Trip Report: Journey to Vietnam & Laos
Feb 27th, 2009, 12:32 PM
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Trip Report: Journey to Vietnam & Laos
I spent an incredible amount of time during the research phase of this trip reading all the great Fodors posts about Vietnam and Laos and being so grateful to all of you. So first I want to say thank you, and second I want to pay it forward and write my own trip report. I’m not great at self-editing so this will likely be long, but hopefully helpful.
Our trip dates were February 8 to February 22, 2009. I’ll start with a summary and then add more details:
Day 1: Depart Chicago on non-stop American Airlines flight to Tokyo
Day 2: Arrive Tokyo, connect to Japan Airlines flight to Hanoi, arrive Hanoi 10:25pm (Sofitel Metropole)
Day 3: Full day Hanoi city tour
Day 4: AM trip to 2 craft villages. 3:30pm Water Puppet show, late PM free for shopping in Hanoi.
Day 5: Nonstop Vietnam Airlines flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang, arriving 10:10am. PM city tour. (Les 3 Nagas)
Day 6: AM Mekong River cruise to Pak Ou Caves. PM trip to Kouang Si Waterfall and Ban Xang Khong craft village.
Day 7: AM free to shop and relax in Luang Prabang. PM Vietnam Airlines flight back to Hanoi, then connect to Hue, arriving 7:55pm. (La Residence)
Day 8: Full day Hue city tour
Day 9: AM drive from Hue to Hoi An via Cloudy Pass, stopping at Cham Museum and Marble Mountain. PM walking tour of Hoi An. (Life Heritage Resort)
Day 10: AM trip to My Son temples. PM free for shopping in Hoi An.
Day 11: AM free in Hoi An. PM Vietnam Airlines flight from Danang to HCMC, arriving 2:50pm. (Park Hyatt)
Day 12: AM city tour of HCMC. PM free for shopping and relaxing.
Day 13: Full day trip to Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Cathedral. Return to HCMC and rest prior to 11:55pm flight to Tokyo.
Day 14 and 15: Spent a day and a half in Tokyo (I’ve posted a separate trip report for this)
Our trip dates were February 8 to February 22, 2009. I’ll start with a summary and then add more details:
Day 1: Depart Chicago on non-stop American Airlines flight to Tokyo
Day 2: Arrive Tokyo, connect to Japan Airlines flight to Hanoi, arrive Hanoi 10:25pm (Sofitel Metropole)
Day 3: Full day Hanoi city tour
Day 4: AM trip to 2 craft villages. 3:30pm Water Puppet show, late PM free for shopping in Hanoi.
Day 5: Nonstop Vietnam Airlines flight from Hanoi to Luang Prabang, arriving 10:10am. PM city tour. (Les 3 Nagas)
Day 6: AM Mekong River cruise to Pak Ou Caves. PM trip to Kouang Si Waterfall and Ban Xang Khong craft village.
Day 7: AM free to shop and relax in Luang Prabang. PM Vietnam Airlines flight back to Hanoi, then connect to Hue, arriving 7:55pm. (La Residence)
Day 8: Full day Hue city tour
Day 9: AM drive from Hue to Hoi An via Cloudy Pass, stopping at Cham Museum and Marble Mountain. PM walking tour of Hoi An. (Life Heritage Resort)
Day 10: AM trip to My Son temples. PM free for shopping in Hoi An.
Day 11: AM free in Hoi An. PM Vietnam Airlines flight from Danang to HCMC, arriving 2:50pm. (Park Hyatt)
Day 12: AM city tour of HCMC. PM free for shopping and relaxing.
Day 13: Full day trip to Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Cathedral. Return to HCMC and rest prior to 11:55pm flight to Tokyo.
Day 14 and 15: Spent a day and a half in Tokyo (I’ve posted a separate trip report for this)
Feb 27th, 2009, 12:34 PM
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PLANNING DETAILS
We went to Asia for the first time in 2004, to Thailand and Cambodia, and fell in love. I’ve been dreaming about returning to Asia ever since, and have been researching this trip for over 2 years. We first tried to plan it for 2007, but failed because the flights I wanted were just too expensive. Finally this year my husband and I had saved almost enough American Airlines miles to get the flights I wanted AND seats in business class. We didn’t quite have enough miles to cover, but by purchasing/gifting a few thousand extra miles (cost around $900) we managed to get 2 business class seats (important to us since we’re both quite tall.) $900 seemed like a total coup because if not using miles, the same route, sitting in economy class, priced out at almost $2,500 per person. (And other routes I did not want were in the $1,700 to $2,000 range.) Yay! We were on our way to Vietnam!
From all the research I already knew which cities and sites I wanted to see, and which hotels I wanted to stay in. We typically are independent travelers, so didn’t want to go as part of a group tour, but felt a bit out of our comfort zone going it alone. I love doing research prior to a trip, but once I get where I’m going I don’t want to have to think about details, I want everything already figured out. Therefore, I felt like the best way to achieve this was to have someone make all our arrangements: book internal flights, make hotel reservations, arrange airport pickups, provide private guides and drivers in each city, and trouble-shoot when problems arose. Obviously doing it this way is more expensive, and I know many of you have successfully taken independent trips, but to us it was worth it.
