Vietnam & Singapore - Jan/Feb 2012

[NDiddy]

Right, so after escaping the madness of Tet traffic @ Hanoi airport we were grateful to see our hotel pickup waiting for us in the arrivals hall after we exited the baggage claim area.

We paid $18US for the transfer and if I recall the going taxi rate from the airport to Hanoi is around the $15US mark. Well worth the extra $3 if you ask me considering that most of the taxi's were compact.

Pickup was in a Chevrolet Luxury Sedan which had more leg room in the back seat than the MH flight into Hanoi but that wasn't too hard really.

The journey usually takes about 45 mins to an hour but it took us close to 1hr 15mins with the traffic but we finally arrived at the Hanoi Elegance Diamond:
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We primarily booked this hotel as we were only going to be staying for 2 nights (1 either side of a 2 night Halong Bay cruise) and dint want to splurge on somewhere we couldn't fully enjoy. My sister ad her partner stayed here and highly recommended it so it was an easy pick for us.

The front doesn't look like much but the warm friendly greeting of the staff quickly changed our first impression and we were keen to get to our room. We booked a Junior Suite for $90US a night (negotiated with the hotel, its our honeymoon blah blah) and boy were we surprised when we walked in. Pics below.

Room Tip

If you are going to be staying at this hotel book the Junior Suite and specifically ask from Room 905. It's the only room in the hotel which has a balcony (a decent size as well) and you can get glimpses of the lake.

Room Pics:







Complimentary wine:

 

[NDiddy]

More Honeymoon Cake and Bed setup:











We were pretty stoked at the effort they'd gone through.

So feeling quite tired at with an 8.30am pickup to Halong bay the next morning we decided not to venture out to the cheap eats in Hanoi and ate at the Hotels 12th floor restaurant called Gormet Corner. Prices were reasonable with 10% off food for Tet and Buy 2 get 1 free beers so the choice was easy.

Next post which will need to be tomorrow will be a short write up on Halong Bay, Junk selection and some snaps along the way.

Chuc Mung Nam Moi - Happy New Year to all my AFF peeps!

 

[albatross710]

Looking like a great trip. We were in Ha Noi for New Year's Eve. It was crazy that night. I can imagine Tet would be even crazier.

Looking at your hotel location, you will be in the thick of any celebration. Taxis in/out of that street may be in a problem during performances.

I'll attach a pic which is taken maybe 2 blocks from where you are staying. It was crazy fun that NYE night. It was actually very nice to be on the streets with 100,000s of people and zero alcohol related idiots.

If you are in large crowds do watch out for your personal safety as per standard travel procedures.

Enjoy Hanoi. We did.

 

[burmans]

Last New Year we were on a flight to Saigon so only arrive about 10:30. The ride in was just amazing, HCMC is busy at the best of times but this time there seemed to be bikes going everywhere full of 4 passengers all dressed up to the nines. Arrived at out hotel with about 10 mins to spare and rushed up to the roof to see the fireworks and the massive crowds below.

But like you impressed at the crowds enjoying the night with no drunks. Quite an experience!

And a bit of a PS, the Hotel Elegance 5 is (as you can probably guess) one of a group, they are all very well regarded. In fact Hanoi (unlike HCMC) seems to be full of great little hotels.

 

[NDiddy]

Unfortunately a throat virus has knocked me about the last couple days so apologies for the delay. Left the beautiful (although the weather the last couple of days has been anything but) Hoi An today and have arrived at the Sheraton in Nha Trang and the weather gods are smiling.

Siting in the Club Lounge (only place in the hotel with free internet) enjoying the afternoon tea so thought I'd get some more of the TR written up.

So our second day in Hanoi and we're set for our 2n/3d Halong Bay Cruise with IndoChina Sails. Chose this company as again it came highly recommended by the sister and her partner.

Had a very enjoyable breakfast at Gormet Corner in the hotel and we were packed and downstairs ready for our 8.30 minibus to Halong Bay. The hotel was good enough to look after one of our suitcases so that we didnt have to lug it around on the boat.

Minibus arrived promptly at 8.30 and we set about on the 3.5 hour (160km) journey to Halong Bay. Couple of tips:

1) If you are transferring via minibus to/from Halong Bay do not sit in the last 2 rows of seats if you can avoid it. In fact one couple even sat upfront with the driver. Seats are hard, the roads are bumpy and the journey is long and slow. Better yet, if you book the cruise with the company directly or through a hotel/TA ask if you can have a private car transfer. We were very envious of the people who had the foresight to organise this.

2) You will stop off at some marble sculpture warehouse place half way along the journey for about 20/25 mins to use the bathroom and if you're keen for spontaneous marble sculpture shopping then this is the place for you. There is no hard sell/scam going on here, just a very opportunistic shopping experience. You can purchase food/water/snacks and coffee here and most companies have complimentary water for the journey.

