[rst89]

Vietnam has become an easy gateway to Indians due to two reasons:

1. E-visa for 30 days.
2. Direct connections to major cities from IN to VN.

It’s a long country, so you can’t cover everything in one shot, may require 1 month or more.


Credit to the original author of this image in this link

Below is dummy's guide to Vietnam based on personal solo travel experience, pick your poison as per the number of days you have decided. For simplicity, I have divided these regions as follows:

North Vietnam:

1. Hanoi: Capital city, old quarter has good vibes and food.
2. HaLong/Lan Ha Bay: Some pristine landscapes and islands in South China Sea.
3. SaPa: Highlands of Vietnam and has the highest peak of the country.
4. Ninh Binh: Rice fields and natural beauty.
5. Phong Nha: Natural Caves and trails.
6. Ha Giang loop: Motorbike ride spread across few days in areas bordering China.

Central Vietnam:

1. Hoi An: Pretty UNESCO heritage town which was an old port.
2. Hai Van Pass: Amazing scenery, the words of Top Gear trio still rings in my mind.
3. Hue: Old kingdom of Vietnam which compromises of palaces.
4. My Son temples: Old ruins of Shiva Hindu temples of Champa Dynasty, unfortunately bombed by B52s.
5. Ba Na hills: Avoid, too crowded for visiting the Golden hand bridge.

South Vietnam:

1. Da Lat: I clubbed it with South as easily reachable from HCMC, it’s part of central highland area of Vietnam.
2. Nha Trang: Beach Town.
3. Ho Chi Ming City (HCMC): Modern and vibrant part of Vietnam.
4. Cu Chi tunnels: Visit it as a day trip to see how Viet Cong defeated the Americans.
5. Mekong Delta: Tourist trap, visit only if you are interested in Mekong river delta.
6. Phu Quoc: Visit it if you have not experienced any other islands in Gulf of Thailand, it’s visa free to land and fly out from here.

This is the information I collected as I researched and spoke with other travellers and traveled across Vietnam. I may have missed some places, apologies for the same.

Vietnamese language and script:
It’s some Latin script which you can’t decipher, very few people speak English and you have to use Google translate extensively.

Food:
Para..Para..Paradise if you don’t have any diet restrictions and is very healthy. The base soup is non-veg by default and anything without it is preposterous. Food is very cheap, will cost you 100 INR for Pho and even less for Banh Mi, the Sandwich of Vietnam with various meats.

Currency:
Dong and confusing as everything is in millions. Some one in the bus paid my ticket from HCMC airport to city centre of 5000 Dong as I had notes starting from 200,000 Dong and conductor was not reluctant to take such a big value note. It takes 2-3 days to get hang of it. And people over there say 20, when bill is 20000 Dong. You can withdraw 3 Million Dong maximum from ATMs as cash is the king. The table of 3 is your best friend if you’re an Indian reading this, divide by three after removing two zeroes. So 20,000 Dong is 66 INR.

Bike Riding:
They drive on right side of a road, traffic is chaotic in cities but easy peasy for Indians to navigate. Police get involved only if you get caught in accidents. IDP is required or not is controversial but I was without IDP the two days I rented motor bikes. Roads are of very good quality.

Travel in Vietnam
Use flights inside major cities in VN, they are well connected with decent airports.

Hilly areas of Northern Vietnam has no airports, so sleeper buses rule the roost. As per feedback received from people I spoke, they are crowded and people sitting/standing in the central gangway. Check your bus operator review ratings before booking with them.

Trains, they are slow due to single track but comfortable. Don't miss taking train between Da Nang and Hue.

Sim Cards:
Any thing from Viettel or Vinaphone is good choice. VinaPhone plans start from 280,000 VND which includes data of 2Gb per day and calling only to other VinaPhones.

This will be short write up, not a day by day itinerary like my other travelogues.

Just a snap of Hoi An which captures the beauty of Vietnam.

[rst89]

Index

HCMC and surrounding areas

Hoi An and My Son Hindu temple complex

Hanoi and Lan Ha Bay

Food in Vietnam

Hai Van Pass and Da Nang

Random Observations

[rst89]

I had booked my flights like one week before departure as I was confused whether to go, Vietnam or Nepal. Nepal will have monsoons and Vietnam weather will be rainy, luckily, only one day it rained in Vietnam during my travel over there.

