Gate 1: Vietnam 12 Days Review
I just go back from my trip to Vietnam with Gate 1 for 12 days. My schedule was changed since I arrived earlier to Vietnam to visit my friend's relatives. My schedule was a bit different compared to the rest in the tour group since we were done with jet lag and were already in Vietnam for a few days by the time the tour started.
My Gate 1 tour guide was Hai. He is very thorough in his explanations. There were some jokes that I didn't necessarily appreciate (for example, how he explained how to do tai chi, or when we went to the village and he imitated the elderly woman's 3 level Hanoi accent), but in terms of his explanations and doing his job, he was very good. After the tour, he apologized if there were some things he said that we may not agree with him but he is just saying facts. Which he meant about the facts with China, since there were people on the tour of Chinese descent. However those items, felt more like facts and from a Vietnam perspective (maybe even Southern Vietnam perspective) and those were fine. In the end, each person has good and bad things, and for the most part I thought he did a very good job. Good job in organizing everyone, and with his thorough explanations. He also went above and beyond by giving us a quick city tour of Hanoi, which was not part of the program and he didn't have to do it, but he did.
Since I arrived earlier than the tour, I will include what I did as well. I arrived early in Ho Chi Minh City.
Ho Chi Minh Hotel: Saigon Prince Hotel
This hotel was on a main street that leads up to the People's Committee Building. The street is very lively and has a lot of restaurants, coffee and tea shops, and near a lot of places that are walkable. I went to the Saigon Centre shopping mall and the Vincom shopping mall during a rainy day. Also close to Ben Thanh Market.
Things done on my free time when I arrived earlier. I went to the Ben Thanh Market, the malls, Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Bitexco Financial Tower, Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, General Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral.
Day 3 Optional Tour Cu Chi tunnels - Cost USD39.00
I enjoyed this tour. Since I'm Canadian, the meaning of this site is different to me compared to what it may be for Americans. A lot of my tour group did join this optional tour. What I appreciate was the facts of what happened at this site. Just the intricate tunnels that were built previously and then how it transformed during the Vietnam War. Some people were worried that this would have Vietnamese propaganda, but it didn't seem that way. I mean to learn something, is also to understand another country's government information provided in order for us to compare and understand how people think. So this optional tour I thought was very educational and well worth it. I thought my guide, Hai, did a fantastic job at taking us around and explaining this area.
Ho Chi Minh City tour
The tour was quick with facts but was mainly for picture opportunities. The main time was supposed to be spent in Ben Thanh Market, but a tour member requested to go to the War Remnants Museum since they didn't have an extra day like I did. So we took a vote and skipped the market and went to the War Remnants Museum. Attractions part of the tour is the Notre Dame Cathedral, Central Post office, we drove by the City Hall and Saigon Opera House.
Day 4 Flight to Da Nang and Hoi An walking tour
This day is a travel day. Then there is a tour of the Ancient town. We did our walking tour of the Ancient tour in the rain. Despite the rain, the Ancient town was really nice.
Hotel: Hoi An Trails Resort
This resort is beautiful. The room is really nice and cozy, and the whole site was beautiful. During the time of my stay, it was raining so I didn't enjoy the outdoor pool. There is a spa here that seemed lovely.
Day 5 Optional tour: Boat Trip on the Thu Bon River & Organic Village with lunch - Cost USD$50.00
I enjoyed this optional tour. Luckily this elderly man of 87 years old came by with his in his coracle. To give a ride for a tip. The ride was fun and this elderly man is very lively and amazingly strong. The river ride was also pretty nice. We got to make our own Vietnamese omlette (Banh Xeo). That was very fun and lunch was very tasty.
Day 6 Travel to Hue
Since it's colder in Hue and it was raining. I didn't really enjoy Hue. In my head, I was trying to see if there was a way to shorten the time in Hue, but since there is one day of travel and another day of walking through the Imperial City, that's probably why it's a two night stay in this city. We did a tour of the Forbidden Purple City. The Forbidden Purple City is pretty small. What I enjoyed the most was the stories told from my tour guide, Hai. The stories were the most interesting part. The place itself is a little underwhelming.
