Venturing around Vietnam
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I'm not going to lie, it's pretty painful sitting here as it rains outside writing about the amazing time we had on our travels, reminiscing about all the things we got up to but, it's also awesome to look back through all of our photos and videos... it's crazy thinking about everything we did and we're still so grateful and glad we did it.
We only spent 15 days exploring Vietnam as that's the amount of time you're allowed to stay in the country without a visa. In hindsight, it wasn't really enough time and meant we missed out on Sapa, Na Trang and Da Lat. That being said, we still managed to navigate around the country, visiting lots of amazing places.
Hanoi
We flew into Hanoi from Singapore with Vietnam Airlines where we spent our first few days. If you think the traffic and motorbikes are crazy in Bali then you need to see what it's like in Vietnam... absolute chaos! I think we spent about 10 minutes waiting to find a gap in the traffic to cross the road on our first day... we soon realised you just have to start walking into the road with your hand out to stop / get the traffic to move around you - slightly hair raising and feels like you're putting a lot of trust into strangers and their reaction times!
Whilst in Hanoi we had a ride on one of the infamous cyclos to see part of the city (we ended up sharing one but either we've got big booty's or they only seat one person normally as it was a bit of a squeeze, I basically sat on Chris' knee, but we made do! Looking back I feel very sorry for the poor man who had to pedal and push us around though... I hope he's recovered!) We also visited the Hoa Lo Prison which I would definitely recommend people having a look around as it was very interesting. We also decided to go to the water puppet show, my idea, because I thought it would be nice to 'experience a bit of culture and history' and I thought it would be good to watch. To be honest, it wasn't really our cup of tea mainly because we didn't understand what was going on but it did provide us with a good giggle!
Ha Long Bay
After Hanoi we spent two days, one night on a boat in Ha Long Bay. I'd seen so many photos and videos of Ha Long Bay before we set off on our travels so I was really excited to see it in real life. There are so many different boat companies you can pick from. We decided to spend a bit more money to go with a better boat/company and ended up choosing 'Oasis Bay Cruises'. We had a fantastic time, whilst the weather wasn't amazing, the boat and our room was, not to mention the three course meals! We also got to go kayaking to take in the amazing views and took advantage of the hot tub that was on board! Visiting the Surprising Cave on the last day was a nice end to the trip too.
Da Nang & Hue
After Ha Long Bay we flew from Hanoi to Da Nang - mainly because I really wasn't keen on doing the overnight train or a bus and the internal flights are only around £40 per person and it only takes an hour so it was a no brainer for us! We used Air Asia for all our internal flights and whilst each of them were delayed by one hour every time, I thought they were fine given the bad reviews I had read online about them.
Unfortunately the weather really wasn't on our side the following few days and the rain barely stopped for one minute. Whilst staying in Da Nang we visited the impressive Dragon Bridge and took a trip out to the Marble Mountains (although the rain even managed to find its way into the caves!). We also decided to do a day trip to Hue. Originally I had wanted to go and stay in Hue but I'm glad we decided not to as there didn't look to be much there worth seeing other than what we covered on our day trip. The trip ended up being a bit of a disaster. I have honestly never seen rain like it, it didn''t stop all day and it was even up to our knees at one point. It took the shine off the trip where we visited the Imperial City and the Palace as well as a number of impressive pagodas. The bad weather also meant that we didn't really get to see the Hai Van Pass which was a shame!
Hoi An
Hoi An was definitely our favourite place in Vietnam... it even stopped raining there for us! We got there by taxi from Da Nang which took about 45 minutes. Hoi An is really cute, especially down by the river where it's all pedestrianised, other than dodging cyclos! It's especially nice at night with all the lanterns in the river and lining the shops/restaurants. We also had an eventful bike ride around the outskirts of Hoi An where we ended up down a track having to dodge roaming buffalos... they can actually run quite fast!
Ho Chi Minh City
We spent our final few days in Ho Chi Minh City, where we flew in from Da Nang. There we spent a day walking around the city seeing the sights, including the Independence Palace, Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica and Saigon Central Post Office. We also spent an hour or so walking around Saigon Zoo as it only cost a couple of pound to enter. If you ever visit the city you 100% have to go to the War Remnants Museum, it's really emotional looking at all the photos but it's a must-do if you're there. A little tip if you ever go to Ho Chi Minh City, listen to what people say on the internet and only use Vinasun or Mai Linh taxis. We were desperate for a taxi after leaving the museum as it was so hot out that we just jumped into a random white taxi, we ended up getting majorly ripped off, not only did the metre go up ridiculously fast but when we went to pay he swapped the note to a smaller one claiming we hadn't given him enough to cover the fare! You live and learn but it definitely annoyed the hell out of us!
On our last day we did a half day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels which was awesome, although definitely don't go into the actual tunnels if you are the slightest bit claustrophobic. I had a panic attack in one, never scurried so fast in my life! It's crazy to think men were down there during the war. Oh, and how could I forget we even had the chance to shoot an M1 Garand, which was an experience to say the least!
Overall, despite not having the best weather, we enjoyed seeing what Vietnam has to offer. I think out of everywhere we went on our travels, Vietnam, along with Bali were definitely the cheapest places we visited. Hopefully we've given you a few ideas of how you could spend your time if you ever go!
