Halong Bay Day Trip

We booked our Halong Bay excursion through our hostel, Little Hanoi. They gave us the option between 'deluxe' or 'standard'. The main difference really was the space you get on the bus to the port. There is about a $12USD difference but if you are tall, or not the stereotypical Asian size, then I would suggest upgrading. The deluxe van we had was just enough leg space for me but unfortunately, for my two tall companions, it was not so comfortable.

The trip started at 9am, with a pick up from our accommodation, and we got back about 9pm. A full day away. Our guide was a young, local Vietnamese man. Very handsome, but as we ran into other tours we noticed that this was a trend among tour guides. We joked that maybe that's a requirement the tourism company had if you were to become a tour guide for this area.

Our guide spoke very good English, was very personable and very knowledgeable. Unfortunately, I can't really remember the exact time it took for us to drive from downtown Hanoi to the port, but I'm going to guess it may have taken a couple of hours. Our guide did give us some information as we did hit important parts of the city as we drove.

Once we got the port, we were told to stay in one spot while our guide sorted our tickets. The terminal looked relatively new and was surrounded by many old -style Junk Boats for the tourists to board. The wait here took only 20 to 30 minutes and then we were off. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a hazy day so the visibility wasn't as great as we had wanted it to be but the scenery was still beautiful.

The bottom area of the boat was the eating area and had about 8 to 10 cubicles that could sit 4 people comfortably - 6 to 8 people if you wanted to squish - and the top area was an open style where you could lay down and bathe in the sun, or just sit and enjoy the view. We were served lunch as part of the tour and it was delicious! There were an assortment of Vietnamese dishes put on the table and you just helped yourself, sharing with whoever you are seated with. Drinks were not included but they were very cheap (unless you wanted to get a bottle of wine, which we did. They don't serve glasses FYI, you need to purchase the whole bottle).

We got to see the typical tourist spots such as the floating village, which I though was pretty neat. It had a school, a restaurant and a medical centre. We were also told of what their tradition is if one of their village members passes away. Definitely ask your guide about that if you head there. Very interesting.

The boat docks for about an hour or and you can either relax there or on the little floating jetty. Or else, you can hired a kayak for an extra 20,000VND (only two person kayaks) and explore. There is supposedly an amazing cave you can kayak through (you pay an entrance fee of approximately $1USD) but as the water level was low we couldn't enter.

The last stop we made before heading back was the highlight of my trip - Sung Sot Cave (limestone cave). It's hard to describe the enormity of this cave, it's one of those places that you just have to see yourself. I've tried to attach photos of the inside but it really doesn't do it justice. Also, my camera wasn't a high quality one so I couldn't really capture the true essence of the place.

We had to take a train that night to Sapa, and were a bit limited with time. We told our guide of our situation and he ensured that we were one of the first ones dropped back to allow us to get to our next destination on time.

Cambodia and Vietnam

A friend of mine made this little video of our travels through Cambodia and Vietnam in January this year. It is a collection of our videos and photos. Enjoy!

Cambodia and Vietnam on Vimeo

Crossing the Cambodian/Vietnamese border

OVERLAND VS FLYING

*Crossing the border by bus

My journey went from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. There are about five or so buses that depart a day between these two cities and to make the most of our time in Phnom Penh we decided to take the 2pm bus. The cost of this bus was only USD$11.

This ride was supposedly only 6 hours however from our experience we knew that we should give or take one or two hours, just in case. As part of the bus company we rode with the price of the ticket also included a shuttle van pick up from our hostel (88 Backpackers) to take us to the bus station. On board we were also given each a free bottle of water. This is  a good little drive through the countryside and it was interesting to see the varying styles of housing built, which were between brick two-story complexes to just raised bamboo huts. You also experience being on a five minute ferry ride crossing a river before having a short stop at a roadside restaurant before the border.

