Can't wait to go, but I don't leave for another nine months. I want to be fully ready!
Well for starters I was looking into purchasing dong notes online instead of searching for a good exchange rate in Hanoi, is this a bad/good idea? I am planning on starting my trip in Hanoi and going to Sapa from there I plan to head south ending in a little r&r before my 32 hour flight home to the US. I am travelling alone and would love to chat with people who have been there or live there or would like to meet up there and travel together. I am an adventurous sort and would love to see it all I just hope I can squeeze it all into three weeks with out dropping dead LOL.
Reply to this You should be able to see quite a bit of Vietnam in 3 weeks. For Dong we just used the ATMs. Not sure if the exchange rate was the absolute best but the difference is generally quite small. It also means that you're not carrying masses of cash around. If there are any other specifics you're curious or worried about let me know. Otherwise it's always a good idea to take a look at some of the blogs from Vietnam for ideas.
Reply to this I was not aware that the atms there dispensed dong. That makes alot of sense actually, thanks. I appreciate you taking time to give me some pointers. Happy travelling!
Reply to this I might be wrong, but I don't think you can buy or exchange dong outside of Vietnam. You can get it out of ATMs as discussed earlier, or exchange dollars for dong in banks/exchange counters/hotels. If you get it out of ATMs with a card from abroad, they usually charge you about 20,000 dong, just over a dollar. You can use your home ATM card in most banks here.
With so many dong to the dollar, and with the cheap cost of living over here, you are better taking out/changing smaller amounts, otherwise you will need to hire a donkey to carry all the notes!!
As for exchange rates, they perhaps will vary, but as there are currently around 17,000 dong to the dollar, slight fluctuations won't affect you that much.
I agree with Ant and Allee, 3 weeks is enough time to do the trip you are suggesting. You go from Hanoi to Sapa by overnight train, then back to Hanoi. Don't miss doing a Halong bay trip from Hanoi too. Then travel South from Hanoi to HCMC, via places like Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Dalat and Mui Ne. It's the typical backpacker trail and there is good transport between all the places.
Yes, look at some of the other Vietnam blogs to get ideas and suggestions of places to go. Also look at www.travelfish.org for some more info.
Have fun!
Reply to this Thanks Rat,
How do you feel about bringing gifts such as shampoo, soap, candies etc. and leaving them in your room for staff or passing them out to children instead of money? I recently read that the products in Vietnam are altered and not the best quality. Is there anything rude about leaving such things for the staff that makes up your room?
Reply to this Hello,
Just to tag onto the back of this...(we head to Vietnam in a week - from Laos)
With regards to the ATM's, you mention there is a fee to withdraw..
Our bank in the UK does not charge anything for withdrawing cash, and in Thailand we managed to find banks that also had no charge, so no charges all around...
In Laos BECL bank charges 20,000 kip (around 1.50 GBP) but the Lao development bank charges nothing.. so we also have managed to dodge any fees..
Does anyone know if their is such a bank in Vietnam at all??
Thanks for any help.
PJ
Reply to this Are you with Nationwide? So are we. We don't get charged in most places, but in Vietnam a lot of banks charge a fee of 20,000 dong, which is under a quid. I don't know which ones if any don't. It often doesn't tell you on the screen.
Sorry, can't be much help!
Enjoy Vietnam!
Reply to this Shannabelle,
We've never left gifts for staff, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. Were you thinking of bringing stuff from home? Because there is good quality stuff sold everywhere in Vietnam. You can buy pantene and lots of the brands from home. Same with soap and sweets. I would have thought the staff making up your room would prefer money, but what do other people think?
Reply to this Well Rat that's just it, I've heard that the quality of their products arent quite up to par. Many people have told me that they would love gifts of hersheys chocolate and eagle brand medicated oil. I have found that it's quite easy to find an american product and reproduce it cheaply and sell it as the same in se asia however the product just isint the same. I was planning on bringing only the things that people say are hard to find like the eagle oil, tiger balm, dove soap, and sanitary napkins. Putting things into prospective for me I can see just how many things I take for granted on a daily basis. Keeping in mind also I only plan to give such gifts if I find that they are wanted. Hopefully through talking with the people there I can establish a relationship with them and of course tip acordingly.
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I couldn't comment on what people have said about reproducing products. All I can say is that in my local supermarket in Haiphong, North Vietnam, they sell tiger balm, Hershey's chocolate, dove soap and sanitary napkins. They don't sell tampons though....
