Vietnam, have you been?
Discussion
Going to Vietnam next week, (Da nang and Hoi an). Done loads of research on Trip advisor so I’ve got accommodation and dinning sorted. Just asking if anyone has been and what was your experience, anything to watch out for and any must do’s. Will be done on a tight budget GBP 80 per day excluding hotels, two people, 14 days.
£80 a day is a fortune in Vietnam. You will live like a king
I'm currently going there every 3 or 4 weeks for business and I struggle to spend more than £50 a day; that's with eating at the best restaurants in Hanoi and taking clients out for lunch.
Go for local foods such as croissants for breakfast / Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) for lunch or dinner and local beers and you will be staggered how little spend.
Hoi an is stunning. Don't get carried away with all the local tailors. You have to really pick and choose if you want decent quality. A good suit will still be $250 / $300+ (make sure you have time to go back for multiple fittings etc)
IIRC, Da nang is all about the marble and statues. Clearly, these are bloody heavy! There are great views from the top of the fortifications there
If you can, shoot up to Hue for a day and a real must is the Cu chi tunnels near HCMC.
Hanoi has changed a lot since I first went there in 1999, but the old quarter is still a fascinating bustle of mopeds, bikes, street food and bars.
The big one to learn is how to cross the road, otherwise you will be stuck for hours. The traffic in both Hanoi and HCMC is incredible - about 6 lanes of mopeds in both directions, with random cars, mopeds and lorries going at right angles to the flow. To cross on foot, just step off the pavement, walk at a constant pace and try to make eye contact with the next driver you're about to be run over by. If you get it right, the whole lot parts around you..!
Oh. And haggle like you've never haggled before!! "Choi Oi!!" means "too much"
USD is accepted by pretty much everybody. VND is a pain in the ass. Currently, I think 1m VND = £35ish
I'm currently going there every 3 or 4 weeks for business and I struggle to spend more than £50 a day; that's with eating at the best restaurants in Hanoi and taking clients out for lunch.
Go for local foods such as croissants for breakfast / Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) for lunch or dinner and local beers and you will be staggered how little spend.
Hoi an is stunning. Don't get carried away with all the local tailors. You have to really pick and choose if you want decent quality. A good suit will still be $250 / $300+ (make sure you have time to go back for multiple fittings etc)
IIRC, Da nang is all about the marble and statues. Clearly, these are bloody heavy! There are great views from the top of the fortifications there
If you can, shoot up to Hue for a day and a real must is the Cu chi tunnels near HCMC.
Hanoi has changed a lot since I first went there in 1999, but the old quarter is still a fascinating bustle of mopeds, bikes, street food and bars.
The big one to learn is how to cross the road, otherwise you will be stuck for hours. The traffic in both Hanoi and HCMC is incredible - about 6 lanes of mopeds in both directions, with random cars, mopeds and lorries going at right angles to the flow. To cross on foot, just step off the pavement, walk at a constant pace and try to make eye contact with the next driver you're about to be run over by. If you get it right, the whole lot parts around you..!
Oh. And haggle like you've never haggled before!! "Choi Oi!!" means "too much"
USD is accepted by pretty much everybody. VND is a pain in the ass. Currently, I think 1m VND = £35ish
Edited by schmalex on Saturday 2nd July 15:31
Vietnam's fricking ace. I've been there twice, once on my recent world tour. Might pitch up in HCMC for teaching work next spring.
I did a motorbike tour and it was amazing...
www.loquitohermoso.com
Check back to Oct 2015 for some tips and pictures...
I did a motorbike tour and it was amazing...
www.loquitohermoso.com
Check back to Oct 2015 for some tips and pictures...
I have been Here for the last week.Flew into Sigon for a few days then upto Hanoi then Dalat. Leaving tomorrow to spend a week in Phan Thiet then back to Sigon for a few days. I chose Phan Thiet because Nah Trang is right in the middle of this...
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/0...
