In Dien Bien Phu bought the bus ticket to Muong Khuan, Laos for
88,000vnd leaving at 530am. Also me and 2 French guys from the sapa
bus split a hotel room which was only 120,000 so 40,000 each. Dien
Bien Phu doesn't have ANY tourist services and changing dong into
either Kip or USD is very difficult but doable.
Going to Laos: the bus was suppose to leave at 530 but we didn't leave
until after 620 cause we were waiting for some bags of grain I think.
We also stopped to pick up an old engine. The bus was old and
terrible. It took about an hour and a half to get to the boarder which
is only 36km. Checked out of Vietnam then got back on the bus to drive
to Laos. At the Laos checkpoint the visa costs $35usd. Make sure you
have a passport photo, if you don't then you pay an extra $2usd. There
are also signs "service fee -$1usd", "stamp fee - 3000 Kip", "check
for H1N1 fee - 2000 Kip". The total price was $36usd plus 5000kip.
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vietnam. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sapa
There are a bunch of mini-buses waiting at the train station in Lao
Cai to take people to Sapa. The Chinese border is only 1km away if you
want to take a peek. The mini buses try to charge 100,000vnd to go to
Sapa but the lonely planet says it should be 28,000. I had to fight
pretty hard to get it for 50,000 (they were pulling away and I refused
to pay more and they drove a little ways away and stopped and still
asked for 70,000 before accepting 50,000. I met a couple who managed
to get it for 40,000 but it didn't leave from the train station. I
think I saw two Vietnamese on my minibus pay 50,000 each.
The drive to Sapa is gorgeous and if the weather is good it would
definitely be nice to have a private car which I was getting offered
for 300,000vnd. Got dropped off in front of the market in Sapa and a
guy asked me to look at his hotel. I ended up staying there and it was
decent (Cam Tu guest house, tel: 0203 871 339, No. 011 Fanispan St.)
Good size room (2 beds) a balcony with a bit of a view, cable, wifi,
hot shower and electric blanket, heat was extra though (it was real
cold and foggy) for 140,000vnd. They had a hair salon in the lobby and
I got my hair cut there for 50,000vnd but I wouldn't recommend it. The
girl randomly cut parts of my hair, brushed my bangs to the side and
asked "ok?". Haha no not ok! She hadn't even cut about 70% of my hair!
After multiple discussions through a translator she managed to give me
an actual haircut which was alright. Pretty ridiculous experience
though.
The one day the fog cleared in the afternoon and I went for a hike to
Cat Cat village and down the valley. Cat Cat village is 3km down hill
from Sapa and they charge 20,000vnd entrance. It's kinda a waste of
time cause it's basically all shops for tourists. There are some very
pretty vistas though and an ok waterfall. From there I continued down
the valley on an unmarked trail through the rice paddies and didn't
see any other tourists. This area is spectacularly beautiful and I
wished I had more time to keep going down but the sun started setting.
A woman pointed me in the direction of Sapa which was a pretty arduous
climb back up on a questionable path. If the weather was for sure
going to be good I could have spent a couple more days there hiking
around but I think it's unpredictable and dense fog is very common.
Leaving Sapa I booked a minibus to Dien Bien Phu (near the Laos
border) through my hotel for 200,000vnd. That's the cheapest I found
around but there was a sign on the bus saying Lao Cai to Dien Bien Phu
was 170,000 so if you catch it yourself you should at least be able to
get that. The minibus was alright, not packed with people and goods
which was nice. The drive for the first hour is amazing so try to get
a window. We left Sapa around 8am and arrived Dien Bien Phu around
230pm with a couple stops.
Cai to take people to Sapa. The Chinese border is only 1km away if you
want to take a peek. The mini buses try to charge 100,000vnd to go to
Sapa but the lonely planet says it should be 28,000. I had to fight
pretty hard to get it for 50,000 (they were pulling away and I refused
to pay more and they drove a little ways away and stopped and still
asked for 70,000 before accepting 50,000. I met a couple who managed
to get it for 40,000 but it didn't leave from the train station. I
think I saw two Vietnamese on my minibus pay 50,000 each.
The drive to Sapa is gorgeous and if the weather is good it would
definitely be nice to have a private car which I was getting offered
for 300,000vnd. Got dropped off in front of the market in Sapa and a
guy asked me to look at his hotel. I ended up staying there and it was
decent (Cam Tu guest house, tel: 0203 871 339, No. 011 Fanispan St.)
Good size room (2 beds) a balcony with a bit of a view, cable, wifi,
hot shower and electric blanket, heat was extra though (it was real
cold and foggy) for 140,000vnd. They had a hair salon in the lobby and
I got my hair cut there for 50,000vnd but I wouldn't recommend it. The
girl randomly cut parts of my hair, brushed my bangs to the side and
asked "ok?". Haha no not ok! She hadn't even cut about 70% of my hair!
After multiple discussions through a translator she managed to give me
an actual haircut which was alright. Pretty ridiculous experience
though.
The one day the fog cleared in the afternoon and I went for a hike to
Cat Cat village and down the valley. Cat Cat village is 3km down hill
from Sapa and they charge 20,000vnd entrance. It's kinda a waste of
time cause it's basically all shops for tourists. There are some very
pretty vistas though and an ok waterfall. From there I continued down
the valley on an unmarked trail through the rice paddies and didn't
see any other tourists. This area is spectacularly beautiful and I
wished I had more time to keep going down but the sun started setting.
