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So today we are going to be talking travel in Vietnam. We just finished traveling thirty
days in the country and we started in the south and worked our way to the very top.
So we have a few tips for you and we'll be answering some questions.
The destinations we covered while in Vietnam: we first started in Ho Chi Minh City which
is known as Saigon. Then we did a tour in the Mekong Delta and then we went all the
way up to Nha Trang for the beaches. Then on to Hoi An which is a nice little cultural
town. Then from Hoi An we went up to Hanoi and we did a Ha Long Bay tour and finally
we went hill trekking in Sapa.
Our top three destinations - I think we actually agreed on the same destinations. It's weird.
One of our favorites was Sapa that is located in the Northwestern part of the country and
it is a great little place to go trekking. We really liked the town where we were staying
because it was just very laid back. We had the nicest views ever from our hotel room.
I've never had views that gorgeous.
Our second favorite destination was Hoi An, which is the kind of sleepy cultural town
that is no secret to anyone who has traveled in Vietnam. It's a very well known destination
but for good reasons. So why did you like it so much? Well, it is just a very charming
town. The old architecture. The streets are very bright and colorful. You see silk lanterns
dangling from the shops and it is also a great place to go shopping because this is the tailor
capital of the Vietnam, so you can have any dress, shirt, suit made within days. How many
did you have made? Only three. I had a grand total of none. Nothing made in Hoi An but
I still loved it there. Also, there is really good beaches in Hoi An. There are two different
beaches you can visit. One of our favorite things that we did was right near the end
of our time in Hoi An when we went out to the countryside and had a delicious feast
of a meal.
Our third favorite destination was Ha Long Bay and we ended up taking a two day tour.
This allowed us to go kayaking, visit a few caves and also spend a little bit of time
at a private beach. What we liked about this destination was just the scenery. Wow! Those
stunning stunning stunning cliffs. They were stunning, yes.
There are different ways you can travel throughout Vietnam. You can take the bus, you can take
the train and there are a number of cheap domestic fights. We had a preferred method.
What was that? Taking the train. Yeah, absolutely. Although the train is definitely more expensive
than taking the bus it is just so much more comfortable and scenic as well.
So Vietnam is a great destination for the budget traveler. It wasn't as cheap as in
Cambodia but it still offered great value. On average I would say we roughly paid between
seventeen to twenty dollars for a room. A few times we splurged on a thirty dollar room,
which basically offered boutique value.
Eating locally was a great way to keep to our budget. We could often get meals for about
two dollars and of course and International meal would be closer to six, seven dollars,
which still wasn't bad. And that is per person, so it is still really good value.
A lot of the destinations we ended up visiting in Vietnam were places that are easy to walk
around on foot or by bicycle, so we found that we weren't spending a lot of money on
transportation.
We have now covered four different countries since we started our trip. We've been to Malaysia,
Cambodia, Vietnam and now Thailand and so far Vietnam has been our favorite country.
I would say primarily because there is so much diversity and you see this in the food,
in the landscape, in the people you meet, so it is a place you don't get bored. Every
destination has been exciting in Vietnam. In fact, we wanted to pack so much in during
our thirty days that we picked up our travel pace. Normally we spend between five to seven
days in a particular location but we were just blazing through Vietnam because there
is just so much to see and do and we left feeling like we could have even done more.
So if you're coming out to SE Asia we highly recommend Vietnam. Add it to your itinerary.
Absolutely!