Don’t mention the war. This, more or less, is the gist of my Rough Guide to Vietnam. Or, more accurately – and I’m paraphrasing here – don’t become obsessed by the war. But it’s hard when visiting a country where the association, for me at least, is immediate and inescapable: Vietnam – war.
Countryside in Dalat, Vietnam – Photo by Getty
The closeness of the real world must have been the strangest thing, I think, as I sit reading the guide and looking down on miles of jungle during my flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City, better known by its former name, Saigon. It’s just an hour from the Thai capital to a city synonymous with war: just an hour for all those GIs between fighting and the various pleasures afforded by a few days’ leave in Bangkok.
The latter is a nasty, graceless old-fashioned sort of museum, housed in a bleak, crumbling Eastern Bloc-style building and a few ramshackle Fifties huts around a courtyard full of hawkers, beggars, tanks, bombs, howitzers, a US helicopter and other twisted-metal memorials to the events of 35 years ago.
There’s more, of course, all worse, if anything (the guillotine used by the French, the instruments of torture used by the South Vietnamese, the deformed foetuses almost certainly caused by Agent Orange), and somehow it’s all the more harrowing because of the ramshackle setting.
It’s also the victors’ museum, of course, and skewed in their favour, but the Americans looking around with me – and there are many of them – are talkative and engaged. The equally large number of elderly Vietnamese men, by contrast, are silent and inscrutable. You can’t help but wonder: where were they and what they were doing 40 years ago?
Give Saigon a day or so. Stay in the wonderful Grand Hyatt, maybe visit the famous Cu Chi tunnels (where the Viet Cong – incredible this – hid for years just 15 miles from the centre of the city); see the markets (Ben Thanh especially); climb the Jade Emperor Pagoda; take on the mopeds at road junctions. And eat the fantastic food – the French, who contributed so much to the mess of the Fifties and Sixties, at least left a gastronomic legacy.
Then do as we do, and as the Rough Guide implores – forget the war and head out, being sure to avoid the usual dash from Saigon to Hanoi, or vice versa, preferred by most visitors.
The Vietnamese government, belatedly, and still half-heartedly, awakening to the possibilities of moneyed tourism, is keen for you to visit Da Lat, a 40-minute hop by plane from Saigon. We obliged, helped by the presence of the Ana Mandara Villas, among the first of only a handful of upmarket resorts in Vietnam (but surely, if – as everyone tells you – Vietnam is like Thailand was 15 or 20 years ago, not the last).
A hill station pioneered by the French in the early 20th century, Da Lat largely escaped the war; a town so pretty the US and North Vietnamese tacitly agreed not to bomb it. But that was then. Even in the Fifties, travel writer Norman Lewis found parts turning into a “drab little resort”, and Lewis is the kind of writer who was invariably right. Today, the town’s popularity with Vietnamese visitors, honeymooners in particular, has rendered it largely a mixture of kitsch and concrete.
But there are compensations. The Ana Mandara resort, for one, built around a series of French colonial villas saved from the Communists’ progress-is-all wrecking ball. Perfect in every period detail, it makes a cosseted and tucked-away base for forays into the surrounding mountains, which are superb, and where you can hike or make fascinating visits to the villages of the area’s minority peoples.
Vietnam has 52 ethnic minority groups, many of them splintered into hundreds of much smaller groups – 11 million people in all out of a population of 82 million. Many are mysterious of origin, semi-nomadic and highly resistant to the attempts of successive rulers to tame them – even the current Communist government. Many mountain areas have been off-limits to visitors in the past two or three years as the Vietnamese army – in an ironic echo of the war it fought and won against the Americans – struggles, unsuccessfully it appears, to quell the guerrilla uprisings of disgruntled and intransigent mountain “rebels”.
Trips to these villages alone, however, would probably not have made the detour to Da Lat worthwhile. What did was the spectacular new road (built for those hoped-for new visitors) from Da Lat through the mountains to the coast. It’s a glorious drive, offering a window onto some of the country’s most dramatic scenery, from soaring crags and mist-shrouded jungle, still home to tigers, to the gentler hills and fertile lowlands close to the coastal town of Nha Trang.