Before this stop the driver will explain in both English and Vietnamese the procedures. You are also expected to hand over your passport to the driver’s assistant at this point as well. The bus will stop at the Cambodian side where you then exit the bus as the driver’s assistant calls out your name. You receive your passport, stand in line at a booth where an immigration officer will then stamp in your exit date and you make your way onto the bus again. Again you hand over your passport to the driver’s assistant and it’s about a 5 to 10 minute ride to the Vietnamese border. In-between these two borders the area is lined with casino after casino and locals employed as promoters handing out discount cards to those trying to cross the boundary.
The process is the same again. You wait for your name to be called out to receive your passport. This time you must take your entire luggage with you before you head into the customs building. No matter how much the driver explains what the procedure is at the border it did not prepare us for what to expect here. The best I could describe it was more so of an organised chaos, using the word organised very loosely. There were no lines as such, a lot of people cramped in the building and a lot of waiting around. It is up to the driver to get your passports to a custom official to get all the documents needed before being able to go through security and over to the other side. It also didn’t help that there seemed to be only two custom officials working for the amount of people that were trying to enter the country. There were two lines or booths, one for Vietnamese passport holders and one for foreigners although I don’t think those rules were being followed. I never timed it exactly but I’m pretty sure we waited about an hour or so before my bus’ passports were done. It also seemed like if the driver had slipped over some extra money then our passports would have been pushed closer to the front of the queue, but either way we got through in the end. It was definitely an experience.

Once you received your passport and your bags went through security you boarded the bus once more and it was roughly another hour to two ride to the drop off point in Ho Chi Minh.  With the bus ride and the waiting time at the border I’d say the overall time took about eight hours.

*Crossing the border by plane

If you are limited on time this may be the fastest and hassle-free option. However, having a quick look at flight tickets today from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh you are looking at paying approximately USD$145 for a flight opposed to only USD$11 for a bus. Although, the journey does only take 45 minutes so this is definitely the more time-efficient way of travel. Also, you would expect the normal procedures at immigration like any other airport rather than just a waiting game/who is down to give a little bribe!

Overnight train to Sapa

You can book your train tickets to Sapa via online websites however it is a bit tricky finding a place to print these out and the tickets do take a little while to get sent to you via email. The easiest way (and slightly more expensive) is if a travel agency or your hostel can book this for you. They will book you onto the 'tourist trains'. Different companies own different cars on this train so depending on the company the price will vary. The more expensive cars I saw were owned by Victoria Railway Express and Sapa Adventure, if you had wanted to splurge a little bit. The difference is the quality of bedding, fixtures and condiments they leave you.

We went with a low to mid-range company, which was still pretty great. The beds were comfortable and it was only a 4 berth with A/C. There was also a TV, which wasn't turned on, and the cabins seemed relatively new. They also offered free bottles of water. There are also outlets on-board if you did need to charge anything. 

The train leaves Ga Hanoi and arrives into Lao Cai, which you then take a transfer bus or shuttle to the town of Sapa (about an hour to two hours drive away). The trains are labelled differently. We travelled on SPC3, which left Hanoi at 8.50pm and arrived into Lao Cai at 7.55am.  There are about 2 or 3 different train times to suit your schedule.

The cost of each train equates to roughly USD$30-40 each way. 

Our 4 berth cabin

The fancy train!

Overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa, and vice versa.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Hanoi by train

If you have the time I would definitely recommend taking the train from Saigon to Hanoi. You can use it to travel up the coast and stop along the way, or if you have a couple of days it does take 2 nights if you don't want to stop anywhere. It's a great way to see the beautiful coastline and countryside of Vietnam.

There are different room types on-board but the one we stayed in was a 6 berth cabin, hard beds and with A/C. This is the cheapest cabin type. Price also depends if you want the top, middle or bottom bunk. Price is cheaper the higher the bed.

The cost of this train from Saigon to Hanoi cost 1,356,000VND for the top berth (roughly USD$65) or 1,594,000VND for the middle bunk (roughly USD$76).