I selected Buffalo Tours http://www.buffalotours.com/ to arrange our trip primarily because they received a Conde Nast Traveler World Saver Award in 2007 for promoting responsible travel and donating a percentage of their profits to humanitarian causes. I also liked that they are headquartered in Hanoi and most of their staff is Vietnamese, so I felt good that the profits were likely staying in the country.
I emailed Buffalo Tours in June 2008 with the itinerary I wanted and was assigned Huong as my agent. We emailed back and forth for a couple of weeks, ironing out itinerary details and firming up pricing. She was wonderful at answering all my questions promptly and with excellent written English. Everything was planned via email, no phone calls.
The one thing I did not want Buffalo Tours to do was include meals. I suspected they would pick touristy, overly-Westernized restaurants featuring flavorless food, and as foodies we like to be a bit more adventurous. (Plus I love researching restaurants.) The exception to this rule was that breakfast at the hotels was included each day, and there were 4 days where lunch was included due to the way the tours were arranged those days. I will warn you now: once you read about where we ended up eating many nights you will NOT think we are very adventurous or foodie-ish (i.e. more cheeseburger and fries meals than I care to admit.)
So basically we prepaid for hotels, flights within Vietnam and Laos, airport transfers and tours. Most days we had a private guide and driver for all or part of the day. Not included were tips for drivers/guides/bellmen, food at restaurants, taxis to restaurants (if not in walking distance), visa fees. We paid a 20% deposit in June to confirm the trip. The balance was due 60 days prior to the start of the trip. After final payment I was emailed a voucher confirming the itinerary and our Vietnam Airlines e-tickets. I must admit I was a bit nervous that there would be problems, like the flights or hotels I wanted weren’t available, but everything was exactly as expected. I would definitely recommend Buffalo Tours to everyone.
Buffalo Tours also arranged our multiple entry visa letter for Vietnam at no charge. (Multiple entry was needed since we arrived in the country twice; once at the start of our trip and once after returning from Laos.) Huong emailed the visa letter to me in January as an attachment, and I just had to print it out and present it at the visa desk upon arriving in Hanoi. We still were required to pay a “stamp fee” at the airport. The stamp fee for a single entry is $25 per person. Our fee for multiple entries was $50 per person. We were told to have 4 passport size photos ready but they only wanted one at the Hanoi visa desk. As for Laos, it’s very simple to get the visa upon arrival at the airport. The cost is $35 per person, they wanted 1 photo, and you are happy if you have seats in the front of the plane so you can be at the front of a long line. US Dollars seemed to be required for paying for visas in both countries, but I’m not 100% sure, maybe they accept other currency.
To be continued…
We went to Asia for the first time in 2004, to Thailand and Cambodia, and fell in love. I’ve been dreaming about returning to Asia ever since, and have been researching this trip for over 2 years. We first tried to plan it for 2007, but failed because the flights I wanted were just too expensive. Finally this year my husband and I had saved almost enough American Airlines miles to get the flights I wanted AND seats in business class. We didn’t quite have enough miles to cover, but by purchasing/gifting a few thousand extra miles (cost around $900) we managed to get 2 business class seats (important to us since we’re both quite tall.) $900 seemed like a total coup because if not using miles, the same route, sitting in economy class, priced out at almost $2,500 per person. (And other routes I did not want were in the $1,700 to $2,000 range.) Yay! We were on our way to Vietnam!
From all the research I already knew which cities and sites I wanted to see, and which hotels I wanted to stay in. We typically are independent travelers, so didn’t want to go as part of a group tour, but felt a bit out of our comfort zone going it alone. I love doing research prior to a trip, but once I get where I’m going I don’t want to have to think about details, I want everything already figured out. Therefore, I felt like the best way to achieve this was to have someone make all our arrangements: book internal flights, make hotel reservations, arrange airport pickups, provide private guides and drivers in each city, and trouble-shoot when problems arose. Obviously doing it this way is more expensive, and I know many of you have successfully taken independent trips, but to us it was worth it.
I selected Buffalo Tours http://www.buffalotours.com/ to arrange our trip primarily because they received a Conde Nast Traveler World Saver Award in 2007 for promoting responsible travel and donating a percentage of their profits to humanitarian causes. I also liked that they are headquartered in Hanoi and most of their staff is Vietnamese, so I felt good that the profits were likely staying in the country.
I emailed Buffalo Tours in June 2008 with the itinerary I wanted and was assigned Huong as my agent. We emailed back and forth for a couple of weeks, ironing out itinerary details and firming up pricing. She was wonderful at answering all my questions promptly and with excellent written English. Everything was planned via email, no phone calls.
The one thing I did not want Buffalo Tours to do was include meals. I suspected they would pick touristy, overly-Westernized restaurants featuring flavorless food, and as foodies we like to be a bit more adventurous. (Plus I love researching restaurants.) The exception to this rule was that breakfast at the hotels was included each day, and there were 4 days where lunch was included due to the way the tours were arranged those days. I will warn you now: once you read about where we ended up eating many nights you will NOT think we are very adventurous or foodie-ish (i.e. more cheeseburger and fries meals than I care to admit.)
