I am trying to give answers which I too not had before recent travel to Vietnam-Cambodia.
Is it possible to visit Vietnam and Cambodia comfortably and safely as a tourist?
yes, Vietnam is safe country but you need to be CAREFUL with your belongings in crowded places such as temples and markets. In fact it is no issue in travelling on your own with family rather than in group tours.
Shall we get Indian food there?
There are plenty of Indian restaurants in all tourist places. Average cost of lunch varies from US 4 to $8.
What is cost of average hotels?
From $10 to $100 per day. But do not expect hotels to be luxurious there and for ex. we stayed in US $70 per day hotel and it was equal to $25 hotel in India. drinking water is scarce and costly. One liter water will cost US $1. You can carry dollars and few shops accept Indian rupee also.
What is the transport available?
Grab taxi is more reliable and professional. Better to use Tuk-Tuk for local tourism per day basis of $40-60 which will take you to places as well as Indian restaurants, drop you back in hotel in evening. Or avail local half day or full day tour conducted in plenty.
Is there any city tour facility?
Yes. City full day tour – US $45, City tour with puppet show and cyclo $60. Includes Vietnamese lunch. You can contact from your hotel or book for Seven Tours operators. www.seventoursvietnam.com. Or you can also book tuk-tuk for full day for $45.
How many days sufficient for Vietnam and Cambodia?
For full Vietnam 10 days. Cambodia 5 days.
What Visa we need to take?
If you are covering Cambodia along with Vietnam then take multiple entry visa for Vietnam and Single entry for Cambodia.
Where to stay?
We stayed in average hotel Thien Thai hotel (www.thienthaihotel.com) in Hanoi, Ramana Saigon hotel in Ho Chi Minh city (www.ramanasaigon.com) and Somadevi Angkor hotel (www.somadeviangkor.com) in Siem Reap. Decent continental breakfast was complimentary. Average rents were $50-$70 per day.
What mobile re-charging to go for while travelling to Indochina?
Actually you need not charge your phone from India. Wifi is available freely in Vietnam and Cambodia and you can use it to make Whatsapp calls without any issue as WiFi network is different from your mobile India subscription charge. Also you can take SIM for $10 for a month. Do not buy from airport.
How much we have to walk in tours?
Daily minimum will be 5 KM walk and maximum 7 KM.
What if Indian taste of tea and coffee not available?
Yes, this will be a problem. Hotels provide complimentary beverages but it will be better if you carry Indian ready tea and milk bags with you.
Sometimes you may not get milk in hotels.
Is Language problem in Vietnam?
Yes, very few people understand English in Vietnam and Cambodia.
What is ideal tour itinerary of Vietnam?
We preferred Vietnam with Cambodia tour.
Location of Vietnam
Vietnam is located in South East Asia. It is a communist country. Seventh most populous country (10 crore), equal to Maharashtra, an India state in size, shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west.
Itinerary
Our was a group tour to Vietnam and Cambodia for 9N and 10D. The cities we covered were Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Ho Chi Minh City (old name Saigon), Mekong Delta, Siem Reap in Cambodia.
This travelogue is from the eye of a tourist and since the stay is not long, I am giving the first impressions about country I had during visit of Hanoi 3 nights stay.
This was a group tour from Kesari and I travelled first time with them. Two days before their representative contacted us and told that he will meet all 18 of us at Bangalore airport. He brought with him lot of snacks for each person as well as fine tea and coffee bags suiting to Indian taste as in South East Asian countries, we may not get the same satisfaction as our tea. And tea bags were really very helpful for us to freshen ourselves in morning and evening after we came back to hotel from whole day trip.
It was Malaysian Airlines and plane was not really very clean and the seats were squeezy and congested. The trip to Kuala Lumpur was 4 hours 10 mins. The dinner given was just OK as usual we get is all international flights- barring Air India where they supply ample and tasty dinner.
We landed at Kuala Lumpur and had to pass again security for our cabin bags to catch connecting flight to Hanoi (2 Hrs). Hanoi airport is small though it is capital of Vietnam. The passing through Immigration process was very chaotic with no supervisors, no queue maintained (Of all the travels so far frst time I came across theses chaotic scenes at immigration).
