Tuesday's Travel To Do- Vietnam

A few months ago when I was debating on where to go on my next trip I had a few ideas. My first thought was Curacao but I nixed that idea after I thought…. “Why travel all the way to the Caribbean for a vacation that will no doubt cost me more money when KBR will PAY me 10 days of vacation and my flight as long as my ticket cost less than $860? I can always go visit all the Americas and the Caribbean once I am back at home but for now I need to take full advantage of the great travel opportunities that this job has put in front of me.”

My next thought was Asia . It is super cheap and I really enjoyed Thailand so I started researching Asian countries that I thought I would enjoy. I decided on Vietnam . I had my whole trip pretty much mapped out and I was getting ready to turn in my paperwork when my Mom brought up a visa issue. Something that I didn’t know and never thought to look into was if I needed a visa or not. I usually forget about these pesky little papers because MOST of the time when vacationing a U.S. passport will get you into anywhere without anything else needed as long as you don’t stay over 30 days. WRONG this is not the case going to Vietnam or Egypt for that matter but Egypt visas are very easy to purchase at the airport. Anyways the US government travel website said that I could mail in my passport to a Vietnamese embassy to get my visa and then they would send it back. I wasn’t at all comfortable with this idea, I mean I was freaking out when I had to send my passport to the American embassy in Baghdad so in the end I decided against Vietnam, at least until I am in a place that I can actually visit the embassy and take care of the visa issue myself. As you all know I chose Egypt but more on that when I get back. Even though I am not going to Vietnam right now doesn’t mean that I am not COMPLETELY sold on going there some day, hopefully in the near future. I figured since I had done the leg work I might as well share some of my travel plan with you guys and maybe you will get inspired to visit this amazing country too. So without further ado…..this week’s TTTD is Vietnam .

When I was planning my trip I was going to stay in Ho Chi Minh City ( Saigon ) and then just venture out to the different destination around there and just see the sites. I was only planning for an 8 day journey and that includes flying there and back from Dubai . I will show you what I had in mind for myself and also some awesome adventurous treats for you that I just came upon today. CAVES and these are so beautiful they look like something out of Jurassic Park or Avatar, so green and big and well…just AWESOME! The point of traveling Asia is to travel cheap and my intentions on this trip were to do it up backpacker’s style. I really want to venture out of my comfort zone and explore things on my own and stay in a backpacker’s hotel or otherwise known as a hostel. I found a really nice hostel where you can even have your own room with internet and the essentials for under $50/night. This is still probably a bit expensive for Asia you get your own bathroom and room which from what I read about hostel life is rare. Plus how often are you really in the room except to shower and sleep. Most people are out sightseeing and doing activities.

A few fast facts and recommendations:

Ho Chi Minh City is known to the locals as Saigon or HCMC.
HCMC is the largest city in Vietnam and was the former capital of the Republic of Vietnam .
The current capital of Vietnam is Hanoi which is in the opposite direction of HCMC and is also the second largest city.
HCMC is in the South of the country and Hanoi in the North.
For an authentic Vietnamese meal try a restaurant named Quan An Ngon
HCMC is broken down, like most cities, into districts.
District 1 is pretty much the all around district there are hotels, bars, shops, restaurants that can all be visited by walking and lets not forget the sightseeing that District 1 holds. District 1 also houses the Ben Tanh Market where you can look through all the silk shops and last the backpacker’s district of Pham Ngu Lao is within District 1.
District 3 is the business district and where you will find most embassies.
District 5 is known as Chlon or Chinatown and this district has the older temples and market area.

Now on to pictures and a few must sees. Please keep in mind this is only from what little research I have done. There is so much more to Vietnam that just these few realy cool things. I would love to just pack a bagck and spend a month venturing around and exploring the different areas of this country.

Cau Dai Temple in HCMC

Cu Chi Tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong's base of operations for the Tết Offensive in 1968. The tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The role of the tunnel systems should not be underestimated in its importance to the Viet Cong in resisting American operations and protracting the war, eventually culminating in an American withdrawal.

If you want to visit the beach near HCMC then just hop a bus that is about 3 hours long but ONLY cost $6 to Mui Ne Beach. This would make a nice overnight trip or even a busy day trip but for only $6. I think it’s worth the time not to mention the scenic views you are sure to capture on your way out of the city to the ocean.

I didn’t research Hanoi at all but I did find some great images to give you a bit of a taste.

Also in the north part of the country but more Eastern is Ha Long Bay.

Now for the amazing caves throughout Vietnam , this article was on Yahoo today and then one of my friends sent me this link to National Geographic Magazine and it shows more of this wonder. I couldn’t copy the pictures to show you but just click here or above and it will take you directly to the beauty of this cave. It is so beautiful and makes me want to go explore all over Vietnam to see all the neat things this country has to offer. There is an extensive network of about 150 caves in central Vietnam near the Laos border. They are truly breathtaking! The below pictures are from this website about caves in Vietnam just as amazing as the article and pictures in the above links.