Global Gary

To escape the greyness of February in the UK, this year we chose to visit Vietnam. We planned our 25-day trip ourselves, rather than be seduced by the lure of an escorted all-Vietnam tour. Our reference sources were old-fashioned print (take a bow DK), internet searches and recommendations from our girls who had spent time in Vietnam in their gap year many years previously.

Our plans were as follows. Fly into Ho Chi Minh City in the south of Vietnam and travel north to Hanoi, flying from there back to London. Our outline itinerary was as follows:

Sue, a former teacher, produced a detailed spreadsheet of accommodation and attractions/tourist sites, that we mainly followed on our trip.

Getting there –

We flew from London Heathrow to Ho Chi Minh City on Qatar Airlines with a short 60-minute stopover in Doha. Hamad airport in Doha is massive and it was a good 20-minute walk from Terminal A where we arrived to Terminal C where we departed for Ho Chi Minh City. Flight time was around 13 hours. After leaving the UK at 3pm we arrived just after 1 pm the following day. One of our suitcases did not arrive with us; it had an extra-long layover in Doha, and we had to go back to the airport the next day to collect it, which was a bit of a pain.  The flights were good, food was fine.  We received the meals we had ordered, so overall a good experience, except for having to return to the airport for our suitcase as Qatar would not send it on to our hotel. As planned, we arrived in time for the Lunar New Year celebrations..

First impressions –

It was hot, mid-30s Celsius most days. Although the city was less busy than other times of the year it still was noisy, colourful and fun. The Tet New Year celebrations were a bonus and it seemed that a vast proportion of the population was crowded into the area in front of the Saigon River for the midnight fireworks display.

We couldn’t decide if the Vietnamese drivers were awful or great. Rules of the road seemed arbitrary, particularly for motorbikes and scooters, Drivers were constantly beeping their horns and overtaking could involve any lane and at times, the pavements. But here’s the thing. We did not see one accident; cars were not driving around dented and we did not see any visible road rage. So perhaps they are not bad drivers after all. 

Regarding the constant beeping of horns, unlike other countries, where beeping can be a sign of anger, here it seems to me that beeping is done to make other road users aware they are being overtaken or that they may be in danger. Or maybe I’ve just misinterpreted the situation!

Crossing busy streets was a matter of confidence. Watch the locals, they simply go and vehicles move around them in a surreal mechanical dance.

The food is great! Street food is abundant, interesting, tasty and inexpensive.

Our trip–

First stop was Ho Chi Minh City. It was a great introduction to Vietnam.   A detailed blog of Ho Chi Minh City can be viewed here.

After Ho Chi Minh we took a private taxi to Mui Ne, about 200 km northeast which took just over 3 hours and cost 2,500,000 Dong (around. £80).  Mui Ne is a typical beach resort that stretches for at least 10 km. There is one main road and on the beach side you have resort hotels and on the other there are guesthouses, small hotels and lots of restaurants, massage shops and retail outlets. 

Our hotel, Phuong Nam, was not on the beach side. Quiet, well located, with a comfortable bed, good wifi and very inexpensive, we rated it as “fair”, however it was fairly basic and is not somewhere we would return to.

Mui Ne has long, sandy beaches. It took some time finding access to the beach near our hotel as the resorts firmly turn non-guests away from using their grounds. However it was worth persevering as the sand was lovely to walk on and the sea temperature was much warmer than the Atlantic we are used to in Portugal. I have never seen so many kite surfers in one place. It was fascinating watching them, the speed at which they travelled was phenomenal. There were areas for swimmers only with lifeguards. We also took a sunset jeep tour which visited various areas in and around Mui Ne.

After Mui Ne we took a private taxi to Da Lat. This was a shorter journey, about 160 km North and inland. The trip took over four hours as progress up the mountain pass was slow and the driver decided, unilaterally, to stop for lunch for 30 minutes. We suspected this was not the first time he had stopped with passengers as he was well known and food was brought immediately to him. He later stopped for a ten-minute cigarette break! This taxi cost us 2,200,000 Dong (about £70).

The reason we chose Da Lat was the recommendation from our girls. They loved Mr Rot’s Secret Tour and implored us to take his full-day tour. We loved Da Lat and were very pleased to have spent time there. For a write-up of our time in Da Lat click here.

