PRESS RELEASE
26 JUL – 04 AUG 2004

VIETNAM FAMIL

After meeting the group of 5 other girls in the late afternoon they had decided on the restaurant we were eating at that night and had also checked out the best places to shop.
I then knew we were going to have a great group!

We started in Hanoi with a sight seeing tour and visited Mr Ho Chi Minh himself, who still looks great. He gets a make-over every year so the tomb is closed for a few months. In the evening we went to the Water Puppets which was fantastic and highly recommended. Free time and of course went to the “Old Town” to practice our bartering.

The Hoa Binh Hotel was in a good location and you can even walk to the ANZ bank to use the ATM.

The next day we headed out to Halong City with a stop at the Bat Trang Ceramic Village. Although mindful of taking pottery back we all still managed to fill the baskets they had given us. We then made a stop tat the Hung Ngco disabled School where you can purchase beautiful paintings, needlwork, clothes and bags.

Once we had checked in to our hotel we went on a lunch cruise. The seafood lunch was something else and we were all worried about swimming afterwards as we all indulged a little too much! Evening was at our leisure so we all went to a local restaurant. There is not a lot to do in Halong Bay town so we made use of our duty free after dinner

The next day we visited the Hang Kenh Temple and Du Hang Pagoda before catching our flight to Danang. After the flight we were driven to Hoi An which is known for its Tailor’s as well as French and Chinese architecture. Once we arrived it wasn’t long before we hit the Tailor shops and were getting clothes made to be collected the next day. The prices are extremely cheap so well worth getting a few things made up.

The morning included a walking tour of Hoi An which is an amazing town and one of my favourite places. After the morning tour we had the afternoon at leisure. We all hired bicycles which is a great way to get around, you just need to do as the locals do and ride on any side of the road and hope you don’t get knocked over! Some of the group found time to go to more tailor’s as they did not get enough the first time whilst others relaxed by the pool.

The next day we drove from Hoi An to Hue but stopped at Marble Mountain where they made statues and Hai Van Cloudy Pass where you can see a panoramic view. Stopped for a beatiful lunch which renowned for its seafood at Lang Co fishing village. Finally we reached Hue which was the former capital and visited the impressive Citadel and Imperial City.

In Hue we found a restaurant where the meal is “fit for a King or Queen”. In fact it claims that the 6 courses are what the Imperial family ate, however I am not sure if they paid $15USD. It is well worth it though, as the plates come out in the shape of all different animals!

The next morning we went on a Dragon Boat upstream and then visited the 2 Royal tombs. After this we caught our flight to Saigon where we checked in to the beautiful Continental Hotel. Somehow we found more markets that evening and great DVD shopping!

The next day was one of my highlights visiting the Cu Chi Tunnels. This was truly an unbelievable experience on how the people lived in these tunnels for so long. We got back to Saigon late afternoon to sample the Central Markets which is opposite Pho 2000. This is a famous noodle house where Bill Clinton had lunch, so we decided to have lunch here too.

The next morning we got up early as it was a full day drive from Saigon to Cai be where we boarded a boat to cruise to the floating markets. After sampling local caramel lollies and rice corn (nicer than pop corn) we had lunch at a local restaurant in the Mekong Delta. After a long drive back we decided to go to the Caravelle Hotel which has a famous bar at the top with fantastic views. We all sampled its signature cocktail being the Saigon Saigon – worth sampling a few!

TIPS

Take tissues with as toilet paper is not always available and some are the “squat variety”.

Currency – cannot get Vietnamese Dong before you go but get USD in smaller demoninations as a lot of things are under 5USD.

Crossing the road is an experience but you will get the hang of it!

DVD’s are 15 – 20,000 Dong.

No McDonald’s which is great, but always try a squid dish and Vietnamese rolls – they were fantastic in every restaurant we ate at!