Didn't fancy eating seafood or swimming in it. We also did a Signature cruse in Halong Bay which was fantastic which i would totally recommend.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/0...
Didn't fancy eating seafood or swimming in it. We also did a Signature cruse in Halong Bay which was fantastic which i would totally recommend.
Spent a month from Hanoi slowly busing to Phu Quoc. Never booked ahead just did a little research a few days ahead on a cpla booking websites. Fantastic place, bike hire is $5-7 a day....wear a helmet...accom was $10-15 a night, some "hotels" were fab, some really basic, go by reviews.
Food OK, wife liked pho, I didn't. breakfast was a baguette n omellette most days. BiaHoi was OK.
Missed Da nang went str8 from Hue...rain rain rain, to Hoi Ann, nice. Dong Hoi was nice , hired a bike to the caves.
Food OK, wife liked pho, I didn't. breakfast was a baguette n omellette most days. BiaHoi was OK.
Missed Da nang went str8 from Hue...rain rain rain, to Hoi Ann, nice. Dong Hoi was nice , hired a bike to the caves.
HotJambalaya said:
might be going myself in november. Currently trying to decide on best way in from thailand, and whether to start at the top and work my way down, or just fly in and around. Lots more research to do!
As per ,my previous, we were there last year. Flew in/out BKK then up to Hanoi and 30 days later motorbiked from Ha Tien to Kep. (Then a month in Cambodia, month in Laos, 2 weeks Thailand), but that's another story.Oldest backpackers in town!
If we can help, holler.
£80/day is LOADS if you're excluding hotels!
Hoi-An is an amazing place. Try to get a guide to take you around the town. They're inexpensive, but the guide explanations are really interesting.
Eating out and getting around is cheap, cheap, cheap.
DON'T get carried away with tailor made shoes, shirts or suits. They don't turn out great!
Da Nang: I didn't think much of it, to be honest. It's a city seemingly without a centre - or not one that we could find! It's not far from the beach though.
One day, my brother and I ended up in a side street resto-bar, full of locals, and in a torrential rainstorm which flooded Da Nang knee deep. Since we couldn't get anywhere, we stayed in this resto-bar all afternoon - from lunch til 7pm.
2 meals EACH, and loads of bottled beers - $9 for both of us. And I suspect we were ripped off by local standards. At that price, it's not a problem!
Funniest thing were the local kids in the street by this bar, laughing and poitning and the strange white guys in their local area.
(Fortunately we were wearing shorts and flip-flops, so we didn't ruin shoes/trousers in that flood!)
Hoi-An is an amazing place. Try to get a guide to take you around the town. They're inexpensive, but the guide explanations are really interesting.
Eating out and getting around is cheap, cheap, cheap.
DON'T get carried away with tailor made shoes, shirts or suits. They don't turn out great!
Da Nang: I didn't think much of it, to be honest. It's a city seemingly without a centre - or not one that we could find! It's not far from the beach though.
One day, my brother and I ended up in a side street resto-bar, full of locals, and in a torrential rainstorm which flooded Da Nang knee deep. Since we couldn't get anywhere, we stayed in this resto-bar all afternoon - from lunch til 7pm.
2 meals EACH, and loads of bottled beers - $9 for both of us. And I suspect we were ripped off by local standards. At that price, it's not a problem!
Funniest thing were the local kids in the street by this bar, laughing and poitning and the strange white guys in their local area.
(Fortunately we were wearing shorts and flip-flops, so we didn't ruin shoes/trousers in that flood!)
schmalex said:
£80 a day is a fortune in Vietnam. You will live like a king
I'm currently going there every 3 or 4 weeks for business and I struggle to spend more than £50 a day; that's with eating at the best restaurants in Hanoi and taking clients out for lunch.
Go for local foods such as croissants for breakfast / Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) for lunch or dinner and local beers and you will be staggered how little spend.