The beds are reasonably comfortable even though they say they are 'hard beds'. It comes with bedding (pillow and a blanket). The train leaves Ga Saigon at 11pm and arrives into Hanoi 2 days later at 5.30am. To purchase these tickets you just need to go to the train station itself. The lady that served us didn't speak much English but with a calendar, calculator, some diagrams and just hearing the two cities there were no problems. (However, initially we did think it was an overnight train so were surprised when we found out on board it was a 2 night train! That was the only thing that was hard to specify with the language barrier. It all turned out okay, though).

If you forgot to bring food on board there is a food and drink cart that goes through the train about twice a day. The food offered is traditionally Vietnamese but delicious nonetheless. This costed roughly 50,000VND so about USD$2.50 for the food and about the same or slightly less for drinks. Otherwise you can quickly run out when the train stops at a station as there are many stalls along the tracks. There's not much of a selection and it's best if you can get on the good side of the conductor as he'll keep an eye out for you to make sure you're back on board before they depart.

TIP: Taxi drivers will come ask to take you to your destination as soon as you step foot off the train. I recommend leaving the station and try to flag a cab outside or further away on the street. Make sure they are metered as well and if you can find a way to Google Map where you need to go, you can make sure that they're not just taking you for a ride!

Beaches of Vietnam

6 berth, hard beds, A/C

Little Hanoi Hostels/Hotels..HIGHLY RECOMMEND

I wanted to do a separate post just for this accommodation chain as I was extremely impressed by the service and standard of quality of this place. Not only were they highly accommodating and helpful but the quality of the rooms and the overall property was very clean, quite new and the decor had a homely feel to it, which is nice to come back to especially when you've been living a nomadic lifestyle for a while.

There are three Little Hanoi’s situated around the city of Hanoi; two hostels and one more boutique-style hotel or flashpacker closer to the heart of the city. We had just arrived into the city having spent two nights on a train travelling from Ho Chi Minh (Saigon). It was about 6am and all we wanted was a room to relax in for a little bit and a nice, hot shower. We had found Little Hanoi Hostel 2 via online search and after seeing some good reviews we decided we would try our luck here. Things didn’t look too promising when we turned up and the reception was closed and two of the staff members were sleeping on make-shift beds out of couch pillows on the floor of the restaurant adjoining the reception.

Entrance. Former name was Lucky Star Hotel.

Luckily internet was free so we managed to pass our time catching up with friends online until someone woke up. The reception staff didn’t officially start until about 7am but once they did it was all uphill from here onwards. We hadn’t made any reservations and were hoping dorm rooms were free. Unfortunately the lady at reception informed us that all dorm rooms were full for the night (cost of a dorm bed is about USD$7). She did mention that a private room for three cost only $27 but we had to wait until 9.30am to see if it was available. Due to our inconvenience (which there was none as we were the ones who had not made any bookings) she offered us and the other girls that had just arrived free cooked breakfast. After a delicious meal of bacon, eggs and a fresh baguette she informs us that the private room at this hostel was already booked however they had another property, Little Hanoi Diamond, about 10 minutes away that had a room free. This was a slight grade higher than Little Hanoi Hostel 2 so rooms are generally more expensive so not only did she offer us the same price of USD$27 per night at the new place but they also paid for our taxi to get us to the other hostel. She then proceeded to help us with booking our trip to Halong Bay and our train tickets to Sapa, which can sometimes be confusing to book if you don’t have anyone to help you.

Staff at the second hostel greeted us warmly upon arrival and was very knowledgeable about the area and where the best hot-spots were for anything you asked for. One of the receptionists who worked during the day managed to remember our names as well which I thought added a nice little touch to their service. We were never let down by this hostel chain. Staff was amazing, professional and reliable. They also use good providers for any activities you book through them and are at a decent price.

Our 3 person private room.

This is hands-down one of the best places I’ve stayed in so far in my travels. It's hard to explain just how smooth and easy-to-deal with this place was, you just have to experience it for yourself. I cannot rate this place highly enough.

If you are ever looking for a place to stay in Hanoi, I highly recommend staying at one of the Little Hanoi properties as I guarantee you will not be disappointed. 

Websites:

Little Hanoi Diamond

Little Hanoi Hostel