Scottish TravelerS: Chapter Vietnam
Ho Chi MInh - Ha NOI - Da Nang - Hoi An - HUe - Sapa - Halong - Ninh Binh 1
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Scottish Travelers: Chapter Vietnam
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With the recent released of Kong, Vietnam has captured the eyes and heart of thousand audiences with its beauty. Stretching from the natural beauty of Halong Bay to the man-made artistry of sacred monasteries and pagodas to the rice terraces, beaches and the buzzing street of its urban cities, Vietnam has a lot to offer to traveller. Suffered from a long dark history of colonialism, communism, war, and poverty, the country delicacies could perhaps been argued as one of the most unique in South East Asia. Differs from its neighbour, Vietnamese food is lighter in flavour, and with the touch of French influence its not hard to find Banh Mi (Vietnamese style Baguettes) across the country. As any countries you have travelled to, you could either hate or love it. Admittedly my visit to Vietnam (twice) has been an interesting and visually breathtaking one. Located in the easternmost on Indochina Peninsula, Vietnam offers variety of beautiful landscapes that attracted local and international tourist alike with several highlight points as: Halong Bay, Sapa, Ninh Binh, and Ha Noi on the northern part of the country, beautiful shores and old towns of Danang, Hue, and Hoi An in central Vietnam, and urban cities and Mekong delta in South.
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Central Vietnam Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue
Culture, Heritage, and Culinary Heaven of Vietnam
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Da Nang is the third largest city in Vietnam and the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam. Situated in the coast of South China Sea, Da Nang is famous for the beauty of its coastline. Located about 20 minutes from the core of the town Da Nang beaches are arguably the most beautiful ones that we have been, it is packed with Japanese and other Asian tourists. The temperature of the water during our time of visit is relatively warm, so it’s a perfect spot if you fancy a dip.
(Top) An Bang beach during sunset hours, where local and tourist were playing beach soccer, Writer own image. (Bottom) A bowl of Quong noodle. Courtesy of Danang.co.
Beach resorts, restaurant and bars are populating the area, so it is not hard to find something to eat whilst you are there. About 5 minutes walk from the An Thuong Beach there are selections of backpacker bars and restaurant on An Thuong Alleyways that sell local and international food. If you are in mood to try Vietnamese style BBQ, it is highly recommended for you to try Thung Phi BBQ. Roughly about 15 to 20 minutes walk from the beach. Thung Phi BBQ might be a bit problem to find for first timer as it is not exactly on Nguyen Van Thoai Street (it’s on the alleyway, so keep your eyes open for the sign!). The concept of the BBQ joint is outdoor and self-service with Vietnamese street food style sitting. The restaurant offer ranges of meat selection, which you need to char-grilled yourself. For anyone that loves seafood, it is
recommended to try their squid, if you are not don’t worry plenty other option to pick. Each time you order their meat, it comes with lemony dipping sauce. Da nang city centre itself does not have much to offer unless if you are café lover. There are plenty independence café in town or along the riverside that you can try. Whilst in Vietnam you should perhaps try their dipping coffee (although some might say its too strong for foreigner taste). Talking about Da Nang signature delicacy. If you are a rice noodle lover, you definitely need to try Quong Noodle at My Quang Ba Mua. Differs from any Vietnamese noodle soup, Quang noodle have barely enough broth to cover the noodle. What makes this noodle so special is the thickness of its noodle and its richness of the broth and additional of crush peanut topping on the top.
Depend on the purpose of your travel and amount of time that you have, you can easily spend 2/3 days in Da Nang just for relaxing on its shore. Around Da Nang there are couple sites that you can visit, such as the Son Tra (Monkey) Mountain or World heritage site of My Son.
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(Top) View of old town Hoi An from across the bridge on sunny day. In the evening locals offers boat tour along the riverside. Writer own image.