So basically we prepaid for hotels, flights within Vietnam and Laos, airport transfers and tours. Most days we had a private guide and driver for all or part of the day. Not included were tips for drivers/guides/bellmen, food at restaurants, taxis to restaurants (if not in walking distance), visa fees. We paid a 20% deposit in June to confirm the trip. The balance was due 60 days prior to the start of the trip. After final payment I was emailed a voucher confirming the itinerary and our Vietnam Airlines e-tickets. I must admit I was a bit nervous that there would be problems, like the flights or hotels I wanted weren’t available, but everything was exactly as expected. I would definitely recommend Buffalo Tours to everyone.
Buffalo Tours also arranged our multiple entry visa letter for Vietnam at no charge. (Multiple entry was needed since we arrived in the country twice; once at the start of our trip and once after returning from Laos.) Huong emailed the visa letter to me in January as an attachment, and I just had to print it out and present it at the visa desk upon arriving in Hanoi. We still were required to pay a “stamp fee” at the airport. The stamp fee for a single entry is $25 per person. Our fee for multiple entries was $50 per person. We were told to have 4 passport size photos ready but they only wanted one at the Hanoi visa desk. As for Laos, it’s very simple to get the visa upon arrival at the airport. The cost is $35 per person, they wanted 1 photo, and you are happy if you have seats in the front of the plane so you can be at the front of a long line. US Dollars seemed to be required for paying for visas in both countries, but I’m not 100% sure, maybe they accept other currency.
To be continued…
Feb 27th, 2009, 12:55 PM
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We leave for Vietnam in about 5-1/2 weeks. I am particularly interested in hearing more about Hanoi and also reliving our time in LP through your report. One question which I posted recently that you might not have seen - is the duty free shop accessible on arrival at the Hanoi Noi Bai Airport? I saw your post on currency which does a great job answering some questions that I had posted in another recent thread.
How was the Sofitel Metropole? In which section of the hotel did you stay? How were the breakfasts?
Do let us know what restaurants you enjoyed in Hanoi.
Keep it coming.
How was the Sofitel Metropole? In which section of the hotel did you stay? How were the breakfasts?
Do let us know what restaurants you enjoyed in Hanoi.
Keep it coming.
Feb 27th, 2009, 01:18 PM
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Hi Craig,
I seem to recall the arrival area in Hanoi as pretty bare bones. I don't think there were duty free shops, but we weren't looking for them so maybe they were there. The departure areas for both international and domestic were very nice with tons of shopping.
Loved the Sofitel Metropole, we had a Classic room in the Historic Wing. The room was smaller than I thought it would be, but beautifully and functionally designed. Their breakfast buffet was the best of all the places we stayed. We loved Hanoi, and had quite a few great meals. Hanoi will be coming next in my report, so I'll save the details til then.
I seem to recall the arrival area in Hanoi as pretty bare bones. I don't think there were duty free shops, but we weren't looking for them so maybe they were there. The departure areas for both international and domestic were very nice with tons of shopping.
Loved the Sofitel Metropole, we had a Classic room in the Historic Wing. The room was smaller than I thought it would be, but beautifully and functionally designed. Their breakfast buffet was the best of all the places we stayed. We loved Hanoi, and had quite a few great meals. Hanoi will be coming next in my report, so I'll save the details til then.
Feb 27th, 2009, 03:57 PM
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HANOI
I’ll skip the details about the international flights. We were fortunate to be in business class and have access to the lounges, so not much to complain about. Except despite the relative comfort I still couldn’t manage to sleep.
Our flight arrived in Hanoi at 10:25pm and it was probably after midnight by the time we arrived at the Sofitel Metropole. We were picked up at the airport by our guide Cuong and a driver; they would be with us during our entire stay in Hanoi.
We really liked the Metropole. Has the old colonial elegance you’d expect, but clearly has been updated recently. We had room 230, a Classic room in the Historic Wing. It was smaller than I expected; I think maybe the website photos show rooms in the new wing? But anyway, the room was beautifully designed and quite functional given the size. The next morning we explored the hotel; the restaurants, bars, pool all looked fabulous. Would have loved to have time to lounge by that pool. The breakfast buffet was huge and delicious and offered anything anyone could have wanted. Wanting to start the trip off in a good food direction, I had the pho. Yum.
We had a full day city tour scheduled and Cuong + Driver picked us up at 9:30am with a nice Toyota sedan of some kind. The weather was perfect, around 80 degrees, sunny, breezy. As we headed for the Ho Chi Minh complex we were instantly fascinated by the traffic. Tightly packed swarms of motorcycles, scooters, bikes, buses, cars that never seemed to end. No traffic lights to be found. Absolutely no order or rules. Moving through intersections with vehicles coming from all directions made me giggle with fear/delight. But yet despite the chaos everyone seemed to be super calm and you never saw drivers getting mad at each other. For the next 2 weeks we never got over our amazement at the reflexes and nerves of steel required to drive in this country. How is that taught, I wonder? Maybe it’s genetic. In addition to being delighted by the traffic we also loved how all the streets were lined with big leafy trees. Add in the lakes and the whole city seemed like a park.