A woman pointed me in the direction of Sapa which was a pretty arduous
climb back up on a questionable path. If the weather was for sure
going to be good I could have spent a couple more days there hiking
around but I think it's unpredictable and dense fog is very common.
Leaving Sapa I booked a minibus to Dien Bien Phu (near the Laos
border) through my hotel for 200,000vnd. That's the cheapest I found
around but there was a sign on the bus saying Lao Cai to Dien Bien Phu
was 170,000 so if you catch it yourself you should at least be able to
get that. The minibus was alright, not packed with people and goods
which was nice. The drive for the first hour is amazing so try to get
a window. We left Sapa around 8am and arrived Dien Bien Phu around
230pm with a couple stops.
Hanoi
Arriving I took the Vietnam airlines bus to the old quarter for
30,000. Jetstar has the same service but the Vietnam airlines drop off
point is more convenient and it doesn't matter which airline you flew
on. There are tons of taxis and minibuses also but they can't be
trusted. Stayed the first night at Hanoi Backpackers Hostel
($6usd/dorm bed, (04) 3828 5372, 48 P Ngo Huyen St.) which is highly
rated and pretty nice but there are many nice $5usd ones in the same
area also.
Halong Bay: I had heard that The Drift Backpackers offers a good 3 day
2 night (1night on a boat, 1 night in a hotel on Cat Ba island) halong
bay tour for $57usd so I went there in the morning to sign up for it.
About 5 min after paying, the tour company called the hostel back and
said they couldn't do the $57 one only the same tour for $88. That
seemed pretty sketchy so I told the guy at the hostel that I didn't
have any more money and asked him to call them and tell them that.
What do you know, they said they'd make it work! Got picked up 10min
later and off we went.
The tour company was AST Travel and it all seemed pretty good until
about halfway there we found out that because of the tourist boat
sinking the day before, all overnight cruises on the bay were shut
down for five days. We were basically told that we only had the option
of changing to the one day tour and getting refunded the difference
which is terrible because the hostel I booked through charges $35usd
for the one day tour which is WAY too much and at other places you can
get it for $21. I was later given the option to return straight to
Hanoi and PAY FOR THE BUS RIDE! unbelievable! Like I wanted the bus
ride. AND they couldn't tell me how much I'd have to pay for the bus.
So I decided to do the day tour to cut my losses. Definitely NEVER do
a 1 day tour. It is unbelievably touristy and you just follow an
armada of other boats around a small loop and stop on one island to
look at two caves which are lit up with colored fluorescent lights.
Lunch is ok (drinks cost extra though and are way overpriced - 30,000
vnd for a can of beer) and The caves are kinda cool but you spend
3.5hours on a bus to get there, then only 3 hours actually on the bay,
then 3.5 hours on the bus again back to Hanoi! It's crazy. Plus there
was a big accident on our way back so it took almost 6 hours to get
back.
I booked my ticket with The Drift Hostel so that's where they dropped
me off. They have dorms for $4 if you book online but it's more if you
walk in (include wifi and breakfast but breakfast is just toast and
tea or coffee). Luckily they gave me the $4 rate after the tour. I was
told that I'd have to deal with the refund the next day when they
could talk to the owner. The dorm room was pretty nice. The location
is a bit far from the main center of the old quarter but it's quiet
and only a 10 to 15 min walk to the train station which is nice. The
staff are pretty helpful and nice despite what some reviews online
say. Although there is a night watchman who was very insistent on only
performing watchman duties and nothing more. The next day they
refunded all but $20usd of my payment which I thought was generally
fair. They normally charged $35 for the one day tour but I knew some
people had paid $21 and told them that I thought it would be fair to
only charge me what they had to pay the tour company (AST Travel I
think) for the one day tour I did. So I think paying the 20 is fair.
They probably still made a couple bucks off me but if they were real
jerks they could have totally screwed me. Overall I recommend the
drift hostel if you're looking for something quiet. It's the cheapest
hostel I found and it's nice and clean with good staff (bad breakfast)
a movie lounge, pool table, hot showers, wifi in rooms, etc but it's a
little far from the action (prob a 15 min walk). I'd also recommend
trying to do the $57 tour I tried to do. I think it would've been
good.
Walked all around the old quarter of Hanoi and it's pretty sweet for a
day. What you'd expect from an asian city- small streets, dirty,
smelly, packed with mopeds, food on every corner, etc. But it's pretty
cool with old buildings and tiny passages and stuff. Good for a day of
exploration. There is a good sized night market that starts up around
730pm and they close off street so it's just pedestrians.
Leaving HaNoi: I bought a ticket for a soft sleeper on the LC5 night
train to Lao Cai (the nearest stop to Sapa) for 374,000 vnd. I had
been trying to book a ticket on the ET Pumpkin private carriage which
are suppose to be pretty nice for $30usd but they were sold out. I'm
glad they were cause my soft sleeper is immensely nicer than the hard
sleeper I had from Nha Trang to DaNang. Only 4 beds per cabin, a
western toilet with toilet paper AND fake wood paneling! Total luxury!
My cabin mates were a young couple from San Fransisco and a Vietnamese
girl. The train left at 22:35 (but I almost missed it cause I got on a
train heading south to Hue by accident) and arrives Lao Cai at about
8am
30,000. Jetstar has the same service but the Vietnam airlines drop off
point is more convenient and it doesn't matter which airline you flew
on. There are tons of taxis and minibuses also but they can't be
trusted. Stayed the first night at Hanoi Backpackers Hostel
($6usd/dorm bed, (04) 3828 5372, 48 P Ngo Huyen St.) which is highly
rated and pretty nice but there are many nice $5usd ones in the same
area also.