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About 45 minutes drive from Da Nang, rest the old town of Hoi An. Designated as world heritage site by UNESCO in 1999 has put Hoi An in the eyes of the world. Rows and rows of yellow painted old houses, magenta hue from the Bougainville trees and beautifully hand-crafted lanterns that are hang around the old town makes it the most picturesque city in whole Vietnam. As if the built environment wasn’t enough, the scenery of Hoi An old town is enhanced by the activities and traditions of Hoi An people on Thun Bon river. During the clear sunny day, you can see the number of rowing boats being parked near the riverbank. The colour combination of the river, the sky and those boat gives you
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relaxing feel. During the night, you will spot local ladies selling water floating candle lantern. At certain time of the year, people of Hoi An celebrates lantern festival. These lanterns are lit and floated on the river. This tradition is being kept in honor to the spiritual value and culture of Vietnamese people. Each lamp symbolized the prayer for peace and wish for better the future. Similar to Da Nang, geographically set on the coast of South China Sea means that Hoi An is also a paradise for beach hoppers. Slightly different from Da Nang beach, Hoi An’s is more to water sporting. Along the coast you can see group of Asian tourists enjoying parasailing and beach
soccer. A sunset walk on clear day along Hoi An beach is highly recommended. Set with Da Nang beaches skyline on the backdrop, Hoi An beach during magic hours is simply breathtaking and a must do for couple. Compare to the rest of urban Vietnamese cities, Hoi An traffic is relatively quiet with the old town area is restricted for walking and cycling only. If you are in mood to exploring around, you can easily find bicycle rentals around the town for relatively cheap price, or if you are lucky enough, your accommodation might provide you with free bikes.
Scottish Travelers: Chapter Vietnam
SOUTH CHINA SEA Hue Da Nang LAOS
Hoi An
Cycling around the riverside is recommended, depend on the time of your visit the temperature in Hoi An could be relatively high, but due to the fact that its located along the riverside, it could still be quite breezy (we still recommend you to put a lot of sun screen). If you cycle towards west side of the city, you will end up in some pottery village and on the way you will see local fishermen set up their fishing net (which is quite cool and picturesque image of rural Vietnam. (left) Location of Hoi An, Danang, and Hue in central Vietnam.
(Top) View of old town Hoi An, the old town world heritage site is complex of bright yellow houses that is decorated with colourful lantern. Writer own image.
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Hoi An is also famous for its local delicacy. Across the town you can find a lot of restaurant that serves Hoi An specialty food. Hoi An hosts a number of cooking classes where tourist can learn to make signature food such as White Rose (Banh bao banh vac) and Cao Lao (pork braised noodle). If you are interested in learning Hoi An cuisine, you can register at Café 45. There provide a very flexible cooking class where you can choose which signature dishes that you want to learn and only pay for the price of ingredients and additional cost of 6 dollar per person. A part of signature Vietnamese cuisine, Hoi An is also famous with its Banh Mi, Banh Mi is Vietnamese style baguette that filled with different kind of meat and herbs. If you have signed up for the Hoi An food tour, one of the famous spot that they will definite bring you to is Banh My Phuong. Located in the edge of old town Banh Mi Phuong offers variety of Sandwich that you can’t find anywhere else. Although it is not special to Hoi An, its recommended to try Vietnamese egg coffee. For any coffee lover you could either find Vietnamese coffee hard or easy to love. Most of the coffee that served in Vietnamese local café is relatively stronger than what we can get from Starbucks. If you are eager to try, you should stop by the Hoi An Roastery whilst you are strolling around the old town. Vietnamese egg coffee is sweeter compared to the normal coffee, most people would say it’s a tiramisu in liquid form. If Coffee is not your liking, don’t worry Hoi An Roastery also provides selection of cool drinks on summer days (like flower power!). If neither tickles your taste buds, you should perhaps stop by the Mot Tea, kind of specialty tea that is made from herbs (although it tastes more like lemonade rather than tea).
(Top Right) Banh Xeo, Vietnamese savoury pancake with prawn. Writer own image. (Bottom Right) Banh Bao Banh Vac, Hoi An local delicacy “White Rose”. Writer own image. (Next page) The interior of long corridor of Hue ancient imperial palace, it provides a breezy shades on summer days. Writer own image.
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Hue, the ancient imperialist capital of Vietnam and heavenly city for foodies. About 3 hours train ride to north from Da Nang, rest the old capital city of Vietnam. If you are interested with the historic aspect of Vietnam, you definitely need to spend two or three days in Hue. But if you are not, you still need to visit Hue for its mouthwatering foods. (Top) Moon gate entrance pillar of Hue Imperial City complex. Writer own image.
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There are many methods of transports that can get you to Hue. However spending 3 hours train ride with the scenery of coast of Vietnam would be a better option. In comparison to Vietnamese cities, hue is relatively laidback and people are relatively friendlier. If you are planning to stay for couple days, it’s suggested that you stay in quite central area (along the river if its possible, as most of the its attraction is around that area. Another reason is that it could save you from possible taxi scam as up until mid September 2017, there isn’t any Uber or Grab service in town) Any heritage tourist that comes to hue shouldn’t miss the Ancient Citadel. The entrance free is about 150000 dong for each person. But before you get into the citadel, don’t forget to get your picture taken in front of the biggest ‘Red with Gold Star’
flag. It will take about 2-2.5 hours in total to explore the citadel complex. If you are interested to see the mausoleums you could perhaps go with the city tour as you can explore the city by boat and land. Most people come to Hue for its foods. There are plenty of specialty foods that you should try. There is even a saying that you will never starve in Hue (ok, we just made that up). Just about 10 minutes walk from the citadel you can find Lac Thien Restaurant it’s a lovely family restaurant that served the best Banh Khoai in the whole town and whilst you are there don’t forget to try their Bun Bo Hue. Bun Bo Hue is a specialty beef noodle soup from Hue. Differs from the rest of Vietnamese cuisine that is light and not spicy in flavor, Bun Bo Hue gives you additional spicy kick, so definitely something different to try.