The travel dates were in the first half of Aug 2022. I have added google maps links at most places.

Places covered by yours truly are:

North Vietnam:

1. Hanoi: Ho Chi Minh Museum, old quarter walking tour and partying at night.
2. Lan Ha Bay: It was a party boat, kayaking and stayed on one of the islands in the bay.

Central Vietnam:

1. Hoi An: Loved the vibe of the town, food and it’s small attractions.
2. Hai Van Pass: Rented a bike to go over there, one word, Magical.
3. My Son temples: Good to see ASI Hindu temples restoring them, ride through rural parts of Vietnam.
4. In and around Da Nang, beaches and mountains.

South Vietnam:

1. Ho Chi Ming City (HCMC): Food tour and the Independence palace, war remnant museum and walk the city.
2. Cu Chi tunnels: Guided tour of the same.

HCMC or Saigon:

I landed in HCMC from Mumbai, took city bus from airport to Hostel, 7$ per night is the cost of 10 bed dorm in District one.

Some shots while walking the city.


Saigon Opera House which shows French influence over the city.


Intercontinental Saigon.


HCMC is divided into districts and I stayed in District 1 and roamed districts 2 and 4 while doing food tour. District 1 has some major attractions with carefully line roads which are one way and are in grid layout. They are easy to navigate in District 1.



Independence palace, the red star tank of Viet Cong stopped here and country united in April 1975.(Though some fighting went in Mekong Delta by South Vietnam soldiers that didn't surrender)


Insides of the Independence palace, some rooms are decorated well.


This room has a very good painting, some Japanese painting if I remember correctly.


Saigon from the palace.


Some soldier from South Vietnam who was actually a spy of VietCong bombed the independence palace in 1962, the place where he dropped the bombs in red circle. A helicopter just kept on the top of the building.


War remnants museum is grim reminder how brutal the Vietnam was for 10+ years, didn’t capture anything inside the museum due to nature of exhibits.

The Buu Dien(post office) is a very good example of French Colonial architecture, resembles like European railway station form outside.

The central post office as seen from outside.


The inside hall of the post office.


The night walking streets to Bui Vien has some crazy partying going on. Party as per your own capacity.


Cu Chi tunnels:
The famous network of tunnels by Viet Cong which were used against Americans and South Vietnamese army, they were like 50 kms from HCMC and were striking distance of Saigon(HCMC). You can imagine how closely the Viet Cong were living with the enemies.

This was guided tour, paid through hostel front desk. It had English speaking guide who gave rich information about Vietnam at 4,50,000 VND. It includes transport, water and small snacks.
Advice: You can skip the shooting range at Cu Chi tunnels.

The tour guide explaining the layout of tunnels including how cooking was done early morning and ventilation through stones that had holes drilled in them.


Perfectly camouflaged entrance.


An entrance that had collapsed after 50 odd years.


Traps used by Viet Cong soldiers to injure enemies.


Walking through the Cu chi tunnel complex


You get free thigh workout when you crawl tunnels.
Pro Tip: Exit at the first chance to exit them as it's a brutal workout, I crawled 300meters.


The exit made for unfit tourists or else you have to emerge from the holes shown in demo picture.


Vietnam era propaganda film at the end was fun to watch.

Saigon is the modern city of Vietnam, lots of young crowd.

As seen departing HCMC.

[rst89]

Hoi An.

Some info from this UNESCO site:

Hoi An Ancient town is located in Viet Nam’s central Quang Nam Province, on the north bank near the mouth of the Thu Bon River. The inscribed property comprises 30 ha and it has a buffer zone of 280 ha. It is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a small-scale trading port active the 15th to 19th centuries which traded widely, both with the countries of Southeast and East Asia and with the rest of the world. Its decline in the later 19th century ensured that it has retained its traditional urban tissue to a remarkable degree.

The town reflects a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures (principally Chinese and Japanese with later European influences) that combined to produce this unique survival.