Halong Bay: I had heard that The Drift Backpackers offers a good 3 day
2 night (1night on a boat, 1 night in a hotel on Cat Ba island) halong
bay tour for $57usd so I went there in the morning to sign up for it.
About 5 min after paying, the tour company called the hostel back and
said they couldn't do the $57 one only the same tour for $88. That
seemed pretty sketchy so I told the guy at the hostel that I didn't
have any more money and asked him to call them and tell them that.
What do you know, they said they'd make it work! Got picked up 10min
later and off we went.
The tour company was AST Travel and it all seemed pretty good until
about halfway there we found out that because of the tourist boat
sinking the day before, all overnight cruises on the bay were shut
down for five days. We were basically told that we only had the option
of changing to the one day tour and getting refunded the difference
which is terrible because the hostel I booked through charges $35usd
for the one day tour which is WAY too much and at other places you can
get it for $21. I was later given the option to return straight to
Hanoi and PAY FOR THE BUS RIDE! unbelievable! Like I wanted the bus
ride. AND they couldn't tell me how much I'd have to pay for the bus.
So I decided to do the day tour to cut my losses. Definitely NEVER do
a 1 day tour. It is unbelievably touristy and you just follow an
armada of other boats around a small loop and stop on one island to
look at two caves which are lit up with colored fluorescent lights.
Lunch is ok (drinks cost extra though and are way overpriced - 30,000
vnd for a can of beer) and The caves are kinda cool but you spend
3.5hours on a bus to get there, then only 3 hours actually on the bay,
then 3.5 hours on the bus again back to Hanoi! It's crazy. Plus there
was a big accident on our way back so it took almost 6 hours to get
back.
I booked my ticket with The Drift Hostel so that's where they dropped
me off. They have dorms for $4 if you book online but it's more if you
walk in (include wifi and breakfast but breakfast is just toast and
tea or coffee). Luckily they gave me the $4 rate after the tour. I was
told that I'd have to deal with the refund the next day when they
could talk to the owner. The dorm room was pretty nice. The location
is a bit far from the main center of the old quarter but it's quiet
and only a 10 to 15 min walk to the train station which is nice. The
staff are pretty helpful and nice despite what some reviews online
say. Although there is a night watchman who was very insistent on only
performing watchman duties and nothing more. The next day they
refunded all but $20usd of my payment which I thought was generally
fair. They normally charged $35 for the one day tour but I knew some
people had paid $21 and told them that I thought it would be fair to
only charge me what they had to pay the tour company (AST Travel I
think) for the one day tour I did. So I think paying the 20 is fair.
They probably still made a couple bucks off me but if they were real
jerks they could have totally screwed me. Overall I recommend the
drift hostel if you're looking for something quiet. It's the cheapest
hostel I found and it's nice and clean with good staff (bad breakfast)
a movie lounge, pool table, hot showers, wifi in rooms, etc but it's a
little far from the action (prob a 15 min walk). I'd also recommend
trying to do the $57 tour I tried to do. I think it would've been
good.
Walked all around the old quarter of Hanoi and it's pretty sweet for a
day. What you'd expect from an asian city- small streets, dirty,
smelly, packed with mopeds, food on every corner, etc. But it's pretty
cool with old buildings and tiny passages and stuff. Good for a day of
exploration. There is a good sized night market that starts up around
730pm and they close off street so it's just pedestrians.
Leaving HaNoi: I bought a ticket for a soft sleeper on the LC5 night
train to Lao Cai (the nearest stop to Sapa) for 374,000 vnd. I had
been trying to book a ticket on the ET Pumpkin private carriage which
are suppose to be pretty nice for $30usd but they were sold out. I'm
glad they were cause my soft sleeper is immensely nicer than the hard
sleeper I had from Nha Trang to DaNang. Only 4 beds per cabin, a
western toilet with toilet paper AND fake wood paneling! Total luxury!
My cabin mates were a young couple from San Fransisco and a Vietnamese
girl. The train left at 22:35 (but I almost missed it cause I got on a
train heading south to Hue by accident) and arrives Lao Cai at about
8am
Danang/Hoi An
Arriving Da Nang: the train station is right in the center. To catch
the yellow bus to Hoi An walk straight out of the station, ignoring
the taxi drivers, and walk one block to the next street which is a
main street. Wait on the far side (side where traffic is heading east)
and wait. I didn't have to wait long, a bus pulled up right away but I
think they run every 30min about. It's a bright yellow, medium sized
bus and says "denang-hoi an" on it. They're hard to miss. The fair is
suppose to be 10,000vnd but overcharging of foreigners is rampant. The
first price the guy offered me was 100,000! I said 20,000, he said
50,000, I said 20,000, then he acted like he was going to leave then a
woman came over and said 30,000 and I accepted. You should be
persistent about 10,000 because I don't think they'd leave a fare and
that's the real price. Maybe if they give you a hard time about
luggage or something accept 20,000 but no more. This will discourage
trying to overcharge foreigners. The bus ride takes about an hour and
is pretty easy, drops off at the Hoi An bus station which is a
10-15min walk from the main hotel area.
