Solo backpacking in Vietnam

Vietnam is a somewhat enigmatic place for a traveller. A narrow strip of land, sandwiched between South China Sea and Cambodia, it has great diversity in terms of geography. Vietnam is famous for experiencing all seasons at the same time in different parts e.g. you may experience winter in Sapa far north, rains in Halong bay and summer in southern Vietnam - all at the same time. It has been war torn till 1975, but still is vibrant and exudes warmth. 

To start with, I just stumbled upon the idea of going to Vietnam as I was discussing with a friend where to go during public holidays in March. I had not read anything about the war history of Vietnam or its culture before, and since there was not much time to read and research before planning my trip, I just leveraged existing information from various travel blogs. I got comprehensive  information and tips from the travel website-   

http://www.travelseewrite.com/practicalguidebookforyourfirstvietnamvisit/

Based on this I decided to focus on North Vietnam and made the following itinerary for 10 days:

• Arrive in Hanoi - spend 2 days exploring Hanoi
• 3 day / 2N cruise to Halong Bay
• 3N / 2D trip to Sapa
• 2 days in Hoi An (just briefly touching Central Vietnam)

My impressions of Vietnam:

My first impression on coming out of Hanoi airport was that the people in Vietnam are extremely social, like most Asian countries. And greeting with flowers is a tradition – so you will see almost everyone with a flower bouquet at the airport arrivals, and throughout the city you will see shops stocked up with beautiful bouquets and flowers. 

Flower shop in Hanoi

Vietnam is known for its war history, and has faced war as recent as the 70s. In spite of being war torn, one can see a lot of positivity in people’s attitude, and they know to create opportunities in adversities. An example is how they display the bombs / aircrafts, which either the Vietnamese had captured from the enemy or used to attack the enemy. 

Enemy Aircrafts captured by Vietnamese army

I could not help smiling when bomb craters were shown as important landmarks in many historical sites. At Myson sanctuary, the guide showed a few bombs displayed and also informed the group that the metal in the bombs is very tough, so they use it for making knives 😄

A Bomb crater at Myson Sanctuary

An interesting fact about Vietnam is that almost 70% people follow no religion, and according to some of the locals, this number declined steeply after the Vietnam war with America between 50s to 70s. Before the war almost 70% people followed Buddhism, but when their prayers in all the important pagodas went unanswered during the war and they lost family, home and faced destruction, their faith in God was lost. However, the pagodas are still intact in Hanoi– and many of them. 

As I spent almost 10 days in Vietnam, I could not but help comparison with India. There is so much similarity in terms of rich cultural heritage, history of continuous foreign invasions, street food and even the climate. If I had to draw parallel between Indian cities and Vietnam, Hanoi is like Delhi - seat of power, bustling, crowded while Ho Chi Minh is the business hub like Mumbai - vibrant, always on the go and Hoi An is like the cultural capital, more like Kolkata steeped in heritage.

Vietnam has really preserved its culture. This is evident from the upkeep of national monuments and the respect they command. There is an interesting practice of getting graduation day photo shoot done in various monuments – I saw hordes of students in their capes , holding degrees and flowers or balloons 😃 getting pictures taken.

A graduation day photo taken at Temple of Literature, Hanoi

      

·     I spent two days exploring museums and history in Hanoi. Thereafter I spoilt myself on a two night luxury cruise in Halong Bay - a UNESCO world heritage site and considered to  be the 8th wonder of the world. I then switched gears to trekking and went to Sapa in far north. Sapa is at an altitude of around 4000 feet and you can trek to the terrraced rice fields and experience the ethnic tribes first hand by staying with them. I briefly touched central Vietnam on strong recommendation for Hoi An by a friend, and am glad I did that, because Hoi An turned out to be my favourite part of the trip. 

Thu Bon River in Hoi An - used as a waterway

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Ironically, inspite of being so traditional, this young country has embraced technology wholeheartedly. The communication network is excellent and you have mobile as well as internet connectivity even in remote hill villages of Sapa. I was pleasantly surprised with the internet connectivity in Vietnam - free wi-fi is available even during the bus and train journey and for quite some distance in Halong Bay cruise also.

