We had recently been on a 14 day cross country trip to Vietnam and I wanted to document our journey particularly our joys and miseries, our peaks and crevices, our goods and bads, so that it could be helpful for fellow travellers in future. Fasten your seat belts, because it is going to be a long and scenic ride.
Why Vietnam?
The plan to travel to Vietnam was a sudden one. And like all sudden plans, we didn’t know what to plan and decided to just wing it. We were a group of four and it took till the first week of November to come on the same page that we should go somewhere in the last 2 weeks of December. Vietnam was shortlisted from the list which included Australia, UAE, Japan, Turkey and Singapore due to various reasons including time and cost.
One thing I was sure is that we wouldn’t opt for packaged tours. Something about the strict adherence to the schedule (which is not even created by us) doesn’t sit well with us. We preferred to explore places on our own leisurely pace and sometimes we just preferred to laze around, not doing anything. Given a choice, we would rather be sitting on a beach and reading a book, than standing in a long queue to take a picturesque photo to post in Instagram.
Planning, planning and more planning
Once it was decided that we were going to Vietnam, the first step was to book a flight ticket to Vietnam. There were various options - Flights to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. If we chose Hanoi, we would be going from North Vietnam to South and if we chose Ho Chi Minh City, it would be the reverse. We were also contemplating whether we should depart from Bangalore or Chennai as the flights from Chennai were cheaper by 4k per person even after including the travel from Bengaluru to Chennai via Bus. Ultimately, we decided to board from Chennai as it was favourable to us both in terms of departure time and cost.
Since we were booking the flights just a month prior to the journey, the prices had already started going up. Our initial plan was to travel from 12th Dec to 22nd Dec. However looking at flight prices and the fact that we could spend Christmas holidays in Vietnam, we decided to change the dates to 14th Dec - 29th Dec.
Once the dates were decided, I started drafting a rough itinerary. It was a trial and error in most parts as we didn’t know which city to leave out and which ones to keep. It was imperative that we don’t overload it with too many places, lest we spend most of our time just travelling. Ultimately, we decided to leave out Phu Quoc and Sapa, and our rough itinerary started looking like the table below. I wanted to spend my birthday (Dec 19) on an overnight cruise in Halong Bay and accordingly drafted the itinerary around it.
It took me a week of idling effort to draft this itinerary. And once it was ready, it was time to book hotels and plan domestic travel within Vietnam.
Booking Hotels, Domestic Flights & Overnight Cruise
After finalising the itinerary, we started booking hotels and domestic flights. Flights within Vietnam were cheap. But one pro tip here is to search for the flights in SkyScanner and then book the flights directly on the airlines website - to save a lot of money. For example, the flight from Hanoi to Da Nang (which we shortlisted based on convenient departure time) cost us only ~Rs. 3k on the airline website, compared to MakeMyTrip’s ~Rs. 6k. We mostly preferred low cost carriers like VietJetAir and Bamboo Airways. I had to use Google Translate on the airlines websites for flight booking (as the websites were available only in Vietnamese language), but the massive price difference made it worth the effort.
Once the flights were booked, we started hunting for good hotels. Since it was already Nov 30th and our trip starts in 15 days, many of the good hotels were sold out. Out of the remaining ones, we prioritised hotel rooms or serviced apartments with a good view (lake, river or ocean view). I have included the list of hotels that we booked in the itinerary table above, along with the pricing for 2 rooms - 4 people. We booked hotels through Agoda and used Niyo Global DCB Card to pay for them seamlessly.
It was already December 1, but we haven’t yet booked a cruise. There were many available cruises in Halong Bay and the prices were also similar (~Rs. 12 to 14k per person). We relied on ratings and reviews from Klook to book a nice cruise option. The operative from the cruise company contacted me on WhatsApp to confirm the dietary preferences (if we prefer Veg or Non Veg) and also to arrange for pickup from Hanoi.