Hoi an is stunning. Don't get carried away with all the local tailors. You have to really pick and choose if you want decent quality. A good suit will still be $250 / $300+ (make sure you have time to go back for multiple fittings etc)
IIRC, Da nang is all about the marble and statues. Clearly, these are bloody heavy! There are great views from the top of the fortifications there
If you can, shoot up to Hue for a day and a real must is the Cu chi tunnels near HCMC.
Hanoi has changed a lot since I first went there in 1999, but the old quarter is still a fascinating bustle of mopeds, bikes, street food and bars.
The big one to learn is how to cross the road, otherwise you will be stuck for hours. The traffic in both Hanoi and HCMC is incredible - about 6 lanes of mopeds in both directions, with random cars, mopeds and lorries going at right angles to the flow. To cross on foot, just step off the pavement, walk at a constant pace and try to make eye contact with the next driver you're about to be run over by. If you get it right, the whole lot parts around you..!
Oh. And haggle like you've never haggled before!! "Choi Oi!!" means "too much"
USD is accepted by pretty much everybody. VND is a pain in the ass. Currently, I think 1m VND = £35ish
Hahaha, good try, "Choi oi" doesnt mean "too much", it means "Oh my God". If you want to say that someting is too expensive then try "Mac qua", pronounced "macwa"...I'm currently going there every 3 or 4 weeks for business and I struggle to spend more than £50 a day; that's with eating at the best restaurants in Hanoi and taking clients out for lunch.
Go for local foods such as croissants for breakfast / Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) for lunch or dinner and local beers and you will be staggered how little spend.
Hoi an is stunning. Don't get carried away with all the local tailors. You have to really pick and choose if you want decent quality. A good suit will still be $250 / $300+ (make sure you have time to go back for multiple fittings etc)
IIRC, Da nang is all about the marble and statues. Clearly, these are bloody heavy! There are great views from the top of the fortifications there
If you can, shoot up to Hue for a day and a real must is the Cu chi tunnels near HCMC.
Hanoi has changed a lot since I first went there in 1999, but the old quarter is still a fascinating bustle of mopeds, bikes, street food and bars.
The big one to learn is how to cross the road, otherwise you will be stuck for hours. The traffic in both Hanoi and HCMC is incredible - about 6 lanes of mopeds in both directions, with random cars, mopeds and lorries going at right angles to the flow. To cross on foot, just step off the pavement, walk at a constant pace and try to make eye contact with the next driver you're about to be run over by. If you get it right, the whole lot parts around you..!
Oh. And haggle like you've never haggled before!! "Choi Oi!!" means "too much"
USD is accepted by pretty much everybody. VND is a pain in the ass. Currently, I think 1m VND = £35ish
Edited by schmalex on Saturday 2nd July 15:31
To haggle out there you need to cut their first asking price by two thrirds to a half of what theyre asking then dont go too much above half, remeber once you start to haggle youre normally expected to buy, so if you dont want it then dont haggle.
Ban Mi sandwiches - crusty loaves with about 10 ingredients. Anthony Bourdain recommended.
Vietnamese filter coffee - strong, chocolaty, with condensed milk. Good souvenir - bag of coffee and cheap tin filter set.
Haggling - start at 20-30 % off first price. Vietnamese husbands don't go to the market because even they may get ripped off. Only the women go.
Vietnamese filter coffee - strong, chocolaty, with condensed milk. Good souvenir - bag of coffee and cheap tin filter set.
Haggling - start at 20-30 % off first price. Vietnamese husbands don't go to the market because even they may get ripped off. Only the women go.
I spent 6 months there in 1999, mostly in the north but I did ride my trusty Minsk down south for a month or so, awesome country, amazing food, herbier and less spicy than proper Thai. In the north the Bia Hoi's are the place to eat but not sure they stretch that far south.
