My favourite destinations in Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hanoi
Hanoi is located in the northern part of Vietnam and is also
the capital of Vietnam. I lived 2 years in Hanoi and I stayed in the expat area
of Tay Ho, near Westlake, which is a little north of Hanoi centre towards the
airport. Hanoi is a government city and you will find all big companies, embassies
and government offices in Hanoi, so you therefore also find that living
standard is quite high in Hanoi compared to the rest of Vietnam. Hanoi has therefore
plenty of good hotels and fabulous cafes and restaurants to offer. For tourists
Hanoi is a city that can be seen in a few days, you can visit the eg. one
pillar temple, Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, the President Palace and Museum of
Ethnology all can be seen in a few days. More interesting though, is the old
town and it’s vibrant life, sitting in the café’s near Hoan Kiem lake on a
sunny day reminds me of Paris. It is truly fantastic and the local coffee they
serve tastes wonderful in that environment, I could spend many more days there,
just watching the chaotic traffic and the people on bicycle in the Paris
fashion inspired traditional costumes called “Au dai”. At night there is a
market in old town, there everything is up for barging, and this is an
excellent place to buy souvenirs’ instead of buying overpriced items at places
where you are taken by busses and taxies. A gentle warning: At the old market
you should watch your belongings very carefully; The Hanoian pickpockets are
world leading experts in their field and works in groups, so find a clever way
to conceal your belongings. I would recommend tourists to spend around 4 days
in Hanoi to get a full picture of what the city has to offer and it is a
fantastic city to live in.
To get the tour information, please visit this site: http://www.orientalcolours.com/Destinat ions/Vietnam.aspx?regions=/Destinations /Vietnam/Hanoi---North-Vietnam&holi day=7#main
Halong Bay
I visited Halong Bay on a sunny warm week, so I got to see
the fantastic formations rising from the seabed in a fantastic light, the water
in calm blue bay was fantastic and I can understand why this was a natural
habour in the past and a popular tourist destination today. I booked a night on
a cruise ship and that was a good decision. The ship was a fantastic, a new one
and the crew was very helpful and professional. On board I had a wonderful time
on the deck looking at the beautiful nature while enjoying a local ice coffee
with milk. The other guests on board were a mix of foreigners from all parts of
Europe and Asia, so a wonderful cultural exchange of information and insights.
We visited the caves, did fishing from
the Cruise deck and also had a lovely trip in canoe where we sailed freely
around the bay as far as we could manage. We had a nice relaxing time on Titop
beach. In evening I joined a cooking class, where the chef was trying to teach
us how to carve a carrot in such a way it looked like a rose, however mine
looked more like a wounded carrot than a rose. Next morning we had a nice
breakfast, sailed more in canoe and arrived at shore at noon, where I went back
to Hanoi again. In hindsight, I think I should have taken a trip to Catba
island instead of going directly to Hanoi, but I will do that next time.
To get tour information, please visit this site: http://www.orientalcolours.com/Destinat ions/Vietnam.aspx?regions=/Destinations /Vietnam/Hanoi---North-Vietnam&holi day=4#main
Hoi An
I arrived at Danang airport in autumn and took a mailinh taxi
to Hoi An, which is about 30 minutes by car. Hoi An is a fantastic city that
has maintained its original buildings and simply upgrades the inside of the
buildings. So it is very much similar to visiting a heritage where everything
seems untouched for hundreds of years. Naturally this is a magnet for tourists
and the environment is set up for tourists with many small cafes and good
restaurants scattered all over town. I bought a house ticket and visited many
interesting but private houses where the owners explained about the history. I
was very impressed to find out that it mostly was their ancestors’ house and
that the houses have been in the family for hundreds of years. Many pictures
explained the history and portrait paintings of ancestors where usually placed
on the house alter. When in Hoi an you should walk around and see all the house
and of course also the famous bridge, it is magnificent especially at
night. Hoi An also have beaches to
offer, I went about 20 minutes south of town and found very adequate beaches
and resorts where they served excellent fresh seafood.
To get tour information, please visit this site: http://www.orientalcolours.com/Destinat ions/Vietnam.aspx?regions=/Destinations /Vietnam/Hue---Hoi-An---Center&dayt rips=2#main
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal town located between Danang and Ho
Chi Minh City, it is about 300km from HCM so going by plane or train is the
best. If you go by tain you will pass Muine on the way, which is absolutely
worth a visit as well. have visited Nha Trang a few times and fine it a very
nice place, it is a very active town with a lot of tourism and tremendous
beaches and recreational possibilities. Nha Trang has plenty of dive shops,
restaurants, hotels and very good transport systems, so an ideal place to be
for relaxation and a favorite place for foreigners to visit. In Nha Trang I
visited the Mud bath, Vin Pearl Island and the Night market. The Mud bath was
excellent, I really enjoyed the relaxing hot mud and the refreshing mineral
water and even the visit took 3 hours, I did not feel this was too long. It is
something I would like to try again. Vin Pearl Island is connected to Nha Trang
via a cable cart, the island is an amusement park with many activities such as
rollercoaster, gaming hall, Aquarium swings, huge water slides etc. It also
have the best beach in Nha Trang, the sand there Is the finest I have seen in
Nha Trang area and completely free of any stones and jelly fish. I found Vin
Pearl island a perfect place to visit for a full day tour as you will also find
many good restaurants there. The night market seems to have been created for
tourists and don’t really offer the authentic market, but worth a visit as you
can find souvenirs there that are better prices than shops. Also remember to
visit the many restaurants, they are very differently priced for same dish, so
one way to find out is to ask price for a kilo of prawns to get an idea and
remember to make sure all prawns and crabs are alive before they are prepared.
To get tour information, please visit this site: http://www.orientalcolours.com/Destinat ions/Vietnam.aspx?holiday=1#main
Phu Quoc island
After a 45 minutes flight south from Ho Chi Minh City I
arrived at the sunny island of Phu Quoc. From the air port I went to the
southern beach where I had booked a bungalow at a beach resort. I got a
bungalow just 50 meters from the beach with a fantastic view and a garden full
of palm trees, so I immediately liked Phu Quoc. During the next days I visited
the northern beach, that was even more fantastic than the south, the sand was
extremely fine and white and the sea was more calm almost giving it a lagoon
feel to the beach. On the way I visited the American prison camp which is a
museum today. The museum gave an insight into the life and conditions of the
prisoners during the war, this of course was horrible to realize how it was
managed. On the way back to the resort I stopped at the famous fish sauce
factory that produce fish sauce for the whole world that Phu Quoc is so famous
for.
Phu Quoc is the only Island in Vietnam where foreigners can
own land, and there are still some for sale, so I actually consider if I should
place a bid on that. That is how good a holiday I had there.
To get tour information, please visit this site: http://www.orientalcolours.com/Destinat ions/Vietnam.aspx?holiday=1#main