Category Archives: Vietnam
How far can you go in South East Asia, if you had 3 months?
Well, I think, the “ultimate” single journey through South East Asia, would be as follows;
Nice and comfortable start point
Start in Singapore
Bus to Mersing via Johor Bahru
Ferry to Tioman Island,
Bus back to Malacca, then KL, Bukit Fraser, Cameron highlands and onto Penang.
Ferries,ferries then ferries
Ferry to Langkawi, onward to Ko Lipe, Ko Ngai, Ko Lanta, Ko Phi Phi and then finally give boats a rest for a while at Phuket.
Minibus to Krabi, though to Khao Lak, Ferry detour out to the Similan Islands, back to Khao Lak, onto Khao Sok and the Surat Thani.
Ferry to Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao, then ferry on to Chumporn.
Train to Hua Hin, and then Bangkok and Ayuthaya.
See some sites
Minibus to Pattaya, and Ko Samet, then onward to Ko Chang.
Minibus from there to Cambodia to Siam Reap then Phenom Penh and Sihanoukville.
Ferry to Phu Quoc in Vietnam, boat transfer via Mekong Delta to Ho Chi Mihn City.
See some beaches!
Finally, head up the Vietnamese coast, via Mu Nie, Nga Trang, Hoi An and Hue
Train to Hanoi, and then bus and junk to Halong Bay and Catba Island.
Complete this sucker, and you will never want to visit another island again, for as long as you live! Any feedback on oversights would be appreciated!!
and finish in Halong Bay
The above article is a reprint from a blog I no longer keep online, that was attached to www.asianitineraries.com. This blog became unsastainable, and I recently decided to take it down. I will reprint a dozen or so articles that really didnt see the light of day, and I think are relivant to this blog. I may change them from thier initial format, add pictures and update relivant information.
Mmm…Vietnamese Food
I love Vietnamese food, as a rule. However, their is some stuff even I wouldn’t go for! See if there is anything on this menu, from very small and unclean looking restaurant in Chau Doc, in the Mekong Delta, close to the Cambodian border -
What to Choose?????
Yes, of course, Item number 4 is the obvious choice for the adventurous eater. Not me I’m afraid.
My Favourite Hotels Rooms for under $40 per night! (Part 2)
In part 1 of this post, I featured a hotel in Thailand (Ko Lanta) and Nepal (Pokhara) that we had found to be great finds for under $40 per night. (Link back to Part 1). I have selected hotels that are under the $40 per night level, as this is the expense level I try to keep to, when long term traveling. This amount is about where I feel I need be, to get some comfort and character, but also be sustainable for long term travel. In part 2 of this post, I am looking at a hotel in two more of my favourite long term traveler friendly countries – Vietnam and Bali (Indonesia).
Bali
Puri Bening Hayato, Toya Bungkah
We found this hotel while doing a cross island scooter trip a couple of years ago, and I have done some investigation to make sure it still exists! This was a very old hotel, and in h=need of a bit of repair at the time, but at $25 per night it was cheap, spacious, and in another wonderful location. Toya Bungkah is located on the side of Lake Batar, and both the lake and town are located in the crater of the active volcano, Mt Batar. To reach the town you travel down into the crater from the road that runs around the volcano rim at kintamani. The town is located in a fertile market garden area, and drying onions where the dominant smell when we visited. The hotel had excellent views from our 3rd floor room, both to the volcano behind us and the lake and rim wall in-front. In addition, it was an older, 70′s style complex, with big rooms, and adjoining balconies. And we were the only guests! It was cheap, retro, and located in a surprisingly non-balish corner of Bali! limited information available at http://hotelpuribeningbali.com/
Lake Batar
Overlooking the carpark!
Vietnam
Sea Star Resort, Phu Quoc Island
Vietnam is probably the ultimate for hotel rooms under $40.00 per night, in-fact I can only think of 1 hotel I have stayed in, in two visits to Vietnam that cost more than $40.00! But for comfort, friendly family run service, and amazing location, the Sea Star Resort, Phu Quoc Island rates as the best in my opinion. This resort has a series on bungalows, set in 3 or 4 rows facing the the beach and ocean. The front row is right in the sand of the beach, and the second row, where our $40 bungalow as, was a mere 5 meters or so from the beach, with access and views between the front ones, to the beach. In addition, Sea Star has an excellent restaurant located under the palm trees beachfront, that served as good a local food as any of the restaurants in town. They rented motor-scooters for only a few dollars a day, and happily suggest routes and day trips to enjoy. Absolutely recommend the Sea Star resort, and refer as many people as possible to their website for more information – www.seastarresort.com
Sea Star Resort
Restaurant at Sea Star Resort
These two posts cover 1 cheap but nice hotel in each of my favourite countries. I hope this gives either comfort, lead or food for thought if you are heading to any of these places. I think I might keep this series going for a few more posts, and see if I can share some info on a few more places I have stayed under $40. keep you posted!
