Travel
Through Vietnam
A Return Trip To Vietman
~ by Doug Rice
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short time ago I returned from my fourth solo trip to SE Asia. Over the
past few years I have spent a lot of time in Thailand and Vietnam and made
brief visits to Laos and Cambodia. My favorite of these is Vietnam. My
first visit was in 1967, as a 22-year-old sergeant with the US Air Force.
But wasn’t until 34 years later that I was able to return and it felt great
to be back and in some ways as if time stood still awaiting my return.
So if you want to revisit Vietnam as I did or are just interested in visiting
a wonderful new place read on and I’ll help you plan the trip.
Vietnam has
two international airports, Hanoi to the north and Saigon in the south.
There are no direct flights to either location, so depending on the airline
all air travelers are routed through gateway citys such as Tokyo, Singapore,
Seoul /Incheon, Hong Kong or Taipei. You can and should shop for the best
fares through online travel sights such as Travelocity.com, contact consolidators
and be sure to check the Sunday travel section of your local newspaper
for special deals. Economy/Tourist class airfare can cost as little as
$750.00 or as much as $1500.00, so shop and shop. Travel time is about
13 hours across the Pacific and in total takes between 18 and 26 hours,
depending on the layover required by your airline at their gateway city.
It doesn’t seem to cost any more for an open return or “open jaw” ticket.
An open return is exactly as it sounds; you leave your return date open,
allowing you flexibility on your return date. With an open jaw ticket,
you fly into one city and return from another. So, for example, you could
fly into Hanoi and back from Saigon or maybe fly into Vietnam and return
from Thailand. However, keep in mind that if you have an open return, airlines
have only a limited number of flights across the Pacific, and they try
to fill then to the max. So it may take a while to confirm your return
ticket. Call the airline sooner, rather then later with your requested
return date.
Due the long
narrow geographic nature of Vietnam, your in- country travel options are
simplified. Air travel is available between major cities and a train runs
from Saigon to Hanoi and on into China. But I think the best deal overall
is bus travel. It is inexpensive, efficient, and it gives you a chance
to see the country. Government buses are dirt-cheap but should have signs
posted saying, only skinny butts allowed here, so I can’t recommend them.
However, the so-called open tour buses offered by traveler’s cafes, which
ply up and down the coast and between all major tourist destinations is
a best bet. You can buy a ticket on these, say from Saigon to Hanoi
(one way $29.00) and stop off in cities along the way, and when you want
to move on, just request a seat on another bus and you’re on your way.
Car rentals that you drive yourself are not available, but a car with driver
can be arranged at about $35.00 a day. Yes, those motorbikes are cute,
and you can rent one at very reasonable price, but they are as dangerous
as they are cute. Vietnam has one of the highest incidences of traffic
related injuries of any country in the world. |
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Ho
Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it was known prior to 1975, is an amazing place.
It has large new buildings, outdoor cafes, wide tree-lined streets jam
packed with motorbikes, classy Vietnamese music clubs, discos and great
shopping. All this, mixed with the traditional Vietnamese shop houses,
street side coffee shops and a population density that has to be seen to
be believed. There are museums, chronicling the war years and the life
of the famous Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh, even a water park for your
splashing pleasure, numerous temples but my favorite is just hanging on
a street corner and watching the goings on of the city. Other good options
are a day trip to Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong hid out during the
war; Cao Dai Holy See in Tay Ninh the main temple of Vietnams only homegrown
religion or maybe the hydrofoil to the beaches of Vung Tau.
The Mekong
Delta is a flat agricultural area in the far south of Vietnam, honey combed
with waterways. The Mekong is well worth a visit and can be done as a day
trip if you’re short of time or as a three- day tour booked through one
of many travelers agents in Saigon.
About 60 km
from Saigon is the ever-cool hillside city of Dalat. Temperatures here
are 10 to 15 degrees cooler then Saigon, the Vietnamese wear ski parkas,
wool hats and gloves in the evening, but us North Americans can easily
get by with a long sleeve shirt. This is a very popular place for Vietnamese
and considered to be the perfect spot for a honeymoon. |
One of my fonder
memories from 1967 was the beaches and the warm South China Sea that washed
across them. I am happy to report, this hasn’t changed, the water is just
as warm and the palm trees still sway idyllically over sun splashed, white
sand beaches. There are many nice beach areas to choose, from little,
laid-back Mui Ne to Nha Trang with its noisy drinking spots like the Sailors
Club and interesting boat day trips out around the islands. ....
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say to yourself, yikes isn’t Vietnam a communist country? Yes, it is communist,
formally named Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Ngic Viet Nam or the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam (SRV) but not to worry. What you will see probably doesn’t
fit with any of the concepts of communism you have been carrying around
with you. From a visitors prospective, it appears to be a free, open market
society. This is primarily due to the strength and flexibility of the Vietnamese
people, not the reality of what is really going on. Behind the go-go veneer
it is a country that allows only one political party, the Communist Party
and it used the Soviet Union and China as its models for the government.
