Vietnam, A trip Report
This is was my second trip to Vietnam within a year.
The Chinese celebrated their New Year on February 18th of this year. In Vietnam it is called тАЬTetтАЭ and celebrated this year on February 17th or Chinese New YearтАЩs Eve. This is a time when family spends time together and most of the country is closed for business and for a total of four working days. Needless to say this wasnтАЩt the best time to visit.
VietnamтАЩs weather is unlike ThailandтАЩs even thought they are not far from one another. February can be cold and wet in North Vietnam. TheirтАЩs a mountainous pass south of Hue where the temperature changes back to something more tropical. Last summer Da Nang was getting pounded by typhoons while tourists were enjoying the beaches of Cat ba. We got pretty wet in North Vietnam, with a few days cold enough for sweaters. Some of the Vietnamese were in Parkas.
The Spring Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City (They donтАЩt called it Saigon nearly as much as HCM) is conveniently located. If you wander within a radius of the hotel, a cyclo city tour will take you to no where you havenтАЩt been already. The most interesting building, City Hall (PeopleтАЩs Committee Hall) is just two blocks down on the same street. A block over, closer to the Spring Hotel is Dong Khoi, the trendy of HCM streets. Also some meters in the opposite direction from the Spring is Thi Sach with some great massage joints and of course SaigonтАЩs тАЬApocalypse NowтАЭ. тАЬApocalypseтАЭ is SaigonтАЩs mixed disco, where things can happen.
There are a few day tours to select from. Cu Chi tunnels or the 100 meters or so preserved that can be extended to include some firing of live automatic weapons. I took a trip down to the Mekong and found it just uneventful and just as brown as in Burma, Laos and Cambodia. Cao Dai Temple can be an amazing experience if you can get yourself into the robes and a part of the ceremony.
There is a big difference in the look if VietnamтАЩs boys from south to north. I prefer mine taller, fairer in skin and more delicate in their facial features. I canтАЩt say enough about the beautiful boys of the north. I wasnтАЩt really impressed in the south. After the American war, when China invaded and were defeated too did the Vietnamese expel many if not most / all Chinese from the north. I may get in trouble for suggesting this might have influenced the difference in the look from the far south.
The Vietnamese Dong is valued at 15.9 тАУ 16K. There are quite a few ATMтАЩs out there, most of which work infrequently. The Vietcom Foreign bank (With the Green signs) is always the best bet. If you change your money into Vietnamese Dong, there is no commission charged on travellerтАЩs cheques. A Credit card can be used for big ticket expenses. Eating out might just barely qualify, so having cash is better when exploring the best and certainly not the most expensive places going. There arenтАЩt always security options at the hotel if youтАЩre carrying cash. I usually prefer to carry the most I wonтАЩt feel bad if it had to vanish for various reasons. ItтАЩs always an interesting to go out with a million or so on you.
I flew Vietnam Airlines in while in Vietnam. The country may look small, but its long тАЬSтАЭ shape makes land travel feasible only to those with an abundance of time and patience on hand. Read up on where the legitimate taxi stands are located and donтАЩt waste your time with any kind offering hand as you get out of any airport. Even if you get scammed in Vietnam, (and they are good, so the chances that itтАЩs going to happen sometime are pretty high) a taxi scam is going to cost you only about 10$ so remember: тАЬMai Bhen LaiтАЭ from your Thai experiences.) the damage will be light and youтАЩll be on your toes for the more costly scams out there.
I got out of Ho Chi Minh City of Thursday. Many of the businesses on Dong Khoi were open all week, but outside of that it was pretty bleak. Thursday would have been the last day of holiday, with February 17th falling on a day of rest, Saturday. My best restaurant experience was in Chinatown, where my partner felt as though we were in HK and Cantonese the magical language of getting what you want. To be fair to the restaurants any that I thought should have been better may have been suffering alternates, if the regular kitchen staff were away with тАЬTetтАЭ.
If you enjoy a beer, well the Vietnamese have some interesting choices. My favourite beer has been Bia Ha Noi from, of course Hanoi. I discovered Bia Saigon, available as a regular item in the South and an imported lager favoured also in the north. The Vietnamese are very passionate about their brand, as they are of their homeland. If Vietnam has the backpacker thing to do, itтАЩs sharing a Bia Hoi out on the street. Bia Hoi is fresh beer, they sell cold in drums, with plastic chairs set along the sidewalks (shared with motor cycles тАУ the sidewalk - of course).
