{"id":269,"date":"2014-08-10T16:46:58","date_gmt":"2014-08-10T08:46:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gautamkhattak.wordpress.com\/?page_id=269"},"modified":"2015-08-07T12:06:21","modified_gmt":"2015-08-07T04:06:21","slug":"asia-vietnam-halongbay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/asia-general-synopsis\/asia-vietnam-halongbay\/","title":{"rendered":"Vietnam – Ha Long Bay & Hanoi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vietnam, Ha Long Bay & Hanoi\u00a0<\/strong>by Gautam Khattak<\/p>\n

Last updated:<\/strong>\u00a0August 08, 2014<\/p>\n

Disclaimer:<\/strong>\u00a0These are notes I\u2019ve written or gathered from various sources. I have not experienced all things in this document nor is it intended to be a definitive guide.<\/p>\n

General Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hanoi and Ha Long Bay are in northern Vietnam so be weary of going here in the winter time because it can get cold!<\/p>\n

Currency:<\/strong>\u00a0VND \u2013 Vietnamese Dong<\/p>\n

Conversion Tool:<\/strong>\u00a0http:\/\/www.google.com\/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=100+usd+to+vnd<\/a>
\n(Update for current rates)
\n100 USD = 2.04 Million VND
\n1 USD = 20,408.16 VND
\n100 VND = .0049 USD<\/p>\n

Tipping:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tipping is not expected but very much appreciated in Vietnam. Considering that people earn about $100 USD a month, a tip of $1 goes a long way. Those that often deserve the tip don\u2019t ask for it, others will include it their price for service and still ask for more money.<\/p>\n

Local Customs:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most of the tourist destinations take American currency but its helpful to have some VND around because almost all the destinations cost between $1-$1.50 to get in but if you use American dollars it will cost you ~$2 because they round up. I know, its not a big deal, I\u2019m just passing along the tip!<\/p>\n

Transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hanoi\u00a0is a little chaotic with the driving. You have to watch out for taxicab scams. You\u2019re best off going with a big name Taxi company like Vinataixis and making sure the meter is reset when you get in. Doesn’t hurt to negotiate a price beforehand if you’re looking for someone to take you on a tour.<\/p>\n

Because I\u00a0spent most of the trip in Ha Long Bay the cruise company\u00a0Jasmine Cruise<\/a>\u00a0picked us up from our hotel in the morning and drove us the 2.5-3 hours to Ha Long Bay.<\/p>\n

Ha Long Bay<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ha Long Bay is amazing. There are hundreds of\u00a0island formations jutting out of the water. Some mountainous\u00a0some small. It is really majestic.\u00a0. but you have to be capable of doing nothing but relax!\u00a0I flew in to Hanoi late Thursday night, was picked up in early morning Friday by the cruise company \u00a0Jasmine Cruise<\/a>\u00a0and taken to the water for a 3\u00a0day 2 night<\/a> cruise in Ha Long Bay. The cruise company then drove me back Sunday afternoon with enough time to spend about\u00a04 hours seeing Hanoi before flying back to Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

The \u00a0Jasmine Cruise<\/a>\u00a0in Ha Long Bay was really enjoyable. The Jasmine is one of the more upscale ships in Ha Long Bay. Clean, good rooms, comfortable and the food was excellent. So understand, this\u00a0was not a party boat but there are plenty of those if that is what you’re looking for.<\/p>\n

On the Jasmine\u00a0you basically relax on the sun deck or inside.\u00a0You can get various types of massages for about $20 USD for an hour.<\/p>\n

On Day 1 of the cruise (Friday)\u00a0we went Kayaking again but this time to Cua Van Fishing Village, the biggest and oldest fishing village in Halong Bay.<\/p>\n

On Day 2 (Saturday)\u00a0Some of us transferred onto a sister\u00a0boat for lunch and then that boat took us to Cat Ba Island. We went on a fun bicycle ride, visited a local village and then we\u00a0went Kayaking to a small private beach where we could swim leisurely.<\/p>\n

On the morning of Day 3 (Sunday) The book took us to Ti Top island,\u00a0the\u00a0Tam Cung Cave and Poem Mountain. You hike up to the top of the mountain to get a view of Ha Long Bay (and our ship) from up high. You also get to hang out at a beach for a while before heading back to the dock to leave the ship.<\/p>\n

Other than the above\u00a0the rest of the time was spent on the boat taking in the great views of Ha Long Bay, eating good food, taking cooking classes and getting massages.<\/p>\n

