next to it there's the museum, but without a guide (as we did) isn't that interesting (guides are available only in the morning). Something you shouldn't miss is the water puppet theatre: a Vietnamese traditional puppet performance played on a pool; it takes 1h and it's played several times per day each day.
Definitely less funny it has been the weather: it was cold (max temp 13-14 C) and rainy. We have been unlucky since the temperatures were well below the average of the period (max temp 17-18C). Needless to say we found the some annoying weather in Halong bay and in particular in Cat Ba island where we stayed for 3 nights.
As annoying as the weather it has been the bus trip to reach the island, so avoid it! (read the tips for details). When we reached Cat Ba we were a kind of disappointed by his desolation (yes, for sure the weather didn't help at all); however it turned far better when the following day, we took a tour visiting in the morning by taxi (3h 30usd) the Hospital caves, where a Vietcong hospital was settled and the cannon fort from which you have an outstanding view. In the afternoon we took another tour by boat (3h, 10USD) to the Monkey island: a white beach where monkeys jump around. Not so impressive unless you are a monkey lover, and the sea apart of being cold was quite dirty. All in all I wouldn't really recommend Cat Ba island in December unless the temperature warmer enough to let you have a swim. I found also difficulty to enjoy the peculiar view of Hanoi Bay (the sharp rocks emerging from the water), unless you don't have a plane.
The way back was more comfortable thanks to the speed boat and the train: besides it allowed us to enjoy the nice town of Haiphong in a 4 hours stopover between the boat and the train
The same day in the evening we took the night train from Hanoi to Hue, sleeping in a 4 bed compartment (soft bed that is the upper version of the 2nd class). It turned a pleasant travel given the train was clean and punctual, despite chilly due to the A/C.
Hue is the old imperial capital; the town itself is unremarkable but the visit to the Imperial city makes it a key highlight of Vietnam. Again weather was sucking being cold and rainy, so after a couple of hours we were wet and tired. In particular it might help to have a guide instead of randomly poking around as we did.
From Hue the city of Danang is a 4h train trip , and here we settled down to see in day trip (1h by bus) the most visited highlight of Vietnam: the old trader town of Hoi An. Unfortunately again the weather was awful and I cannot hide at the begging we were a little disappointed both by the weather and by the crowd of tourists. However our impression switched completely when the dusk fell on the town and the whole streets got lit by the colorful lanterns and the channel by many floating candles. Such images are still the best memories of the whole travel.
Another place that deserves a look is the town of Danang, largest town of central Vietnam, built along the Song Ha river. Apart of being a lively place with a wide entertainment park, it's characterized by its hi tech bridges. In particular the Dragon Bridge (really a dragon like bridge) that is particular impressive in the evening during the light show with the dragon head spitting smoke.
After Danang we got the big disappointment of the travel: we didn't find place in any of the trains from Danang- Saigon and we had to fly. It's not that we missed any experience we hadn't already done with the Hanoi-hue night train but I particularly envisioned the idea of running the whole way north to south.
Remember to book at least 5 days in advance if travelling by train in Christmas season!
At least it took just 1h to reach Saigon from where we immediately headed to the beach of Long Hai. This implied taking a 1h speedboat to Vung Tau and 30min by taxi. Long Hai is the right place to go if you want to enjoy a Vietnamese sea location not spoiled by the international turism. During the week day the beach will be all for yourself (I don't know think it might be the same in the week-ends) and in his eastern part is clean enough to bath. There are several cheap but comfortable hotels with outdoor restaurants. Theoretically you can reach the popular beach of Mui Ne by taxi, but it's more than 100km far away.
The following day changing several means of transport (taxi, speedboat, taxi, and bus) we reached Can Tho, a large city perched in the hearth of the Mekong Delta region. With an early wake up, at 7.00am we left to visit the nearby (6km from the town) floating market of Cai Rang, claimed to be the largest of Vietnam. The whole trip took 3hours (around 20€) and it's an interesting experience but I was expecting 'more action'. We were said then, that the real market takes place during the night and in the morning there are just the 'leftovers'; up to you to go there at 3.00am to discover the truth.
Nevertheless Can Tho is a nice place to wander along the river poking around the temples . By the way have a look to the Therevada Buddist temple; if you are not coming from Cambodia it will be a unique opportunity to see Buddhist orange dressed monks unlike in all the other Buddhist temples in the rest of Vietnam (that in fact are Mahayana).
Although relatively near, pulling in My Tho took 3 hours by a never-ending travel by minibus. My Tho is the destination of ALL the day tours from Saigon that visit the Mekong Delta. I warmly recommend you to be there before 10am (so to stay overnight there) if you don't want to feel in a conveyor belt of tourists.
You'll be taken to two islands set in the middle of the Mekong branch in front of the town. The first is where the temple of the monks that lived for years fed by coconuts lived and the second is where the coconut candies are made. You won't miss any of the typical stuffs characteristic of the superturistic places all over the world as: traditional music session, the photo with a piton, tasting the typical product (tea, honey, milk) with the possibility to buy them, a 100m trip in a canoe….