I flew seamlessly to Da Nang and made arrangements to be picked up and taken 25 kms south to Hoi An. I chose the Vinh Hung 1 situated right in the old quarter. The streets are so narrow they are only limited bikes to bikes, not it that were to be a relief in some way. There are plenty more handsome faces to be seen in Hoi An. ThereтАЩs an amazing young man cooking eggs up every morning at the Vinh Hung.
Hoi An is a small town built in old Chinese thick wood structures that span centuries. You can find interesting lodging, tailor made clothes and art at very reasonable prices. The specialty is in the tailor shops and although they are as pushy and persistent as Thailand you can get a much better deal here in Hoi An with top notch quality, if you know where to go and precisely what you want.
There are a few day tours out of Hoi An as well. Trips to De nang and Hue or a trip to see the temples of My Son (Pronounced Mason). ItтАЩs a long way to go to see what few temples didnтАЩt get bombed in the American War. The Vietnamese hold no resentment against the Americans and I think its safe to say they are most welcome. When you see Vietnamese history through a glass, youтАЩll see the Vietnamese have more grievances with the French, Japanese and Chinese. The majority of tourists in Vietnam are French and they struggle as English is the second language.
I flew from Da nang to Hanoi before continuing on to Cat Ba Island in Ha long Bay. I stayed at the Holiday View, the last high-rise along the strip before the beach. There are no banks and no ATMтАЩs on Cat Ba Island. There are however great seafood joints, lots of boys and three amazing beaches within walking distance from the strip. Towering limestone cliffs dot Ha Long bay and the north central coast of Vietnam. Although related to the same cliffs between Phuket Island and Krabi, they are equally beautiful and yet different somewhat. You can get boat tours that extend from the simplest to the most elegant starting at a day tour from Hanoi or Cat Ba. I did the boat tour last year, opting for the cold at wet beaches of Cat Ba instead this year.
Hanoi in my opinion is the jewel of Vietnam. Such a beautiful city full of trees, lakes, pagodas, museums and still a chance to see the late Ho Ch Minh who died in 1969. The Old Quarter is full of blocks and blocks of shops selling all sorts of interesting items including the best paintings available in the country. You walk across wide streets filled with scooters as though you were Moses parting the Red Sea. Keep an eye sideways for large vehicles, they donтАЩt play the same. Never change your stride (faster тАУ slower) and youтАЩll learn to enjoy crossing streets. Unlike Thailand, in Cambodia and Vietnam they try to avoid hitting anything. If you luck out and find a traffic light, remember not all bikes obey these. IтАЩm not sure what the cops standing out in traffic with clubs do, but some of sure look hot with their white gloves.
I stayed in the Old Quarter and had no problem bringing guests back. I asked when I checked in and having this clarified at the beginning is important. Boys hang out in the parks from dusk until about 11 PM. The New Century Club and HanoiтАЩs Apocalypse Now are both good (mixed) clubs. If a boy offers to take you to a Karaoke place donтАЩt go. ItтАЩs always a scamтАж.always. There is a lot of cruising going on out there and meeting someone special pretty much anywhere and at any time is possible. Service jobs seem to attract the boys so keep an eye on whoтАЩs checking you out and donтАЩt wait for him to make a move. DonтАЩt involve other staff, discretion is a must.
Leave plenty of time to catch your International flight. Domestic flights limit luggage weight to 20KG although overweight gets little attention. Negotiate a set price for long distances with cabs, use the meter in the city. Nothing from the old quarter to anywhere else in the old quarter should cost more than 15K. Having a compass would easily explain anything more than 20K. Motorcycle cabs are more effective through many of the smaller streets in the quarter, but anything beyond that is much safer in a metered cab.
Hoi An and Hue are both World Heritage Sites, as is of course Ha Long Bay. Cat Ba would be an amazing alternative once the monsoons start battering Thailand. High season here would be July / August / September so book ahead for these months. Getting a Visa in Bangok (Next to the US Embassy on Telegraph Rd) cost 60$ and takes one business day. Many of the North American Visas are done through the consulate in Mexico City by various travel companies.
Vietnam is not going to become another Thailand. Whatever people say about Cambodia, thatтАЩs not going to happen in Vietnam any time soon either. The government is a serious institution and so long as they donтАЩt have reason to focus on us fags, the longer weтАЩll be able to go there and meet some the best looking boys in all S.E. Asia.
Surfcrest
