Gulliver's Adventure in Lilliput
Good day, uv. travelers. I really want my review to help many who, like us, studied all sorts of pros and cons before going ...To begin with, visiting Vietnam has been my obsession for a long time. And somehow it was impossible to make a choice in favor of this country, although in recent years many countries have been visited. They were going to fly themselves without the services of a travel agency, but it didn’t work out completely on their own. The travel agency picked up an air flight for us along the route much cheaper than we found ourselves (Kyiv-Ho Chi Minh City for 800 USD per person), booked a hotel in Mui Ne for us, which they could not confirm for us in any way, made us an invitation and insurance - all the same, sometimes the services of professionals need to use. And they gave us a lot of practical advice on choosing a route, in the future - we really appreciated their participation in organizing our trip.
I will not name the name of the tour operator to which we constantly turn, since in some reviews it is considered an advertisement (whoever needs it, I will recommend it with pleasure, ask - I will answer) visit Halong Bay - Ho Chi Minh City - Dubai - Kyiv. In the future, they changed a little - they deleted Hanoi from their tour. Well, everything is in order - we flew to Dubai by the UIA air carrier, to Dubai we had a transfer (connection of about 5 hours) to Ho Chi Minh City by the Emirates carrier. Wonderful Emirates campaign, excellent food - twice in 6 hours, drinks + alcohol during the flight, everything is of good quality, the seats are comfortable, although economy. We flew to Ho Chi Minh City in the evening and were very glad that we listened to the advice of the girls from the travel agency and booked a hotel for the night and did not get lost for the night in Mui Ne (another 5 hours by car) after all, the flight is not easy, no matter what the carrier.
At the airport, when obtaining a visa, we observed a very unpleasant situation - everyone handed over their passports and received a questionnaire, filled it out and then shouted their names from the visa department in very broken English-Russian, a tourist made his way through the crowd of people for his passport with 45 c. u. e for a visa, since at the moment there are practically no dongs and many are not very good at dealing with other people's money. So the girl came up, gave 100 c. u. That is, around a crowd of our compatriots, they are all watching, a Vietnamese woman gives her change in dong, she takes her passport and leaves. A minute later, she realizes that the change was not given to her with 100 USD. It’s like with 50, it returns, but it’s no longer realistic to prove it. You don’t always see how Slavs from the post-Soviet space can help each other, but here everyone standing near the window (and there were a huge number of them) began to prove that there were 100 cu. Yes, you have seen it, but……..
And such situations happened more than once - then they told us about it. So be very careful with the calculations, they can fool at the customs. Money changed at the airport 100 USD. e -20.800 dong, in the city it was possible to change 21.000. A taxi to the hotel was taken at the airport itself for 160.000 for 6 people. The hotel was booked in the central part of Ho Chi Minh City, called Green Suites, it costs 35 USD. It's for two with breakfast. You can't imagine a better place to spend the night. A small hotel in a side street, a 2-minute walk from the roadway and the active life of Ho Chi Minh City - no noise is heard, there are a lot of cafes around, all sorts of shops, shopping shops - life is just seething. From the first minutes of our stay on the streets of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we were simply struck by the frenzied activity on the roads of mopeds, motorcycles, bicycles, cars, people - this is something ...We have never met such a colorful capital. We had dinner at a nearby restaurant, we went to rest, after all, the flight is tiring.
The next morning, even though the time difference with Ukraine was 5 hours ahead, we got up at about 6 o’clock in the morning, somehow this time the time difference didn’t hook us at all, although we adapted to stay in Cuba and the Dominican Republic for several days. I will say in advance, probably, our body felt in Ho Chi Minh City that we will love Vietnam infinitely !!!!!!! ! Morning in Ho Chi Minh City is something extraordinary - little people crawl out of all the streets like goosebumps, everyone is busy with their usual affairs and no one pays attention to tourists in the central part of the city. At the very corner near the hotel, a meat counter was decomposed - the trade was in full swing, they were cleaning fish nearby, they were delivering bags of vegetables to the cafe. Where yesterday there were portable tables near the cafe and everything that can only be imagined was lying around from beer bottles to all kinds of food waste - in the morning everything was completely cleaned and the asphalt was washed from under the hose.