Day 1- Though the flight was delayed and time was less all the luggage was loaded in Kesari bus and all of us directly moved for Lunch at 3.30 PM and then for Water Puppet show.
The puppet show was awesome with use of Viet traditional instruments and I had never any puppet show in water carried out with so amazing skill. The show was of 2 hours and there were about 500 spectators from all over the world specially more from France, Australia and India.
These puppet shows cover the themes like village life and farmers harvesting crop, fishing, dance by four magical animals of Vietnam such as Dragon, unicorn, Phoenix and turtle, student’s welcome at home after passing national exam etc. This show depicts strongly the cultural life of Vietnam and South east Asia.
Day 2-
We started at about 8.30 AM from hotel by Kesari bus with guide. This trip was for Ha Long Bay (Descending dragon). It is UNESCCO World heritage site. If we come to Vietnam, this is a must see site. On the way we saw Tung Sau pearl farm where they show process of pearl cultivation, from breeding oysters to harvesting pearls. These are special pearls as they are bred in salt water and not fresh water. Some of the best qualities of Ha Long pearls as evaluated by experts are high purity, thickness, natural and wonderful natural colors such as gold, glass, pink, cherry and gray. It seems here all dignitaries visit such as Mrs. Hillary Clinton and Victoria and many Hollywood stars to buy pearls.
From this farm again we boarded the bus and reached Ha Long Bay. There were many boats waiting there. One of the big boat was waiting for us. We purchased the ticket and it was about 3 hours of boating in Ha Long Bay with local cuisine lunch going on for us. We were served welcome tea and then lunch. The lunch was Veg and Non veg both. We took oyster, star fish and prawn and sticky white rice with ” local palak”, fruits, juice and lot of local salad. The lunch was manageable.
We enjoyed a lot on Ha Long bay boating with lot of time spent on first floor of boat.
On return way of boat we got down at ancient sea shore lime stone caves famous with name Heavenly Prince caves. These were lighted caves and really worth seeing. This was one of its kind of experience and no one should miss going into caves. The caves are not narrow but quite spacious with height of about 50 feet and present miraculous view to visitors.
On return from Ha Long on way we saw the bamboo factory. This was a presentation by girl of the bamboo products of Vietnam such as clothes, massage items, oil, saree, pillow, quilt and so on so forth. One of us applied their massage pad on knees but he was not really very impressed. Yet our team made a lot of purchases.
Day 3– Temple of Literature, One Pillar Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh Mouseleum, Hoa Lo Prison, Vietnam Military museum, central lake temple, railway track, shopping.
Today was a day of walk. We first moved to temple of Literature. It is a very big compound and is said to be Vietnam’s first University which taught Confucism to its students. A written entrance exam was conducted for admission and degree was awarded. There is a magnificent temple of Confucius and his two disciples. This is about 1000 years old and spread of few acres. We can see this in 1 hour. At end of temple behind it a museum which displays the degree certificate, books, dresses, utensils excavated from this site.
Then we moved to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum which is said to be resting place of their father of nation Ho Chi Minh who founded the path of freedm and unification of Vietnam. Though Ho Chi Minh wanted to get his body cremated and ashes flown in river but his party requested to keep his body embalmed and keep in this memorial. Finally he accepted. Though the guide told us secretly that this is replica of body and not the actual one.
In front of this Mausoleum is Vietnam’s Parliament house and side by it foreign affairs office of Vietnam military.
Just behind is UNESCO heritage known as One Pillar Pagoda. It is said that here their one king had wished of child and was fulfilled. This is a small temple with few steps.
Next we moved to famous railway track where people have houses just adjacent to open track. This is one point where every visitor takes photo and we also did and took Vietnamese coffee and coconut water.
On way to Vietnam Military museum we saw Hoa Lo Prison which was used by French to prison the freed fighters of Vietnam.