Because of all the previous occupation of Vietnam by various Western countries....i.e France, USA, Russia etc. you can get all sorts of products here that surprise me. Pasta, pasta sauces, red white, baguettes, Dutch and French cheeses, ham....it's all widely available in our local tiny supermarket. And we live in Haiphong, a city that has about as many expats as I can count on my hands and feet.
There will obviously be a discrepancy between what people have in cities and what they have in the country. And being generous is always good, there is nothing to stop people giving gifts of things they have bought from the local shop.
This is not to disude you from bringing gifts from home. It's good to have things in perspective.
Hope the plans for your visit are going well.
Reply to this Hmmm, that does put a spin on my perspective. I am glad to have bumped into you. I do not think I will be overloading myself with products from home then. I will just bring an almost empty bag for all of the goodies that Viet Nam has to offer. Kris & Kate, how long have you been living in Viet Nam? I find it truely fascinating and would like to do teaching abroad in the future, (10-15 yrs later). I am envious of you and look foreward to learning more from you if it's not asking too much. Thanks again for the advice, it does make my trip lighter ;-)
Reply to this The gold shops give best rate for dong. Dozens of gold shops at markets in main centres.
Travel tip. you can easily buy Lonely Planet Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China books and Phrasebooks for about US $3 (yes three dollars-if you bargain even less eg 40,000 Vietnam Dong) in District one in Saigon and all other tourist centres.Just walk along the street I the tourist strips
if you don’t stumble over their sidewalk stalls they will be chasing you with boxes of books for sale anyway!
Reply to this there are lots of beautiful things u can buy home, especially handicrafts. I have, by chance, found out this website about Vietnam. I will share it with you here:
Have a good trip ! Reply to this Shannabelle you asked for tips...here's another
Tipping is not required in Vietnam.In places like Sailing Club in Nha Trang, Mui Ne and Saigon the staff has to hand all the tips to the manager. If you tip the staff in that establishment they may not receive it. Tipping sets a bad precedent and provides bad service for those who don’t want to tip. If you go to Sailing Club or Louisianne or similar tourist establishments they are charging the equivalent of a local’s wages for one day if you order 2 juices for example. They are more than rewarded. Why feed their greed with a tip as well!....How do I know? One of the main staff of Sailing Club came to my wedding when I married my Vietnamese wife in Nha Trang. He told us many things...
Reply to this Shannabelle giving gifts rather than money is sensible.If you give children money be assured that an adult (part of their enlarged family) is waiting to pounce on the child once you move on. Many people USE children as beggars. Also keep in mind 99% of children are manipulated and controlled to support the parents until the day the parents die. Be wise. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but my advice from living here is to give out gifts to the children who you feel will use the gifts themselves. How can you tell? Womens intuition I guess. Eagle oil is readily available at mini marts and supermarkets here in Vietnam. My Vietnamese father in law has been using it for years!
Reply to this Make sure you keep plenty of room in your bags for when you get to Hoi An.
Clothes (From Hoi An Old Quarter) and Marble (from marble mountain)
A feed of Pho Ba can be sought for around 3000 dong or about 30c if someone begs of you for food, it never hurts to buy them a 30c bowl of Pho Ba.
Reply to this Hi Shannabelle, I travelled alone last Oct-Nov for 3 weeks through Vietnam before heading over to Cambodia and it was amazing. I also started in Hanoi (the first day I had a tour with Hanoikids - students offering guided tours to improve their English and it was great)and based myself there before heading to Sapa on the overnight train. I spent a couple of days there and then took another overnight train back to Hanoi before heading to Halong Bay for 2 days. I then started heading south (overnight bus) and went to Hue (really interesting) for a few days. it was then a 3 hours bus ride during the day (for the views) to Hoi An where I also stayed several days. I loved Hoi An it was so peaceful and colourful. I then took another overnight bus and went down to Nha Trang but only to stay the day before heading inland to Dalat where I'd organized a 3 day tour on the back of a motor cycle with an Easyrider guide. this had to be the absolute highlight. My guide Naam was brilliant and showed me so many places and interesting things in the Central Highlands before dropping me off in Buan Ma Tout for another overnight on a bus and on to HCMC. I spent a couple of night here and went to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai temple before finally heading on a 2-3 day trip up the mekong Delta and in to Cambodia. If you would like any addresses or anything you can PM me. happy travels
Reply to this Hi Alpbabe, Your journey sounds very similar to what I plan on doing! I love the idea of an easy rider tour. I would love to cut out as many bus rides as possible and maybe take a few more flights to save myself from travel sickness and boredom. Thank you very much for sharing your experience with me. Where did you stay in Sapa and Hoi An? I think I will be spending a week in Hoi An just relaxing and I would love to know of a great place to stay!
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