Scottish Travelers: Chapter Vietnam
Another local restaurant that you should visit in Hue is Hanh Restaurant, they serves few different local delicacy (which most of them are made from rice) and always packed with locals and tourists alike. For starters, it’s recommended to get their set menu for 120000 dong as you can try different signature hue foods at once. Of many, Hue natives enjoy Banh Beo and Nem Lui as their free times snacks. Who could resist the crunchiness of pork crackling and fried shallots on top of steamed rice cake (Banh Beo) or Grilled mince pork wrapped on aromatic lemon grass stalk (Nem Lui)? If that’s not your taste you definitely need to try Bun Thit Nuong, grilled pork on top of Rice noodle with peanut sauce.If after all those food you are still craving for more, you can walk along the riverside and get some Che (Vietnamese sweet dessert). As cheap as 20000 dong, you get to choose 6/7 different topping to put on the crush iced.
(Top) One of the resident inside Hue Imperial City complex. Writer own image. (Bottom) Banh Beo, Bun Thit Nuong, and Vietnamese spring rolls from Hanh restaurant. Writer own image.
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NORTHERN Vietnam
Ninh binh, HANOI, Ha long, sa PA Landscape of Everlasting Beauty
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(Top) The nesting of Herons and Cranes at Trung Nam bird park, where visitors are encourage to take their boat tour during the dusk. Writer own image. (Previous Page) Ninh Binh landscape taken from Chua Bai Dinh Pagoda. Writer own image.
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Have you ever imagine yourself in middle of the fight between Kong, the primal ape and the Skullcrawlers? Fret not, with Kong movie just been released recently, the world has set its eyes on the beautiful landscape of Trang An grottoes. Located about 2 hours at the South East of Hanoi, Ninh Binh or most local travel agencies would refer as the Halong Bay on the land, will bring you to the magical set of K o n g ( w i t h o u t t h e skullcrawlers obviously). There are few methods of transport that can get you Ninh Binh, the easiest would be by train from the South or Bus from Hanoi. Ninh Binh is rather quite a small city in Red river delta in Northern Vietnam. There is not much nightlife or food scene in
Ninh Binh. But again, who would need that when you can wake up next to the beautiful golden paddy field with karst hill as its backdrop. To get around you can either rent a bike or scooter (roughly 150000 dong for 24 hours rental). As the weather can get rather humid and you wouldn’t want to spend all of your energy to cycle around, its more recommended to rent a scooter instead). To start the day, you can ride up to Tam Coc Rice Field.During the harvest season the whole rice field looks like a golden carpet. Its not a big area to explore and you can park your bike on the street side and explore the rice field for a little bit.
“ Trully a dream place, most beautiful place that I have seen in Vietnam. It was even nicer than the Halong Bay. ” - Anonymous Review
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About 15 minutes ride from Tam Coc rice field lies the Thung Nam Bird Park. This bird sanctuary is not yet well known, as there weren’t much advertising about the place yet. The bird sanctuary provides you with a beautiful walk around the pond and the highlight of the place is the nesting of Herons and Cranes. It’s recommended to be there just right after 5 pm, as the entrance free is down to half (50000 dong) and it’s the perfect timing to see the bird flocks flying back to their nest.
(Top) A part of 360 sight of Hang Mua Valley from the top of Hang Mua hill. Hang Mua means the lying dragon in Vietnamese. Writer own image.
