Travel Introduction and Tips
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| UNESCO: Halong Bay, North Vietnam, March, 2012 |
Although exploring the World Heritage sites in Vietnam is not hard in terms of geography. However, it is not easy, if the places are not popular. With the language barrier and some tasks waiting.
In the time of writing, Vietnam is listed of
seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, most are popular destinations that could buy
tours or to do by yourself. Buses or public
transportations are available. However 1-2 destinations may not convenient and
have insufficient information to visit. In addition, restrictions on travel in
the socialist country in the period of rapid change and other aspects are
factors. We need to understand and be prepared to travel smoothly and impressed
with the charm of World Heritages of Vietnam.
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| My Tho Pier, Mekong Delta, South Vietnam, March 2012 |
Climate
I write this issue because I can't rely on any
information from guidebooks, websites, tour guides and even hotel staffs about
weather in Vietnam. Frankly, Vietnam climate is difficult to forecast. It's
impossible to visit throughout Vietnam in good weather in the same period.
Vietnam is divided into three regions as
Northern, Central and Southern, 1650km long from north to south. High season
for tourism in each region will be different.
I went in March. For the
North as Hanoi, Halong Bay and Ninh Binh had cold weather, drizzle of rain all
day and poor visibility. There was no
sunlight, slushy and muddy. Photograph taking was not interesting.
When traveling to the Northern
and Central regions, such as the Phong Nha, Hue and Hoi An weather warmed up.
Cloudy with sunny to rain and drizzle. Some days were beautiful. Swimming in
the river and sea was possible although water was quite cold.
Southern part such as Ho
Chi Minh City and Mekong Delta was strong sun with a little sticky, heavy rain,
but a brief. Different temperatures 15-25c from the Northern.
Vietnam has been
influenced of typhoon and monsoon may be a barrier to travel. The storm caused
flooding may cause the sudden cancellation of travel.
Language Barrier
Most Vietnamese do not
speak and understand English, even the policemen, except people working in
Hotel Management and Hospitality.
I had never seen
government's tourist information centres in any tourist areas. I found a young
man trying to get donation for needy children after acting as university
student who was doing questionnaire from foreign tourists within area of Ho
Chi Minh Museum. When I went to report it to the police, he did not understand
English.
A tip to communicate with
the Vietnamese is the correct pronunciation such as street names. Street names
are repeated in every city. They are the name of kings and heroes such as Hai
Ba Trung, Nguyen Thai Hoc and Le Thai To.
To purchase tickets write
down short words on paper. Vietnamese use the Roman alphabet like English.
Mobile Phone Usage
I bought a Viettel prepaid
sim card at Noi Bai Airport for 150,000 VND and never top up throughout 20 days
in Vietnam.
Air time fare is much cheaper than roaming service from abroad and possible to call back home conveniently.
Don't forget to ask the
salesperson for international call code and other necessary information. The
amount of digit phone number is varied in Vietnam.
Drinking Water
Retail business in North
Vietnam is different from Central and South. There are fewer grocery stores in
Hanoi than Ho Chi Minh City. I hardly found modern convenient stores. They have
two-tier price for foreigners to pay more. And we cannot
know the real prices.
Drinking water for foreigners in Hanoi for a
small bottle is 10,000 VND and 1.5ml bottle
is 15,000-20,000
VND. Bottles of water in the rooms of some hotels may not be the complimentary.
Ask the staff beforehand is better.
While I bought fixed price water from the
supermarket of Co Op in Hue; for a small bottle 3,000-4,000
VND and 1.5ml bottle 7,000-8,000 VND.
I could buy fair price drinking water at any minimarts around Pham Ngu Lao in
HCMC.
Do not forget to carry a bottle of water when
you out. In the North, tour packages include meals, excluding water and
beverages. They sell them to thirsty tourists by expensive prices. You may feel
like an overnight stay on board at the World Heritage "Halong Bay" is
not memorable. Drinking water on the junk is costly. This was less the case in
Central and South.
Tour price: inclusive or
not
Some tour packages may not
be included the admission fee to visit places of interest. The visitors have to
pay extra costs such as boat or bike rental, drinking water, food and drink.
Consider by tour operator's reputation, package price, details specified in the
itinerary, group size, our instinct and luck. We book the tour from agents,
sometime they don't know the whole details either or they are liars!
Buying directly from the
tour operator or through reputable tour desk of the top rated hotels which tend
to take care of customers is the smart way to reduce risk.
Money Exchange
Vietnam is a country with
high inflation rate every year. Products and services price may be much
different from previous years. VND currency has a lot of zero. To carry a
calculator is the good idea.
Exchanging money at the
banks get better rate than exchange shops; some bank officials work with
courtesy, transparency and understanding that foreigners may be easily confused
with a lot of money with zero. They please provide an explanation with a
receipt. Some officials may not have any documentation or explanation with
sulky faces. I got a banknote with tear at the end. I didn't notice during the
exchange.
If they are the
independence money exchange shops. Please ask for the rate first. Because you
may be mistaken from bank's rate at the near panel, which is not related to
money exchange shop in any way. This occured to me at Ho Chi Minh Post Office.
Fortunately, it was only 10USD. If you need to exchange money with these
outlets should be a small amount of money for immediate use only.
There are some guides to
exchange money at gold shops or jewelry shops which provide the best rate. I do
not have this experience and is concerned to count the amount of millions in
the place like this.
I appreciate the exchange
service of BaoViet Bank, Huan Kiem Lake and have been the client of TechCom
Bank at Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi). They are professional.
Cheap Camera Shop in Hanoi
My camera was broken while
in Hanoi need to buy new. This is above and beyond. The dealer sells products
such as Sony, Nikon and Canon cheaper than Bangkok with warranty and premium.
However, there are not many models to choose from.
Camera shops in Hanoi,
there are many stores around the Huan Kiem Lake. Metropole Hanoi Hotel staff
recommended me to go to the store on Hang Bai Street named Digi World. It's the
large gadget centre with courteous staff that speaks English.
In Case of Passport Lost
Go to police station for report issue. Take
the report to the embassy.
Go to your embassy for Certificate of Identity
(CI).
Certificate of Identity be used instead of
passport for travel abroad.
For convenience you should ask the hotel staffs
or someone you trust to assist and interpret with the police. There is a
possibility that you have to pay some bucks to police (10-15USD).
Do not forget the passport copies.
Your embassy's address and telephone number in
Vietnam.
For further details and others such as visa
extensions: Vietnam Immigration Department, 40A Hang Bai
Street, Hanoi
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