Nha Trang is another place for which the government has high hopes, and here they’re on to a far better thing – as is Six Senses, former owners of Ana Mandara, which has opened a second and, for me, more enticing resort, the Six Senses Hideaway at Ninh Van Bay, sequestered on a pristine cove well away from the town.
This really is a hideaway, built on a crescent of white sand framed by steep, jungle-covered mountains, its combination of stylish beach, hill and water villas reached only by boat. Six Senses’ mantra is “intelligent luxury”, exemplified here by the clever use of wood, stone bamboo and the exemplary rendering my “four-S” requirement of a resort: Sea, Sand, Setting and Service.
The last is wonderful: the Vietnamese really are an exquisite people, exemplified by the young women who take us around the resort on bicycles. Charming and friendly, they are proud and happy as they tell us how they have just passed their English exams.
For much of my stay, I am prone, but lever myself up to visit Nha Trang, a spotless, trim resort town with an extraordinary four-mile beach and a wonderful palm-lined promenade that (seriously) puts Nice to shame. The sand and waterfront are immaculate and busy – but not too busy – with locals and Vietnamese visitors. If this is the new Vietnam, and the one the regime wants us to see, then I’m all for it.
Even so, it is still nice to return to the sanctuary of our resort, and the soft beauty of sand and jungle. The war seems a long way away here, the smiling young staff the bright embodiment of a new generation; the baby boomers of their particular war. And it should seem distant, of course, for it was 35 years ago.
But as I walk from the restaurant one evening along the sandy trails cut through the jungle, I can’t help but imagine a US soldier walking this same, silent path. Here, the jungle has been thinned, the paths cleared. Yet in the gloom, even in this manicured enclave, I can barely see a few feet into the undergrowth. Suddenly everything seems eerie, ominous: 35 years ago, anything, or anyone, could have been concealed, watching, waiting, tracking, trailing.
As in the war museum, the moment is revelatory. It makes me realise with sudden clarity the futility of the whole US venture in Vietnam. An American soldier would have had little chance here; at the mercy of an opponent completely at home in this environment. A child could have walked down this path and told the US generals their project was doomed.
An odd thought, I admit, after a sumptuous dinner, with the creamy comforts of a luxury villa waiting farther down the beach. But Vietnam does that. Vietnam – war. It’s a tough link to break.
Source: Tim Jepson/telegraph.co.uk
Related sites
- Vietnam Travel Guide
- Short Excursions in Vietnam
- Adventure tours in Vietnam
By: Indochina Sails
Posts Tagged ‘Cu Chi Tunnels’
Vietnam travel: the rewards of peace
January 27th, 2010Why Vietnam Vacations?
January 14th, 2010Summer vacations are ahead and due in the next month. Your children may be more excited. They may be insisting to go on a foreign trip to the destination of their choice. What have you planned? Do you want to feel de-stressed after a long busy schedule and want some time to pass with your beloved ones? I think you and your wife will not want to go to a place similar to the place you are residing. There should be something different one, so that you and all the family members may feel refreshed and your hard earned money may not go waste. What about Vietnam Vacations i.e. vacations in Vietnam, the paradise of earth?
You have heard and read about the past of Vietnam. What pictures of Vietnam have you in your mind? Do you see this as a war damaged country like Afghanistan? No, this is still a beautiful place where you will get real peace of mind in the lap of nature. The people are so innocent that you will want to really love them. Birds still chirp there. Trees still swing there with the cool breeze and you will hear the chorus sung by them. In your Vietnam vacations, you will experience the beauty and freshness of water in the offshore natural fountains. May you think of other place better than Vietnam for your vacations?
What you should see during your Vietnam vacations? There are many places in this wonderland that you should certainly visit during your Vietnam vacations. You might remember the days of war in Vietnam. Do you want to see reminiscences of this war? If yes, then you should visit Cu Chi tunnels. These are not meagre holes in the earth. These are the network of tunnels constructed during the French Indochina war and American wars. You will be amazed to see all the facilities like street signs, kitchens and above all printing press in these tunnels.