After what seemed like an eternity we finally arrived at Halong Bay. Friendly crew escorted us to the waiting IndoChina Sails restaurant until we were ready to board.

Waiting area/Restaurant (with free internet on one computer):



View of the junks from the dock:



Walk along the pier to the transfer boat:



View back to Halong Bay from the transfer boat:

 

[NDiddy]

The boat:



Smiling welcome just as we are about to dock with the junk:



Photos from the sun deck (minus the sun):

 

[NDiddy]

Our (honeymoon decorated) room:









And complimentary wine which we enjoyed on our last night. Not a bad drop:



Room was on the cozy side but enough space for 2 and the bathroom was quite good. Bear in mind, at least on this boat, there was probably a max of 3 mins of hot water for the shower. Not bad once you're aware of this fact but a rude awakening when you're expecting more and none come.

 

[NDiddy]

Some photos of the dining/lounge area:

 

[NDiddy]

After enjoying a buffet lunch there are 2 activities that are organised for the remainder of the day.

Activity 1 - Bat Cave

Not a bad start to the cruise and you have the option of being rowed by a local fisherman or kayak yourself. Choose the kayak option as the beauty of the place is well appreciated with just you/your partner as opposed to 16 other people going "Whoa/Wow/ECHO":





After that its off to Titop Island (named after the Russian Cosmonaut) to climb the 427 steps to the top of the hill. Some very spectacular views but the mist and fog don't do the place justice.





After about an hour, you're back to the junk for dinner but not before the half hour "get the chef to show you how to make spring rolls and then try it yourself" activity:

 

[NDiddy]

Day 2 activities were a little stretched but included a visit to a Pearl Farm (cue opportunistic shopping), another cave thing, a floating village and then back to the boat.

Luckily for us there were only 4 of us on the day boat which can easily house around 30 people so it felt a lot more private than some of the other boats that were around at the time:











Ok I'll leave it here but there is a day 3 and my thoughts on the whole Halong experience that I would like to share. Heading off for the 5 - 7.30 free drinks

 

[NDiddy]

Day 3 on Halong Bay Cruise

Really not much occurring this day except a visit to "Surprise Cave". Did not interest me in the least but the Mrs went and it was "meh". The morning is spent having a quick shower and packing your belongings leaving them outside your cabin door so that the staff can transport the bags to the pier.

Buffet Breakfast is followed by a request to settle the bill which is done quite efficiently.

You're escorted off the boat onto the waiting transfer boat that takes you to the pier and back to the restaurant while you wait for your minibus to arrive. We arrived at about 11.30 and we were off by 11.45.

The return trip took nearly 4 hours (traffic was bad) and we had the obligatory stop at the Marble/sculpture factory.

Cost for 2 people for a 3d/2n trip was approx $680US. This was organised directly with the Hanoi Elegance hotel. I'm sure it could be done cheaper and if we had a bit more time in Hanoi that's exactly what we would have done but the price seemed fair and reasonable. Again I implore you to explore the private car transfer when considering booking a Halong Bay Cruise.

Thoughts on the cruise

I suppose its hard to be really critical but certainly I would advise people to try and find an operator that has less cabins on the boat and a more premium product than the standard 3/4 star offerings. I know IndoChina have a premium vessel which looked enormous but another one I liked while cruising along was the Bhaya - Looks a but pricey but looked nice.

The second tip is to try and find a junk which has balconies off the cabin itself. This would have been handy rather than congregating with everyone else on the sun deck and makes the cruise feel a little more intimate if only in the confines of your own cabin.

The last tip is to see if you can tailor your own itin for the time that you have choosen to cruise for. All to often it felt like we were on a schedule and although not feeling rushed there was little time to spend "on your own". Both Diddy's felt that was the one thing that we felt about the cruise, a bit rushed and it all happened a bit too quickly for our liking. Note: You certainly don't have to partake in the itin but it might be nicer to do it on your own time. Probably not something that is available but at least worth investigating.

Back at the Hanoi Elegance we were disappointed to find that we were not going to be given our fav room 905 as it had already been booked but were given room 1005. Exactly the same but with no balcony and with a slightly less pressurised rain water shower head.

Due to TET there were many restaurants that were closed and we resided ourselves to selecting a Lonely Planet pick called 69 Bar Restaurant. The deor ambiance and staff were wonderful however the food was a bit bland and certainly overpriced for what was offered. Reconsider this option if this was on your radar.

Stopped into a local supermarket and picked up a few bottles of Hanoi beer and settled in for our last night before heading to Da Nang and ultimately Hoi An.

 

[NDiddy]

Our flight to Da Nang was scheduled to leave at 10.20am and after the hotel informed us about the traffic situation with the TET crowds we agreed to a 7.30am departure from the hotel with the hotel car.