The town comprises a well-preserved complex of 1,107 timber frame buildings, with brick or wooden walls, which include architectural monuments, commercial and domestic vernacular structures, notably an open market and a ferry quay, and religious buildings such as pagodas and family cult houses. The houses are tiled and the wooden components are carved with traditional motifs. They are arranged side-by-side in tight, unbroken rows along narrow pedestrian streets. There is also the fine wooden Japanese bridge, with a pagoda on it, dating from the 18th century. The original street plan, which developed as the town became a port, remains. It comprises a grid of streets with one axis parallel to the river and the other axis of streets and alleys set at right angles to it. Typically, the buildings front the streets for convenient customer access while the backs of the buildings open to the river allowing easy loading and off-loading of goods from boats.

Hoi An as we were landing in Da Nang, stay over here instead of Da Nang.


Since it’s an UNESCO heritage town, care has been taken to preserve the fusion of Chinese and Japanese influences, the wooden structures and old town charm are visible over here.


Insides of temple in Hoi An town


The houses in the old town centre are picturesque, no wonder there was photoshoot going at each corner by South Koreans who seem to be seen in plenty.


The local government has maintained this place with directions given to locals how to behave with tourists.
Avoid: Tourist trap when vendor tells you to carry the fruit basket.

Walking the city on day one just to get the hang of the town.


The cafes of Hoi An.


From the roof top of Faifo Coffee house.


The famous Japanese bridge in Hoi An.


Hoi An at night, the lanterns make the town a sight to see at night.


The lanes of Hoi An are well maintained and decorated for tourist and travellers alike.


My Son Temple complex

Some info about this Hindu temple complex from this UNESCO site

My Son Sanctuary dates from the 4th to the 13th centuries CE. The property is located in the mountainous border Duy Xuyen District of Quang Nam Province, in central Viet Nam. It is situated within an elevated geological basin surrounded by a ring of mountains, which provides the watershed for the sacred Thu Bon river. The source of the Thu Bon river is here and it flows past the monuments, out of the basin, and through the historic heartland of the Champa Kingdom, draining into the South China Sea at its mouth near the ancient port city of Hoi An. The location gives the sites its strategic significance as it is also easily defensible.

The tower temples were constructed over ten centuries of continuous development in what was the heart of the ancestral homeland of the ruling Dua Clan which unified the Cham clans and established the kingdom of Champapura (Sanskrit for City of the Cham people) in 192 CE. During the 4th to 13th centuries CE this unique culture, on the coast of contemporary Viet Nam, owed its spiritual origins to the Hinduism of the Indian sub-continent. Under this influence many temples were built to the Hindu divinities such as Krishna and Vishnu, but above all Shiva. Although Mahayan Buddhist penetrated the Cham culture, probably from the 4thcentury CE, and became strongly established in the north of the kingdom, Shivite Hinduism remained the established state religion.

Rented a bike from hostel for 500 INR for a day and went to My Son temples, some 52 kms one way.


The Vietnamese country side.


ASI helping to restore some portion of this complex.


The first group of temples.


This ones where only boundary exists


This still needs to be excavated and is reclaimed by nature


Below is bomb crater dropped by B52s besides the crumbling structure of the temple.


One the best restored temples in the complex, some Malaysian-Indonesian influence on the same. The top looks like a boat.




A close up of inside of one temple


The last group of temples.








After a walk on humid day, captured this sitting on a bench. Drink plenty of water if you are visiting here as it involves lots of walking.


Never expected such a big temple complex in Vietnam frankly.

In return to Hoi An, went to Salt Pub and restaurant to have some Australian/British food and sit besides An Bang beach.


Visited a Tra Que vegetable farm near Hoi An and the smell of all the herbs being farmed by local Vietnamese farmers was heavenly. I suggest to visit this if possible when you have own vehicle on rent for the day.

[rst89]

Hanoi.

Old quarters of Hanoi gave me feeling of being in Crawford Market, Mumbai.

The free walking tour was done on a humid morning in Hanoi. Sadly, pics didn’t come out properly due to over exposure.

Walking the old quarter where my hostel was located.


One of the cathedrals in Hanoi


Streets while walking with the tour.


We formed a small group from hostel and visited Ho Chi Minh Museum and we were also given here a free tour by one of the guides explaining the life of Ho Chi Minh.


The train tracks was over crowded and I felt it was too touristy to witness a train pass close to you, gave it a pass.

The evening/night was spent partying with a Damocles sword over head that I had to get up early to go for Lan Ha bay.

Thankfully woke up on time to catch the shuttle to Cat Ba island. One ferry and then one more bus, we reached to our boat.