I didn’t think seeing Ho Chi Minh in his mausoleum would be a high point, but I was quite surprised to feel moved and emotional when viewing his body. At that point the affection for Uncle Ho started, and after learning about him for 2 weeks we really kind of liked and admired him. We both were little kids during the war, so I guess history class must have taught us he was a bad guy. Perhaps our history class skewed him too far toward bad and perhaps what our guides told us glossed over the bad and emphasized the good. It’s possible that it’s not possible to know the truth. I’ll try not to get too political in this report, but hubby and I found ourselves having interesting conversations about US foreign relations almost every night at dinner. If it’s not straying too far from the purpose of this site, I’m curious to hear opinions about Ho Chi Minh from you Fodorites that were adults during the 60s/70s. How does what you know from living through that time sync with what you’re told by guides. (If it’s straying too far please forgive me and forget I asked.)
Moving on. In addition to enjoying the mausoleum, the other parts of the HCM complex -- surrounding gardens, park, HCM houses and One Pillar Pagoda were also very beautiful and definitely worth a visit.
Hanoi to be continued, hopefully tomorrow...including restaurant notes.
I’ll skip the details about the international flights. We were fortunate to be in business class and have access to the lounges, so not much to complain about. Except despite the relative comfort I still couldn’t manage to sleep.
Our flight arrived in Hanoi at 10:25pm and it was probably after midnight by the time we arrived at the Sofitel Metropole. We were picked up at the airport by our guide Cuong and a driver; they would be with us during our entire stay in Hanoi.
We really liked the Metropole. Has the old colonial elegance you’d expect, but clearly has been updated recently. We had room 230, a Classic room in the Historic Wing. It was smaller than I expected; I think maybe the website photos show rooms in the new wing? But anyway, the room was beautifully designed and quite functional given the size. The next morning we explored the hotel; the restaurants, bars, pool all looked fabulous. Would have loved to have time to lounge by that pool. The breakfast buffet was huge and delicious and offered anything anyone could have wanted. Wanting to start the trip off in a good food direction, I had the pho. Yum.
We had a full day city tour scheduled and Cuong + Driver picked us up at 9:30am with a nice Toyota sedan of some kind. The weather was perfect, around 80 degrees, sunny, breezy. As we headed for the Ho Chi Minh complex we were instantly fascinated by the traffic. Tightly packed swarms of motorcycles, scooters, bikes, buses, cars that never seemed to end. No traffic lights to be found. Absolutely no order or rules. Moving through intersections with vehicles coming from all directions made me giggle with fear/delight. But yet despite the chaos everyone seemed to be super calm and you never saw drivers getting mad at each other. For the next 2 weeks we never got over our amazement at the reflexes and nerves of steel required to drive in this country. How is that taught, I wonder? Maybe it’s genetic. In addition to being delighted by the traffic we also loved how all the streets were lined with big leafy trees. Add in the lakes and the whole city seemed like a park.
I didn’t think seeing Ho Chi Minh in his mausoleum would be a high point, but I was quite surprised to feel moved and emotional when viewing his body. At that point the affection for Uncle Ho started, and after learning about him for 2 weeks we really kind of liked and admired him. We both were little kids during the war, so I guess history class must have taught us he was a bad guy. Perhaps our history class skewed him too far toward bad and perhaps what our guides told us glossed over the bad and emphasized the good. It’s possible that it’s not possible to know the truth. I’ll try not to get too political in this report, but hubby and I found ourselves having interesting conversations about US foreign relations almost every night at dinner. If it’s not straying too far from the purpose of this site, I’m curious to hear opinions about Ho Chi Minh from you Fodorites that were adults during the 60s/70s. How does what you know from living through that time sync with what you’re told by guides. (If it’s straying too far please forgive me and forget I asked.)
Moving on. In addition to enjoying the mausoleum, the other parts of the HCM complex -- surrounding gardens, park, HCM houses and One Pillar Pagoda were also very beautiful and definitely worth a visit.
Hanoi to be continued, hopefully tomorrow...including restaurant notes.
Feb 27th, 2009, 04:23 PM
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Your account of a growing fascination-unto-fondness with Bac Ho certainly resonates for me. Yes, travel in Vietnam does stimulate your curiosity about the real, charismatic leader, so different from the two dimensional character we read about in History class in the West.
After coming home, I did pick up William Duiker's big brick of a book -- HO CHI MINH: A LIFE -- but still haven't read it. I wonder if anyone else here has...I wonder if it is as good as some of the reviews promise.
Looking forward to more Hanoi thanks to your report.
After coming home, I did pick up William Duiker's big brick of a book -- HO CHI MINH: A LIFE -- but still haven't read it. I wonder if anyone else here has...I wonder if it is as good as some of the reviews promise.
Looking forward to more Hanoi thanks to your report.
Feb 28th, 2009, 12:22 PM
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MORE HANOI
Next stop was the Temple of Literature, AKA Van Mieu Pagoda. Interesting and pretty. After the Temple of Literature it was lunchtime and we needed to go to an ATM, requiring us to cross a street. Cuong expertly taught us the correct way to do this. Passing through the swarm of traffic was terrifying the first time, but we had a great teacher so later when we started doing it on our own we were pretty excited. Slow and steady is the key; make eye contact with drivers and keep moving at a steady pace, don’t panic and freeze or run back to the curb, and the swarm will flow gracefully around you.
