What's the coolest thing you saw in Vietnam?
December 10, 2010 6:30 PM Subscribe
What's the coolest thing you saw in Vietnam?
My wife and I are going to have 2-3 weeks in Vietnam starting January 14th and going until early February. The country is our oyster. We have no serious plans, we'd just to like to see some cool stuff. To that end, we're seeking advice from the MeFi crowd to tell us what the best thing you saw was.
We really like the UNESCO stuff, but if there's something off the beaten path (i.e., in Yasu, South Korea, there's a women's Buddhist temple built into a cliff face. In Seoul, there's a bar that serves drinks to-go style in little IV pouches.) we'd love to hear that, too.
Any general advice is also appreciated!
My wife and I are going to have 2-3 weeks in Vietnam starting January 14th and going until early February. The country is our oyster. We have no serious plans, we'd just to like to see some cool stuff. To that end, we're seeking advice from the MeFi crowd to tell us what the best thing you saw was.
We really like the UNESCO stuff, but if there's something off the beaten path (i.e., in Yasu, South Korea, there's a women's Buddhist temple built into a cliff face. In Seoul, there's a bar that serves drinks to-go style in little IV pouches.) we'd love to hear that, too.
Any general advice is also appreciated!
The organic flow of traffic in Saigon, preferably from the back of a moto-taxi.
posted by yarly at 8:05 PM on December 10, 2010
posted by yarly at 8:05 PM on December 10, 2010
Caves in Ha Long Bay were great.
posted by backwards guitar at 8:20 PM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by backwards guitar at 8:20 PM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
I loved Sapa, which was an overnight train from Hanoi. Granted it will be cold this time of year, but it's beautiful hills and very peaceful. That's also the region where the ethnic minorities live. I definitely recommend seeing the Flower Hmong in Bac Ha Market -- hundreds of people dressed in incredibly elaborate clothing. Really regret missing Phu Quoc, although I did tour the Mekong Delta and that was fantastic. I know a lot of people got off the beaten path, oddly enough, by booking tour groups as that really is the cheapest (and sometimes the only way) to get around the country. (For example they can sometimes book a roundtrip ticket and hotel much cheaper than you could book even a one way ticket.) Touring the Mekong you might want to use it as a bus from Saigon and then go off on your own in the meantime and take the bus back when you want. I had good luck booking tours through Sinh Cafe. Just be careful in Hanoi, which due to lenient licensing you'll see dozens of pop up travel agencies named Sinh Cafe and Kangaroo Cafe (the two oldest establisted travel agencies.) This is the original one: http://www.thesinhtourist.vn/
posted by pinafore at 8:32 PM on December 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by pinafore at 8:32 PM on December 10, 2010 [2 favorites]
The street food in Hanoi.
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:39 PM on December 10, 2010
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 10:39 PM on December 10, 2010
Hoi An's festival of lights... At night, thousands of floating candles are released on the river - it was like looking at a glittering sea of moon stars, reflections of the flickering pinpoints of tiny flames mirrored a million times over. Simply too gorgeous for words.
posted by HeyAllie at 10:53 PM on December 10, 2010
posted by HeyAllie at 10:53 PM on December 10, 2010
i took a bike tour through the mekong delta. it was one of the most gorgeous places i've ever seen. it was about a 2 hr bus ride from saigon.
also, if you like UNESCO, stop at Hoi An and get some clothes made. mostly, grab a bike there too and cycle around. especially to the beach.
posted by nanhey at 11:16 PM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
also, if you like UNESCO, stop at Hoi An and get some clothes made. mostly, grab a bike there too and cycle around. especially to the beach.
posted by nanhey at 11:16 PM on December 10, 2010 [1 favorite]
oh and ha long bay seems really really touristy when you get on the boats (and it is) but the scenery is amazing and the bay is so big you lose that crowded tourist feel pretty quickly.
posted by nanhey at 11:19 PM on December 10, 2010
posted by nanhey at 11:19 PM on December 10, 2010
Sapa ftw. Sapa was fucking awesome. If you like unesco stuff, seconding Hoi An and Hue as both worth a visit. But for me, Sapa was easily the highlight of our amazing trip. Beautiful mountain town, friendly hill tribes, and we had an awesome guide that took us to a school to donate and some villages etc. It was great, and the overnight train up there was cool too!