Lan Ha Bay:
Cat Ba island from Haiphong port.


So to give some more information, most of the cruises start from Cat Ba island instead of Ha Long city. The one starting from Cat Ba island takes you to Lan Ha bay while the ones starting from Ha Long city take you to Ha Long bay. Cat Ba is less crowded than Ha Long city as big cruises dock at Ha Long.

The cost of my trip was 2.2 Million VND which includes pickup/drop from hostel, 2 lunches, one dinner and one breakfast and stay in dorm. These rates are from Aug for 2D/1N tour.

The luxury ones cost 136 USD plus with no pick up and drop, so choose carefully. A day trip will cost 30 USD from Cat Ba island.

It was a party boat, let the pics do the talking. Jumping from the top deck of the boat is not for light hearted.


A small village in the Lan Ha Bay
Bay



The alluring water in the bay, jumped in this pristine water. The boat docked here for long time till we reached our place of stay.




The opening to South China Sea, we did Kayaking here with fear of the open sea


Water has plastic floating but has good blue/green colour to it.












Approaching our stay in one of the islands


The sunset in the Lan Ha bay






2nd night of partying takes toll on body when the crowd is young uni students from Europe, you can’t keep up with them.

We were told not to jump from our dorms in water and the reason was evident due to the low tide the next morning.


Kayaking starting from own private beach


One final good bye after having nice time here at the bay, the return took only half an hour while it took 3.5 hour while going to our stay on the island.

[rst89]

Food

When you land in Vietnam and don't know how to hold chop sticks, the only thing you can eat is Banh Mi, the Sandwich which is cross between French colonial legacy and some Vietnamese food meat patties.

It was eaten at Bánh Mì Huynh Hoa on first day itself, the biggest Banh Mi for 59,000 VND. It was really good.


Next is Pho (pronounced as devanagari script फ..), the base soup was heavenly. And vegetarian Pho is a myth, don't be fooled like Veg Biryani in India.
Those salad leaves on the side were good palette cleanser.


South Vietnam Food at HCMC.
I did a night food tour with Saigon on Motorcycle, cost 39 USD for an English speaking guide on a moped and he was roughly 4.5 hours with me. I had very good food with them.

This is mixture of rice and banana steamed in Banana leaf served with coconut cream.
The lady is barbecuing them on charcoal.
It's called Chè chuối nướng.


How it looks closely.


Night food markets at HCMC.


Next was Cambodian Barbeque sticks on a stall by Cambodian guy who escaped to VN during Pol Pot regime in late 1970s.


Oysters from local estuary area which were tried for first time in life.


I like the pepper-peanut flavoured Oyster, unlike Western countries that eat them with lemon, here they add their own twist.


This is rice paper flavoured with vegetable toppings, quail eggs, some shredded meats and sea food


Next is my personal favourite, this is like our Dosa but it's called Banh Xeo.

On a wok, it's prepared and has some meat, bean sprouts and prawn added to it. Consider it as Masala of the Dosa. The way to eat is roll that Banh Xeo in lettuce, betel leaf, basil lead and one more leaf, dip it in fish sauce and eat it. Simply delicious.


They give the salad leaves and fish sauce to eat with Banh Xeo.


One more Banh Mi in the food tour but this was prepared differently, had some meat from various part of pig like ears and kidneys.


Anyone wants to apply Kirchhoff's current law anyone in District 4 of HCMC.


The dessert to end the food tour. It's some caramel pudding


Central Vietnam food.
Food in Hoi An was completely different from South Vietnam, only place where I got hand made noodles with Pork.
This is called Cao Lau.


Some fried Wontons


Some Spring rolls and Beo cake which is made from delicious rice, the filling includes shrimp mostly.


Rice with greens, and soup. There was side dish of eggplant which is not visible.


North Vietnam
This was standard Soup that I drank before partying each day in Hanoi. It was like 30,000 VND for a big bowl


Some girls from free walking tour had done a food tour the previous night and took me to place to eat where the food was heavenly. Reverse Google image search is also not letting me know this dish name in Vietnam.


Did I learn using Chopsticks at the end of my time in VN?
Yes, someone complemented me at the end of stay for using the same with ease.