Water bodies are an integral part of the city geography - be it the lakes and Red river in Hanoi, the Halong Bay, the river based transport system between islands of Hoi An or the Mekong Delta near Ho Chi Minh. 

Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi

Aerial view of Halong Bay from the Cave of surprise

The turquoise water of Halong Bay with limestone karsts

The sun played truant throughout my trip. I did not see the turquoise of Halong bay or the fluorescent green of Sapa. But I did see these places covered in mist – which added a sort of enigma to these making them surreal. I think the Sun also decided to be on a holiday… after all, if I was holidaying, the Sun also had every right to do so 😊

Mist covered rice fields of Sapa

You can read a detailed description of each leg of the trip at Hanoi - a backpackers paradise, Hoi An - the heart of Vietnam and Surprise of Sapa

Based on my 10 days of travel, I thing the below tips should help you plan your Vietnam travel better and make the most of it.

Travelling into Vietnam:
You can either fly in to Hanoi and explore from north to south going to Ho Chi Minh, or do the other way round. The itinerary will largely depend on the time you have at hand and preference, but as a general guideline you can choose from the itineraries described at http://www.travelseewrite.com/practicalguidebookforyourfirstvietnamvisit/

Visa:
It is quite easy to obtain Vietnamese visa online or through embassy. The e-visa is much cheaper than the physical stamping done at the embassy, and is easily available through many websites. it can be taken for a single or multiple entry and usually the tourist visa is valid for 1 month from the date of entry. It takes just 1-2 days to get the permission letter which has to be then submitted at the Visa on arrival after crossing immigration and a fee (in USD) needs to be paid in cash.

Accommodation:

This is advisable to book beforehand, to get better rates. You can use reliable websites like booking.com, hotels.com or Airbnb. I used the latter two, and was really happy with the quality of stay in Vietnams. The hotels are quite cheap and offer good amenities (compared to the same priced hotels even in India and much better than the richer countries like Singapore / Malaysia etc.). The hostels are also pretty good, and offer facility of storing your luggage when you go on 2-3 day excursions. 

One thing to keep in mind is that the check-in time in most hotels is noon, so if you take early morning flights to reach early, you will be disappointed. I had thought it would be easy to get early check-in and had morning flights, but had to wait for 1-2 hours before getting the room to freshen up and head out..

Transportation to and from airport:

You can take the bus number 86 just outside the airport, to go to Hanoi city Centre. It costs only 30000 VND (~1.5 USD) compared to 350000 VND (~17 USD) for a taxi, has a Wi-Fi on board and the crew understands English ! You will need to use google maps, so that you can find your hotel from there. Otherwise request an airport pick-up from your hotel - it is better than being fleeced by taxi drivers at the airport, for which Hanoi is infamous. I asked for an airport pick up for my hotel in Hanoi, but took the bus while going to the airport during my return. Similarly, in Hoi An also I asked my hotel for a taxi pick up from the Da Nang airport, but took a shuttle bus to go to the airport.

Local travel:

• Taxi: Well, I did it mostly on foot, as the cities I visited are not too large. However, mind you, although each leg might be around a km, you might end up walking a good 12-15 km by end of the day. So take a taxi for sightseeing, if long walk is not your cup of tea. Taxis are not too expensive – you pay about 40 – 50000 VND for 3-4 km distance which is just over USD 2. There are many reliable taxi operators such as Hanoi Taxi, Mai Linh Taxi and such other group taxis, but you will need to take your hotels help to call them due to language barrier. At other times, Google translator comes to your rescue, and people are patient to answer your question while you type it out :)  Only word of caution – DO NOT take a taxi from the ones standing outside prominent sightseeing places.

• Bus: In Hanoi there are also electric buses for local sightseeing which are Hop On Hop Off type with fix stops.

• Scooter taxi: Another interesting mode of transport is motor bike taxis, where you sit behind a bike rider and vroom past the slow cars in the traffic. This is one experience, which you must take, and it is sure to send your heart racing – even a rash driver like me was on the edge of the seat with hands clasped in fervent prayer when riding behind the driver. Moreover, since Vietnam is notorious for road accidents and crowded lanes, you should be a bit careful when you opt for this. Having driven and walked in Indian cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi, I felt at home in the chaos on the road, but travelers from the western world find it daunting to even cross a road in Hanoi.