Until the next post,
#chollyontour xxx
I'm not going to lie, it's pretty painful sitting here as it rains outside writing about the amazing time we had on our travels, reminiscing about all the things we got up to but, it's also awesome to look back through all of our photos and videos... it's crazy thinking about everything we did and we're still so grateful and glad we did it.
We only spent 15 days exploring Vietnam as that's the amount of time you're allowed to stay in the country without a visa. In hindsight, it wasn't really enough time and meant we missed out on Sapa, Na Trang and Da Lat. That being said, we still managed to navigate around the country, visiting lots of amazing places.
Hanoi
We flew into Hanoi from Singapore with Vietnam Airlines where we spent our first few days. If you think the traffic and motorbikes are crazy in Bali then you need to see what it's like in Vietnam... absolute chaos! I think we spent about 10 minutes waiting to find a gap in the traffic to cross the road on our first day... we soon realised you just have to start walking into the road with your hand out to stop / get the traffic to move around you - slightly hair raising and feels like you're putting a lot of trust into strangers and their reaction times!
Whilst in Hanoi we had a ride on one of the infamous cyclos to see part of the city (we ended up sharing one but either we've got big booty's or they only seat one person normally as it was a bit of a squeeze, I basically sat on Chris' knee, but we made do! Looking back I feel very sorry for the poor man who had to pedal and push us around though... I hope he's recovered!) We also visited the Hoa Lo Prison which I would definitely recommend people having a look around as it was very interesting. We also decided to go to the water puppet show, my idea, because I thought it would be nice to 'experience a bit of culture and history' and I thought it would be good to watch. To be honest, it wasn't really our cup of tea mainly because we didn't understand what was going on but it did provide us with a good giggle!
After Hanoi we spent two days, one night on a boat in Ha Long Bay. I'd seen so many photos and videos of Ha Long Bay before we set off on our travels so I was really excited to see it in real life. There are so many different boat companies you can pick from. We decided to spend a bit more money to go with a better boat/company and ended up choosing 'Oasis Bay Cruises'. We had a fantastic time, whilst the weather wasn't amazing, the boat and our room was, not to mention the three course meals! We also got to go kayaking to take in the amazing views and took advantage of the hot tub that was on board! Visiting the Surprising Cave on the last day was a nice end to the trip too.
Da Nang & Hue
After Ha Long Bay we flew from Hanoi to Da Nang - mainly because I really wasn't keen on doing the overnight train or a bus and the internal flights are only around £40 per person and it only takes an hour so it was a no brainer for us! We used Air Asia for all our internal flights and whilst each of them were delayed by one hour every time, I thought they were fine given the bad reviews I had read online about them.
Unfortunately the weather really wasn't on our side the following few days and the rain barely stopped for one minute. Whilst staying in Da Nang we visited the impressive Dragon Bridge and took a trip out to the Marble Mountains (although the rain even managed to find its way into the caves!). We also decided to do a day trip to Hue. Originally I had wanted to go and stay in Hue but I'm glad we decided not to as there didn't look to be much there worth seeing other than what we covered on our day trip. The trip ended up being a bit of a disaster. I have honestly never seen rain like it, it didn''t stop all day and it was even up to our knees at one point. It took the shine off the trip where we visited the Imperial City and the Palace as well as a number of impressive pagodas. The bad weather also meant that we didn't really get to see the Hai Van Pass which was a shame!
Hoi An
Hoi An was definitely our favourite place in Vietnam... it even stopped raining there for us! We got there by taxi from Da Nang which took about 45 minutes. Hoi An is really cute, especially down by the river where it's all pedestrianised, other than dodging cyclos! It's especially nice at night with all the lanterns in the river and lining the shops/restaurants. We also had an eventful bike ride around the outskirts of Hoi An where we ended up down a track having to dodge roaming buffalos... they can actually run quite fast!
Ho Chi Minh City
We spent our final few days in Ho Chi Minh City, where we flew in from Da Nang. There we spent a day walking around the city seeing the sights, including the Independence Palace, Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica and Saigon Central Post Office. We also spent an hour or so walking around Saigon Zoo as it only cost a couple of pound to enter. If you ever visit the city you 100% have to go to the War Remnants Museum, it's really emotional looking at all the photos but it's a must-do if you're there. A little tip if you ever go to Ho Chi Minh City, listen to what people say on the internet and only use Vinasun or Mai Linh taxis. We were desperate for a taxi after leaving the museum as it was so hot out that we just jumped into a random white taxi, we ended up getting majorly ripped off, not only did the metre go up ridiculously fast but when we went to pay he swapped the note to a smaller one claiming we hadn't given him enough to cover the fare! You live and learn but it definitely annoyed the hell out of us!
On our last day we did a half day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels which was awesome, although definitely don't go into the actual tunnels if you are the slightest bit claustrophobic. I had a panic attack in one, never scurried so fast in my life! It's crazy to think men were down there during the war. Oh, and how could I forget we even had the chance to shoot an M1 Garand, which was an experience to say the least!
Overall, despite not having the best weather, we enjoyed seeing what Vietnam has to offer. I think out of everywhere we went on our travels, Vietnam, along with Bali were definitely the cheapest places we visited. Hopefully we've given you a few ideas of how you could spend your time if you ever go!
Until the next post,
#chollyontour xxx
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