If you think you are daring and love adventures, then there is a good place for you to visit during your Vietnam vacations. This place is known as Halong Bay and is famous for its islets, steep cliffs, limestone formations, arches and grottoes. Night time trips in this area are really daring and mind pleasing. You may also enjoy Kayaking and paddling with your family members here.
Your wife and children may enjoy boating. You yourself may not have got time for a long period. Will you like to enjoy boating during your Vietnam vacations? Then do not forget to visit Mekong. Mekong is a river in Vietnam and is capable of making your trip adventure filled. How do you want to go for Vietnam vacations?
Leave it on us to plan and manage your Vietnam vacations. We are committed to make your vacations at Vietnam memorable. We have many cost effective tour packages for you. In these packages we may arrange your visits to all the tourist places of Vietnam and will make your trip a luxurious one. Check the packages now for the best deals for Vietnam vacations package.
By: HopViet Travel
Vietnam Package 21 Days ~ ‘Explore The Real Vietnam With Panviet Travel!
January 13th, 2010http://www.panviettravel.com.vn/index.php?option=com_entravelpackages&task=show&catid=283&id=207
Email to us: panviettravel@gmail.com
Code: PV – SH 21 -07
Routes: Hanoi – Sapa – Halong – Ninh Binh – Hue – Danang – Hoi An – Nha Trang – Saigon – Cu Chi – Mekong
Duration: 21 days
Itinerary in Brief
Day 1: Good morning Hanoi
Day 2: Hanoi, city tour of the 1000 year old capital
Day 3: Hanoi – Tam Coc – Hoa Lu – Sapa, night train
Day 4: Sapa – Ta Phin, trekking and homestay (4 hours)
Day 5: More trekking and back to Sapa
Day 6: Sapa – Tam Duong by Jeep
Day 7: Tam Duong – Sapa – Hanoi, via night train
Day 8: Hanoi – Halong Bay
Day 9: Halong Bay – HanoiDay
10: Your free day in HanoiDay
11: Hue, city tour Day
12: Hue, boat trip – HoianDay
13: Hoian, walking tour in the ancient town
Day 14: Hoian – Nha Trang
Day 15: Nha Trang, island boat trip
Day 16: Nha Trang – Saigon, city tour
Day 17: Tay Ninh and the Cu Chi tunnels
Day 18: Saigon to the fertile Mekong Delta (Cai Be – Can Tho)
Day 19: Can Tho – Saigon
Day 20: Free day in Saigon
Day 21: Departure Saigon, Goodbye Vietnam
Itinerary in Detail
Day 1: Good morning Hanoi
Welcome to Hanoi, we will meet and take you to your hotel, check in your hotel then today is free at your leisure, to rest or explore around at your own pace. Overnight in Hanoi.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel
Day 2: Hanoi, city tour of the 1000 year old capital
Depart at 8:00 am, after checking out, from your hotel by car. We will begin our day by visiting Uncle Ho, learning about his great life at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Presidential Palace, and his residential place. Next stop is the nearby Temple of Literature.
The site of Vietnam\’s first University, built in twelfth century, to teach the royals the Confucius theory. Here we will also have a chance to see a traditional music performance. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant for a taste of authentic Hanoi Pho. In the afternoon, choose one from the numerous museums or temples around Hanoi (Museum of Ethnology, Women\’s Museum, History Museum or Quan Thanh Temple). A late afternoon walk around Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi\’s fascinating Old Quarter for some great fun, shopping, and street side traditional food. This is your chance to be part of typical Hanoian style and its traditional Vietnamese culture. We finish our relaxing but informative day by attending a Water Puppet Show, a favorite experience for all visitors to Vietnam.We can help you get back to your hotel if you wish, but often our guests would just rather spend the early evening enjoying a drink with a view of the city. Dinner on your own.