However, the government, after watching Thailand’s success with tourism,
has cultivated a strong interest in developing tourism as a cash crop.
So as a visitor, life is good. But due to all these hidden wranglings,
remember that no matter what you think you see and hear, the government
is in complete control. With this in mind my strategy has been to
stay away from any problems involving anything governmental related and
just concentrate on being a good little tourist. Though I have to admit
a plus to tight government control and their lack of the interest in personal
freedoms is that the criminal element is held in check, and the threat
of terrorism is minimal. There are very few American visitors in-country
so it seems that wherever you go people are fascinated by Americans. |
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Using
the opportunity to try out their English, shake your hand or stare and
try to get as close as they can. From my experiences most Vietnamese, anyway
in the south, have a great regard for America and its people. Since the
war ended in 1975 North and South Vietnam have been one country but geographically
and culturally there are still is two separate regions. For people like
my self and many Vietnamese’ there is a distinct North and South. Historically,
the north was the home of industry and craftsmen. The south was more of
an agricultural area with cities like Saigon involved in trade. For myself,
who has never past Hue where the south transitions into the north. At this
geographic point my mind starts having problems. Not rational but still
problems to me, telling me something to the effect of, its 1967 again,
and I shouldn’t be going up there. While in reality I have been told
Hanoi is a wonderful city, more laid back and relaxed then Saigon, the
northern mountain village of Sapa is a charming and Halong Bay from the
photos I have seen is unbelievable beautiful.
The Visa deal:
You must have a visa to enter the country and you need it before you board
an aircraft to Vietnam. Though I have heard, that as with so many laws
in Vietnam, there is an exception. It goes like this. If you have a travel
agent at your arrival city, Saigon or Hanoi, they purportedly can arrange
a visa for you at the airport. I haven’t actually tried this, but
supposedly all you need to do is notify your travel agent of your arrival
date, give your name as it is on your passport, passport number and they
will meet you with the paper work for the visa at the airport. |
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official way is to apply for a visa through the Vietnamese consulate. In
the USA: Consular Section, Embassy of Vietnam, 1233 20 th Street
NW, Suite 400 Washington DC 20036. You have a choice of one month, three
month or six month visa. The price of each type of visa depends on this
and how many entries you need into the country. For example, if you
were to use Vietnam as your travel base for Southeast Asia, a multiple
entry visa is probably what you need. Then, if you plan is to arrive in
Vietnam and stay there until you return home, a single entry is the deal
for you. A one-month, single entry visa is $65.00 for standard five business
day processing, $85.00 for two business day processing and a multiple entry
visa is $130.00 which includes two business day express processing.
A Three-month, single entry is $110.00 for standard five day processing,
multiple entries at $150.00 and five days to process. A six-month visa
allows multiple entries, takes five business days to process and goes for
$ 200.00. To apply you need a passport six months away from its expiration
date, passport size photo (2x2), money order or certified check payable
to Embassy of Vietnam, along with your completed application form. (application
form on line at http://www.vietnamembassy-usa.org/consular/visainfo.php3)
Send all this, along with a return envelop with postage attached for either
express mail or FedEx, to the embassy via Express Mail or FedEx.
Note this very important point, your visa goes into effect the day you
specify on your application and not before. Meaning if you arrive
before the visa’s entry date you will be refused entry and arrive after
the date you will have a shorter visa period. The visa time clock
starts ticking on the entry date you requested not the date you arrive.
Accommodations
in Vietnam range from a few dollars a night for a bunk in dormitory style
accommodations, to a few hundred a night in a five star hotel. Normally,
on the average you can plan on spending around $ 30.00 a night for a comfortable
room with air-conditioning satellite TV, front desk to assist with your
travel arrangements and a free breakfast tossed in. If you are staying
more then three days and it is an accepted practice to inquire about a
discount off the original rate. I always ask for a discount even if I am
only staying for one night and I usually get one. The Vietnamese are used
to bargaining. I think the bargaining process in Vietnamese culture is
meant more as a lighthearted social game then a win, loose proposition
- a social exercise where the desired result is the transfer of goods and
services between individuals where every one is a winner. |
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“My Vietnam
visa is just about finished and I am not ready to go home yet” now what?
From Saigon it is easy to head down through the Mekong Delta, cross over
to Cambodia and on to Thailand. If you’re finishing up in the middle
around Dong Ha, it’s pretty easy to head into Lao and again on to Thailand.
I’ll bet you
ten to one that if you decide on a trip to Vietnam, Asia will get in your
blood, as it did with me. Maybe we will see each other in Saigon.
To see Doug's
web site about Vietnam Click Here
To contact
Doug Click Here
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