Today lunch was on our own, and I was ready with my list of restaurants. I had done hours of websurfing and research on restaurants for this trip. I asked Cuong about Quan An Ngon (many people posting in this forum have enjoyed) and his comment was he thought we wouldn’t like it because you have to sit outside and it’s hot. This made me want to go there even more, but I decided not to press it with him and go for dinner. He recommended we go to Le Tonkin (14 Ngo Van So). I hadn’t come across this place in my research, and I admit I was suspicious it would be one of those bland, flavorless places. But it turned out to be very nice. A shady peaceful garden and nice menu. We ordered Hanoi Beer (very good!) and 4 different dishes. My notes say we really liked the stir fried fish in tamarind sauce.
Next on my list of places to see was the Museum of Ethnology. I picked it based on the glowing description in the Fodors guide book and perhaps from other posts. Cuong suggested maybe we would rather go the Military History Museum. My husband liked this idea, and since he rarely expresses an opinion about itinerary I was happy to concede to him. But I must say I was disappointed. Mostly lots of old photos, most without English translations, hammering home the point that the French and Americans spent an awful lot of time trying to dominate Vietnam. It became pretty depressing after what seemed like the 20th room of the same photos. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and hubby didn’t like it either.
Next was our visit to Ngoc Son Temple, the little island in Hoan Kiem Lake. For some reason I had a preconceived notion about the lake that it would not be pretty. I was pleased to be wrong. The lake is pretty as are the parks surrounding it. As are all the shopping streets around it. We loved the story of the golden turtle taking back the charmed sword from the Emperor.
Up next was our cyclo tour of the old quarter. On one hand, you start to feel silly when you realize you could easily be walking instead. On the other hand there is a lot of ground to cover and you can probably see more in a shorter time on the cyclo. In the end I enjoyed it mostly because of my ongoing delight with the swarm of traffic and the opportunity to take tons of photos of motorcycles coming straight at me. It was kind of funny seeing a row of 12 cyclos with other tourists coming toward me; it reminded me of the movie Wall-E when all the people in the future float around in Lazy Boy chairs. We insisted to Cuong we could walk back the hotel from the old quarter, rather than having the cyclos drop us at the hotel. (He looked at us like we were crazy; it’s really not that far.) I’m glad we walked because one of our best memories happened. We were walking along Ly Thai To and noticed a ton of motorcycles waiting at a curb. We realized it was a school and all the kids were about to leave for the day. The kids (all under 8 years old) marched out in rows, did a little cheer, and ran to their parent’s cycles. So cute and much different than the line-up of SUVs at American schools! It was pretty cool to see Mom, Dad and 3 kids all piled on one cycle.
For our first night dinner we picked Club Opera since we were kind of tired and it was located right behind the hotel. (Quan An Ngon would be the next night.) The interior is small and very elegant and we really enjoyed our meal there. Favorite dish was fried duck in satay sauce. Also loved the orangy crepe Suzette desert. The bill came to $106 USD, but $40 of that was a bottle of wine. Afterward we were feeling a bit more energetic and decided to get a drink at the hotel. There is an Italian restaurant/wine bar on the corner of the new wing side of the Metropole, on Ly Thai To. I thought it was part of the hotel but now I don’t see it on the website, and I don’t recall the name. Anyway, they had a great list of wine and beer and the interior was dark, sexy and modern. Interesting mix of well-dressed locals and less-well-dressed tourists.
I’m going to have to figure out how to be less wordy. This is getting to be too long and I’m only on day one. Day trip to craft villages coming next.
Next stop was the Temple of Literature, AKA Van Mieu Pagoda. Interesting and pretty. After the Temple of Literature it was lunchtime and we needed to go to an ATM, requiring us to cross a street. Cuong expertly taught us the correct way to do this. Passing through the swarm of traffic was terrifying the first time, but we had a great teacher so later when we started doing it on our own we were pretty excited. Slow and steady is the key; make eye contact with drivers and keep moving at a steady pace, don’t panic and freeze or run back to the curb, and the swarm will flow gracefully around you.
Today lunch was on our own, and I was ready with my list of restaurants. I had done hours of websurfing and research on restaurants for this trip. I asked Cuong about Quan An Ngon (many people posting in this forum have enjoyed) and his comment was he thought we wouldn’t like it because you have to sit outside and it’s hot. This made me want to go there even more, but I decided not to press it with him and go for dinner. He recommended we go to Le Tonkin (14 Ngo Van So). I hadn’t come across this place in my research, and I admit I was suspicious it would be one of those bland, flavorless places. But it turned out to be very nice. A shady peaceful garden and nice menu. We ordered Hanoi Beer (very good!) and 4 different dishes. My notes say we really liked the stir fried fish in tamarind sauce.
Next on my list of places to see was the Museum of Ethnology. I picked it based on the glowing description in the Fodors guide book and perhaps from other posts. Cuong suggested maybe we would rather go the Military History Museum. My husband liked this idea, and since he rarely expresses an opinion about itinerary I was happy to concede to him. But I must say I was disappointed. Mostly lots of old photos, most without English translations, hammering home the point that the French and Americans spent an awful lot of time trying to dominate Vietnam. It became pretty depressing after what seemed like the 20th room of the same photos. I couldn’t wait to get out of there and hubby didn’t like it either.