Optional Tour: Cyclo Ride with Dinner at the Citadel - Cost USD$45.00
This optional item I did not really enjoy too much. The Cyclo tour was 45 minutes around the city. Some of us felt like it was dangerous, to me I was ready after 15 minutes. Also, please remember it was raining. The meal at the Citadel was delicious. You're basically eating at a family's restaurant. While the meal was delicious and well prepared, I forgot that this is a replica of the Royal Feast. After remembering that item, then I didn't think the dinner was necessarily worth it. This "Royal Feast" is the second sit down dinner in the tour, but paid extra. The items in this meal is similar with the other group meals. Usually with a soup, deep fried spring roll, salad, main of either chicken, beef or pork, dessert. So, it's not really that of a "Royal Feast" but more like, all the other food you'll be eating for the rest of the trip. It was delicious, but the optional tour is extra.
Hotel: Mondial Hotel Hue
This hotel wasn't that well liked by people. I remember it was noisy. We found a cockroach in bed. We made these complaints to our tour guide. Though it's really the company who chooses the hotel not the tour guide. Surrounding the hotel is tea and coffee shops. It's a bit of a walk to a restaurant.
Day 7 Full day in Hue
Optional Tour: Perfume River Boat Trip and Lunch at Dong Thien Pagoda - Cost USD$60.00
The boat ride was fine. For some reason I expected to see a floating market, but that was not the case. The nice thing about the boat ride was seeing water buffaloes. For me, the highlights were the Thien Mu Pagoda, the Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. The reason was also the explanation from my tour guide, Hai. Then it was lunch time at the Buddhist nuns of Dong Thien Pagoda. Lunch is vegan and it was delicious. My only thing is, this lunch is prepared for tourists. You can tell by the extra seasoning. So we were served chips, some deep fried wontons, and some other items. I think that's the reason the price of the optional trip it is the way it was. I wouldn't have mind actually eating what the nuns would eat. Just to get the full experience.
While I enjoyed the stories in Hue, I felt like Hue could have been shortened but it could also be that it was windy and cold rain that made me not really enjoy the Hue part of the tour.
Day 8 Flight to Hanoi, sightseeing en route to Halong Bay
This was a travel day. It is a long bus ride to Halong Bay from the airport. Our stop over is at lunch was at Hong Ngoc Humanity Centre for victims of Agent Orange. There is also a section were people are doing embroidery there. It was interesting to watch. It's nice that this owner opened up a store to assist victims and basically to provide them with jobs so that they may earn a living. No matter what your stance is on the war, I will assume that it is a common feeling that you would want victims to be able to find work and to earn a living.
We arrived to our Halong Bay hotel to check in and have a meal
Hotel: Royal Lotus Hotel
The hotel is located in what seems to be the developing area of Halong Bay. There's a lot of construction there. I tried to walk to the beach to watch the sunset from the hotel. Don't bother, because it kind of cuts off to a construction site. You'll have to walk through grass loaded with rodents to get to the beach. Should just go to the roof top bar to catch the sunset. You can walk in and go to the balcony without buying a drink.
Tour group dinner: The dinner was okay. By now I was kind of tired of the deep fried spring rolls I was eating with the group. I just wish there was some other types of variety, such as fresh spring rolls? Anyway that is something else. I still ate.
Day 9 - Cruise Halong Bay transfer to Hanoi
This is the top highlight of my trip. I just loved the cruise and going through Halong Bay. The cave walk was also pretty amazing too. We had lunch on the boat which was prepared early in the day before we arrived and cooked while we were in the cave. Then we left for Hanoi. My tour guide offered a City Tour of Hanoi, which isn't part of the itinerary. I thought this was going above his job, and it was helpful because we used his pointers on how to get back to the Hanoi hotel to the Market place. He also pointed out a lot of everyday Hanoi things during this walking tour.
Hotel: La Belle Vie
The room is a lot smaller than Saigon and this is located further out from the market. The street is quieter and a lot dustier. The shower in this hotel is weird. Our tour guide has requested that the mirror be taken out away from the shower door. Since the shower room has no full door from the toilet, water gets to the toilet side of the room. Aside from the toilet, the room is pretty nice.
Day 10 Hanoi City Tour
Museum of Ethnology. This was very interesting and honestly the most interest part was when we were outside with our tour guide, looking at the different buildings. He was very descriptive and you really feel like you are learning about these people. There is free time to go into the actual museum part. Which is an extension of all that was described during the tour with our guide, however somehow I felt the outside part was more interesting.
We also went to the Ho Chi Minh complex. Where you can view the mausoleum, the square, and his museum. Our group stayed in the square.
We also added the Hoa Lo Prison. This was also an interesting visit where it added to the history. It seemed my group was very interested in learning/seeing places for the Vietnam War, we added this museum to our tour. It was very interesting. It also adds to what was seen in the Saigon. Then we took a break for lunch and watched the Water Puppet Show, which is included as part of this city tour.
After the Water Puppet Show, my friend and I went to the Bun Cha place where Barack Obama had dinner with Anthony Bourdain. The restaurant is about a 20 minute walk from the market place. The amazing thing about walking to the restaurant is, the size of this small street leading up to the restaurant. Just imagining that secret service vehicles were driving on this street to this small restaurant is pretty amazing. Of course the store itself has the Obama set where it adds the bun cha, spring roll and a beer. The pricing is reasonable. I just had the bun cha itself. It is about $1.80USD or $2.40 CAD. Not bad for a meal.
Day 11 - Full Day in Hanoi
Optional Tour: Thay Pagoda and So Village with lunch - Cost USD$55.00
This tour is similar to how I felt about the cyclo tour with the royal feast. I felt like it was unnecessary for me. The Thay Pagoda is beautiful and is peaceful. So that was a nice visit. For the So Village, I thought it would be similar to that what we saw in the Ethnology museum, which isn't the case (that is fine too). We are invited to a woman of 87 years old's home to view how she leaves. She loves her beetle nut and we get to tour her home. Then we visit another person's home and we walk around the village. Lunch is at Al Fresco's Italian restaurant. I would have preferred that we went to a market or something but I guess it's just easier, and since we have a Vietnamese dinner the last night.
Last group dinner was a traditional Vietnamese dinner. However it is similar to what we've been eating in our all group meals. Soup, deep fried spring rolls, rice, some lemon grass meat, some veggie, and then fruit. It would have been nice is our group meals could switch it up. Though I have to honestly say, when it was not a group meal, I did not order any deep fried spring rolls for myself.
Overall, I really enjoyed my Vietnam tour with Group 1. I felt like I was really lucky in that everyone in my tour group got along and they were so great. I learned so much on this tour. Not only about Vietnam, but also reaffirmed that an event can happen and each person has their own interpretation on what happened. While I didn't enjoy two of the optional tours, those were optional tours that I decided to join. I wouldn't have known what it was until I joined it. The Hue hotel isn't so great, but that really is the only one that was really below what was expected.
One common complaint is not having enough time in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. I was lucky because I added 1.5 days to Ho Chi Minh City, so for me I was able to walk around and adjust. I can see that if I followed the tour schedule, I wouldn't have been able to view all the museums. I originally wanted to try the Lunch Lady at Ho Chi Minh but since it was far, I didn't bother going.
Ho Chi Minh Hotel: Saigon Prince Hotel
This hotel was on a main street that leads up to the People's Committee Building. The street is very lively and has a lot of restaurants, coffee and tea shops, and near a lot of places that are walkable. I went to the Saigon Centre shopping mall and the Vincom shopping mall during a rainy day. Also close to Ben Thanh Market.
Things done on my free time when I arrived earlier. I went to the Ben Thanh Market, the malls, Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Bitexco Financial Tower, Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum, General Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral.
Day 3 Optional Tour Cu Chi tunnels - Cost USD39.00
I enjoyed this tour. Since I'm Canadian, the meaning of this site is different to me compared to what it may be for Americans. A lot of my tour group did join this optional tour. What I appreciate was the facts of what happened at this site. Just the intricate tunnels that were built previously and then how it transformed during the Vietnam War. Some people were worried that this would have Vietnamese propaganda, but it didn't seem that way. I mean to learn something, is also to understand another country's government information provided in order for us to compare and understand how people think. So this optional tour I thought was very educational and well worth it. I thought my guide, Hai, did a fantastic job at taking us around and explaining this area.
Ho Chi Minh City tour
The tour was quick with facts but was mainly for picture opportunities. The main time was supposed to be spent in Ben Thanh Market, but a tour member requested to go to the War Remnants Museum since they didn't have an extra day like I did. So we took a vote and skipped the market and went to the War Remnants Museum. Attractions part of the tour is the Notre Dame Cathedral, Central Post office, we drove by the City Hall and Saigon Opera House.
