Somethings to remember about Vietnam:
- I would say it is safer to eat street food then western food. I have only been sick once so far and it was from western food from a nice restaurant. Vietnamese people have been cooking Vietnamese food all their lives so they know how to cook it! They are less skilled with our greasy and unhealthy western food! If your friends with me you know I will eat pretty much anything. Thus, it is no surprise to you that I have tried some pretty shady street meat vendors and they all tasted great and cost me $1
- You have to buy bottled water everyday and I drank a lot of it but I learned a cool trick for always getting it under 10,000 dong. Go up to the vendor with a 10 out and give him the 10 and take the water! Make it a rule! Never pay for more than 10,000 dong for a big water!
- You are in a buyers market! IF YOU EVER WANT TO BUY ANYTHING... Chances are every person on the next block is selling it as well! So bargain! If you're a tourist you are ALWAYS being taken to the cleaners so make sure you push for the 50 cents because it may not be much back home but it’s a ton there and even if you win they are still making at least a 50% margin on you. TRUST ME.
- Don't hesitate! You will get hit! Just keep walking!
Hanoi
Most people who do the coast of Vietnam start in Saigon (don't correct me! Only big rooks call it Ho Chi Minh!) but I am crazy. So my faithful comrades and I started our journey in Hanoi! At first I didn't really like Hanoi. We got there and Lifeguard Chimone was pretty sick we just kind of lazed around the city for three days. When all is said and done I really did enjoy my time in Hanoi! It is CRAZY busy and congested but it for me is the definition of organized chaos. You can walk through and insanely busy intersection without even looking and come out unscathed where in North America you would..... well you would be dead. There is so much great street meat which will fill you up for a whopping $1!
In Hanoi stay at THE NEW!!!!!!!! Hanoi Backpackers! NOT the old Hanoi Backpackers for that hostel SUCKS and should not be visited! When we were in Bangkok we had some fantastic Portuguese chaps tell us we had to stay at Hanoi Backpackers because it was the BEST hostel they had ever stayed at. So we didn't go to the hostel we had already booked and just instructed the taxi to take us to Hanoi Backpackers unfortunately..... we were brought to the old one :(. We then went to Sappa, then Ha Long Bay, and then stayed at the new Hanoi Backpacker and LOVED IT! They have the best hangout common room I have ever seen at a hostel, an extremely helpful and knowledge travel staff, amazing amenities, and fun night events which range from beer pong tourneys to quiz nights, and a spaghetti and meatball meal that if you eat WILL almost kill! You have been warned! But stay here! You will love it!
I went and saw the temple of literature which was cool. I didn't make it to see Ho Chi Minh's body because I hear it is like a 3 hour lineup and its kind not worth it haha but what ever floats your boat. Defs walk around Hanoi for an afternoon. I loved the Hoan Kiem Lake or the lake of the returned sword! I went for run around it a couple times and almost died but it was a really nice run!
We were told by some friend that we had to go to the Hanoi Backpackers front desk and ask for the business card of "Snake Village" and then get a taxi there and just participate in the "experience". So we did. We showed up at this place which turned out to be a restaurant and a lady came out and greeted us. She told us that they only serve a very traditional Vietnamese meal that is only eaten on very special occasions like a big birthday or anniversary. It was a six course meal that had snake in it. She asked us if we wanted to try it. He had come all this way and were told it was amazing so we said sure. A young man took us to a snake cage and pulled out a fairly large snake which he communicated wouldn't bite us. So we were playing with it and taking pictures with it and then he took it back. They sat us down in a really nice pagoda then gave us some beers. Then I looked over and the guy was pointing at us. He had a knife in one hand and the snake in the other............... I volunteered and went up not knowing exactly what I was doing but he then instructed me to cut open the snake and then rip out the beating heart of the snake and eat it. So........ I did! I felt the heart still beating it my mouth, it was insane. I then reached for a glass of water and drunk a ton and then realized it was a tall glass of rice wine the three of us were supposed to split haha. It was quite a crazy experience but I was told because I ate the heart of a snake I now have much stronger heart.... and you know what..... I believe it. The snake was killed right after I ate the heart and then we were shown what parts were used for what dish. The food was amazing and one of the best meals I have had yet hands down! Here is the video of me doing the deed.