Included: Retire to your hotel for the night. All meals, Car / bus, Entrance fee(s)
Day 3: Hanoi – Tam Coc – Hoa Lu – Sapa, night train
Pick-up from your hotel is at 8:00 am, we have a 2 hour drive (110km South) to the city of Ninh Binh, also known as the Inland Halong and the Ancient Capital. It will be an exciting day highlighted, by a 2 hour boat ride in a hand- woven bamboo row boat down the Tam Coc streams enjoying spectacular scenery surrounded by rice paddies and towering limestone mountain peaks. After lunch served at a local riverside restaurant we make a short transfer (4 km) down a peaceful country road to Hoa Lu, Vietnam’s ancient capital eleven centuries ago. Here, there are two temples dedicated to King Dinh and King Le, the founders of the ancient capital during the 10th century. Return to Hanoi around 5:00 pm.8:30 pm: Transfer from an prearranged meeting spot to the station for your night train to Sapa.
Included: All meals Car / bus Entrance fee(s), Tour Guide, Hotel, AC train tickets
Day.4: Sapa – Ta Phin, trekking and homestay (4 hours)
The train arrives in Lao Cai at about 6:30 am where your PanViet guide will welcome you. Look for the “PanViet Travel” sign when you exit the train station. Then take a morning drive through the clouds by car / bus to Sapa (about 1.5 hours).
When you arrive in Sapa you will be taken to a local restaurant for a morning shower & breakfast. Then we will take a short ride from Sapa to our trekking base where we start our trek through terraced rice fields and Hmong villages. Chances to meet and talk with locals working in the fields are plentiful. We will break for a picnic lunch en route then continue trekking to Ta Phin village of the Dao people (4 hours). Your Dao host family will warmly welcome you to their traditional home where we will share in an ethnic style dinner and stay the night.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, All meals, Entrance fee(s), Home-stay
Day 5: More trekking and back to Sapa
At the first of gleam of daylight, you will see and hear the sounds of morning village life. You can join them in some of their activities, like feeding the animals, cleaning the houses, gardening or preparing breakfast. After breakfast, we will complete our trek on valley route to the main road (4 hours) linking Lao Cai and Sapa. Alternatively, for this long trek, you can choose a short morning wander around the village for about 1 hour, resulting in more time spent with the host family and other villagers. For both options, you will be supported by our car / bus back to Sapa (30 minutes).
When we arrive back in Sapa we will check in to the hotel, shower, and have lunch. At 2:30 pm we will visit the gardens of beautiful Ham Rong mountain & take part in a traditional ethnic music performance put on by the ethnic minority people. Then return at your own leisure with free time to discover the secrets of this colorful town. Overnight at the hotel in Sapa town.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, All meals
Day 6: Sapa – Tam Duong by Jeep
Morning preparations, breakfast, check-out, then it is time to take a wonderful journey by jeep. We will go up and over Tram Ton pass and then descend, zig-zagging to the valley below. The views on this trip are absolutely incredible! Our destination is Tam Duong, but before we get there we will visit Binh Lu and see hilltribe people carrying with them their hand crafted products or leading animals on the way to market. You will be free to wonder around but please be respectful of the people here as they are reluctant to have their picture taken without permission. This area has not seen many tourists. We will have lunch here, then continue through the untouched villages with frequent stops to visit and talk to the locals. Overnight in Tam Duong.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, All meals.
Day 7: Tam Duong – Sapa – Hanoi, via night train
Breakfast then back in the jeep for the uphill climb back to Sapa. Time for capture yesterday\’s missed photographs of this fabulous areas. If this day falls on Sunday then 2 beautiful markets can be visited on our way.