Next was our visit to Ngoc Son Temple, the little island in Hoan Kiem Lake. For some reason I had a preconceived notion about the lake that it would not be pretty. I was pleased to be wrong. The lake is pretty as are the parks surrounding it. As are all the shopping streets around it. We loved the story of the golden turtle taking back the charmed sword from the Emperor.
Up next was our cyclo tour of the old quarter. On one hand, you start to feel silly when you realize you could easily be walking instead. On the other hand there is a lot of ground to cover and you can probably see more in a shorter time on the cyclo. In the end I enjoyed it mostly because of my ongoing delight with the swarm of traffic and the opportunity to take tons of photos of motorcycles coming straight at me. It was kind of funny seeing a row of 12 cyclos with other tourists coming toward me; it reminded me of the movie Wall-E when all the people in the future float around in Lazy Boy chairs. We insisted to Cuong we could walk back the hotel from the old quarter, rather than having the cyclos drop us at the hotel. (He looked at us like we were crazy; it’s really not that far.) I’m glad we walked because one of our best memories happened. We were walking along Ly Thai To and noticed a ton of motorcycles waiting at a curb. We realized it was a school and all the kids were about to leave for the day. The kids (all under 8 years old) marched out in rows, did a little cheer, and ran to their parent’s cycles. So cute and much different than the line-up of SUVs at American schools! It was pretty cool to see Mom, Dad and 3 kids all piled on one cycle.
For our first night dinner we picked Club Opera since we were kind of tired and it was located right behind the hotel. (Quan An Ngon would be the next night.) The interior is small and very elegant and we really enjoyed our meal there. Favorite dish was fried duck in satay sauce. Also loved the orangy crepe Suzette desert. The bill came to $106 USD, but $40 of that was a bottle of wine. Afterward we were feeling a bit more energetic and decided to get a drink at the hotel. There is an Italian restaurant/wine bar on the corner of the new wing side of the Metropole, on Ly Thai To. I thought it was part of the hotel but now I don’t see it on the website, and I don’t recall the name. Anyway, they had a great list of wine and beer and the interior was dark, sexy and modern. Interesting mix of well-dressed locals and less-well-dressed tourists.
I’m going to have to figure out how to be less wordy. This is getting to be too long and I’m only on day one. Day trip to craft villages coming next.
Feb 28th, 2009, 01:54 PM
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Thanks for the encouragement Craig.
HANOI CRAFT VILLAGES, and back to the city...
The next morning we drove about an hour outside Hanoi to Duyen Thai, a village known for producing lacquer products. I imagined we’d be in the country, but the hour drive was mainly due to traffic and road conditions, and the village didn’t seem that far out of the city. But it was definitely a primitive village. Cuong walked us through many narrow streets and we’d stop occasionally in someone’s door where Cuong would ask if we could watch them work. The people seemed to be doing piece work to fill orders for a larger distributor. It was interesting to see the many phases of washing, painting and sanding that go into the pieces, and interesting to see people’s modest houses with their work area in the front and a room in back for living/eating/sleeping.
At the end of our wandering we came to a large complex that included a modern-looking factory and showroom. This was probably the company everyone was doing piece work for. I didn’t end up buying anything, but now regret it. (I was planning to shop in Hanoi that afternoon and figured I’d find something then, but didn’t.)
Next was a visit to Bat Trang, a village known for ceramics. This was not a primitive village like Duyen Thai, it was a commercialized street with rows of shops all selling what seemed to be the same thing. Cuong took us to one of the larger showrooms to an upper floor where people were working and painting some of the tea cups. Afterward we walked around to look at the shops but I did not like anything here. This village felt sort of fake and touristy to me; I guess I was hoping for something more “real.” Looking back now, I probably had the idea that Vietnam wouldn’t be as modern as it is and crafts would still be created in isolated villages the same way it was done for 100s of years. But really, mass manufacturing has taken hold there just like everywhere else in the world.
Our lunch this day was included and described as “picnic lunch.” I figured this was because we’d be in the middle of the countryside and didn’t really question what it meant. As it turned out we were done with the villages and headed back to the city. Cuong took us to a place called Indochine and we were given the set menu. Blah. We were in a plain looking room along with a bus tour group. The food was super bland; I probably should have asked if we could order a la carte.
We had time to kill before the Water Puppet Show so Cuong suggested Hoa Lo (AKA Hanoi Hilton.) I didn’t originally want to go there (didn’t like the description in the Fodors guide book), but the one thing my Dad asked me about our trip was “are you going to the Hanoi Hilton?!” (He’s a big McCain fan and read his autobiography.) So I decided it would be a good place to go so I could tell Dad about it. Other than 2 small rooms devoted to the Americans, it is mainly about how the French tortured Vietnamese patriots. The torture details started to get to me, or maybe I was crabby after the bad lunch. In the American rooms they showed photos of our soldiers playing basketball and decorating Christmas trees. Look how well they were treated! Sort of like summer camp! This rubbed me the wrong way. But anyway, I’m glad we went and it sparked more interesting dinner conversation for us.