Tourist Destinations (Hanoi)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since we only had 1 night and about 4 hours on Sunday to check out Hanoi. We did not get to explore too much. But that being said, Hanoi is very similar to Ho Chi Minh City. You can soak in\u00a0the local vibe at the art galleries and coffee shops.<\/p>\n

Ho Chi Minh\u00a0Museum\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 I don’t recall all that much about the museum other than it has some weird weird pieces of work. See pictures.<\/p>\n

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum<\/strong> -is located in the centre of Ba Dinh Square, next to the Ho Chi Minh Musuem. It is the location where Ho\u00a0Chi Minh, Chairman of the Communist Party, read the the\u00a0Declaration of Independance<\/p>\n

West Lake Park (Ho Tay)\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0Our hotel like may others was by the West Lake Park. It is the\u00a0largest lake of the capital and a popular place for recreation with many surrounding gardens, hotels and villas. At night there were a lot of people hanging around the lake in groups. The lake is also nightly lit up and pleasant to walk around. From West Lake you can veer off into the backpacker part of town to find some smaller cafe’s and restaurants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Temple of Literature<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Is a Confucius temple built in 1070 and was pleasant to walk around for 20 minutes or so.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dining & Nightlife<\/strong><\/p>\n

Because we arrive late and then went to Ha Long Bay in the morning we didn’t have a chance to dine in Hanoi.\u00a0But around West Lake there are plenty of restaurants and coffee shops to visit.<\/p>\n

Shopping<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lots of Art Galleries\u00a0to buy local paintings in Hanoi. Since I didn’t get a chance to see much in Hanoi, you can get some tips from here:
\nhttp:\/\/www.visit-mekong.com\/vietnam\/hanoi\/shopping.htm<\/a><\/p>\n

Lodging<\/strong><\/p>\n

Itinerary I followed (my first visit)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Day 1 (Thursday): Arrived late Thursday night. Walked around West Lake for about an hour.<\/p>\n

Day 2 (Friday): Left very early morning to drive 2.5 hours to Ha Long Bay. Boarded the Jasmine Cruise and set off. Ate, Kayaked, Massage on board the ship.<\/p>\n

Day 3 (Saturday): Continued on Cruise. Visited Cat Ba Island for a bike tour, more kayaking and some beach time.<\/p>\n

Day 4 (Sunday): Hiked to the top of a mountain to get a view of Ha Long Bay from above. Hung out on the beach, then returned back to shore and drove back to Hanoi. Hired a taxi driver to take us around Hanoi for about 4 hours before heading back to the airport.<\/p>\n