You will return to Sapa in late afternoon and finally depart for the Lao Cai train station at 5:30 pm. The train leaves Lao Cai at 8:50 pm and arrives after a pleasant sleep in your first class, shared AC soft berth to Hanoi by 4:30 am.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, all meals
Day 8: Hanoi – Halong Bay
When you arrive in Hanoi a very short walk will get you to a prearranged hotel for you to shower and a take a short rest before we start our next day. At 8:00 am we will pick you up, by private car/ bus, at the hotel and begin our journey to Halong city. After 3.5 hours driving and viewing simple, country side, rice paddy life, we arrive at the at port. Board your private boat, an authentic Chinese Junk, and start your amazing cruise through this World Heritage Site. Lunch is served onboard, a selection of the freshest seafood. We visit \”the amazing cave\”, followed by a swim in the tranquility of Halong Bay and its emerald water. We will cruise further into a quiet area where we will anchor and stay overnight. Dinner and relax as the sun sets. Then you are free to swim in the phosphorous water, retire to your cabin, or fall asleep under the stars amidst the magic of Halong on the top deck.Hotel for shower
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Private cabin on junk, All meals, Entrance fee(s)
Day 9: Halong Bay – Hanoi
Wake up early in the morning for a great sunrise and a breath of fresh ocean air. Breakfast served on boat then we do a leisurely cruise through thousands of seemingly never ending islands. These are great opportunities to capture some amazing photographs.
We stop to visit a floating fishing village and listen to some legendary stories of the fishermen\’s daily life. Take one last swim somewhere in the middle of the bay to refresh before cruising back to the Halong city pier. By noon we be ashore and break for lunch at a local restaurant. Then we hit the road back to Hanoi. We arrive and finish our tour at your hotel by 5:00 pm.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, alll meals
Day 10: Your free day in Hanoi
Today is your free day in the Hanoi capital and all of its fascinating historical charm. Spend your day relaxing or shopping. Some suggestions include waking up early (about 6:00 am) and joining in the some exercise around Hoan Kiem Lake; or taking a cyclo tour around the Old Quarter for a different point of view; or visiting the numerous markets, shopping, and trying all of the street side traditional foods.
Board your 11:00 pm night train, AC soft sleeper to Hue.
Included: AC soft tickets, Breafast
Day 11: Hue, city tour
Arrival in Hue at 10:00 am then transfer to your Hotel. After morning preparations we will go on a relaxing cyclo or bicycle tour. We will also visit the Forbidden Purple City and Dong Ba market. Overnight in Hue.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12: Hue, boat trip – Hoian
Getting started at 9:30 am from your hotel, we walk and transfer to the boat dock for cruising on the Perfume River viewing the city and the tranquil villages on the riverbank. Walk up to visit the Thien Mu Pagoda, overlooking the Perfume River and the beautiful scenery beyond. Take some time here to learn about the influences of Buddhism in Vietnam.
Leave Hue in the evening by a car/ bus for Hoian. From here it will take us about 4 hours to get to Hoian. There is fabulous sightseeing en route and we may make stops at: Lang Co beach, Hai Van pass, Cham Museum, and the Marble mountains. Then onto Hoian, overnight here.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Boat cruise, Entrance fee(s), All meals
Day 13: Hoian, walking tour in the ancient town
The center of Vietnam is home to many of World Heritage Sites and Hoian is one of them. Here in this ancient town of Hoian, 30 km south of Danang, lies on the banks of the Thu Bon River.
Occupied by early western traders in the 16th century, Hoian has a distinct Chinese atmosphere with low, tile-roofed houses and narrow streets. The original structure of some of these streets still remain almost fully intact. All the houses were made of rare wood, decorated with colorful lacquered details and panels engraved with Chinese characters. Always a favorite place!
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), All meals
Day 14: Hoian – Nha Trang
Breakfast at the hotel then transfer to the airport in Da Nang for noon-flight to Nha Trang. A taxi takes you to your hotel, it is free to chill out on the beautiful white sand beach.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Car / bus, flight, Entrance fee(s)
Day 15: Nha Trang, island boat trip
Morning pick up from hotel and transfer to the boat station (45 minutes). Hop on the boat and begin a day on the water. The first stop will be at Mum Island. This is one of the best places for snorkeling in Nha Trang. Hold your breath for as long as you can and dive deep into this colorful world of fish and coral. Next stop, Tam Island, for sun bathing and relaxing on the off shore beach. Lunch will be served at a nearby fishing village with a selection of fresh seafood. After the lunch we will visit Tri Nguyen Aquarium then take the boat back to Nha Trang city. Free time in the evening and overnight at your hotel.