• Rent a bike: You can also rent a scooter, but I was challenged with right sided vs. left sided driving, so did hire a scooter taxi for one of the longer stretches.

• Rent a bicycle: this is particularly common in Hoi An as the city is not at all crowded, and an absolute delight for cycling.

Intercity travel:

You have multiple options to choose when you want to travel between cities:

• Air: the fastest mode, but slightly expensive. Useful when you want to travel the length of the country i.e. from north to central Vietnam or southern Vietnam

• Train: takes long time, but you get the comfort of a good night’s sleep. Expensive, but preferred by western travellers as they are really scared of the rash driving in Vietnam

• Bus: cheapest option, and much faster than trains. The bus quality is also fairly good – with sleeper seats.

Food:

Vietnam has really interesting street food culture – I saw it in both Hanoi and Hoi An. Pho or Rice Noodle soup is the most popular dish in North Vietnam – mostly with beef (Pho Bo) and Bun Bo (Bun with beef) is the most common dish in Central Vietnam.

One interesting feature of the street food in Vietnam is that the stalls selling Pho or noodle soup hardly occupy any space - they just occupy a tiny corner outside shops and put up tiny plastic chairs. Late afternoon you can see people having Vietnamese green tea, sugarcane juice or beer from such stalls while enjoying a game of cards or dice.

And if you are travelling solo, you can order half plate in many places – reminded me of Mumbai cutting chai 😄

Although I am a strict vegetarian, I could find decent vegetarian / vegan restaurants offering great variety of rice / noodles / spring rolls / soups. And, if you are adventurous enough (I am not…. especially for food) you can try a variety of An-Phuc (mock meat) – Hanoi has an entire street dedicated to mock meat.

You can get restaurant suggestions on trip advisor or other local food based apps like Foody. I used Foody, but it gave limited information and was slightly cumbersome to use, so I preferred tripadvisor, but a lot of travelers rave about Foody app – particularly in Vietnam. 

My favourites are the following (restricted to vegetarian options):

Hanoi – Jalu’s kitchen, Truc Lam Trai, Ding tea (for a variety of milk tea),

Hoi An – Mix Restaurant, The Nocturnal Artist (for the interesting paintings made by the restaurant owner), Lantern Town (in the ancient town)

Sapa – Moment romantic restaurant (for a set meal with hot wine)

Shopping:

As I had read in earlier blogs, Hanoi is a shopper’s delight - good stuff at cheap prices. I would go a step further and say most places in Vietnam are a shopper’s delight.

In Hanoi, you have everything from local dresses to international brands available in Old Quarter. And the night market was an interesting experience – a market which starts after sun down and goes on till midnight and sell everything from clothes, accessories, fruits, luggage to interesting food items.

Sapa has a market where the tribals come to sell their handicraft and herbs, spices. They do excellent embroidery on purses, dresses and also sell handmade clothes which come at cheap price.

Hoi An is famous for customised tailoring, where you can get a dress made to perfection in 24 hours based on any design that you have seen of a famous designer or a creative thought you might have !! And all this for a throw away price… so make sure you have a design of a dress / outfit in mind if you are travelling to Hoi An 😄

Although I detest shopping during travelling, I ended up buying a few dresses and small souvenirs, as the variety and prices were just so hard to resist.

But let me warn you, these prices were after bargaining. You really need to bargain hard everywhere in Vietnam. And inspite of language barrier it is not too difficult as it is done on calculators..

Currency:

The currency of Vietnam is Vietnamese Dong (VND), however it is quite common to transact in USD in Vietnam. However, the exchange rate you get when you pay in USD is higher, so it might be better to exchange USD into local currency from a currency exchanger.

Although most places mention they accept cards, they charge an additional 3% fees on it, so you will end up spending much higher if you use a card in Vietnam. Hence, cash in the form of USD or local currency is the most effective option. 

Since 22000 VND is equal to 1USD, you almost become a millionaire in local currency the moment you exchange your dollars. But please be cautious with the number of zeroes while paying.

So go ahead and plan your trip to Vietnam. You are sure to have a memorable holiday 😄