Next we saw the famous The Military museum of Vietnam. This has wonderful collection of captured tanks, fighter planes, missiles, missiles, bombs, all items related to arms, ammunition, vehicles, planes used by French and Vietnamese freedom fighters from 1945 till 1975. There are lot of stories, pictures in media, display of the efforts of Vietnamese public and the huge sufferings they had during the independence war.
Our last destination of the day was beautiful Central lake and an ancient temple just beside it.
Then we were left free for shopping. Next day we caught the flight to Siem Reap.
Captured few moments of Vietnamese daily life. Looks like still bruises are there of massive US bombings, very very few high rise buildings.
Look sullen and tense faces struggling in daily life to recover from their bloody past. Those days were not very old just they god rid of attackes in 1975.
People start their daily life at 6 AM with small tea temporary shops on road with few eatable and snacks shop open for morning school going children who look in hurry in gulping the noodles with the school bag on their back…small hawkers on way with hope of earning some pennies…asking and requesting me again and again to buy something..In evening I see swarm of bikes on road in traffic jams in Hanoi…I am thinking–will they go again in their small dens to sleep..a bed room of 6X8?…life is struggle but it is going on….for Hanoi–from Hanoi
There is a unique scene captured. I saw an educated and well to do decent couple eating the dinner at this poor lady shop. The host was feeding them with so much love and affection. After dinner the couple cleaned their dishes, paid the money and touched the feet of this old lady. Probably this is one picture of an Orient country….culture…..
Epilogue
Tourism is to a country is not only seeing its nature treasure, historical monuments but also to know and understand its people, their life and culture.
80% of ethnic population is Kinh tribe (North Vietnamese) as most of other ethnics migrated to Cambodia, USA and China etc. Chams from central Vietnam migrated to USA and and Cambodia. Khmers of unified Vietnam joined the Khmers of Cambodia. 74% follow no religion, 15% Buddhism and 9% Christianity.
A few things I would like to share what our guide told us during the tour.
“I am happy that I do not belong to any religion. Indochinese most preferred food is fish and rice and second is beef and pork. Many Vietnamese also believe in the supernatural and spiritualism and occult. Vietnam is 7th most corrupt country in world. North Vietnamese treat South Vietnamese as 2nd grade citizens and as labor. Ironically most of multinational companies and industries are based in South Vietnam and large number of North Vietnamese move to South to earn their livelihood and are being paid more than South Vietnamese labor.”
I felt Vietnamese have still not recovered of the scars of their wounds from colonial era of 1863 to bombings till 1975. The common people had tough life and deprived to live on their ideologies they preferred (communism).
As a tourist I see today Vietnam is a poor, developing and struggling nation to make its place in map of world. People are living in very small and shabby dwellings, food is not in ample in hotels (except sea food).
They still are very social and like to take the evening dinners on streets in bunch of table and chairs with entire family and friends. That is one I liked in Vietnam and is much more prevelent than I saw in Korea. The marketing shops are not very rich but average quality of clothes and commodiities. There are few multi storied buildings in Hanoi and most of the houses are old. The roads are still cleaner than India, traffic is as worse as Bangalore, there are swarm of bikes and people have no other option than to use bike as it seems they neither can afford car nor their narrow roads can afford cars. The purchase of cars is made very costly by government to discourage people not not flood the roads.
The people are living very average life.
As such I felt it is not unsafe to travel in Vietnam if you are carful on roads. Keep your laptops and mobiles safe from snatching. Compared to South Vietnamese and Cambodians, people in North Vietnam are slightly rough, straight forward and crude by behavior.
There are plenty of taxis and ‘tuk-tuk’ available in city and you can have cheap rides to various tourist points by booking the “tuk-tuk” for whole day and drop you at your hotel for $60 per day. The hotels in Hanoi are average and $70 hotel is worth Rs.2000 equivalent in India. Indian dinner will cost you from $5-$8. If you travel on your own and stay in low end hotel you can settle the 5-6 days visit in just Rs. 60-70 thousand.
In the end it was a memorable trip to Vietnam with lots of memories of the places, food and people there.
See part 2 of this travelogue in Seven Days In Vietnam- Part 2 Of 2.
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