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=481900744998
This is going to way too long of a blog post so I will Andrew Hallify this bad boy.
Sappa
We then went to Sappa which is up in the north west close to the Chinese border! This place was soooo beautiful! It reminded me of a small town up in the swiss alps! There is still a ton of vertical farming happening all over the valleys and some amazing people and traveling to see. I made sure we climbed mount fansipan, which is the tallest mountain in Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos) and it was AMAZING!!! Simon and I were talking about doing it in one day but in the end we settled on two. Mick Mack was not down for one day and we could stop and appreciate it a lot more! It cost $65 to hire a registered guide and porter. The meals were amazing, the views spectacular, the climb pretty damn hard, and the overnight sleeping in a rat infested shack.... an experience :D. I loved it and wouldn't change a thing it has been one of my highlights for sure! You can even do the thing in 3 days if you're not as physically fit as you think you should be.
Here is a quick video of the top: http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150132963474999
Simon and I rented Motorcycles and ripped around sappa for the day and that was sooooooooo much fun! Do that for sure! We stayed at the white lilly I think it was called and I really liked it! It had a GREAT free breakfast!
Should you go to Sappa? Yes! I was told not to by some because it is "too touristy" and if you want to do a homestay and go trekking do it in a more rural part of Vietnam BUT I found if you just got a night train up there and figured it all out on yourself it really wasn't that expensive and it is an amazingly beautiful place to visit.
Ha Long Bay
Next up we have the very popular Ha Long Bay Tour!!! Now if you are a party animal that is ballin out of control your decision is made up from the get go. Hanoi Backpackers offers the most insane Ha Long Bay Booze Cruise out there! The 3 day experience is $160 though but it will definitely be one of the most memorable drinking events of your life. Your drinking the WHOLE time and you see, and maybe if your really crazy you experience, some pretty insane stuff haha.
We were seconds away from booking this trip when we talked to a guy who lived in Vietnam and he took us down the road to the left (if you're facing the OLD Hanoi Backpackers) almost to the main street on the left there is a yellow tourist booking store (they are EVERYWHERE in that city) and we booked an awesome 3 day tour for only $80. We slept on a junker boat, ate amazing food, kayaked, trekked, and my favourate part got to stay on Monkey Island! The risk you take with this route is you might have a dud group, with a large mix of age ranges and party abilities haha. Fortunately for us we had a GREAT group of people. We drank, played karaoke on beautiful junker late at night, played in total about 12 hours of Mafia! and just got to experience the beauty that is Monkey Island. Just go into any tour booking place and say want you want out of your three day two night tour (you can do two days one night as well) and that last day you want to be on Monkey Island. You have to go to Ha Long Bay because it is the newest wonder of the world and it really is beautiful
So you have done Hanoi, Sappa, and Ha Long Bay and now its time to go down the coast? Well you have two options really.
Option 1. The most popular option is to do what we did and buy an open ended bus ticket with designated number of tops. We bought a four stop bus ticket from Hanoi Backpackers and it worked great. You can add stops to it along the way and we actually did that right out of the gate.
Option 2. buy a bike and do the traveling yourself. We were seriously considering this but due to my fair skin, all of our lack of motorcycle riding experience, Vietnam's intense geographical terrain and road conditions, and the fact that it is illegal for tourist to be doing this (even tho tons of people do it and the police hardly ever stop you) we decided against it. You end up renting bikes all over Vietnam anyways and you can even do some of the sections of the coast on a bike like Simon and I did. But if you are confident with your bike riding skills this is an AMAZING experience and I made a ton of friend who were doing this and loved it!