From the very morning, the movement on the streets is already active, when they sleep, it is not clear. Not far from the hotel there is a whole street of travel agencies - there we ordered a transfer to Mui Ne for 120 USD. e from six on a good Mercedes minibus. The road to Mui Ne, although about 250 km. , takes about 5 hours, since the traffic is mostly loaded, and there are a lot of restrictions on the highway and drivers do not grumble like ours. But we drove all seven hours - our campaign is very fun and yum-yum (snack) and photo shoots did their job. We booked a hotel in Mui Ne - Bamboo Village Resort 4 *. A very colorful hotel, located in the heart of the resort area, this is a real village built of bamboo, bungalows with thatched roofs surrounded by tropical greenery. A very beautiful, well-groomed territory, it seems that there was a jungle here and they were cut down in places and houses were put in their place.
We booked one bungalow and two Deluxe, on the way we raffled off who would get the bungalow, the lucky ones later regretted it - they often had guests ...Bungalow houses are closer to the beach than buildings . . Rooms in buildings in three-story villas, view to the garden or swimming pool with balconies. In the middle, the rooms and bungalows are almost the same, even the rooms are slightly larger. The sea is great. In the first two days there were very big waves, but the sea always remained unusually clear, as it can be. In no other country did we get such pleasure from the sea, even the chic Atlantic Ocean in Cuba lost a little (this is my opinion) In the morning it is calmer, in the afternoon it is an incredible adrenaline rush. The only inconvenience in this situation is a large number of surfers closer to dinner, next to just floating vacationers.
It was possible to observe as soon as the "teapots" standing on the board practically ran into the swimmers. But there were also breathtaking scenes of surfers flying over the waves and across the sky - very beautiful. Food in Vietnam is a paradise for gluttons and gourmets. Here you can try everything. An incredible amount of all kinds of seafood, fruits, all kinds of meat. Prices on the coast in almost all cafes are the same, if there is a difference, then not much. Where there are more advertised cafes, such as Madame Dee, they are a little more expensive, although it is not clear why it is better than others ...We just treat both gluttons and gourmets, so during our 5 days in Mui Ne we did not allow ourselves to stay no lunch or late dinner. We dined near the hotel, and for dinner we went to the outskirts to the village of Boke, where all kinds of freshly caught seafood are available for gourmets.
I didn’t like the crocodile, the turtle soup is delicious, the oysters are super, the perch steak is super, the shrimp are ordinary, the stingray meat is nothing special, the barracuda is delicious, the shark is delicious, the eel was better. The average bill for two is 300-400 dong. Taxi from our hotel to Boke for six 40 dong. The most delicious mango fresh in front of our hotel-cafe Madame Chi-25 dongs, and I really liked their Pho soup. A little to the right, a two-story cafe is also very good prices and cuisine. They took their alcoholic drinks and even water with them to any cafe (there were no problems anywhere) Supermarkets all over the street - prices are almost the same. For alcohol, there is everything, starting from vodka and away we go ....for every taste. Creams in stores at prices are very different, it even happens by 50-70%, you need to be like. But if your way after Mui Ne will be towards Nha Trang, it is better to buy there, much cheaper. We took an excursion to the sand dunes at the agency 1001 nights-25 at. Jeep for up to 4 people.
A jeep without glasses, only a windshield, the car arrived at 5 in the morning, when driving, it was incredibly cold - it froze. The dunes did not impress us, a quad bike for two is 25 USD. that is, in 30 minutes, which does not carry you, but you drag it. In Egypt, more interesting, this event. In Mui Ne, there is an excellent recreation area with mineral water and mud - a natural source of warm mineral water Binh Chau - the temperature of mineral water reaches 80 ° C. I recommend it to anyone who is interested. Phan Thiet is 22 km away. you can get on your own by bus or taxi - we did not go. We went to the lighthouse, it was beautiful on the lighthouse. On the way back, we bought a couple of times on wild beaches. In general, a vacation in Mui Ne is a very relaxing holiday on magnificent beaches with an incredible amount of seafood and other delicacies at very ridiculous prices - comparing with restaurants in Kyiv. Our four nights planned in Mui Ne ended and then the road lay in the direction of Nha Trang.