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“ Not as touristy as Tam Coc, Trang An offers amazing scenery and a rich history. There’s lots to see and you can spend hours there if you have the time.” - Anonymous Review
Another sight that shouldn’t be missed is the Hang Mua Caves, though it’s arguable that the main highlight of the destination is the temple on the top of the hill. The entrance free is 100000 dong and please be prepared as the climb is rather exhausting. There are about 500 steps that you would need to climb (and most of them are uneven height) to get to the most spectacular 360o view of Tam Coc Valley. The climb is rather tricky; a part
of being exhausting, there isn’t actually stops you can rest, and not to mention there isn’t any shades to cover from the rain or scorching sun. Let’s face the truth you would have not been to properly Ninh Binh if you have not been on its boat tour. Across Ninh Binh there are few spots where you can take a boat tour to explore the karst mountain. The most well-known one is probably Tam Coc boat tour, however over past decades Scottish Travelers: Chapter Vietnam
HOW TO RIDE A MOTORBIKE IN VIETNAM (AND NOT END UP IN THE HOSPITAL)
ALWAYS USE SAFETY HELMET DO NOT DRINK PRIOR TO DRIVING NO SPEEDING KEEP 25-60 KM/H
its been known as an infamous hot spot for tourist scam. Located about half an hour drive from Tam Coc boat tour lies the natural heritage of Trang An. Providing the similar view to Tam Coc boat tour, Trang An Grottoes world heritage site is a better location to experience the beautiful landscape of Ninh Binh. A part of being the set where Kong: Skull island is shot, the trip worth every penny that you would spend. There are 2 main routes that they offer, Route 1 with Kong: Skull island set or Route 2 with more cave and temples to explore. As the caves gets too repetitive it’s recommended to pick the one with Kong movie set. Natural heritage is not the only thing that Ninh Binh could offer, about 15 km away from Ninh Binh, stands tall Bai Dinh Pagoda. It is the biggest Buddhist monastery in South East Asia, with 539hectare premises, 5000 statues of Buddha. As you climb up the steps towards the Giant Bronze Buddha statue, you will get to see the beautiful landscape of Ninh Binh.
(Right) How to ride a motorbike in Vietnam.Writer own image. (Bottom) Trang An world heritage boat tour.Writer own image.
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Modern capital city of Vietnam, and home of pho noodle. About 2 hours by bus from Ninh Binh, Ha Noi provides a beautiful busy city escape for those who that has enough of small town. As the hub in northern Vietnam, Ha Noi street is packed with tourist and local a like. Differ from the rest of Asian capital cities, Ha Noi doesn’t have much sky scrappers and still keeping its old charm. In the heart of the city lies the Old Quarter area. Old quarter was once the place where local goes for shopping and eat out; today the streets of old quarter is packed with backpacker bars and street food stalls, though the market life still alive in early morning hours.Just around the corner of Old quarter resides the peaceful Hoi An Kim lake, where the
mythology of the holy turtle, the king and the sword came for. A long the lakeside, there are plenty of different cafés to visit for café lovers. Among many one that is distinctive to Ha Noi is the Gong Caphe. Gong is the term that American and Vietnamese soldier used for northern Vietnamese soldier during the war. Gong Caphe serves various kind of beverage with their signature of coconut coffee. For those who that wants to break free from their Vietnamese food, Ha Noi has various option for international food. If you ever find yourself craving for pizza, it is a perfect time to try out Pizza 4p, a great fusion of Japanese and Italian food, though it might takes a while to get a table there. As the rest of Vietnamese cities, Ha Noi is also famous for
its local food. While in Hanoi you should at least try Bun Cha (Grilled mince pork vermicelli) and Bo Sot Vang (Vietnamese beef stew). As you walked along the old town you will perhaps come across Bun Cha no 1, although they serve a good Bun Cha they have poor service and since there aren’t any menu they will try to over charge you. If you can only have one meal in Hanoi, do try Banh My Sot Vang on 252 Hang Bong. Not only the food is cheap, their Bo Sot Vang is definitely a comfort food for your soul. If you are looking to learn more about Vietnamese history, you need to stop by the Old Prison and Hanoi Museum of Ethnology .
(Bottom) The recreation of prison cell during the time of French colonialism. Writer own image. (Previous Page, Top) Street of Old Quarter, Hanoi. Writer own image. (Previous Page, Bottom) Central of Hanoi Nightlife, Pho Ta Hien. Writer own image.
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North of Hanoi is a perfect escape for people who loves nature. There are two main highlight of Natural World Heritage in the north that one should visit when it comes to Vietnam: Halong bay and Sapa. Unless you have a very limited amount of time to visit Halong Bay, then you should try to stay at least one night in the area. On a day trip to Halong Bay, you will only get to the most touristy part where you will be elbowing your way through hundreds of other visitors and its not really worth the pain of sitting in minivan for 3.5 hours each way from Hanoi to only experience couple of good hours in Halong bay.