Nihn Bihn
Three hours under Hanoi is a little place called Nihn Bihn and it is nicknamed the Ha Long Bay of rice paddies. It is absolutely beautiful and I would say a must see! Just spend one day here and do the river tour and then go climb the mountain that overlooks the whole valley. Most hostels offer this tour by bike for a couple of bucks. The river tour is navigated by Vietnamese people rowing all the boats with their feet! It was an extremely beautiful tour. CHECK IT!
Hue
We stayed at.... (hahaha you will begin to see a pattern when it comes to the places we stayed so I will explain it right now. If you want to meet a lot of people and are more into partying then go and stay at any place that has the word “backpacker” in the name haha) Hue backpackers and it was fun. The nightlife is ok. There isn't too much to do here and you can bang everything out in one day. Check the citadel, then the pagoda, one of the tombs (the 1st one along the road), and then the beach (the beach is kind of poopy tho). We stayed like two or three days here and it should have definitely been one day! THE ONE THING I DID LOVE ABOUT HUE IS THE CHOCOLATE MILKSHAKES AT HUE BACKPACKERS! YOUR WELCOME!!!!
Simon and I booked motorcycles here and did a trip from here to Hoi An and it was AMAZING!!! Such an amazing time and I will never forget it! If your interested in doing this at all just do it! It is a bit expensive but as Oscar Wilde said "Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing" There is a metric SHIT-TON of value to this one people so sack up! Here is some suggestions to make the trip easier. Don't go out and drink hard the night before you leave, give yourself more then 15 minutes between the time you get up and the time you leave the hostel for this rather long trip, stay at elephant springs for an hour or two, if a lady kills a chicken in front of you because she means to cook and it for you stay there and eat it haha, and lastly don't get into motorcycle accidents with locals in downtown De Nang you won't be as lucky as LifeGuard Chimone I guarantee you! This story needs to be told so I will digress for a second.
Story Time
Simon and I had just navigated our way out of rush hour in De Nang and were SOOO happy to be out of there and that whole congested city! It was some of the most hectic driving I have ever done! We were driving along a really nice populated stretch of beach when Simon decided he wanted to go check out this beach haha. He turned left but unfortunately there was a local Vietnamese man holding a circular saw in one hand and a big box of tools in his lap right in his blind spot on his left. Simon rammed right into him and send the guy off his bike but the mans foot got caught on his bike somehow so he was being dragged on the cement by his bike. Simon managed to keep control and just jumped off the bike and was basically fine. I thought for sure this guy would need to go to a hospital and Simon and I would be throwing down an lifetime sentence in jail like the girls in "Brokedown Palace"! We moved the bikes off the road (and his many tools haha) and grabbed the guy off the ground. A policeman happened to be there and a ton of Vietnamese people came over and started yelling. Luckily for us a really nice and intelligent Vietnamese woman came over and defended us and translated for us. The local that Simon hit was wearing heavy duty worker pants and shoes so luckíly for him he was just a bit scratched up and surprisingly was looking pretty good. The guy said Simon didn't signal and that it was completely his fault (he didn't and it was ahah. But no one signals in Vietnam! ITS VIETNAM!!!) We said that Simon did signal, (he didn’t) that he has a motorcycle license, (he didn’t) and a motorcycle back in Canada (he doesn't). The guy then said Okay you did signal but you turned late. We then asked the lady to explain that this guy had just lied and that he was driving around with half a hardware shop on his dam bike it definitely wasn't Simon''s fault. She did and the cop just walked away and so did most of the people. The guy was still hurt, a bit PISSED, and his bike was pretty messed up and his key broke off in his ignition. So the lady told us he expected some money haha. We knew this was coming and we were just glad we weren't going to jail (because in the end driving a motorbike in Vietnam as a tourist is technically illegal) so we were cool with this. We asked her how much she thought we should pay. She said..................... $10 haha. So Simon went into his bag grabbed two bandaids and gave them to the man. He wasn't very pleased by this feeble attempt to offer medical assistance but when Simon gave him $10 HE WAS OVERJOYED! I really think if this guy could get in an accident everyday and get this kind of a pay out he would have done it. So Simon got out of a semi-serious motor vehicle accident for $10 and two bandaids! hahaha
Here are some pics of our journey:
Hoi an
This was my favourate chill city in Vietnam! We thought we would spend two days here we ended up staying a week I think! This town is known for its hotels and tailors so you have options! We stayed at Thien Nga Hotel which had a chief waiting for you every morning ready to make you as much amazing breakfast food as you wanted. The place was really nice, quiet, centrally located, great help from staff, but had the most amazing breakfast! I hear there are a ton of amazing places around town though so you can definitely be picky here and haggle if you come at the slow time of the year.
