The following is an outline of my stay in Vietnam. I do have to say, since I had a couple of my first-time buddies with me, I did some of the more touristy things that I avoided in the past… some were actually decent, and others… well, you know how it is. I’ve included my personal grades on certain things. Thoughts may be random, and time may not be linear. Be warned.

– Reunification palace (B+): The tour was better than I had expected. Not too much propaganda during the tour, which was conducted by a local university student studying English. It was very interesting seeing where all the history took place in the lead-up to the War.


– “Central Park” (A-): Well, I call it Central Park… made things easier. It’s the community area located between the Reunification Palace and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. During the holidays (basically, Dec-Feb) it’s decorated and there are nightly festivals going on. Definitely come out here at night to see all the lights and take in all the sights. If you’re really venturous, come on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve… but don’t expect fireworks.


– Sinh Café (B): Well known among budget travelers, they are a full-service tour company known for low prices. I gave them a try, and while I thought the price was great, you do get what you pay for, and so the tours tend to be of lower quality. Advantage – they speak English, and very well.

– VN (B+): I quite enjoy flying VN… it’s definitely a different experience.
What I liked:

• Domestic widebody service (SGN-HAN has 6x777, 1xA300, ???)
  
• There’s only 2 fare buckets – Y and J. Thus, nothing complicated like advance purchase requirements, and only a 10% penalty for refunds.
  
• Airfare is cheap.
  
• How easy it is to ask for and get exit rows when checking in (I’m 100%).
  
• How the seat belt light goes off as soon as we’re wheels up (more of an oddity thing).

What I didn’t like:

• No boarding groups.
  
• The waiting area/holding cell you have to wait in before boarding.
  
• You’ll have to flight to get your rollaboard onboard (they didn’t budge when I pointed out that my cousin’s rollaboard was smaller than the backpack I had)..
  
• Customer service is still a concept the frontline employees still struggle with on occasion. But more so than the US, a smile and empathy will get you far. In HAN our flight to SGN was delayed for a couple hours (late inbound aircraft), and the poor GA was being hammered by the pax, who didn’t understand why they couldn’t fly at the indicated time. The things this GA had to hear! One guy even asked why they couldn’t bring another airplane to fly us, and that he’d never fly VN again if they didn’t (kinda hard to follow through on that threat). Since I now had a couple of hours to kill, I went over, spoke to her in Vietnamese, and offered to explain to the English-speakers what was happening. Half the angry mob disappeared (as I suspected, it was a communication problem), and eventually the native crowd dissipated as well. When boarding was called, the GA allow my party to board in the business non-line, instead of with the angry horde… and even ignored our rollaboards

– Taxis from HAN: $10 flat fee to the city ($12 for a 7-seater). Didn’t get a flat fee coming back (metered cost was $14).

– Taxis in general: If you find a taxi driver you like, you can ask for his card/cell number and have him at your beckon call. Most will be thrilled at the prospect of guaranteed fares.

– Flower Hotel & Blossom Hotel – Hanoi (A): Sister properties on the same street, it was an excellent value for $30/night. Down comforters, very nicely appointed rooms, decent staff, and a great breakfast buffet included… on the top level of their buildings for an almost-360 degree view of the city.


– Halong Bay (A+): It’s a definitely must-do day trip from Hanoi. It’s a 3-4 hour bus ride each way. On this trip, we left in the morning and returned in the evening… we stayed both nights in Hanoi, though there are resort properties in Halong. Winter isn’t the best time to go (misty and a little chop on the water). But cruising among the islands, stopping by on a floating fish market, and exploring the natural caves on the islands… terrific. I’ve been twice now, and would go again.


– Mekong Delta tour (A): We did a day trip from Saigon to Can Tho, the closest town on Delta. We rented a private minivan ($45 for the day including tip). We were taken to the main boat tour center where we were initially offered a speed boat tour for 1,200,000VND (~$80... ouch!). After we wanted to leave, they suggested a slow outboard dingy for ~550,000VND (~$35... excellent! and preferred) and we also had our own tour guide who was very knowledgeable and spoke English very well (she also spoke Japanese). We said we wanted to stay away from tourists, and she obliged, taking us to an island where residents reside and not many tourists actually go. Much more fun than going to watch foreigners take pictures of themselves with stupid poses. Of course, there were some tourist traps along the way, but we were happy with our experience (especially with the fresh fruit ^).


- Cu Chi Tunnels (D-): The only reason it didn't get an F was that some of it was mildly interesting. But everything they have to show you has been rebuilt... nothing was original (except for the destroyed US tank, which likely had soldiers in it at one time, proudly on display for tourists to play on like a jungle gym). You can fire off guns on the shooting range... at the cost of 20,000VND (~$1.25) per bullet. You end the tour by eating boiled tapioca root and drinking tea (bleh). Oh, and the admission fee was $0.50.... plus a $5.00 "tourist tax" Not worth the 2 hours it took to get there. It wasn't a historical site... it was an amusement park

(Yes, I really did take this pic to show everyone how preposterous it was)