But we wanted, as they say, to kill two birds with one stone - to order a transfer to Nha Trang via Dalat, of course with excursions. Travel agencies in Mui Ne offered only tours to Dalat and back to Mui Ne, or Mui Ne-Dalat and Nha Trang for 2 days, in short, travel agencies did not suit us for the price, not for the route. At our hotel for breakfast, we met a Russian-speaking Vietnamese, and he found us a little man who has his own buses and a Russian-speaking guide who will take us where we need to go. This little man also has his own cafe in Boke. Agreed for 330 USD. e from six, in travel agencies we were offered from 80 c. u. e. pers. without stops for excursions, and here even with lunch. The only thing he fooled us with the bus when we agreed, he promised to give us a Mercedes, and a small Japanese minibus came for us, which had to be completely decomposed along the way, repacking our suitcases so that we could travel comfortably.
So keep this in mind - "new Vietnamese businessmen" are sometimes cunning ...Although I'll get ahead of myself - the people there are just wonderful !!!!!!!!!!! ! We left immediately after breakfast (we couldn’t miss it in any way, we fed very well at the hotel) On the way to Dalat, the bus stopped several times: first at coffee plantations, then at an impromptu observation deck, the pictures are cool. Then the tour went to the waterfall in a park with elephants and ostriches where you can ride, but if your path lies in Nha Trang, then there are heaps of this “good” ...It is best to go down to the waterfall in the park using the roller coaster. The territory of the park is very beautiful, you can take wonderful photos, in front of the waterfall - super. They brought us to the temple complex with the reclining Buddha, of course, a shop with tea and coffee...
And the "madhouse" - the architect and mistress of this incredible building is the daughter of the successor of Ho Chi Minh, who was the president of Vietnam. My daughter studied in Moscow, where she spent, in my opinion, about 12 or 14 years (I don’t remember exactly) and defended her PhD in architecture. This creation is the result of her training. Very ambiguous emotions about this hotel complex (the hotel is operating, although I would not want to stay there for the night ... ) At the moment, there is still construction going on there. Well, everything seems to be on excursions on the road to Nha Trang, there was not much time and fog could hang in the mountains and we said to the driver - BANKAI ...The road through the passes along the serpentine is something. There are a lot of waterfalls on the way in the mountains - the spectacle is awesome ..... We got to the hotel somewhere around 20.00. Our hotel made a very, very, very good impression even from the road. Before the trip, we chose and read a lot of reviews, about the Sunrise Nha Trang Beach Hotel & Spa 5 * everything is true, the hotel is super.
I will say right away that you can choose cheaper hotels, there are a huge number of them in Nha Trang. But I wanted to .... , especially since when choosing we had a prerequisite for the first line - since in our campaign there were fish, in the full and figurative sense, and we needed to create comfortable conditions for them to swim from the very early morning ...Describe the hotel I won't, a lot has been written about him. In a nutshell, very good rooms. We booked the Sunrise Club Suite, as there was nothing simpler at that time. Well, of course, it’s a waste ...Then, when our plans changed and we already booked three nights in the hotel, I would say that not all hotels have such suites as this was the standard. Breakfasts corresponded to the level of the hotel at 100%. Initially, we planned to stay in Nha Trang for 5 nights and then fly to Halong Bay in Hanoi. In the morning we took a taxi and went to the "European quarter".
There are a huge number of travel agencies there, so do not rack your brains where to get Russian-speaking guides in Vietnam, etc. - there are a million of them here. We went to Vietnamese airlines to buy an air ticket and got acquainted with the Russian campaign of guys who had just returned from Hanoi. I will not impose my opinion on the trip from Nha Trang to Hanoi, but we changed our minds about flying north. Probably, this will be an incentive to return to Vietnam again from the other side in the summer ...Nha Trang is this resort for tourists who prefer outdoor activities, compared to Mui Ne, life is seething here. A huge number of all kinds of cafes, spa salons, shops, whatever your heart desires ....On the first day, we visited, of course, Winpearl Island on our own. Travel agencies offer to combine a visit to Vinperl with the Tyam tower Po Nagar from 60 USD.
e per person, but we, as already “advanced” travelers, traveled almost everywhere on our own, except for the trip to the three islands. We took a taxi (a taxi is not expensive and there were 6 of us), say Vinpearl Island. The taxi driver takes you to the port and there you buy a ticket for the funicular for 420 VND per person. And everything is already there, except for food and of course drinks for free. The world's longest sea cable car stretches to Winperl. Cabins for 6 people move at an altitude of 70 m above the sea - class!! ! On the mountain there is an inscription - Vinpearl, well, just like Hollywood. Here is one of the largest water parks in Asia - everyone will find entertainment for themselves. Be sure to visit the aquarium - impressive. Of course, not as big as in the Emirates, but also nothing. You can ride the "roller coaster" almost to the top of the island (to the letter). Another advantage to go on your own is in the evening at 19.
00 the show of singing fountains begins, those who have not seen the fountains in Dubai can get new impressions. They took a minibus from the hotel for 100 USD. We went in both directions to the Yangbei waterfall, to the mineral springs, swam under the waterfall - impressions of the SEA ...There is a crocodile farm nearby. The crocodiles are small, in Cuba there are giants compared to the Vietnamese ones, but all this is worth a look nearby. In Nha Trang, there are a huge number of all kinds of cafes and restaurants, the taxi driver showed us the fish "restaurant" Muydo (the restaurant is loudly said), similar to the type in the village of Boke, right behind the bridge 34 Pham Van Dong street. Fresh fish, all kinds of seafood. Cooked quickly and tasty. There is always a hostess, you can and should bargain. On the way to a restaurant nearby, you can stop by the Thap Ba Po Nagar temple complex of the Cham tower (VIII century) - a masterpiece of ancient exotic architecture. Small temple buildings, very beautiful view of the bridge, the sea and the city.
Of course, you definitely need to visit a tour of the three islands (with the island of monkeys) - 40 USD. e. pers. We took this pleasure from the Moscow travel agency, which is located in the center of the European quarter - Russian guides. The girls from Moscow are very sociable, so if you have any questions, I think they will tell you everything. By the way, near this travel agency (they also advised us) how do you stand facing it from the left lane - a super confectionery and a two-story small Vietnamese cafe nearby. They do not have a menu in Russian, but you can almost understand everything from the photos of the dishes - this is Vietnamese cuisine, they cook just fine and good prices. And almost opposite them, across the road, there is a very decent cafe, there is a sign “Moscow” hanging on the second floor. As far as I understood, there used to be an office of this company, and the new owners simply do not want to remove the sign any more.
The tuna salad in this "Moscow" and their Vietnamese fried pancakes (I forgot what they are called correctly) is a waste ...Well, probably one of the most vivid impressions, because of which I am sure that we will return to this country more than once - these are their wild beaches. I don’t know why they call them “wild”, there is everything for a wonderful holiday - bathrooms, showers, cafes, sun loungers, fruit vendors and all kinds of drinks, but probably because civilization has not yet reached this particular coast. Lord, what a SEA is there ..... what kind of sand is there, what mountains are there and what a sunset is there ....For a long time it will beckon us, and for a long time I will look at the pictures and videos of this wonderful country every day. So, well, enough of the lyrics, in fact, the beach is located 19 km from the city of Nha Trang, you can get there very simply by taxi 20 c. u. e for six in one direction, called Bai Dai Beach (Bai Dai Beach) its length is about 10 km.
There are also “wild beaches” in the vicinity of Nha Trang, but we fell in love with this one and did not change it. In general, you need to buy a map of Nha Trang and there are signs for almost all attractions, beaches, etc. The good news is that modern Vietnamese writing is based on the Latin alphabet, so the names are easy to read. For shopping, this is of course the Cha Dam market - any taxi driver will take you there. Men's t-shirts and t-shirts can be found simply of excellent quality for 200-250 dong, which is simpler, naturally and cheaper. Bargaining is necessary - the price drops significantly.
Well, it's probably time to finish, otherwise give me the opportunity, I'll throw more pages of heels. As my friend says, the journey of the Gullivers to the country of Lilliput ends. A lot of positive emotions left after the trip.
I have always had a position - why go a second time to the same country, there are a lot of beautiful places on earth and you need to see more. But for the first time, my husband and I decided that it was simply necessary to return to Vietnam - though from the other side (northern) and visiting Cambodia. Airfare to Ho Chi Minh City was taken by Vietnamese Airlines. The price of air travel there fluctuates a lot, so you can catch it very cheaply from 45 USD. That is, it’s possible not very much - we were not lucky, there were only a business class of about 100 USD. e. Taxi to the airport in the district of 40 c. u. Yes, 40 minutes drive. The flight to Ho Chi Minh City takes 45 minutes. Once again, I would like to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the girls from the travel agency in Kyiv, who provided us with invaluable assistance in organizing the trip correctly, without them we would have simply broken the route and lost several days. I will be happy to answer any questions, write