I had a ton of clothes made from "Kimmy's" I would definitely suggest them! If you go to a shity quality tailor you can get a suit made for $40 but Kimmy's used quality materials and had great tailors and expertise! You walk in and you are assigned a personal assistant to help you decide what you would like made. You're given free bottled waters and a laptop and told if you know of anything you want made to bring it up and they can do it. They then measure you and then you pick out all the little details and patterns for your clothes. I had such a fun time wheeling and dealing with my assistant Ny and I loved the clothes I got made. Just so you have an idea the three piece suit I got made came to I think $160 which is amazing for a tailor made suit! We had to come back once a day for the next three days for fitting and to let them know if we wanted anything adjusted. Remember if you go to make something for yourself. If you want to change even the smallest detail do it! Make sure you are happy because it is soooo easy for them to change things. I had them give me some more room in the shoulders on the third day right before I left with everything haha.
Hoi An also had THE BEST FOOD! We ate at this little place kitty corner to Kimmy’s that thanks to Michela we now know the name of! It's called Kim Nung! It had a 3,000 dong beer sign out front (which is 15 cents Canadian!) They have an amazing chicken clay pot here! GET IT!!!
I also had the BEST butter curry (sorry Hajy) I have ever had in my life (and thats saying something!) at Ganesh go here and get it!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g298082-d1601123-Reviews-Ganesh-Hoi_An_Quang_Nam_Province.html
We had a movie day once, we hit the beach up a lot, and we did a sunrise tour of My Son (which was really cool! History buffs would love this! JAMIE P!). I loved Hoi An and it was the perfect Chillout city!
Nah Trang
This was my favourate party city in all of Vietnam! Simon left Mick Mack and I here to do some solo traveling and even without that amazing individual we still had a redick time! I stayed at..... you guessed it Nah Trang Backpackers and loved it. I warn you though, you can only check in here at 12 or 12:30pm so we stayed the first night at this little hostel a block away for the first night cus we arrived at like 6am in the morning and we were wasted! I have never been to Hawaii but this is what I imagine it to be like! They have amazing beaches here and soooo much to do! Do the 1 day booze cruise from the back packer hostel. It costs $7 and includes shots, snorkeling, and lunch, and is a great time! Hit the beach a couple of times.
One of my favourate days was visiting Vinpearl! Do this on the third of fourth day here. Meet a bunch of people then all go do it together! For $20 you go across to this beautiful island via cable car and have unlimited access to: An amusement park, an aquarium, a water park that has the sickest and most unsafe waterslides ever built, a 4D Cinema, and a huge arcade! There are also restaurants and bars all over the place! It’s amazing! There are NO lines and you can spend the whole day there! Do the arcade last because it closes last (9pm)! I set an all time record at the basketball free throw game! I challenge you to beat me (298 is the score)! I’ll buy you a donut if you can!!!! I want picture evidence of course! After Vinpearl we stopped off at the Louisiana brew pub and had some AMAZING beer! It is super nice there so either go there for one night or to “The Sailing Club” for a nice dinner.