This is my humble attempt to become food blogger. I have never captured food images at other countries I have visited but Vietnam food is simply delicious.
Advice: Judge the cleanliness of the cooks workstation and then eat at the food stall.

[rst89]

This is what Jermey Clarkson said about Hai Van Pass in 2008 Top Gear Vietnam special.

"a deserted ribbon of perfection—one of the best coast roads in the world."

Hai Van pass, let the pics do all the talking, I changed my bike to more well maintained one and power, but it was costly, around 15 USD for a day.

This is the total ride done that day.


The ride for the day


The climb, heavy trucks and vehicles bypass this pass as there is a tunnel beneath this pass.


The view of Da Nang and the bay are pretty much mesmerising as you climb the way up the pass.






One of the inner roads after crossing the pass which end in dead end


I wish I could have gone to this secluded beach if I knew the way to go down.


You can stop at many points on the way to capture these views.


In and around Da Nang

After descending down, headed to Da Nang and visited the peninsula region of Da Nang after crossing a huge cable stayed bridge as seen in the map.

It was full of Vietnamese youngsters coming to chill besides this rock face.




These are the same islands that can be also seen from Hoi An


An Bang Beach near Hoi An covered on a cloudy morning.

[rst89]

Observations:

1. COVID: Check the entry requirements before you fly in, in August, only Vaccination certificate and return ticket was required.
2. Most people wear N95 masks.
3. Traffic is orderly, you can drive easily.
4. Plastic is used abundantly in SEA but country is clean.
5. Didn’t feel that there are people are out there to swindle you in Vietnam.
6. Hostels provide drinking water unlike other parts of SEA.
7. Vietnam is on everyones radar for travel now since it roughly costs same or less than India, plus exposure to new culture and food.
8. Hostels cost from 4 USD to 8 USD per night.
9. All internal flights were booked like one or two day before travel, Vietnam Airlines is much better than Viet Jet.
10. Viet Jet, it’s a LCC, so expect service as per SEA LCC. Ground service is terrible at Hanoi.
11. It seems people don't cook at home, food stalls at each corner in city.
12. Avoid visit during Tết, the lunar new year. Just like our Diwali, flight tickets and travel is costly.
13. Vietnam is one country that you can visit multiple times but still not get tired of it.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[shankar.balan]

@Rst89
This is a really good thread. Excellent detail, photography and descriptions. Thank you for making it easy for me to consider Vietnam as a next holiday destination!

[agastya]

Excellent write up! Thank you.

I would love to go to Vietnam, but being held back due to the food. I'm a vegetarian - do you think I'll have enough to eat there?

[ankan]

@rst89 Thank you so much! Your review was a godsend. Planning to go to Vietnam on the 18th of November. Will be visiting Saigon, Hanoi, Da Nang and Hoi An. Loved your food review��

[dragracer567]

Thanks for this. My best friend is Vietnamese and my visit to Vietnam is long overdue.

He did categorically tell me to avoid vietjet at all costs, is it that bad?

[Jeroen]

Thanks for such an elaborate write up. Much appreciated.

I have visited Vietnam only once in the late 70s and I can remember very little about it. But it is certainly a place I would like to revisit!

Jeroen

[rst89]

Originally Posted by agastya

Excellent write up! Thank you.

I would love to go to Vietnam, but being held back due to the food. I'm a vegetarian - do you think I'll have enough to eat there?

You will have to learn good amount of sign language and words to inform the street vendor to put tofu instead of meat patties in Banh Mi for example. There are vegan places in big cities like HCMC and Indian restaurants but will be costly. The basic essence of Vietnam is sitting on the small stool and slurping the delicious food and observing the local life.

Originally Posted by dragracer567

Thanks for this. My best friend is Vietnamese and my visit to Vietnam is long overdue.

He did categorically tell me to avoid vietjet at all costs, is it that bad?

I lost my VAT refund as I had no time to collect same as I got delayed at Hanoi airport due to inefficiencies of VietJet during check in. Also food/water on board is very costly. Vietnam Airlines only services DEL in India, that's the only disadvantage. Let's remove Indigo from the equation due to bad timings.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Thanks for such an elaborate write up. Much appreciated.

I have visited Vietnam only once in the late 70s and I can remember very little about it. But it is certainly a place I would like to revisit!

Jeroen

Late 70s were interesting time, the country was just recovering from war and hadn't opened up completely.