Vietnamese Phrases<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
English Greetings<\/strong><\/td>\nVietnamese Greetings:<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hi!<\/td>\nch\u00e0o<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good morning!<\/td>\nch\u00e0o bu?i s\u00e1ng<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good evening!<\/td>\nch\u00e0o bu?i t?i<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How are you?<\/td>\nb?n c\u00f3 kh?e kh\u00f4ng?, kh?e ch??( informal )<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I’m fine, thanks!<\/td>\nC\u00e1m on b?n t\u00f4i kh?e<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
And you?<\/td>\nB?n th\u00ec sao?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good\/ So-So.<\/td>\nT?t \/ cung t\u00e0m t?m<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Thank you (very much)!<\/td>\nC\u00e1m on ( r?t nhi?u )<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
You’re welcome! (for “thank you”)<\/td>\n\u00d0?ng ng?i ( don’t mind asking for my help )<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hey! Friend!<\/td>\nN\u00e0y!, \u00ca!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I missed you so much!<\/td>\nT\u00f4i nh? b?n l?m<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What’s new?<\/td>\nC\u00f3 g\u00ec m?i kh\u00f4ng?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Nothing much<\/td>\nKh\u00f4ng c\u00f3 g\u00ec nhi?u<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good night!<\/td>\nCh\u00fac ng? ngon!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
See you later!<\/td>\nG?p l?i sau nh\u00e9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good bye!<\/td>\nT?m bi?t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n<\/strong>Asking for Help and Directions<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I’m lost<\/td>\nT\u00f4i b? l?c<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Can I help you?<\/td>\nT\u00f4i c\u00f3 th? gi\u00fap b?n di?u g\u00ec?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Can you help me?<\/td>\nB?n gi\u00fap t\u00f4i d?oc kh\u00f4ng?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Where is the (bathroom\/ pharmacy)?<\/td>\nPh\u00f2ng t?m ( nh\u00e0 thu?c ) ? d\u00e2u?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Go straight! then turn left\/ right!<\/td>\n\u00d0i th?ng, sau d\u00f3 r? tr\u00e1i \/ ph?i<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I’m looking for john.<\/td>\nT\u00f4i dang t\u00ecm John.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
One moment please!<\/td>\nL\u00e0m on d?i m?t l\u00e1t!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Hold on please! (phone)<\/td>\nXin gi? m\u00e1y!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
How much is this?<\/td>\nC\u00e1i n\u00e0y gi\u00e1 bao nhi\u00eau?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Excuse me …! (to ask for something)<\/td>\nXin l?i cho h?i?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Excuse me! ( to pass by)<\/td>\nXin l?i, l\u00e0m on nh\u00e9!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Come with me!<\/td>\n\u00d0i v?i t\u00f4i<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Good\/ Bad\/ So-So.<\/td>\nT?t \/ x?u \/ b\u00ecnh thu?ng<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Big\/ Small<\/td>\nL?n \/ nh?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Today\/ Now<\/td>\nH\u00f4m nay \/ b\u00e2y gi?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tomorrow\/ Yesterday<\/td>\nNg\u00e0y mai \/ h\u00f4m qua<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yes\/ No<\/td>\nC\u00f3, v\u00e2ng, d\u00fang v?y, ? \/ kh\u00f4ng<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Here you go! (when giving something)<\/td>\nC?a b?n d\u00e2y.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Do you like it?<\/td>\nB?n th\u00edch n\u00f3 ch??<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I really like it!<\/td>\nT\u00f4i th?t s? th\u00edch n\u00f3.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I’m hungry\/ thirsty.<\/td>\nT\u00f4i d\u00f3i \/ kh\u00e1t<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
In The Morning\/ Evening\/ At Night.<\/td>\nV\u00e0o bu?i s\u00e1ng \/ t?i\/ ban d\u00eam<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
This\/ That. Here\/There<\/td>\nC\u00e1i n\u00e0y \/ c\u00e1i kia. ? d\u00e2y \/ ? d\u00f3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Me\/ You. Him\/ Her.<\/td>\nT\u00f4i \/ b?n. Anh ?y \/ c\u00f4 ?y<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Really!<\/td>\nTh?t sao?, V?y \u00e0?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What? Where?<\/td>\nG\u00ec co? ? d\u00e2u?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
What time is it?<\/td>\nM?y gi? r?i?<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I love you!<\/td>\nT\u00f4i y\u00eau b?n!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I feel sick.<\/td>\nT\u00f4i c?m th?y m?t.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
I need a doctor<\/td>\nT\u00f4i c?n d?n b\u00e1c si.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
One, Two, Three<\/td>\nM?t, hai, ba<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Four, Five, Six<\/td>\nB?n, nam, s\u00e1u<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten<\/td>\nB?y, t\u00e1m, ch\u00edn, m?oi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\"A<\/a>

A top Ha Long Bay<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Frog<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ha<\/a>

Ha Long Bay<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Ha<\/a>

Ha Long Bay<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Jasmine<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The beach we kayaked too<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Sunsetting<\/a>

Sunsetting over Ha Long Bay<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Biking<\/a>

Biking on Cat Ba island<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Tam<\/a>

Tam Cung Cave<\/p><\/div>\n

\"306349_10150959443185974_70177601_n\"<\/a>

I so wanted to push this one over…<\/p><\/div>\n

\"View<\/a>

View of the Jasmine from a top Ha Long Bay<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Sunset\"<\/a>

The Sunset<\/p><\/div>\n

\"The<\/a>

The route we traversed<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Golden<\/a>

Golden West Lake<\/p><\/div>\n

\"@<\/a>

@ The Ho Chi Minh Museum<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Temple<\/a>

Temple of Literature<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Local<\/a>

Local Propaganda<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vietnam, Ha Long Bay & Hanoi\u00a0by Gautam Khattak Last updated:\u00a0August 08, 2014 Disclaimer:\u00a0These are notes I\u2019ve written or gathered from various sources. I have not experienced all things in this document nor is it intended to be a definitive guide. General Tips Hanoi and Ha Long Bay are in northern Vietnam so be weary of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":493,"parent":86,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-269","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/269\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":726,"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/269\/revisions\/726"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/86"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gautamkhattak.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}