Hoi An:
Stayed at a Hop Yen Hotel (694 Hai Ba Trung, tel: (0510) 386-3153) in
a decent location near the old town, maybe 5min walk. Dorm bed was
$5usd and I got a really small private room with single bed, tv, fan,
shared bathroom for $6usd for the second night. I checked a bunch of
places and I couldn't find a real hotel room for less than $10usd near
the old town.
Hoi An is a pretty cool little town with a large pedestrian only old
town with many historical buildings and a nice river front. There are
about a million tailors which will make anything you want but I think
the quality varies widely and may not always be indicated by price.
There are also tons of shoe makers. There's an ok beach and some cool
hills outside of town but other than that Hoi An doesn't have a lot
going on. But there are a lot of nice restaurants and the town is very
quaint; worth a visit for sure.
Leaving Hoi An: I booked a flight from DaNang to HaNoi on Jetstar for
620,000vnd. I was going to take the night train again but it was only
50,000 cheaper for a hard sleeper so I decided to fly. I took the
yellow bus again to to DaNang and paid 30,000 again but I sat next to
a German guy whe did manage to get the true fairly 10,000 but only
after the bus started pulling away and he continued to stand his
ground that they finally gave in. I told them I was going to the
airport and they dropped me off at the street that ran down to the
airport, about 1km away, maybe a little more. I walked it and it took
forever so I'd recommend taking a moto for 10,000vnd and don't believe
anyone who tells you that you're miles away. The airport is a dump but
they're building a new terminal which looks like it'll be real nice.
the yellow bus to Hoi An walk straight out of the station, ignoring
the taxi drivers, and walk one block to the next street which is a
main street. Wait on the far side (side where traffic is heading east)
and wait. I didn't have to wait long, a bus pulled up right away but I
think they run every 30min about. It's a bright yellow, medium sized
bus and says "denang-hoi an" on it. They're hard to miss. The fair is
suppose to be 10,000vnd but overcharging of foreigners is rampant. The
first price the guy offered me was 100,000! I said 20,000, he said
50,000, I said 20,000, then he acted like he was going to leave then a
woman came over and said 30,000 and I accepted. You should be
persistent about 10,000 because I don't think they'd leave a fare and
that's the real price. Maybe if they give you a hard time about
luggage or something accept 20,000 but no more. This will discourage
trying to overcharge foreigners. The bus ride takes about an hour and
is pretty easy, drops off at the Hoi An bus station which is a
10-15min walk from the main hotel area.
Hoi An:
Stayed at a Hop Yen Hotel (694 Hai Ba Trung, tel: (0510) 386-3153) in
a decent location near the old town, maybe 5min walk. Dorm bed was
$5usd and I got a really small private room with single bed, tv, fan,
shared bathroom for $6usd for the second night. I checked a bunch of
places and I couldn't find a real hotel room for less than $10usd near
the old town.
Hoi An is a pretty cool little town with a large pedestrian only old
town with many historical buildings and a nice river front. There are
about a million tailors which will make anything you want but I think
the quality varies widely and may not always be indicated by price.
There are also tons of shoe makers. There's an ok beach and some cool
hills outside of town but other than that Hoi An doesn't have a lot
going on. But there are a lot of nice restaurants and the town is very
quaint; worth a visit for sure.
Leaving Hoi An: I booked a flight from DaNang to HaNoi on Jetstar for
620,000vnd. I was going to take the night train again but it was only
50,000 cheaper for a hard sleeper so I decided to fly. I took the
yellow bus again to to DaNang and paid 30,000 again but I sat next to
a German guy whe did manage to get the true fairly 10,000 but only
after the bus started pulling away and he continued to stand his
ground that they finally gave in. I told them I was going to the
airport and they dropped me off at the street that ran down to the
airport, about 1km away, maybe a little more. I walked it and it took
forever so I'd recommend taking a moto for 10,000vnd and don't believe
anyone who tells you that you're miles away. The airport is a dump but
they're building a new terminal which looks like it'll be real nice.
Nha Trang
The bus dropped off right in the main backpacker area in
Nha Trang at A hotel with $12 rooms but I didn't look at it. I was planning on leaving that same night on the train for Danang but I liked the vibe in Nha Trang and decided to stay a night. There is an ally off the beach road that has a bunch of budget hotels on it. I stayed at Hotel An Hoa for $10usd with fan, hot water, wifi,
tv. Since I went diving the next day and my train didn't leave until
after 11:30pm I did late checkout and for $5usd was able to stay until
5pm.
Went diving with Seahorse dive shop. 2 dives with lunch on the boat
for $33usd! Great deal. First spot was Madonna Rock which had a cool
boulder field and 2 small swim through caves which were cool. Second
spot was fisherman bay which had really good corals. Visibility wasn't
that great, maybe 10meters cause of some recent rain but apparently it
gets really good sometimes. Lunch onboard was really good and we had
tea, coffee and fruit in the morning too. Seahorse was the cheapest I
found. Most places were $40usd. Seahorse's equipment was pretty knew
and the staff were nice. Just beware that the soda and beer at lunch
isn't included.
Ate dinner at Madame Chuong restaurant. Ordered the porcupine! Sautéed
in satay. After the woman told me "very good! Fresh from forest" for
80,000vnd. I wanted it with Chinese spinach but she said "spinach no
good with porcupine!" haha. "Ok give me whatever vegetables that are
good with porcupine." it was actually REALLY good!