When going out in Nah Trang if you meet a lot of people buy a $3 26oz of vodka and then pre-drink in a hostel or just hit up anyone of the many bars around the town. Then I think it is at 10-11 go to Oasis for free shots and then $2 buckets! Then go to Why Not Bar for free drinks at 11pm (I think those times are right). The nights are cheap and really fun! Just stay away from the hordes of hookers! they will steal all your money and make you very sad.
Here are some pics:
Mui Ne
After Nah Trang a lot of our friends went to De Lat for some reason but I really wanted to see some dunes and I red online that sometimes there is a really good wave for surfing on the back side of the beach. So I expected to stay here for about three days but you only need one full day. It is a heaven for kite and windsurfers but the beach is just okay and it is quite a small little town. We stayed at Mui Ne Backpackers which is run by an Aussie name John Jenkins who is the nicest guy around! He organized a sunrise tour of the two different sand dunes and fairy springs. Do this! when we were leaving the white sand dunes in the morning a jesus like russian named "EVON" came up to me and said in an incredibly strong russian accent "just to let you know I have a zorb and in two hours you can go zorbing..... would you like to go zorbing?" I of course was all over this but our driver who spoke no english was not! So we did the rest of the tour and then went back to our hostel and had lunch. It was about 10:30 and we had to catch a 1pm bus but I was hell bent on zorbing so I rented a motorbike and had someone draw me a map to get back there. I BOOKED it back out there to go ZORBING and I made it back just in time!!!! It was on my bucket list to go zorbing so being able to do it for only $5 instead of $150 like they charge back home was so cool, and I got to do it on sand dunes!
Saigon (NO! Not Ho Chi Minh)
I didn’t like Saigon that much. It was just a big city and there were a lot of bandits stealing bags and purses. Make sure not to go out with too much in your bags. Just don’t take a bag cus it will get stolen! I stayed at Saigon backpacker hostel, not Hotel! There are like three of them so watch out. Make sure you go to the Chu Chi Tunnels tour and shoot a few guns! The tour is really cool and make sure you go down in the tunnels and experience that. The war museum was really amazing but the Reunification Palace was just okay. Go if you're a history buff (Jamie P) and don't miss the movie that is playing in the basement it was pretty informative and interesting. The big market there is pretty fun as well.
That’s about it kids. You can pretty much do this whole trip in reverse thats what a lot of people I met were doing. People are always selling bikes in Saigon and Hanoi so you should have a problem buying or selling.
Overall I really enjoyed Vietnam. The country was way more beautiful than I expected it to be. Vietnamese people are nice but a bit guarded but I totally see why. Thirty years of fighting some of the biggest world powers and still coming out on top will do that. The people are extremely hard working and it makes me happy to see a lot of younger generations of Vietnamese people are still following in the cultural footsteps of their parents. Not everyone thinks their parents rural farming life is sad and wants to move off to the big city and live a north american style life. It is great to see. Vietnam really is a marriage between a third world and first world country. Both aspects of old and new school elements of life are obvious everywhere, but it works. Many Vietnamese people see technology and the world changing and are okay with it but don’t necessarily take advantage of it. Honour is a concept still alive and well. These people live off the land and do it for about 14 hours a day! It was amazing for me to learn about the amount of SHIT the Vietnamese people were put through these last forty years and that they are not jaded or hate westerners. They realize that the past is the past and they will carry on respecting other people and living their traditional lives with their families!
Leave me a comment if you perused this or used it at all. Thanks!
Bro! Looks incredible. We had nothing but rain and clouds in June. You're absolutely killing it being abroad right now! Come back soon though the weather is getting sweet and we're spending lots of time out on the boat getting burned and seeing amazing places. Check it out! weshartman.tumblr.com if ya feel like. Can't wait for you to get home so we can finally catch up! -Best, Wes.
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