My rememberings of the haggling banter was "Oi zoi oi, dat qua" which roughly translated as "oh my god, too much", useful phrase as they instantly start jabbering in vietnamese thinking that you at least have some idea of the language and dropped the price by at least 50%. Worth learning some basics before you go and practice pronounciation / tone with your inn keeper.
Tricky language to learn though as it's tonal, so depending on which one of the 5 or 6 tones you use the word has a completely different meaning. I once said "hello my penis" to a Vietnamese entomologist I was to be working with rather than "Good evening or good morning".
The Top Gear road is amazing on a bike. There's a town that's famous for it's fresh (uncooked) spring rolls somewhere around there, amazing flavours, worth seeking out if you're a foodie. The best food places tend to be busy with entirely locals and tiny plastic kindergarten chairs often just on the street, I can't remember the phrase but basically just ask for food and see what turns up. The very old will speak French which can be helpful in a jam.
Enjoy, awesome country.
My rememberings of the haggling banter was "Oi zoi oi, dat qua" which roughly translated as "oh my god, too much", useful phrase as they instantly start jabbering in vietnamese thinking that you at least have some idea of the language and dropped the price by at least 50%. Worth learning some basics before you go and practice pronounciation / tone with your inn keeper.
Tricky language to learn though as it's tonal, so depending on which one of the 5 or 6 tones you use the word has a completely different meaning. I once said "hello my penis" to a Vietnamese entomologist I was to be working with rather than "Good evening or good morning".
The Top Gear road is amazing on a bike. There's a town that's famous for it's fresh (uncooked) spring rolls somewhere around there, amazing flavours, worth seeking out if you're a foodie. The best food places tend to be busy with entirely locals and tiny plastic kindergarten chairs often just on the street, I can't remember the phrase but basically just ask for food and see what turns up. The very old will speak French which can be helpful in a jam.
Enjoy, awesome country.
Hi people, just doing abit of back searching on Nam and wondered if anyone else could suggest alternatives to this itinery? I had planned to dive quite abit but have heard that its all small fish and im a big fish kinda guy so will scrap the diving idea.
Ideally id fly to Hue on the Friday but the connecting flight is 4 hours later than the landing flight and im not sure if that would allow enough time to make the connection?
Thursday 11th Flight Out
Friday 12th Land Saigon/Hue
Saturday 13th Hue travel
Sunday 14th Hue itself + citadel
Monday 15th DMZ Tour
Tuesday 16th Bach Ma National Park
Wednesday 17th Hue-Hoi An Motorbike trip (Top Gear)
Thursday 18th Hoi An Beach
Friday 19th Travel to Nha Trang
Saturday 20th Nha Trang Rapids
Sunday 21st Dive Nha Trang
Monday 22nd Dive Nha Trang
Tuesday 23rd Fly Pho Quoc
Wednesday 24th Dive somewhere
Thursday 25th Beach
Friday 26th Travel to Saigon
Saturday 27th Chu Chi Tunnels
Sunday 28th Fly Back
So ill probably sack off a day in NT and extend HA by 1 day and see the lake
Ideally id fly to Hue on the Friday but the connecting flight is 4 hours later than the landing flight and im not sure if that would allow enough time to make the connection?
Thursday 11th Flight Out
Friday 12th Land Saigon/Hue
Saturday 13th Hue travel
Sunday 14th Hue itself + citadel
Monday 15th DMZ Tour
Tuesday 16th Bach Ma National Park
Wednesday 17th Hue-Hoi An Motorbike trip (Top Gear)
Thursday 18th Hoi An Beach
Friday 19th Travel to Nha Trang
Saturday 20th Nha Trang Rapids
Sunday 21st Dive Nha Trang
Monday 22nd Dive Nha Trang
Tuesday 23rd Fly Pho Quoc
Wednesday 24th Dive somewhere
Thursday 25th Beach
Friday 26th Travel to Saigon
Saturday 27th Chu Chi Tunnels
Sunday 28th Fly Back
So ill probably sack off a day in NT and extend HA by 1 day and see the lake
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