Leaving Nha Trang I bought a ticket the day before on the SE6 night
train to Danang for 274,000vnd for a hard sleeper, top bunk. The soft
sleepers were all booked. A hard sleeper is a bed in a cabin with 6
bunks and no door. Soft sleeper is nicer in a cabin with 4 bunks and a
door. A moto out to the station costs 20,000vnd.
The train was an experience. The SE6 train was pretty crummy- dirty,
noisy, old, etc. My Vietnamese cabin mates (they were all Vietnamese,
only a few foreigners on the train at all) seemed to be pretty
entertained by the fact that a white person was in there, especially
on the top bunk which is the cheapest and I barely fit in it. The
cabin had AC though and with the door closed it wasn't that loud.
Outside in the hallway it was INCREDIBLY loud. the bathrooms were
absolutely terrible by any standards and the "mattress" was no more
than half an inch thick. But I slept ok actually. Better than I would
have on a night bus I'm pretty sure and I'd travel that way again over
a night bus (I've hears that the night buses in Vietnam are the
worst). I didn't see any food available on board but there was a
beverage cart in the morning.
Nha Trang at A hotel with $12 rooms but I didn't look at it. I was planning on leaving that same night on the train for Danang but I liked the vibe in Nha Trang and decided to stay a night. There is an ally off the beach road that has a bunch of budget hotels on it. I stayed at Hotel An Hoa for $10usd with fan, hot water, wifi,
tv. Since I went diving the next day and my train didn't leave until
after 11:30pm I did late checkout and for $5usd was able to stay until
5pm.
Went diving with Seahorse dive shop. 2 dives with lunch on the boat
for $33usd! Great deal. First spot was Madonna Rock which had a cool
boulder field and 2 small swim through caves which were cool. Second
spot was fisherman bay which had really good corals. Visibility wasn't
that great, maybe 10meters cause of some recent rain but apparently it
gets really good sometimes. Lunch onboard was really good and we had
tea, coffee and fruit in the morning too. Seahorse was the cheapest I
found. Most places were $40usd. Seahorse's equipment was pretty knew
and the staff were nice. Just beware that the soda and beer at lunch
isn't included.
Ate dinner at Madame Chuong restaurant. Ordered the porcupine! Sautéed
in satay. After the woman told me "very good! Fresh from forest" for
80,000vnd. I wanted it with Chinese spinach but she said "spinach no
good with porcupine!" haha. "Ok give me whatever vegetables that are
good with porcupine." it was actually REALLY good!
Leaving Nha Trang I bought a ticket the day before on the SE6 night
train to Danang for 274,000vnd for a hard sleeper, top bunk. The soft
sleepers were all booked. A hard sleeper is a bed in a cabin with 6
bunks and no door. Soft sleeper is nicer in a cabin with 4 bunks and a
door. A moto out to the station costs 20,000vnd.
The train was an experience. The SE6 train was pretty crummy- dirty,
noisy, old, etc. My Vietnamese cabin mates (they were all Vietnamese,
only a few foreigners on the train at all) seemed to be pretty
entertained by the fact that a white person was in there, especially
on the top bunk which is the cheapest and I barely fit in it. The
cabin had AC though and with the door closed it wasn't that loud.
Outside in the hallway it was INCREDIBLY loud. the bathrooms were
absolutely terrible by any standards and the "mattress" was no more
than half an inch thick. But I slept ok actually. Better than I would
have on a night bus I'm pretty sure and I'd travel that way again over
a night bus (I've hears that the night buses in Vietnam are the
worst). I didn't see any food available on board but there was a
beverage cart in the morning.
Dalat
Arrived in Dalat at 4pm. The bus drops off at the Sinh
Tourist office in town which is also at a the Trung Cang Hotel which
is owned by Sinh Tourist. There wasn't really too much pressure to
stay there either. I had called ahead to another hotel across town for
$10usd but Trung Cang offered me a room for $10usd including a
breakfast buffet so I took it. Don't think the other hotel kept my
reservation anyway cause when I called to cancel they laughed and said
"no problem, no problem". My room was in the basement, had a single
bed, wifi, hot water, satellite tv and they gave me a heater (it was
kinda cold in Dalat). The room has a bit of a moldy smell to it but
otherwise it was really nice, seemed updated, had real nice linens on
the bed. Def one of the nicer places if stayed. The hotel is more
upmarket (2 stars) and I got the cheapest room. Breakfast buffet was
legit with Pho, noodles, fried eggs, fried rice, fruit juice, toast,
etc. Better than I expected. I def recommend the Trung Cang hotel. I
also rented a moto from them for 100,000vnd for an automatic.
Leaving Dalat I booked another bus through Sinh Cafe to Nha Trang for
100,000vnd. The bus left at 730, took 4 hours and made 1 stop at a
restaurant half way.
Tourist office in town which is also at a the Trung Cang Hotel which
is owned by Sinh Tourist. There wasn't really too much pressure to
stay there either. I had called ahead to another hotel across town for
$10usd but Trung Cang offered me a room for $10usd including a
breakfast buffet so I took it. Don't think the other hotel kept my
reservation anyway cause when I called to cancel they laughed and said
"no problem, no problem". My room was in the basement, had a single
bed, wifi, hot water, satellite tv and they gave me a heater (it was
kinda cold in Dalat). The room has a bit of a moldy smell to it but
otherwise it was really nice, seemed updated, had real nice linens on
the bed. Def one of the nicer places if stayed. The hotel is more
upmarket (2 stars) and I got the cheapest room. Breakfast buffet was
legit with Pho, noodles, fried eggs, fried rice, fruit juice, toast,
etc. Better than I expected. I def recommend the Trung Cang hotel. I
also rented a moto from them for 100,000vnd for an automatic.