The Water Puppet Show was pretty cute, although the sets and puppets are looking a little worn out. We had great seats in the front row, and liked seeing the reenactment of the Hoan Kiem Lake golden turtle story. Cuong + driver were apparently going to stick around to drive us to the hotel afterward (silly), but I wanted to go shopping and told them they were done for the day. After the show we went for a beer at the City View Café, recommended by Cuong. It’s on the top floor of a building on the northwest corner of the lake, an easy walk from the puppet show. There is an outdoor terrace with great views of the lake and city. You can sit and look down on a busy traffic circle, and being traffic geeks we really loved that. Nice breeze up there, great spot for a drink.
After our beer (Tiger Beer, good) we went shopping in the old quarter area along the west side of the lake. I really liked this area and was wishing we had another day in Hanoi just to wander around aimlessly. The Metropole concierge has a great shopping map and we went to quite a few of the stores, but didn’t end up finding anything. It was about 6:00pm by then and hubby suggested that we just walk to Quan An Ngon rather than going back to the hotel first. Great idea! We actually ended up walking back to the hotel after dinner too.
Quan An Ngon (18 Phan Boi Chau) was the one place we encountered on the entire trip where we ate alongside Vietnamese families, with probably a higher percentage of locals than tourists. I wish there were more places like this. The food was fantastic, inexpensive and we loved the shady food court picnic table atmosphere. We loved the beef salad (spicy as requested!) and the bahn xeo. A nice young server showed us the proper way to roll the bahn xeo in the rice paper wrapping. More Hanoi Beer. Great ending to this day.
The next morning we had a 6:30am pick-up for the airport. Time to go to Luang Prabang!
HANOI CRAFT VILLAGES, and back to the city...
The next morning we drove about an hour outside Hanoi to Duyen Thai, a village known for producing lacquer products. I imagined we’d be in the country, but the hour drive was mainly due to traffic and road conditions, and the village didn’t seem that far out of the city. But it was definitely a primitive village. Cuong walked us through many narrow streets and we’d stop occasionally in someone’s door where Cuong would ask if we could watch them work. The people seemed to be doing piece work to fill orders for a larger distributor. It was interesting to see the many phases of washing, painting and sanding that go into the pieces, and interesting to see people’s modest houses with their work area in the front and a room in back for living/eating/sleeping.
At the end of our wandering we came to a large complex that included a modern-looking factory and showroom. This was probably the company everyone was doing piece work for. I didn’t end up buying anything, but now regret it. (I was planning to shop in Hanoi that afternoon and figured I’d find something then, but didn’t.)
Next was a visit to Bat Trang, a village known for ceramics. This was not a primitive village like Duyen Thai, it was a commercialized street with rows of shops all selling what seemed to be the same thing. Cuong took us to one of the larger showrooms to an upper floor where people were working and painting some of the tea cups. Afterward we walked around to look at the shops but I did not like anything here. This village felt sort of fake and touristy to me; I guess I was hoping for something more “real.” Looking back now, I probably had the idea that Vietnam wouldn’t be as modern as it is and crafts would still be created in isolated villages the same way it was done for 100s of years. But really, mass manufacturing has taken hold there just like everywhere else in the world.
Our lunch this day was included and described as “picnic lunch.” I figured this was because we’d be in the middle of the countryside and didn’t really question what it meant. As it turned out we were done with the villages and headed back to the city. Cuong took us to a place called Indochine and we were given the set menu. Blah. We were in a plain looking room along with a bus tour group. The food was super bland; I probably should have asked if we could order a la carte.
We had time to kill before the Water Puppet Show so Cuong suggested Hoa Lo (AKA Hanoi Hilton.) I didn’t originally want to go there (didn’t like the description in the Fodors guide book), but the one thing my Dad asked me about our trip was “are you going to the Hanoi Hilton?!” (He’s a big McCain fan and read his autobiography.) So I decided it would be a good place to go so I could tell Dad about it. Other than 2 small rooms devoted to the Americans, it is mainly about how the French tortured Vietnamese patriots. The torture details started to get to me, or maybe I was crabby after the bad lunch. In the American rooms they showed photos of our soldiers playing basketball and decorating Christmas trees. Look how well they were treated! Sort of like summer camp! This rubbed me the wrong way. But anyway, I’m glad we went and it sparked more interesting dinner conversation for us.
The Water Puppet Show was pretty cute, although the sets and puppets are looking a little worn out. We had great seats in the front row, and liked seeing the reenactment of the Hoan Kiem Lake golden turtle story. Cuong + driver were apparently going to stick around to drive us to the hotel afterward (silly), but I wanted to go shopping and told them they were done for the day. After the show we went for a beer at the City View Café, recommended by Cuong. It’s on the top floor of a building on the northwest corner of the lake, an easy walk from the puppet show. There is an outdoor terrace with great views of the lake and city. You can sit and look down on a busy traffic circle, and being traffic geeks we really loved that. Nice breeze up there, great spot for a drink.
After our beer (Tiger Beer, good) we went shopping in the old quarter area along the west side of the lake. I really liked this area and was wishing we had another day in Hanoi just to wander around aimlessly. The Metropole concierge has a great shopping map and we went to quite a few of the stores, but didn’t end up finding anything. It was about 6:00pm by then and hubby suggested that we just walk to Quan An Ngon rather than going back to the hotel first. Great idea! We actually ended up walking back to the hotel after dinner too.
Quan An Ngon (18 Phan Boi Chau) was the one place we encountered on the entire trip where we ate alongside Vietnamese families, with probably a higher percentage of locals than tourists. I wish there were more places like this. The food was fantastic, inexpensive and we loved the shady food court picnic table atmosphere. We loved the beef salad (spicy as requested!) and the bahn xeo. A nice young server showed us the proper way to roll the bahn xeo in the rice paper wrapping. More Hanoi Beer. Great ending to this day.
The next morning we had a 6:30am pick-up for the airport. Time to go to Luang Prabang!
Feb 28th, 2009, 02:05 PM
#14
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Before we move to Luang Prabang I’m going on a tangent for a minute to rave about 2 travel-related products that I now love…
SHOES
Hey you gals that get sore feet after a day of walking! On this trip I fell in love with my new shoes. The brand is J-41 and the style is Aquarius. Great for any kind of walking in warm weather climates. Rugged soles great for rough terrain and stair/hill climbing, of which there was a lot on this trip. Made with eco-friendly partially recycled rubber and recycled packaging. Sleek-looking, not too chunky. Engineered by Jeep. I wore them with flesh colored footies just to avoid blisters and never had any problems. http://www.j-41.com/index.html or you can find them on Zappos.
KINDLE
I got a Kindle in November and this was the first big vacation I used it on. Typically I carry 3 or 4 paperbacks with me, which of course adds weight to luggage. Instead, I had 9 books loaded on my Kindle. I am now completely in love with this thing. It is so lightweight and much easier to hold than a paperback. A man lounging at the pool next to us in Hoi An noticed it and we started chatting. He had a Kindle on order (the new Kindle2’s shipped just this week, my husband got one) and told us he takes a backpack full of books on vacations, and as he reads pages he tears them out and throws them away. Sad, but understandable I guess.
SHOES
Hey you gals that get sore feet after a day of walking! On this trip I fell in love with my new shoes. The brand is J-41 and the style is Aquarius. Great for any kind of walking in warm weather climates. Rugged soles great for rough terrain and stair/hill climbing, of which there was a lot on this trip. Made with eco-friendly partially recycled rubber and recycled packaging. Sleek-looking, not too chunky. Engineered by Jeep. I wore them with flesh colored footies just to avoid blisters and never had any problems. http://www.j-41.com/index.html or you can find them on Zappos.
KINDLE
I got a Kindle in November and this was the first big vacation I used it on. Typically I carry 3 or 4 paperbacks with me, which of course adds weight to luggage. Instead, I had 9 books loaded on my Kindle. I am now completely in love with this thing. It is so lightweight and much easier to hold than a paperback. A man lounging at the pool next to us in Hoi An noticed it and we started chatting. He had a Kindle on order (the new Kindle2’s shipped just this week, my husband got one) and told us he takes a backpack full of books on vacations, and as he reads pages he tears them out and throws them away. Sad, but understandable I guess.
Mar 1st, 2009, 04:29 AM
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Good info here - I am taking the Military History Museum off my list as well as removing Indochine from my list of restaurant possibilities. I can see that Quan An Ngon is a must-do and I had not heard of the City View Cafe but well definitely check it out. Nice tips about the Metropole shopping map and how you mastered crossing the streets (my biggest fear in visiting Hanoi). We are doing some crafts villages but I think they will less commercialized than the ones you visited. Thanks for reporting - we can't wait to go.
Mar 1st, 2009, 07:01 AM
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I checked again on those crafts villages - we will be visiting Duyen Trong, nicknamed the "Thai" village, which is the same lacquerware village you visited. However we will also visit a village where they make conical hats and another where they make bird cages and paper fans. Even if they are a bit commercialized it should still be interesting.
Mar 1st, 2009, 10:20 AM
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I am sorry to read that you had a bad experience at Indochine. I am also struggling to understand "plain room," "bus tour," "blah" food, and "Indochine" in the same sentence. For Craig's sake, I have to wonder aloud if there is another Indochine restaurant in Hanoi. Was this one in a rather charming colonial on a hard-to-find side street in the Hoan Kiem district?
The Indochine we know is in the guide books and some of the food is westernized for tourists, but there are some charming small rooms and it can be very pleasant if you order off the menu. Perhaps it is the same place with a dreary set menu, but I didn't think that a bus tour would fit on the premises. Oh, well...
Your report is a treat to read. Again, thanks. And, for what it is worth, your instincts about the Ethnology Museum were on the mark.
The Indochine we know is in the guide books and some of the food is westernized for tourists, but there are some charming small rooms and it can be very pleasant if you order off the menu. Perhaps it is the same place with a dreary set menu, but I didn't think that a bus tour would fit on the premises. Oh, well...
Your report is a treat to read. Again, thanks. And, for what it is worth, your instincts about the Ethnology Museum were on the mark.
Mar 1st, 2009, 11:02 AM
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Thanks for your report. It sounds like you really enjoyed Hanoi (we did too). Too bad you didn't get to the Ethnology Museum - it was a highlight. Club L'Opera was one of our favorite restaurants in Hanoi - I'm glad you enjoyed it.