From Da Lat, we travelled by car to the coastal city of Nha Trang, another short trip, about 135 km. The taxi was organised by Mr Rot and cost 2,000,000 Dong (about £65). Due to the mountains and our very cautious driver, it took over 3 hours and we arrived at our hotel, The Gibson, late, around 10 pm. The hotel was excellent. Our room had sea views and the hotel was in a good location. Nha Trang has a population of around 500,000 and its main attraction is the beaches. Nha Trang was our fourth (of seven) stops so we wanted a few easy days. Highlights for us were a half-day snorkelling trip – booked through Viator – and a mud bath, to which we simply took a Grab car (local version of Uber) and spent the best part of a day relaxing around the pools. It would have been easy to spend more time in Nha Trang as the beaches were lovely and we were near a long beachfront promenade that was great to stroll along in the day and attracted a lot of locals in the evenings enjoying family time.

Our next stop was Hoi An. To get there we took a short flight with Vietnam Airlines to Da Nang. It was an early start as the airport is the best part of an hour out of Nha Trang and the only flight that day left at just after 9 AM. The airport was easy to navigate and spotlessly clean, with many breakfast options. At Da Nang our booked car did not turn up, so we took a Grab car from the airport.  It was about a 45-minute drive. Our hotel, Hidden Gem, was on the outskirts of Hoi An. It felt more like a private home than a hotel and Kim, who ran everything, even making clothes, was terrific. We had a lovely room with a private pool and we were very close to a gorgeous beach, An Bang. We simply took a Grab taxi into Hoi An each day.

Hoi An is a lovely ancient town, cut through with canals and a striking mix of architecture including the iconic Japanese Covered Bridge, French colonial buildings, as well as ornate Vietnamese houses. Hoi An has a population of around 150,000 and is compact with lots to see and do. On our first day we arrived late morning and stayed until around 4 pm. Other days we went in later, around 5 pm, as dusk and the evenings show Hoi An off at its best with beautiful lanterns lit on every street.

There are lots of tours from Hoi An such as Marble Mountain, Am Phu caves, Bana Hills and Cham Island snorkelling. We had originally planned to go to My Son Sanctuary, an UNESCO site, but we have to admit that the lure of the beach during the day and Hoi An town in the evenings was too strong to resist. We purchased a multi-entrance ticket to five relics of the ancient town for 120,000 Dong (£4). Even though we didn’t actually visit five, it was well worth it. Do not miss the Traditional Art Performance Theatre. It has two performances a day, which last for about 30 minutes. Get there early as it fills up quickly.

A slight warning, this is the most touristy place we have been to in Vietnam and for the first time we saw small groups of tourists being led through the narrow streets having been decanted from minivans, as well as multiple rickshaws.

The highlight of Hoi An was the Lantern Festival held on the first full moon of the year. However every night you can get a boat at sunset and have a 20-minute ride under the main bridge with lanterns lit. Hoi An Old Town was a real ‘Wow!’  and this was our favourite stop during our holiday.

After Hoi An we took a private taxi to Hue, costing 1,400,000 Dong (£45). It took a little over 2 ½ hours, through some magnificent scenery. Hue was the former Imperial City and capital of the Nguyen Dynasty until 1945.

Driving through the town, the wide Main Street, Le Loi, reminded us of a French city, a wide boulevard with trees lining each side of the road and some impressive buildings facing the Perfume River. The ubiquitous motorcycles gave it a true Vietnam feel.

Hue was greener than the other cities we have visited and seemed to be planned out. The main attractions are the Citadel, the Royal Tombs, Dong Ba Market and the Perfume River itself. We liked Hue and at the weekends a part of the city is made vehicle-free, which lends itself to a vibrant place to eat, drink coffee and listen to music.

We stayed at Sweethouse 2, a homestay.  When the taxi dropped us off and pointed down an alley, we were mildly apprehensive. Our concerns were unfounded.  It was absolutely lovely: excellent room, fabulous breakfasts and terrific service – all for £60 for the three nights.  We could not recommend it more highly.

We took a comprehensive day tour of the Citadel and Royal tombs which included the Thien Mu Pagoda, a dragon boat mini cruise, a visit to the market and a lunch of Hue specialty foods. This was a long, long day with too much information thrust our way, but the undoubted highlight was the recently renovated palace in the Forbidden Purple City. A lot of the Citadel was destroyed in the middle of the last century, but the painstaking renovation of the palace is worth going on the tour to see. It cost us 2,040,000 Dong for both of us (around £68).