Again if you do decide to stay at this hotel, do take advantage of the cheap airport transfers the hotel offers.


A quick breakfast and a speedy checkout saw us leave the hotel at 7.30 on the dot. Although there was traffic on the road we still made the airport in just under an hour.


Hanoi airport was busy but the lovely Vietnam airlines lady directed us to a totally empty counter and we were able to check in for the flight quite quickly. It appeared that J was completely full but we managed to score Emergency exit seats (next to a cre allocated seat) on the A321.


Flight details:


HAN - DAD
Scheduled departure 10.20AM
Actual departure 10.35AM


Scheduled arrival 11.35AM
Actual arrival 11.45AM


Although the cabin looked old and the seats uninviting it was a very comfortable journey with ample leg room and with no crew member choosing the seat next to us, we had a sense of privacy sorely lacking on the MH flight into HAN.


No meal service on this route with only a bottle of water and a refresher towel provided. The overhead screens did come down to show the flight details to Da Nang.

 

[amaroo]

Really enjoying the TR.

Had a few flights with VN - we think they are great & look forward to walking on board again.

Particularly liked turning up at DAD and being told that there was a plane change and therefore, no more J class......they worked out the difference and handed me about 3 trillion dong on the spot.

When we hit SIN we change it for about $60 dollars

Actually, looking forward to the day when I've exhausted all my points & getting on the blue jet & flying direct to SGN

 

[RB]

Great read. Went to Halong Bay in 2001 & stayed in a hotel for 2 nights at Cat Ba. We went to a cave that apparently served as a secret hosital during the war-echo of the singing was amazing. Loved the bars that were at Cat Ba there at the time.

 

[NDiddy]

Really enjoying the TR.

Had a few flights with VN - we think they are great & look forward to walking on board again.

Thanks mate - Glad you're enjoying it. Trying to make it as helpful as possible for those who intend on doing a trip to Vietnam.

I agree VN have been good and for short haul I'd have no problem flying them. Would be interesting to see a TR from someone who has done the AUS - SAI/HAN route on the 777-200

 

[NDiddy]

Great read. Went to Halong Bay in 2001 & stayed in a hotel for 2 nights at Cat Ba. We went to a cave that apparently served as a secret hosital during the war-echo of the singing was amazing. Loved the bars that were at Cat Ba there at the time.

Thanks RB. I probably should have stressed this in my previous posts but when choosing a junk please choose from reputable operators and preferably one that has been tried and tested.

There were some "interesting" boats on the bay and one might struggle to validate their seaworthiness.

We loved Halong Bay and even though it was overcast/foggy/misty it only added to the charm and allure of the place. A must do at least once!

 

[NDiddy]

Finally an airport that caters to passengers, Da Nang was a welcome respite to Hanoi and it seemed we were the only flight to land at that particular time.


Baggage was out quickly enough and then we set about trying to find a taxi to take us to the Victoria Beach Resort and Spa in Hoi An.


I tried to get some info on the taxi situation in Da Nang and there were contradictory reports on what was available so here is the skinny on what to expect:


1) There is no official taxi rank in Da Nang so unless you've organised something with the hotel (which costs at least double the going rate) you will have to get one yourself.


2) I heard that Mai Linh taxis were recommended and the bits of info I came across the web proved this to be the case. When you head outside the airport look for a guy wearing a green jacket/tie who will direct you to one of the waiting Mai Linh taxi's - also green in colour. The rates are clearly marked on the door and inside the cab and the whole ride is metered. Although the rates vary the rough guide seems to be:


10,000VND flagfall
10,000VND for the first 0.7 km
14,000VND per km after 0.7km upto 30km
9,500VND per km after 31km


Note: If you end up in a people mover the per km rates are slightly higher.


Taxi driver was terrific, knew the hotel and got us there in about 35 mins. Cost was 400,000VND.

 

[NDiddy]

The Victoria Beach Resort & Spa Hoi An

We were torn between choosing this hotel and the Nam Hai which comes highly rated. But in the end (as with most things) money was a factor and the Nam Hai was about 2.5x the Victoria which made the choice a lot easier; and the choice was justified when we arrived to our room.

Check In

Quick, efficient and the room was ready when we arrived. Not that they told us this when we checked in but we were upgraded from the Junior Suite to the King Suite with direct access to a private beach....very nice

The Room

Just outstanding (see pics below as they probably say more than what I could write on here). We stayed in room 320 and highly recommend this room due to only having one adjoining room and a vast open space between the last lot of rooms on the beach:

Beach view and sun deck:





Lounge Area:

 

[NDiddy]

Tea Room:





Interesting and novel outdoor shower (god knows what one does when it rains):

 

[NDiddy]

Bathroom and Jacuzzi:





Honeymoon decorated King Bed: