Victorious Vietnam - Information/Reviews

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Vietnam Recommendations.

Hanoi

Rendezvous Hotel - $30+ a night Nice large rooms with great shower and very clean, happy helpful staff that are eager to help with your plans, great breakfast choices included in the price awesome aussie couple run the place as part owners...we wouldn't bother staying anywhere else! They have sister hotels if they are full that are closeby too.

Confucius Literacy Museum- worth a look lovely grounds

Ho Chi Minh Museum- Interesting place and if you know about him or want to you can see everything and I mean everything he did here.

Ethenic Museum- Artefacts Mike loved it and said it had amazing things on display if you like this sort of thing you will enjoy it I thought some of it was interesting and pretty amazing.

Food- Just one place we know the name of really is in Ma Mae road - Good Day Restaurants -go to the kitchen and choose out of the dishes they have on display and the will heat them as ordered and have a feast of local delights.

Sapa

Thai Bihn Hotel - $25 includes set breakfast, room with heater, clean room in a nice area atmosphere is a little sleepy in comparison to other places in vietnam but that's possibly just Sapa.

Trekking....this one is each to there own but this is my suggestions. Tourist information centre or Sapa Rooms this way you will get a real guide (local minority lady they will show you and tell you about there traditions and its better to give the local work they need the money to keep the traditions going.) they can book you a trek anything you want however you will not be told that Catcat is a 10 min walk down the hill and you get a map on paying the entrance fee you don't need a guide to take you just walk straight down the road that links to the bottom of the sapa markets or ask someone which way almost everyone can tell you...Tevan is easy on your own as well....sooooo

Cat Cat -walk yourself and get a ticket and map at the booth walk through the village and if you are tired at the end from the hundreds of concrete stairs then get a scooter boy to take you back up the hill about $2US should do it.

Tevan and Lao Chai - We got some guys to take us over $10US on the back of there scooters and they stopped along the way for us to get tickets, photos and then explained where to go and they would met us at the end of our walk then they took us back to Sapa town and dropped us where we wanted. We used Jack and his mate as they were around. Also another good one is Gabi they speak good english and have there names on there helmets and are good drivers.

Taffin this is the trek we opted for its a 9k stroll to be honest no way this could be classed as a trek it was lovely even though it was misty and we could hardly see a thing was really enjoyable as there was no other tourists on the walk only when we got to the village...they can drive a bus to the village to see it and a lot of people get on the buses I guess its easy. I would suggest trying to find a trek that not a lot of tourists go on to get more enjoyment outs of it. $25 US each

Places to eat - The food in Sapa is amazingly fresh, organic and just wonderful.

Sapa Rooms- Best carrot cake ever, meals are great here too.

Sapa Emotion- Lovely food here we enjoyed the goose in orange sauce along with many other dishes had here.

Hoi An

Hai Au Hotel- $30+ Friendliest place every, Large clean rooms, swimming pool and bikes can be hired. Breakfast was basic buffet. You have to stay here for the staff alone say hi to Yummy and Sau for me 😉

Hired Bike went to the beach and wandered in the sand and water, walked through town and the markets and loved it.

My Son boat tour- $6US personally wouldn't bother, trip was boring and lunch was average the tour guides english was hard to understand so people gave up listening....if you have ever seen a Wat that's My Son and the bomb hole isn't that interesting. The boat back was nice but you can hire a boat to take you out for 1 hour for $5US for two people just along the river in town this would be a better option.

Not sure of the name but there is a little vietnamese place down from the hotel down a little lane way they speak limited english but the food lovely ask the girls are the counter for instructions to the local rest that's down the lane way close by I am pretty sure they will know where.

We ate at many places but I didn't note down any names but the food is fab here I am sure you will love the place as we did if you get to the beach and the river which is stunning at night.

Nha Trang

The Light Hotel-$50+ nice new hotel , buffet breakfast is great, lovely pool, just a shame the staff are so structured they don't listen properly and they just haven't got the friendly touch its very sterile like a lot of four and five star hotels.

laid by the pool hung on the beach enjoyed chatting with our kiwi friends.

Why Not Bar- food was good drinks super cheap as its happy hour all the time $1 beer and $1 double shot vodka with mixer of your choice.

Dalat

Dreams hotel- $20+ nice room, clean, awesome shower, jacuzzi is a winner, amazing staff and the best breakfast communal table full of food (literally) don't try book via a website its not hers ring and book...(84-63) 822981 we were lucky there was one room left but the top floor fourth floor walk up.

Crazy house- this was fun and quirky wish we went here before the (100 roofs cafe may have had more impact) but the architect was selling tickets the day we went and it is fun to explore (don't stay here though its not worth it)

100 roof's cafe- a little hard to find but really interesting place they only do drinks but wow its a work in progress and very interesting if you are lucky the architect might come out and say hello.

Motorbike tour - $30us (took our packs and us to the airport after) We went with the freelance boys from 'The Hangout' (its a bar) they are all uni grads and have great english and the 125cc bikes so a little better than getting on a scooter for the day which you may end up with, with some of the Hanoi Easy riders now you just pay a fee to join the club and off you go....so be careful. Anyway the tour was awesome we went to the old railway station which was okay nothing to rave about as I have been to motat so many times, the pagoda, elephant falls and silk farm and had lunch at a local place (food was amazing)

Halong Bay

Opera Cruise- $169 per person (pricey I know but we got more than we paid for in the end as the hotel on the island was booked out so we got two nights on the boat without paying extra for the second night) Wow amazing boat we say pay the extra get a good boat and enjoy the time you have...if you want to party and stay on a cheap boat go for it but if you want a blissful feeling on the water this is the way to go.

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