Vietnam

Part One, the south – Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) airport is brand new and quite impressive. Our pre-arranged visas through Vietnam Visa took about 20 minutes to get. ATM, getting dong and becoming milioners (having dollars have proven to be more useful), cab, and we are in Pham Ngu Lao, the backpackers universe of HCMC. The basic room costs $10, a slightly better goes for $15, a hotel room for $25 and up.

Once the first shock from endless flow of mopeds ended, I fell in love with Vietnam. I cannot even explain why. Maybe because touristy stuff and local go together in Vietnam. Next to the westernized café there will be Vietnamese street restaurants where locals squat on tiny chairs and tables. Maybe because Vietnam is so rich in cultural heritage. There is taste and style in a lot of Vietnamese things. It’s a pleasure to stroll through souvenir shops and find unique textiles, ceramics, jewelry and other hand made stuff.

We walked around, had coffee and pastries in a numerous cafes scattered around the city. We bargained for some beautiful souvenirs. We ate at a fancy Hoi An restaurant tasting gourmet Vietnamese food for about $30 per person (no alcohol). We visited the Reunification Palace and walked around China Town’s beautiful and empty temples.
Finally, we went on a one-day tour of Mekong Delta. In retrospect I would recommend to do minimum a 2 day trip with an overnight in the village as it takes at least 4-5 hours to get to interesting and less touristy parts of Mekong Delta.

Part Two, the north – Hanoi and Ha Long Bay

A couple of weeks later we headed off to Hanoi in the north for three and a half day get-away. The first full day we spent exploring Hanoi on foot. I enjoyed Hanoi even more than Ho Chi Minh City. The Old Part of Hanoi is compact with cute streets where shops specialize in different items. One street sells silk, another - eye glasses, the third – kitchen ware, etc. Getting lost and finding the way back in the 40 degree heat and 90% humidity was definitely an experience. A lot of textile from Sapa is being sold in Hanoi. Pictures of tours into the valley are also all over. Next time I would love to go trekking in the Sapa Valley.

We stayed in backpackers perfect guesthouse – Charming Hotel. For the price of $15 you get a small renovated room with a new bed, A/C , TV, amazing shower, free wifi and a decent breakfast. No wonder they were so busy. Highly recommended for simple lodging.

The next day we were picked up at 8 am to go to Ha Long Bay where a boat for 2day/1night tour was waiting for us. We booked Oriental Sails for $85 per person. Again, we were lucky because the boat was only 2 years old, the food was great and the stuff was friendly.

Ha Long Bay is touristy, but it is gorgeous. Thousands of tiny islands-cliffs stick out of Southern China Sea. The main activity on board is sunbathing and relaxing (our timing with super humid weather made it unpleasant after a few hours). Besides that we visited an Amazing Cave, fishing village and did kayaking at sunset. Indeed, great experience.

Vietnam is on my radar screen for more returns!

Flickr album here