Currency & Payments
We decided to have at least Rs. 10k worth foreign currency per person in hand before travelling as a safety net. We bought the currency from Oak Forex Whitefield. One interesting hack was that their website was selling VND (Vietnam Dong) at 1000 VND = Rs. 3.75, where as their offline centres (and all the other forex competitors, which we enquired) offered us 1000 VND = Rs. 4. So, we booked via the website and collected the money at their offline centre. They also have door-delivery option.
We knew that Niyo cards were accepted everywhere. Some places in Vietnam charge 3-4% extra if you pay via card. But even in those cases, it was worth paying via card due to charges while withdrawing money from ATMs in Vietnam. I will explain it via the table below. Most of the ATMs in Vietnam allowed us to withdraw maximum of 3 Million VND, hence I will use that amount for calculation
Hence it is always better to pay via Card wherever possible, especially with a zero forex card like Niyo.
Visa
For some reason, we didn’t think much about Visa until December 6th. We were always of the opinion that it was an E-Visa and hence it shouldn’t take much time. But we chanced upon few articles online about Visa delays and the reality set in along with a heavy dose of panic. We applied for Visa via Atlys as they guaranteed Visa by 12th December 7.30 AM for an extra fee of Rs. 750 per person. 12th December came and we didn’t get Visa yet. We were panicking and started reaching out to Atlys. However, there was no way to speak to someone from Atlys customer support. The bot was creating multiple tickets but nothing beyond that. After a few stressful hours, someone from Atlys reached out and offered to check and get back in couple of hours. By 12th Dec evening, our Visas were granted and we didn’t have to pay that extra fee to Atlys due to the delay. But those few hours were extremely stressful and taught us that Visa should always be one of the first things to take care of in future trips.
Boarding Complete & Cleared for Takeoff!
Since our flight was from Chennai, we travelled via Bus to Chennai airport. One thing that we made sure was that we had enough number of complimentary lounge accesses in all our credit cards. After clearing check-in and immigration, we went to the lounge for dinner and relaxation till boarding time. However, Chennai lounge experience was less than satisfactory in terms of food and overall lounge cleanliness. We boarded our flight to Bangkok and transferred to Hanoi from there. One thing to note was that the lounge at the Bangkok airport (Miracle Lounge) was top class (and it would remain in the first place among all the other lounges that we visited in the trip). There were too many varieties of food in the buffet, along with unlimited alcohol.
Hanoi
We landed at Hanoi at around 9AM. I had bought multiple eSIMs from India for testing purposes (I was developing an eSIM product for my company app at that time), but others had to buy local SIM cards at the airport. As per several online sources, Viettel was the best telecom player in Vietnam (as it was being used by the Vietnam Military too) and had the best coverage and speeds. Even though Viettel was costlier compared to others like VietnamMobile, Viettel is recommended and it didn’t let us down throughout our trip. However the vendors at the airport had overpriced their SIMs and it is advisable to get the SIMs outside the airport.
Since our check in at the hotel was only at 2PM, we decided to drop off our luggages at the hotel and roam around the city. We visited multiple malls and had a delectable lunch at 37.5 Seoul at Lotte Mall (Highly recommended, if you want to have Korean food in Hanoi). Since we had a vegetarian in our group, all the restaurants that we visited in the trip served Vietnamese food both in non veg version and vegetarian version. For Dinner, we visited Garden House Restaurant in the midst of the Night Market. I would rate this restaurant very highly and the food was so good, that we visited the same restaurant again the next day. Also, if you don’t know how to eat Vietnamese food, the waiters would show you (This was the theme all across Vietnam).
Train Street
The next day, we visited the Hoàn Kiếm Lake, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Train Street in the evening. Train Street was colourful, no doubt, but seemingly over-hyped. You have to buy an over-priced coffee at a shop bordering the train track, lest they won’t allow you to stand on the side of the track to watch the train as it passes. Also, no one there would tell you exactly when the train is going to pass unless you buy a coffee from them. And the train would pass at good 30-40 Kmph speed that it is imperative that you take a safe place to stand on the sides. A train passes every day at 7:30 PM, but I am not aware of the complete schedule.