This was about five years ago.
posted by smoke at 11:30 PM on December 10, 2010
This was about five years ago.
posted by smoke at 11:30 PM on December 10, 2010
I'm actually planning a trip to VN in February. The Lunar New Year is early in that month, and I've heard it's a terrible time to visit. Nothing is open and the cities are emptied out as people head home to grandma's house.
I'm going to arrive just after the Lunar New Year myself.
posted by bardic at 2:21 AM on December 11, 2010
I'm going to arrive just after the Lunar New Year myself.
posted by bardic at 2:21 AM on December 11, 2010
I just got back from a 2 week trip to Vietnam last month. The trip was amazing. Here are a few highlights:
-Being cheered on when we entered a small dog restaurant in Hanoi.
-Eating spicy "field mouse" at Huong Rung II in HCMC.
-Eating at Bamboo Snakes Garden in Le Mat (outside Hanoi). Yeah, sort of a touristy thing, but when else are you going to get the chance to eat a 6 course snake meal, down a beating snake heart, and drink rice wine with snake blood. (This was by far our most expensive meal - $50.)
-7 hour boat ride on the Mekong Delta. Go to Can Tho on your own. Don't do one of the organized tours from HCMC. This was the only thing that we did with a guide, and it was worth every penny. He told us a lot about the history, explained a lot about the markets, got us near to the boats on the floating markets where we were able to try so many fruits that we had never seen before. If you do this tour, don't just go to the pier since you can't get a guide this way. We booked ours the night before with Ms. Ha at the hotel we were staying at. Spacing on the name right now, but really worth it. Other people who didn't have a guide didn't enjoy it as much as us.
-As someone pointed out, the street food is amazing. If it smells good and there are people eating there, sit down on a plastic seat, and you will not be disappointed.
PM me if you want addresses, names, hotel recommendations, etc.
posted by toddst at 7:30 AM on December 11, 2010
-Being cheered on when we entered a small dog restaurant in Hanoi.
-Eating spicy "field mouse" at Huong Rung II in HCMC.
-Eating at Bamboo Snakes Garden in Le Mat (outside Hanoi). Yeah, sort of a touristy thing, but when else are you going to get the chance to eat a 6 course snake meal, down a beating snake heart, and drink rice wine with snake blood. (This was by far our most expensive meal - $50.)
-7 hour boat ride on the Mekong Delta. Go to Can Tho on your own. Don't do one of the organized tours from HCMC. This was the only thing that we did with a guide, and it was worth every penny. He told us a lot about the history, explained a lot about the markets, got us near to the boats on the floating markets where we were able to try so many fruits that we had never seen before. If you do this tour, don't just go to the pier since you can't get a guide this way. We booked ours the night before with Ms. Ha at the hotel we were staying at. Spacing on the name right now, but really worth it. Other people who didn't have a guide didn't enjoy it as much as us.
-As someone pointed out, the street food is amazing. If it smells good and there are people eating there, sit down on a plastic seat, and you will not be disappointed.
PM me if you want addresses, names, hotel recommendations, etc.
posted by toddst at 7:30 AM on December 11, 2010
In addition to all of the above:
- take a xe om, it's the crazy but normal way to move around in cities.
- South of Hanoi: the Tam Coc area (fantastic boat ride through a cave system) and the Perfume pagoda complex (particularly the Huong Tich cave).
- the Cu Chi tunnels near Saigon, where you get to crawl underground for about 100 m and fire assault rifles afterwards. I recommend Mr Binh, one of the guides, for his very personal take on the US war.
posted by elgilito at 12:39 PM on December 11, 2010
- take a xe om, it's the crazy but normal way to move around in cities.
- South of Hanoi: the Tam Coc area (fantastic boat ride through a cave system) and the Perfume pagoda complex (particularly the Huong Tich cave).