We travelled by ‘plane to Hanoi, which took around 60 minutes. Hue airport is about 40 minutes from the city centre and was easy to navigate and we sped through baggage drop off and security checks. Hanoi airport was also fine, our bags arrived quickly and we were in our pre-booked car in minutes of clearing customs. A separate blog on Hanoi can be accessed here.

Coffee time–

Before we go to the Magnificent Seven, we have to mention coffee. If you think the UK has a lot of coffee houses, they pale into insignificance compared to the number of coffee houses in Vietnam. The concentration is staggering, and we did not have a bad cup of coffee anywhere we went.

Vietnam is the world’s second-largest exporter of coffee beans after Brazil. Vietnam produces Robusta beans which have a more intense and stronger flavour compared to Arabica beans. Robusta beans also have a higher caffeine content, which adds to the overall strength of the coffee.  In the UK Starbucks only uses Arabica beans.

There are coffee house chains, such as Highland Coffee, however the majority are small outlets.

There are also some very interesting coffees to sample. Traditional Vietnamese coffee is slightly larger than expresso size poured over condensed milk. Gorgeous. I also really liked the Salt Coffee and Coconut Coffee but was not enamoured by the Egg Coffee. Coffee in Vietnam is drunk slowly. Nearly all coffee houses have free Wi-Fi, and you can linger over your small cup for as long as you want.

Magnificent 7

I have chosen one from each of the seven cities visited

1. Da Lat: Mr Rot’s Secret Tour. If I told you about it, it wouldn’t be a secret, so listen to the Greek Goddess of Victory, Nike, and just do it.
2. Ho Chi Minh City: War Remnants Museum. It moved us significantly and was very informative and poignant.
3. Hoi An: Walk the Old Town, take a boat ride at dusk and launch a lantern.
4. Hanoi: Take an excursion to Halong Bay. If the weather is favourable, it is stunning. Even in the murky weather we experienced it was beautiful.
5. Hue: The recently renovated Purple Palace was wonderful.
6. Nha Trang: Wallow in a mud bath for two, followed by cleansing jets and relax by pools of different temperatures.
7. Mui Ne: Jeep tour. There is a choice of a Sunrise or Sunset Tour. We took the Sunset tour that lasted five hours. We loved the Jeep, no windows except the windscreen, and a great tour of the length of Mui Ne. We stopped at the Fairy Stream and waterfall, Lang Chai fishing village then the white and red sand dunes and finally a climb up the red sand dunes for sunset pictures. It was a really enjoyable half-day.

Costs –

So, what did we spend on this 25-day holiday for two?

• £2200: Flights with Qatar. Economy return with selected “Preferred” seats at an additional cost.
• £ 195: Internal flights with Vietnam Airlines
• £680: All accommodation, most included breakfast.
• £270: Intercity taxis
• £95:  Intra city taxis
• £750: Attractions/tours
• £450: Food and drink

Leave plenty of time at Heathrow to go through Qatar’s boarding procedure. You cannot check-in online, so it takes time to print your boarding cards and then self-tag your bags. All in all, it took about an hour from when we joined the (very long) queue to releasing our bags.

One of our bags did not arrive with us in Ho Chi Minh. This was a real pain and the lost baggage personnel were not the most helpful. We had to return to the airport the following day to pick up our bag. It was only after we asked, firmly, who was going to pay the taxi fare to return to the airport the following day, that we received the taxi fare. We asked for the bag to be delivered to our hotel, without success.

We had talked about putting a change of clothes in each other’s suitcases in case a bag was lost.  Of course we didn’t do it and the day we arrived we had to go shopping!

Download the Grab taxi app.  It works well and you do not have to download your bank details, simply pay cash to the driver. It has a great translation feature so you can communicate with the driver on pick-up locations.  We sent pictures of where we were and that worked.

Cash is very much king. We found the ATMs excellent and got around 3,000,000 Dong for £100, sometimes a little more. Some ATMs levy a 3% charge.  We found it useful always to carry 2-3,000,000 Dong cash with us each day.

All accommodation was booked through Booking.com as we could cancel up to a few days before if we wanted to change our plans.

We also took a spare ‘phone and paid for a local Sim so that we could call for a cab if we were somewhere without wifi.

Vietnam uses a modified Western alphabet (thanks to its French colonial history) which makes it much easier to recognise street names etc. Google Maps worked brilliantly and we only got lost once (in Ho Chi Minh City).