Ninh Binh & Trang An
Next day, we went to Ninh Binh to visit the Mua Caves. You have to climb an uneven and sometimes slippery 500 steps to the top, where you get a scenic view of rice paddy fields and the river near by.
After lunch, we rented bicycles and roamed around the neighbouring villages. The locals there were extremely helpful if you lose your way.
In the evening, we visited Tran An and took a boat ride there. You have to buy a ticket at the counter and it is recommended if you visited this place just before dusk. Trang A boat ride was one of the highlights of the trip. This was the spot where they shot Kong: Skull Island film and the spot was iconic and serene. The boat ride lasts for good 1 hour and we went through multiple cave systems underneath the mountains. This is something that you will just have to experience as no number of photos would do justice to the beauty and eerie calmness of the place.
Ha Long Bay
The next day we boarded our pre-arranged cab to Ha Long Bay. If you are planning to travel everywhere via cab, I’d advise you to download an app called ‘InDrive’. This is similar to Namma Yatri, where you have to directly pay the driver and the app doesn’t take a cut. We were able to save considerable amount of money via this app. If Grab shows 300K Dongs for a trip, you can do the same trip in 100K Dongs via InDrive. The only bad thing is that you have to pay via cash every time as card payments are not accepted.
We had booked an overnight 5-star cruise in Ha Long Bay. The cruise included kayaking through a pearl farm, Tien Ong cave, Titop Island and good food. We paid 12K per person for a cabin with private balcony. The cruise went through some picturesque locations and was a delight to just chill and soak in the blue-green sights. Kayaking was one of the highlights of the cruise. The water was calm and had that bluish green tint to it. The crowd was minimal and the weather was also perfect.
In the evening, we visited Tien Ong cave where you have to climb through 400-500 steps. The cave was a natural wonder with stunning stalactite formations.
Food at the cruise was excellent. They even had taken consideration about dietary preferences and had arranged for a separate vegetarian menu just for one person on board. The next day, before going to the shore, we visited Titop Island. The trek to the top was cold in the icy morning but the view atop was worth it.
After the cruise, we opted to stay one more day in Ha Long Bay. We visited Sun World cable car which was worth every paisa of Rs. 1000 that we paid for it. In Ha Long Bay, we were staying at A La Carte Hotel. This was a five star hotel which was still under construction but had few rooms operational. Because of this, we got ocean view rooms at extremely cheap rates.
On 20th December, we boarded a cab to Hanoi and caught a flight to Da Nang.
Da Nang
Rain drizzle welcomed us in Da Nang. We stayed for a total of 4 days in Da Nang at a 4-star hotel on the beach, in an ocean-view room. We heard from the locals that it was raining even more heavily a few days before we landed at Da Nang. So in a way, we were slightly luckier.
The first day at Da Nang went in just roaming around the city. We visited Marble Mountains in the morning, and Dragon Bridge and Son Tra Night Market in the evening. While the marble mountains involved trekking into multiple caves within, the night market was a treat for souvenirs shopping.
In the night, we went to My Khe Beach, where we had the entire beach to ourselves. The beach was clean and it was just a stone throw away from our hotel.
The next day, we visited Ba Na Hills. The cable car ride to the top was like riding a wagon into heaven. We made a mistake in not carrying enough winter clothing as it was freezing up there. Still we enjoyed the free beer and a walk through the French Village. If I were to visit Vietnam again, I would definitely come to Ba Na Hills in a warmer weather and stay at the French Village.
We also visited the Golden Hands bridge, which I felt was very over rated. There was too much crowd and the foggy weather made it difficult to enjoy.
Hoi An
Since it was raining heavily in Hoi An, we decided to keep the visit short. It was a 40 minute drive from Da Nang and we spent an entire afternoon roaming in the ancient town of Hoi An. We took a scenic boat ride in the evening and even bought a few paintings which we liked from the night market.
We decided to spend our Christmas eve at Hue. We checked out of our hotel and booked a cab to Hue. In hindsight, this was one of the big mistakes that we did. It was raining very heavily in Hue and we couldn’t venture out to see Christmas eve celebrations. And Hue being a small city, was deserted in most parts. Still we tried to enjoy the local cuisine there and visited Aeon Mall for some Christmas shopping.
Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon)
After the highs of Hanoi, Ninh Binh, Halong Bay, Da Nang and Hoi An, Saigon was a bit of a let down as it was so similar to India (like Bengaluru minus the weather). Since we booked hotel very late, many of good hotels were booked and we ended up in a 3-star hotel in the suburbs of HCM city.
We arrived at Saigon on the afternoon of 25th December. In the evening, we visited Saigon Sky Deck. If you have not been to a sky deck before, this place would enthral you with the complete view of the city at night time.
Next day, we also visited Ben Thanh Market to shop for a few souvenirs. We also visited multiple malls and local restaurants to experience local vibes. We expected sneakers and electronics to be priced very cheap (similar to Thailand), but we were sadly mistaken. Any sneakers in brand showrooms were priced similar to India and sneakers outside brand showrooms were either first copies or second copies. The story was similar for electronics too.
On 27th December, we visited Mui Ne Sand Dunes. This was one of the less visited places around Saigon. We took a stroll through the Fairy Stream and also visited the fishing village.
In the afternoon, we visited the sand dunes. It was drizzling with gusty winds. Our clothes were soaked with rain and sand.
The next day, we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels. It was extremely crowded. Even our guide said that he has never seen this big a crowd ever.
Cu Chi Tunnels is an underground tunnel system spanning 250 Kms. Vietnamese used these tunnels to fight and win the war against Americans and French. The tunnels were extremely narrow and had extensive defence mechanisms & living chambers. It was great to experience a tiny bit of what Vietnamese went through during the harrowing war.
Adieu Vietnam!
Our flight out of HCM City was on the early morning (2:40 AM) of 29th December. We had to stand in long queues for check-in and even longer 1.5 hour queue for immigration. And when we crossed the security, all the duty free shops were closed (Apparently all duty free shops close at 1.30 AM in the morning). Eventually with tired eyes and tired legs, we boarded our flight out of Ho Chi Minh City.
Some Afterthoughts
- Vietnamese people are extremely kind and honest. Even while negotiating for prices, they keep an extremely friendly and smiley face, which makes negotiating hard.
- Vietnam is a developing country but majority of people have better civic sense than Indians. Especially at Vietnam roads, you wouldn’t hear horn sounds or hear people screaming for cutting in front of their cars.
- You could see a stark divide between the rich people and poor people. People would be riding either a high class car or a scooter, would be eating in a good restaurants or road side shops etc. There is no in between.
- Since there is no concept of MRP, you can get the same bottle of water for 5K Dongs to 50K Dongs, depending on where you are getting it from.
- Google Translate app is your friend at all times. Many don’t speak English and if they do, either you can’t understand their accent or they can’t understand yours.
- Get a Travel Adaptor plug with you. Most Vietnamese plugs are two pin plugs.
- Most restaurants do not provide you water for free. And the water bottles in those restaurants cost a bomb.
- Food is expensive if you prefer restaurants which provide vegan food too. And for cabs, InDrive app is so much cheaper compared to Grab.
- If you are a vegetarian, look for food with ‘Chay’ mentioned in it. This means it is a vegan food.
- I became a fan of Vietnamese Egg Coffee, Bahn Mi and Bun Cha. These are some of the must tries.
- Street food is inexpensive and healthy too if you know the clean places to eat.
- Souvenirs are cheaper in Hanoi or HCM than Da Nang or Hoi An. And try to negotiate. You could get anything for half of the originally quoted price.
So, Will I visit Vietnam again? Probably, after 10-15 years. I’ll definitely return to Ba Na Hills, but next time, I’ll hope for sunnier weather. I’ll also go to Sapa to wander through the terraced paddy fields or head to Phu Quoc for a laid-back beach getaway. But what stands out the most from this trip is how it allowed me to escape the relentless hustle and bustle of everyday life for nearly 2 weeks. And in a way, that was all I wanted from this trip.