Note: We may need to fly to Saigon this afternoon (4:45 pm) if our next morning flight is not available.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Boat, Entrance fee(s), Breafast, lunch
Day 16: Nha Trang – Saigon, city tour
We take an early flight this morning at 7:45 am, arriving to Saigon at 8:40 am, transfer down town and check-in at our hotel before our city tour of this bustling Saigon started. Visit the Binh Tay Market in Cho Lon; stopover at Thien Hau, a 150 year old Chinese Temple; then to a Lacquer wares workshop and the Jade Emperor pagoda. In the afternoon visit the War Remnants Museum, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the historic Central Post Office, we’ll drop you off at your hotel around 5:30 pm.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Flight, Entrance fee(s), All meals
Day 17: Tay Ninh and the Cu Chi tunnels
Departing Saigon at 8:30 am from your hotel for a morning excursion to Tay Ninh to the Great Cao Dai Temple (a place to worship a mixture of Buddhism, Confucius, Taoism, Hinduism and Christianity). We see the noon mass at the temple (1 hour). Lunch in Tay Ninh.
In the afternoon we visit the Cu Chi outdoor museum to learn about the infamous tunnel systems of the Viet Cong. Take this opportunity to get a unique understanding of the guerillas underground fight strategies during the war and crawl through 50 – 100 meters of the 200 km tunnel system. On the way back to Saigon, local rice paper workshops, and views of Vietnam country side and paddy fields are pleasant sights. We’ll drop you off at your hotel.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), All meals
Day 18: Saigon to the fertile Mekong Delta (Cai Be – Can Tho)
Depart Saigon at 8:00 am from your hotel. Head south to Cai Be. Upon arrival at 10:30 am, board a boat for a journey through the Mekong\’s floating market. See how river life goes on here, watch the trading between merchant ships and local farmers. Alive and exciting. Cruise through the secluded canals and cross the Mighty Mekong to an island where we will stop to enjoy fresh seasonal fruit before boating to Vinh Long. Back on the bus for our trip to Can Tho to overnight.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), Boat, All meals
Day 19: Can Tho – Saigon
An early start for a boat trip to Cai Rang floating market, then we have some distance to cover. First a cruise, then a walk on a quiet country road taking in the magnificent scenery and getting a little bit closer to the locals as they go about their daily routine. We take a trip by \”xe loi\” which is a local colonial-era cab pulled by motorbike and tour the country side. In the afternoon we head back to Saigon. At your same Saigon hotel by 6:00 pm.
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide, Hotel, Entrance fee(s), Boat, All meals
Day 20: Free day in Saigon
Breakfast at the hotel then a day at your leisure in Saigon. Today is a great day for you to relax, shop, take a cyclo tour, and finish any last preparations before you take your flight home the next day.BreakfastHotelDay 21: Departure Saigon, Goodbye Vietnam
Breakfast at hotel. Depending on your flight you may have sometime for some more shopping. Then we will transfer you to the airport for your flight home. Goodbye and hope to see you again soon!
Included: Transfer, Tour Guide
Prices ($US)
Your price when;
Standard
Superior
Deluxe
you are 2 persons:
1773 / person
2023 / person
2374 / person
you are 4 persons:
1478 / person
1737 / person
2088 / person
Included: All as mentioned above.
Budget for 1 star hotel, Standard is 2-3 stars, Superior is from 3-4 stars, Deluxe is at 4-5 stars hotels.
Excluded: Travel insurance, drinks, items of a personal nature, tips and gratitude, others not mentioned in the inclusion box.
What to Bring: Passport with a valid visa, sun hat, sunglasses, sun cream, insect repellent, good shoes for some hiking, camera with lots of films.
By: PanViet Travel Vietnam