- the Cu Chi tunnels near Saigon, where you get to crawl underground for about 100 m and fire assault rifles afterwards. I recommend Mr Binh, one of the guides, for his very personal take on the US war.
posted by elgilito at 12:39 PM on December 11, 2010
Nthing Halong Bay and Hanoi. Halong Bay is *gorgeous*. Not sure if you're into shopping, but I bought a lot of silk products in Hanoi to give as gifts when I got home. Hanoi was also fun for just walking around and taking in the sights.
Do not go to the circus, unless you enjoy seeing animals being abused.
posted by pompelmo at 4:41 PM on December 11, 2010
Do not go to the circus, unless you enjoy seeing animals being abused.
posted by pompelmo at 4:41 PM on December 11, 2010
Response by poster: Recap!:
Hanoi was Ha-nnoying. The Ho Chi Minh museum was bizzare and wonderful (It's part propaganda bio, part MoMA.), the mausoleum was spooky and strange. Hanoi Hilton had a weird he said/she said thing going on in the propaganda. But the city was just super intense and, I dunno, we didn't click.
Hue is rainy. Very, very rainy. Stop in for a day, see the Imperial Palace and eat a small place called Okia. Stunningly good food for next to nothing.
Hoi An was great! We took a sleeper train here which was a wonderful idea. 4 bunks to a room in the 'Soft Sleeper'. It's a rickety old train, I felt like I was in an old movie. Hoi An is kind of touristy, but it also reminds me of Cape May or something, kind of faux-historic. But it's not expensive and there's plenty to do. Ask around for a guide named Phuc (Phoo). He runs small tours out to his parent's organic farm. He took us to the market, we biked out to the farm, cooked together, talked to his family and got a massage for 20 bucks. Killer deal. Great food here, too. It's an eater's dream. Cao Lao, mmmmm.
The Ha Long Bay is really lovely. Make sure to do at least 2 days. It's also really busy these days. We were there with some folks who had been there just 4 years ago and were shocked by how crowded it had become. But it is incredibly beautiful. Go!
We were in Ho Chi Minh during Tet, but I much preferred it to Hanoi. A little cozier, more stuff to do, slightly more 'metropolitan'. The War Remnants museum (Formerly the 'War Crimes' museum) is really moving and fascinating. Not for the faint of heart.
posted by GilloD at 2:50 PM on February 10, 2011
Hanoi was Ha-nnoying. The Ho Chi Minh museum was bizzare and wonderful (It's part propaganda bio, part MoMA.), the mausoleum was spooky and strange. Hanoi Hilton had a weird he said/she said thing going on in the propaganda. But the city was just super intense and, I dunno, we didn't click.
Hue is rainy. Very, very rainy. Stop in for a day, see the Imperial Palace and eat a small place called Okia. Stunningly good food for next to nothing.
Hoi An was great! We took a sleeper train here which was a wonderful idea. 4 bunks to a room in the 'Soft Sleeper'. It's a rickety old train, I felt like I was in an old movie. Hoi An is kind of touristy, but it also reminds me of Cape May or something, kind of faux-historic. But it's not expensive and there's plenty to do. Ask around for a guide named Phuc (Phoo). He runs small tours out to his parent's organic farm. He took us to the market, we biked out to the farm, cooked together, talked to his family and got a massage for 20 bucks. Killer deal. Great food here, too. It's an eater's dream. Cao Lao, mmmmm.
The Ha Long Bay is really lovely. Make sure to do at least 2 days. It's also really busy these days. We were there with some folks who had been there just 4 years ago and were shocked by how crowded it had become. But it is incredibly beautiful. Go!
We were in Ho Chi Minh during Tet, but I much preferred it to Hanoi. A little cozier, more stuff to do, slightly more 'metropolitan'. The War Remnants museum (Formerly the 'War Crimes' museum) is really moving and fascinating. Not for the faint of heart.
posted by GilloD at 2:50 PM on February 10, 2011
Response by poster: Oh, and take your own tour up the Mekong. We got a 3 day package that went some nice places and was cheap enough, but we spent more time on a bus than we did on a boat.
posted by GilloD at 2:50 PM on February 10, 2011
posted by GilloD at 2:50 PM on February 10, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by bquarters at 6:48 PM on December 10, 2010