Today’s Photo – Bridge to Ngoc son Temple, Hanoi, Vietnam
Old bridge crossing to the island of Ngoc Son Temple, on Hoan Kiem Lake, Central Hanoi, Vietnam
Tropical Island Gems #2- Phu Quoc, Vietnam
Number 2 in my series of posts on some of the lesser known tropical islands that I have visited, and feel others need to know about, is Phu Quoc, Vietnam. I only visited Phu Quoc earlier this year, although it was my second visit to Vietnam. I thought it is imperative that I discuss Phu Quoc now, as I cant see it qualifying as a lesser know island for too much longer! Development is on its way, and a couple of years from now, Phu Quoc could well resemble Phuket or Bali!
Where is Phu Quoc?
Anyway, back to now. Phu Quoc Island is the largest island of Vietnam, and is oddly located to the west of the extreme west of the Vietnamese mainland. It is, in-fact, closer to the Cambodian mainland than the Vietnamese mainland. It is quite a large island, with almost all the tourist infrastructure located on an area on the west coast, called Long Beach. As the name suggests, it is an appealing beach area, white sand and blue water! Long Beach lies south of the Main town on the island, Duong Dong, and is linked by a wide, unsealed but relatively well maintained, road.
We arrived onto the island by ferry from the Mekong delta town of Rach Gia. This ferry, and the other option from Ha Tien, further North, near the Cambodian border, are the two departure points from the mainland, and both arrive at Bia Vong, on the east coast of Phu Quoc. The other entry point is by Vietnam Airlines flight from HCM (our departure choice), with the airport located just north of Duong Dong.
Picture Perfect?
The western beaches are picture perfect, with the required palms draping over the beach, and with wonderfully warm and calm seas. Beach net fisherman can be watched hauling hundreds of kilos of small fish from the shallows offshore. This can be watched in comfort from several (but not too many) beachfront restaurant/bars.
Beach Fisherman on Phu Quoc
Apart from soaking up some of the wonderful sun on the beach, there is plenty of island to explore, and there are a couple of different full day 1/2 island covering day trips that can be done, easiest on rental motorbikes. Both trails include nice coastal rides, as well as some of the forested inland areas. We recommend a ride then walk to Suoi Tranh waterfall, for a refreshing dip in much cooler, fresher water than the sea. It involves a nice couple of Km walk though forest.
we stayed at the Sea Star resort, on Long Beacg, but this was just one of a couple of dozen different options, in all class levels. I will post again on the Sea Star resort soon, with plenty of photos. well worth the 40$ per night!. In the mean time, follow my Hotels combined link to look at all accomodation options on Phu Quoc.
Hotels Combined – Phu Quoc
Hope you visit Phu Quoc soon, its well worth the little bit of a hassle to get there!
Saigon Lager – Obscure Beer of the World #2
Vietnam's Finest?
Well, another week goes by, and its time to think about another beer I have enjoyed, in another exotic location!
Ah, the fond memories! I think maybe it is a little wrong to remember each location by the quality of the beer I enjoyed there! Really, there is probably other things that I should recall about a particular destination – the sights, the history, the people, the culture, the food? All of these things are very important, but compared to the beer…well
This week I am reviewing -
Saigon Lager
Saigon Lager is from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly Saigon, hence the name). It is brewed by the country’s largest brewer, Sabeco, who also do Saigon Lager export, and the canned version -Bia 333, all of which taste extremely similar.
Firstly, the weather in the Saigon area is tropical, so it is important to note that any beer sampled in stinking heat is going to be brilliant, as long as it is icy cold! And without a doubt, the most enjoyable of these beers I sampled was the coldest ones!
Saigon Lager is quite golden in colour, and pours with a moderate amount of carbonation, and a decent head. The head faded pretty quickly though. Saigon Lager looks appealing once poured, but has a bit of a rotten egg smell, but not to the point it wasn’t drinkable. (hey, it could have a rotten egg floating in it, and I’d still give it a go!!)
Like I said earlier,this beer tasted good when icy cold, but not nearly as good when it warmed up a bit.I also found that it bloats me, so I could only comfortably have two or three (disappointing at the time, but a real positive the next morning, particularly if you are about the head down the Mekong on a ferry, its 9 am, and already you are sweating your ring off!).
Also, I find the tinfoil neck cover to be annoying, as it makes drinking it straight from the bottle unpleasant (the 350ml bottle I am talking about!)
All in all, I guess it is quite an acceptable beer for the environment it is in, but I would think it would be very disappointing if you paid imported price for it in our home country. As a 500ml bottle , served cold in a restaurant, cost about US$1.50, I would consider it extremely good value for money! Not my favorite Asian Beer (AKA Bintang)but passable!
Opinion – Did the job
rating – 6/10
Today’s Photo – Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hanoi, Vietnam
A misty January morning, Christine & I at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
Today’s Photo – Phu Quoc Island Fisherman, Vietnam
Winding in the fishing nets on Long Beach, Phu Quoc Island, Vietman