“ Halong Bay is a world class top destination and definitely one of the most picturesques in South-East Asia” - Anonymous Review
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There are different kind of tour service that provides you one or two night Halong bay trip, depend on your budget you can take either the luxury cruise or the budget boat. Either way you will still manage to enjoy the beauty of Halong bay. As you book the trip through travel agent, normally they will bring you to several ‘must go’ spot of Halong bay. The most popular is perhaps the Sung sot cave where you can see the beautiful stalagmite in the shape of Vietnam hanging on the top of the cave also the early site of prehistoric human habitat around the cave. As most of the time you will be staying on the
boat, you should make a good use of it to get a sun tanning on the top deck, or a quick dip on the bay. A part of that there are couple more activity that you can do, such as kayaking and squid fishing at night. (Bottom) Small boat that bring tourist to visit several ‘hot spot’ of Halong Bay. Writer own image. (Next Page) Halong Bay scenery from top of Sung Sot cave. Writer own image.
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(Top) Rural village of Lao Cai against its greenery landscape and carpet of rice field during summer. Writer own image.
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How does it feel to live like indigenous people of Vietnam? Have you ever wonder about it? With a whole night train ride from Ha Noi, you will get to experience the ‘Authentic rural Vietnam’ in the village of Lao Cai, Sapa. Lao Cai and Sapa are two important cities in the mountainous Northwest region of Vietnam bordering with Yunnan province of China. Due to its location Lao Cai is often referred as the “Queen of the mountain” Village of Lao Cai and Sa Pa are home of the minorities of Vietnam, such as Hmong people. As you book the Sapa trekking tour from Ha Noi, you will get to explore the wilderness of Sa Pa as the local indigenous see
it. There are few trekking option that you can choose, depending on the number of days and how hard the trek is. The average journey takes about 2-5 hours by foot, including trekking up the hill, down the slope, and walking among the livestocks by the side of rice field. During the trek, the local Hmong ladies guide will most of the time offer their help you during the hike. Although some of them will get quite pushy by the end of the trip by asking you for tips or trying to sell you their handcrafts (just like elsewhere in Vietnam). There are several stops a long the way that you will make to experience the Hmong culture. Lunch will also be provided most
time by the tour. So you can just relax and have it by the beautiful riverside. (PreviousPage) Hmong tribe woman standing on the edge of Sapa beautiful landscape. Writer own image.
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SOUTHERN Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY - SAIGON The True Hospitality of Southerner
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If Hanoi is a city of romance and mellow charms, then Ho Chi Minh City is its antithesis, a fury of sights and sounds, and the crucible in which Vietnam’s rallying fortunes are boiling. Few corners of the city afford respite from the cacophony of construction work casting up new office blocks and hotels with logic-defying speed. An increasing number of cars and minibuses jostle with an organic mass of state-of-the-art Honda SUVs, choking the tree-lined streets and boulevards. Amid this melee, the local people go about their daily life: smartly dressed schoolkids wander past streetside baguette-
sellers; women shoppers ride motorbikes clad in gangsterstyle bandanas to protect their skin from the sun and dust; while teenagers in designer jeans chirrup into mobile phones. Much of the fun of being in Ho Chi Minh City derives from the simple pleasure of absorbing its flurry of activity. To blink is to miss some new and singular sight, be it a motorbike stacked high with piglets bound for the market, or a boy on a bicycle rapping out a staccato tattoo on pieces of bamboo to advertise noodles for sale. Many of the best attractions in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) centre around the events of 20th century
war and conquest. It sounds sombre, and in parts it is, but there are some truly fascinating historical activities suitable for all ages. From classic French architecture to perfectly maintained American war planes, walking around Ho Chi Minh is like seeing the past come to life with so many famous places of interest scattered throughout the city. Of course, as Vietnam’s biggest city and business capital, times are changing and modern skyscrapers are starting to punctuate the sky combining the new and old in a uniquely Vietnamese way.
(Top) Book Street in Ho Chi Minh City, the whole street is occupied by book stores selling foreign and local books a like. Courtesy of Neil Disney.
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It’s one of Ho Chi Minh City’s many charms that once you’ve exhausted, or been exhausted by, all it has to offer, paddy fields, beaches and wide-open countryside are not far away. The most popular trip out of the city is to the Cu Chi tunnels, where villagers dug themselves out of the range of American shelling. The tunnels are often twinned with a tour around the fanciful Great Temple of the indigenous Cao Dai religion at Tay Ninh. A brief taster of the Mekong Delta at My Tho or a dip in the South China Sea at Ho Coc are also eminently possible in a long day’s excursion
(Top) Picture of Ho Chi Minh hanging in Saigon Central Post office. Courtesy of Neil Disney (Bottom right) Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi. Courtesy of Neil Disney
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Scottish Travelers: Chapter Vietnam