VIETNAM - South Recommendations

Here are a few things NOT in the guide books that we HIGHLY recommend.

VIETNAM - South

CAN THO
The 411 - Bustling river town and good base for boat trips at only $2/hr (try a short sunset cruise in a traditional, wooden boat). Rent a moto and head to the morning market at Phong Dien. If you have only one Mekong stop, this should be it.
Eat - Vegetarian restaurant near the Khmer temple, but even better, beers in the neighborhood behind (look for the tree-lined street running parallel)

VINH LONG
The 411 - Spend a day or two walking + biking through the orchards on the island + a morning boat cruise to the floating market at Cai Be.

SAIGON
The 411 - CRAZY, Loud city. Not worth lingering, but be sure to hit the War Remnants Museum, Cholon Pagodas + 4:30 rush hour.

MUI NE
The 411 - Don't miss this magical coastal town with it's picturesque fishing port. Watch the sun rise as women sell the nights catch and men work on old, wooden boats. Rent a moto and spend a couple days cruising around the enormous red, white + butterscotch dunes north of town.
Sleep - Ken Guest House (near Hoang Kai Resort)
Eat - Coffee at PIN Cafe (near Hoang Kai Resort) + meals at Sua Ninh Restaurant (near Little Muine Cottages). Try their Lemongrass-Chili Tofu... Amazing! Everything seafood looked pretty tasty too.

NHA TRANG
The 411 - Not a bad town in it's own right, but better to go out to the beaches at Doc Let (Paradise Resort) or Jungle Beach. Here the attractions are visiting the salt fields, lounging on the beach and hanging with the makeshift family of travelers + host extraordinaire, Cherie.
Sleep - Sea Moon Guest House
Eat - "Ko Tam" Com Chay Restaurant's Chicken-Cabbage salad is delicious

HOI AN
The 411 - Beautiful architecture here, but no mistaking, this has been turned into a "boutique" town with all efforts on extracting your precious dollars for custom-made clothing and local artisan crafts. Regardless, it's worth a couple days of your time to break the bus ride and DON'T MISS these stunning pagodas - Assembly Hall of the Cantonese-Chinese Congregation + Trieu Chau Assembly Hall
Eat - The Love of Justice (Tofu with pineapple). Who couldn't love THAT?! Coffee (Ca Phe Sua Da - tastes like dark chocolate covered orange peel!) on Nhi Trung @ the northern corner of the loop road.

HUE
The 411 - A surprising find. Most people only spend a night here before taking the night train to Hanoi, but it's definitely worth a few days. Rent a bike for your tour of the Nguyen dynasty tombs (1-2 days) instead of taking the "Dragon Boat" to enjoy the countryside and not blow all your sightseeing cash in one fail swoop. Rent a moto another day and head towards to ocean, veering off to cruise around the shrimp farms and following the long peninsula down the coast.
Eat - Enzo's New York Pizza makes authentic Italian ciabatta + pizzas, and Little Italy has passable Italian at decent prices. The best food in town though, at least for vegetarians, is to be found at Cho Dong Ba. By self catering with fake-meats from the Com Chay ladies (try the one that looks like stuffing with lemongrass), fresh rice noodles + tasty produce, you'll eat better than ANYTHING you can find in a restaurant - Guaranteed.


SUGGESTED 2-3 WEEK ITINERARY
The country is too big + interesting to tackle in one shot, much better is to break it in half. Here's our recommendation for the South - Fly in to Saigon (1-2 days) checking out the City. Bus or boat to Can Tho (2 days) for a glimpse of the Mekong floating markets (+ 1 day in Vinh Long if you have time). Breeze through Saigon and continue by bus to Mui Ne (2-4 days) to see the fish market + port and sand dunes. Onwards to Nha Trang + Doc Let or Jungle Beach for (2-3 days) fun in the sun. If you have more time, continue up the coastal route to Hoi An (1-2 days), then Hue (2-4 days). Return back south via the highland route (2-4 days) to Saigon. Remember to allow a half to a full day for transport between each city. See "Vietnam - North" for more...

APPROXIMATE COSTS (For Low Budget Travel)
Note: Here more than anywhere, all prices are highly negotiable. It is not uncommon for foreigners to be charged 2-3 times the normal price for any + everything. Prices listed reflect hard bargaining and are about as cheap as you can possibly get by here. If you haven't been paying attention, global tourism is on a HUGE rise now, and Vietnam's economy is the second fastest in the world. As a result, we've seen dramatic changes in just a few months time of businesses coming + going and prices rising, so this information is likely to be soon outdated.
Room - $4-10/2p (One of the best values for your money of any country I've visited)
Meal - $2-4/pp
Coffee - .25 - .35
Beer - .12 - .50
Moto/Bicycle - $3-5/.60
Visa - $35/ 30 Day + $25 for U.S. citizens

Visa Info
Must be applied for in advance, either from capitals of neighboring countries or at your home embassy. The standard issue is for a 30-day Tourist Visa, but you can also request a 90-day Business Visa in advance for the cost of a 30-day + 2 week extension. Once in country 2 week to 1 month extensions are easily available in HCMC, Dalat, Hue, Hoi An, Danang + Hanoi. A maximum stay of 90 days is possible at which time you must exit + re-enter the country. Check the "link" for more info.

What's to Like?
The feeling of stepping back in time, beautiful scenery, fantastic produce markets, moto/bicycle culture, THE best coffee + interesting people interaction.

What's Not?
Less-than-pristine coastline, more difficult language + interesting people interaction (they're a mixed bag). Be prepared to bargain for everything.

Will you Starve to Death?
A big surprise is that this is a VERY easy country for vegetarians as many people here follow Buddhist principles of vegetarianism twice a month. This means that there are specific veggie restaurants in every town and we never had a problem finding them with the magic words "Doy un chay". Com Chay Buddhist restaurants aren't great, but the veggie meats are a nice break from tofu. Opt for food prepared to order if possible. Car-ry stew is a nice one. As an added bonus, if you're willing to self-cater, you can buy a myriad variety of fixings for salads from the markets, including - cooked rice noodles, pickled + raw, pre-shredded veggies, multiple varieties of tofu + delicious soy or gluten meats (including salmon + chicken), etc. Chowmein, burgers, pasta + pizza appear on many menus and it's sometimes quite good. Look before ordering. Vietnamese sandwiches with pate (non-veg) or cheese + veg on baguette are available on almost any street corner, as is grilled chicken or fish on a stick. Pho (noodle soup) is the traditional breakfast, but you can hit the street carts the evening prior for tasty sesame, donut-like pastries or coconut tarts to go with your morning cup of nectar. The coffee here may take a long time to drip, and the portions are small, but it's not your typical cup of coffee. Do yourself a favor and try it black (Cafe Dam), without milk, sugar or ice. Sip + savor! Trung Nguyen is THE best. Note that the North is a slightly different story, so see that post for details.

Will you Dig It?
Another love or hate. Once you get past the fact that you need to learn your numbers and bargain for everything there's alot to love. Not recommended for a first-timer, but not SO difficult if you're game for an adventure. Alot of exotic bang for your buck.

Books to Read
There are not so many places to trade books here, so your best to bring them with you if you're not stopping in Bangkok or Phnom Penh first. Dispatches by Micheal Herr is a fantastic Vietnam War read (even for chicks), as is The Girl in the Picture by Denise Chong. On the lighter side, A Cooks Tour by Anthony Bourdain + The Book of Salt by Monique Truong deal with Vietnam from a gourmand's perspective.

Check the "link" for photos from Vietnam