Bridge the Travel Gap

Last few weeks in Vietnam

Due to weak wifi it has been difficult to write a blog, happily at our current hotel that is not a problem. On our third week in Vietnam we chilled out for a week at Hoi An. We found a great hotel the Ancient House Resort midway between the old ancient town and the Ao Nang beach. Happily they had a free shuttle to both at scheduled times. We also took advantage of their lovely pool and gardens. I can highly recommend this hotel if you ever decide to visit Hoi An.

Nha Trang

We stopped off at Nha Trang for a few days staying at a hotel beside the beach. We took an overnight train from Danang which is near Hoi An. It was really nice to prearranged a car to meet us at the station from the hotel. The view from our room made the stay all worthwhile. We found a lovely spot nearby to watch the beach and the sea as well. There are lots of Russian package tours in Nha Trang and the hotel we chose is four kilometres outside the central Nha Trang beach area. I was glad we chose our spot as it was not noisy and the locals are still allowed to use the beach.

Saigon

We took a day train to Saigon now called Ho Chi Minh City. It was nice to see a bit of the countryside. In Saigon we stayed four days. The highlight for me was meeting an 85-year-old Vietnamese gentleman who has worked the Saigon Post Office since he was 17 as a letter writer in English, French and Vietnamese. He was fluent in English and still goes to the Post office everyday.

The next day we did a scooter tour around Saigon which was great fun. I also visited the War Remnant Museum describing the Vietnam war through photography. There also were a few left over tanks and planes outside. We enjoyed Saigon and met a lovely couple Kanan and Zara from Australia. We all went out one night to a restaurant where you ate in complete darkness. Noir the restaurant also employs visually impaired waiters. It was a great experience, food was good, great company and you are supporting a good cause. We then went on to Phnom Penh by bus a story in itself.

What were our costs were in Vietnam the last two weeks?

In total we spent 58 million dong while in Vietnam for a month. Below the hotels and other costs are in US dollars. Sometimes I paid them in Dong which I have subtracted from the Meal, attractions, etc total to give our total spend.

Ancient House Resort Hotel in Hoi An for seven nights cost US$237
VDB Nha Trang Hotel for three nights cost US$162
Sanouva Saigon Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City for four nights cost US$192
clothing and sandals in Hoi An cost us US$216
Scooter tour in Saigon cost $80 for two of us
Meals, attractions and transport costs came to a total of 34 million Vietnamese Dong or US$1559.

Our average daily spend for the last two weeks was US$2048 or US$146 per day.