Leaving Dalat I booked another bus through Sinh Cafe to Nha Trang for
100,000vnd. The bus left at 730, took 4 hours and made 1 stop at a
restaurant half way.
Ho Chi Min City (Saigon)
The TNK Tours bus dropped us off in the main backpacker area of Saigon
around Pham Ngu Lao street which was good. There are tons of hotels
in the area but I had called ahead to one so I went there, but it was
a dump so I left and went to Vin Trang Hotel which is close to the TNK
office and I got a room for $10 with AC, hot shower, TV, fridge and
wifi. The room is a little small but a good value. It doesn't have a
window to the outside which some may consider a negative but I think
it's a positive cause street noise can be very loud and very annoying.
Cu Chi tunnels: since my bus on TNK from Can Tho was good I decided to
book a half day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels through them also for $5usd
not including the 80,000vnd entrance fee. I shopped around and all the
other tour operators charge the same. The tunnels are about 70km from
the center and it takes about 1.5 hours to get there. An organized bus
tour is really the only option for getting there economically. The
tour was very good with a nice guide, a nice bus and no extra stops at
tourist traps. I've heard of other tours taking people out of the way
to "crafts markets" to buy stuff so the company can get commission. On
the way back we had the option of getting dropped off at the War
Museum which I did and walked back to the hotel from there. Definitely
recommend TNK and I'll probably use them again.
Leaving Saigon:
I booked a bus with Sinh Tourist (formerly, and still sometimes, Sinh
Cafe) to Dalat (8hrs, 130,000vnd) which left at 730am. There were only
10 people on the 45 seat bus so that was nice. No bathroom so we
stopped somewhere twice for toilets. The second stop I think was a tea
plantation but I didn't figure it out until we were leaving so it
could have been more interesting than the gift shop and restaurant
were alone.
around Pham Ngu Lao street which was good. There are tons of hotels
in the area but I had called ahead to one so I went there, but it was
a dump so I left and went to Vin Trang Hotel which is close to the TNK
office and I got a room for $10 with AC, hot shower, TV, fridge and
wifi. The room is a little small but a good value. It doesn't have a
window to the outside which some may consider a negative but I think
it's a positive cause street noise can be very loud and very annoying.
Cu Chi tunnels: since my bus on TNK from Can Tho was good I decided to
book a half day tour to the Cu Chi tunnels through them also for $5usd
not including the 80,000vnd entrance fee. I shopped around and all the
other tour operators charge the same. The tunnels are about 70km from
the center and it takes about 1.5 hours to get there. An organized bus
tour is really the only option for getting there economically. The
tour was very good with a nice guide, a nice bus and no extra stops at
tourist traps. I've heard of other tours taking people out of the way
to "crafts markets" to buy stuff so the company can get commission. On
the way back we had the option of getting dropped off at the War
Museum which I did and walked back to the hotel from there. Definitely
recommend TNK and I'll probably use them again.
Leaving Saigon:
I booked a bus with Sinh Tourist (formerly, and still sometimes, Sinh
Cafe) to Dalat (8hrs, 130,000vnd) which left at 730am. There were only
10 people on the 45 seat bus so that was nice. No bathroom so we
stopped somewhere twice for toilets. The second stop I think was a tea
plantation but I didn't figure it out until we were leaving so it
could have been more interesting than the gift shop and restaurant
were alone.
Can Tho
arrived at the bus station and hopped on a moto for 20,000
right away to Hien Guesthouse 2 where I got a decent fan room for
$8usd with a tv, and wifi, and it might have had a hot shower too but
I was too hot already. Good spot, very friendly staff. Me and the
Italian couple booked a boat trip through a friend of the owner and
after some negotiation we got a 6hour trip for $10usd each which is
apparently a pretty standard rate. The boat trip was really sweet. The
floating markets are nothing that special but cruising through the
smaller canals and rivers was really great, very peaceful and our boat
lady was really funny and friendly even though she spoke no English.
We also went to a rice noodle factory (not really a factory though,
more of a shack where they make rice noodles) which was actually
really cool. When doing a boat trip try to arrange to spend as much
time in the small side canals as possible. We passed by a on one of
the smaller rivers, away from town which could be cool, Homestay My
Thuan (tel: 07103845538, 01228082127) don't know anything about it but
I'd give it a shot. Can Tho is a very nice city with a really nice
river front with restaurants and a dinner cruise we tried to do but
missed. I only spent one night there but would recommend staying
longer.
Leaving Can Tho was a bit of a mess. I didn't book a mini-bus ahead of
time (Hien Guesthouse sells tickets for $5usd but they were sold out,
staff there said to go to the main bus station). I went to another
hotel that had mini-busses parked out front but they told me they were
booked up until 4pm, then was told 7pm, then 530pm then a big nice bus
pulled up that was the return portion of a 3 day organized tour from
Saigon. They told me that it was full a couple times but I decided to
hang around anyway which paid off and I was able to get a seat on it
for 160,000vnd. A little expensive but its a nice AC bus with no
hassles and it's dropping me off right in the main backpackers area of
Saigon so it's definitely worth it. And I ended up sitting next to a
very nice Canadian girl who gave me some of here Hawaiian pizza which
was delicious!
right away to Hien Guesthouse 2 where I got a decent fan room for
$8usd with a tv, and wifi, and it might have had a hot shower too but
I was too hot already. Good spot, very friendly staff. Me and the
Italian couple booked a boat trip through a friend of the owner and
after some negotiation we got a 6hour trip for $10usd each which is
apparently a pretty standard rate. The boat trip was really sweet. The
floating markets are nothing that special but cruising through the
smaller canals and rivers was really great, very peaceful and our boat
lady was really funny and friendly even though she spoke no English.
We also went to a rice noodle factory (not really a factory though,
more of a shack where they make rice noodles) which was actually
really cool. When doing a boat trip try to arrange to spend as much
time in the small side canals as possible. We passed by a on one of
the smaller rivers, away from town which could be cool, Homestay My
Thuan (tel: 07103845538, 01228082127) don't know anything about it but
I'd give it a shot. Can Tho is a very nice city with a really nice
river front with restaurants and a dinner cruise we tried to do but
missed. I only spent one night there but would recommend staying
longer.
Leaving Can Tho was a bit of a mess. I didn't book a mini-bus ahead of
time (Hien Guesthouse sells tickets for $5usd but they were sold out,
staff there said to go to the main bus station). I went to another
hotel that had mini-busses parked out front but they told me they were
booked up until 4pm, then was told 7pm, then 530pm then a big nice bus
pulled up that was the return portion of a 3 day organized tour from
Saigon. They told me that it was full a couple times but I decided to
hang around anyway which paid off and I was able to get a seat on it
for 160,000vnd. A little expensive but its a nice AC bus with no
hassles and it's dropping me off right in the main backpackers area of
Saigon so it's definitely worth it. And I ended up sitting next to a
very nice Canadian girl who gave me some of here Hawaiian pizza which
was delicious!
Phu Quoc
The fast boat from Ha Tien to Phu Quoc is 160,000vnd and it took about
2hrs i think. Theres a small space in the back where you can sit
outside but the engines are REALLY loud so make sure you have
earplugs. On the boat they sell minibus tickets to Long Beach for $2
which is a fair price but I was so over minibuses for the day that I
couldn't bare the thought of being stuck on one driving around
everywhere so I decided to figure something else out moto taxis to
longbeach are generally 50,000 VND but I only had 33,000 in my pocket
and I easily found a driver who would do it for that. He took me to
the best spot on long beach where there are the most budget options.
The island was super busy though and we tried like 6 places but they
were all either full or too expensive until I found Lien Hiep Thanh
Hotel, known as Family Hotel (tel. 077-3847-583, 0913-758-034,
0906-722-828) they had one cheap room for $15. The room is really nice
with a fan, bug net, hot shower that doesn't work and a fridge. The
hotel grounds are nice made up of lots of bungalows and it has a
reasonably priced restaurant right on the beach. Definitely recommend
staying here. My room is the cheapest, cheapest bungalow was $25 and
bungalow with ocean view and AC is $50. They rent motos for 80,000vnd
for a semi automatic and 100,000 for an auto which is the going rate.
The only hotel I found that is cheaper had rooms for $13, wasn't on
the beach and the rooms weren't nearly as nice as mine. Actually I
found Kim Nam Phuong seaside resort (tel: 077 846319) and they had a
$10 room and the resort was on the beach. Seemed like a good spot but
their cheap rooms were all booked for a week so I didn't get to look
at them.
The night market has decent seafood for dinner but it's not that
cheap, 80,000 gets you a grilled fish filet with no sides or anything.
Leaving Phu Quoc I bought my boat ticket to Rach Gia through my hotel
(250,000vnd) on the boat Superdong 1 plus a shuttle bus to the boat
for 40,000. The boat left about 20min late. It has a good size area on
the roof to sit outside and it's covered. It's also pretty loud though
so earplugs!
SCAM! In Rach Gia! Ugh, so annoying. Got off the boat and of course
there is the usual scrum of moto drivers trying to take you somewhere
but I just walked past. Ran into my swedish friend who had met a
Vietnamese girl and they were both going to Saigon. The Vietnamese
girl knew less than I did I think and she was getting hustled with us.
The Mai Linh bus office at the pier had prices posted (60,000vnd for
Can Tho and 110,000vnd for Saigon) but she told me they were sold out
all day. Then a moto driver wanted to take me to the far bus station
(7km, he said it was 12km) for 100,000vnd! WAY too much. After arguing
with him for a while he decided to tell me about a nice mini-bus to
Can Tho for 200,000vnd, also WAY too much. He told me "ok ok 80,000vnd
to the bus station" I said get lost. Mind you he started with 70,000
when we first got of the boat but moto rides are rarely more than
40,000. To make things worse he kept following me around and basically
not allowing any other drivers to take me. I separated myself a little
and tried to talk to a different guy and the two drivers swooped in
and basically told the driver to get lost which he did. These guys
were really pissing me off and there was no way I was going to pay
them a penny even if they did give me a good price. They eventually
came down to 40,000 but I told them to go to hell and sat down and had
a Pepsi waiting for them to leave the area then hailed a moto for
30,000. I later met 2 Italians who had the same thing happen but
instead walked to a different bus station closer where they were again
told that the mini-bus was full but after 30minutes they got seats for
80,000 on Mai Linh. Total scam going on there at the Rach Gia Pier.
Maybe it was just cause of Tet and all the tourists coming through,
vietnamese and foreign alike, that generated the scam but who knows.
The bus station in Rach Gia is like a bombed out shell. The public bus
to Can Tho runs every hour, costs 55,000 and is either a mini-bus or a
real bus. No AC and whichever vehicle you're on expect it to be jam
packed. When I first got to the station a mini-bus was about to leave
but the driver tried to charge me 100,000vnd even though it said the
price was 55,000 right on the door. He told me that was the Vietnamese
price and I wasn't Vietnamese so I had to pay more. I refused
obviously and went to the ticket window and after that driver left
they sold me a ticket for 55,000vnd. I got on the bus, a big red old
heap. This driver tried to make me buy another ticket for my bag
because it was in a seat next to me but I said no we'll put it in the
luggage place in the back which we did but then he wanted me to pay
20,000 for the back but I just refused and they stopped bothering me.
The ride took about 3 hours, maybe a little less and wasn't really
that bad. Luckily I was sitting right next to a wide open window which
made a huge difference.
2hrs i think. Theres a small space in the back where you can sit
outside but the engines are REALLY loud so make sure you have
earplugs. On the boat they sell minibus tickets to Long Beach for $2
which is a fair price but I was so over minibuses for the day that I
couldn't bare the thought of being stuck on one driving around
everywhere so I decided to figure something else out moto taxis to
longbeach are generally 50,000 VND but I only had 33,000 in my pocket
and I easily found a driver who would do it for that. He took me to
the best spot on long beach where there are the most budget options.
The island was super busy though and we tried like 6 places but they
were all either full or too expensive until I found Lien Hiep Thanh
Hotel, known as Family Hotel (tel. 077-3847-583, 0913-758-034,
0906-722-828) they had one cheap room for $15. The room is really nice
with a fan, bug net, hot shower that doesn't work and a fridge. The
hotel grounds are nice made up of lots of bungalows and it has a
reasonably priced restaurant right on the beach. Definitely recommend
staying here. My room is the cheapest, cheapest bungalow was $25 and
bungalow with ocean view and AC is $50. They rent motos for 80,000vnd
for a semi automatic and 100,000 for an auto which is the going rate.
The only hotel I found that is cheaper had rooms for $13, wasn't on
the beach and the rooms weren't nearly as nice as mine. Actually I
found Kim Nam Phuong seaside resort (tel: 077 846319) and they had a
$10 room and the resort was on the beach. Seemed like a good spot but
their cheap rooms were all booked for a week so I didn't get to look
at them.
The night market has decent seafood for dinner but it's not that
cheap, 80,000 gets you a grilled fish filet with no sides or anything.
Leaving Phu Quoc I bought my boat ticket to Rach Gia through my hotel
(250,000vnd) on the boat Superdong 1 plus a shuttle bus to the boat
for 40,000. The boat left about 20min late. It has a good size area on
the roof to sit outside and it's covered. It's also pretty loud though
so earplugs!
SCAM! In Rach Gia! Ugh, so annoying. Got off the boat and of course
there is the usual scrum of moto drivers trying to take you somewhere
but I just walked past. Ran into my swedish friend who had met a
Vietnamese girl and they were both going to Saigon. The Vietnamese
girl knew less than I did I think and she was getting hustled with us.
The Mai Linh bus office at the pier had prices posted (60,000vnd for
Can Tho and 110,000vnd for Saigon) but she told me they were sold out
all day. Then a moto driver wanted to take me to the far bus station
(7km, he said it was 12km) for 100,000vnd! WAY too much. After arguing
with him for a while he decided to tell me about a nice mini-bus to
Can Tho for 200,000vnd, also WAY too much. He told me "ok ok 80,000vnd
to the bus station" I said get lost. Mind you he started with 70,000
when we first got of the boat but moto rides are rarely more than
40,000. To make things worse he kept following me around and basically
not allowing any other drivers to take me. I separated myself a little
and tried to talk to a different guy and the two drivers swooped in
and basically told the driver to get lost which he did. These guys
were really pissing me off and there was no way I was going to pay
them a penny even if they did give me a good price. They eventually
came down to 40,000 but I told them to go to hell and sat down and had
a Pepsi waiting for them to leave the area then hailed a moto for
30,000. I later met 2 Italians who had the same thing happen but
instead walked to a different bus station closer where they were again
told that the mini-bus was full but after 30minutes they got seats for
80,000 on Mai Linh. Total scam going on there at the Rach Gia Pier.
Maybe it was just cause of Tet and all the tourists coming through,
vietnamese and foreign alike, that generated the scam but who knows.
The bus station in Rach Gia is like a bombed out shell. The public bus
to Can Tho runs every hour, costs 55,000 and is either a mini-bus or a
real bus. No AC and whichever vehicle you're on expect it to be jam
packed. When I first got to the station a mini-bus was about to leave
but the driver tried to charge me 100,000vnd even though it said the
price was 55,000 right on the door. He told me that was the Vietnamese
price and I wasn't Vietnamese so I had to pay more. I refused
obviously and went to the ticket window and after that driver left
they sold me a ticket for 55,000vnd. I got on the bus, a big red old
heap. This driver tried to make me buy another ticket for my bag
because it was in a seat next to me but I said no we'll put it in the
luggage place in the back which we did but then he wanted me to pay
20,000 for the back but I just refused and they stopped bothering me.
The ride took about 3 hours, maybe a little less and wasn't really
that bad. Luckily I was sitting right next to a wide open window which
made a huge difference.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