Day 4 Flight to Da Nang and Hoi An walking tour
This day is a travel day. Then there is a tour of the Ancient town. We did our walking tour of the Ancient tour in the rain. Despite the rain, the Ancient town was really nice.
Hotel: Hoi An Trails Resort
This resort is beautiful. The room is really nice and cozy, and the whole site was beautiful. During the time of my stay, it was raining so I didn't enjoy the outdoor pool. There is a spa here that seemed lovely.
Day 5 Optional tour: Boat Trip on the Thu Bon River & Organic Village with lunch - Cost USD$50.00
I enjoyed this optional tour. Luckily this elderly man of 87 years old came by with his in his coracle. To give a ride for a tip. The ride was fun and this elderly man is very lively and amazingly strong. The river ride was also pretty nice. We got to make our own Vietnamese omlette (Banh Xeo). That was very fun and lunch was very tasty.
Day 6 Travel to Hue
Since it's colder in Hue and it was raining. I didn't really enjoy Hue. In my head, I was trying to see if there was a way to shorten the time in Hue, but since there is one day of travel and another day of walking through the Imperial City, that's probably why it's a two night stay in this city. We did a tour of the Forbidden Purple City. The Forbidden Purple City is pretty small. What I enjoyed the most was the stories told from my tour guide, Hai. The stories were the most interesting part. The place itself is a little underwhelming.
Optional Tour: Cyclo Ride with Dinner at the Citadel - Cost USD$45.00
This optional item I did not really enjoy too much. The Cyclo tour was 45 minutes around the city. Some of us felt like it was dangerous, to me I was ready after 15 minutes. Also, please remember it was raining. The meal at the Citadel was delicious. You're basically eating at a family's restaurant. While the meal was delicious and well prepared, I forgot that this is a replica of the Royal Feast. After remembering that item, then I didn't think the dinner was necessarily worth it. This "Royal Feast" is the second sit down dinner in the tour, but paid extra. The items in this meal is similar with the other group meals. Usually with a soup, deep fried spring roll, salad, main of either chicken, beef or pork, dessert. So, it's not really that of a "Royal Feast" but more like, all the other food you'll be eating for the rest of the trip. It was delicious, but the optional tour is extra.
Hotel: Mondial Hotel Hue
This hotel wasn't that well liked by people. I remember it was noisy. We found a cockroach in bed. We made these complaints to our tour guide. Though it's really the company who chooses the hotel not the tour guide. Surrounding the hotel is tea and coffee shops. It's a bit of a walk to a restaurant.
Day 7 Full day in Hue
Optional Tour: Perfume River Boat Trip and Lunch at Dong Thien Pagoda - Cost USD$60.00
The boat ride was fine. For some reason I expected to see a floating market, but that was not the case. The nice thing about the boat ride was seeing water buffaloes. For me, the highlights were the Thien Mu Pagoda, the Tomb of Emperor Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. The reason was also the explanation from my tour guide, Hai. Then it was lunch time at the Buddhist nuns of Dong Thien Pagoda. Lunch is vegan and it was delicious. My only thing is, this lunch is prepared for tourists. You can tell by the extra seasoning. So we were served chips, some deep fried wontons, and some other items. I think that's the reason the price of the optional trip it is the way it was. I wouldn't have mind actually eating what the nuns would eat. Just to get the full experience.
While I enjoyed the stories in Hue, I felt like Hue could have been shortened but it could also be that it was windy and cold rain that made me not really enjoy the Hue part of the tour.
Day 8 Flight to Hanoi, sightseeing en route to Halong Bay
This was a travel day. It is a long bus ride to Halong Bay from the airport. Our stop over is at lunch was at Hong Ngoc Humanity Centre for victims of Agent Orange. There is also a section were people are doing embroidery there. It was interesting to watch. It's nice that this owner opened up a store to assist victims and basically to provide them with jobs so that they may earn a living. No matter what your stance is on the war, I will assume that it is a common feeling that you would want victims to be able to find work and to earn a living.
We arrived to our Halong Bay hotel to check in and have a meal
Hotel: Royal Lotus Hotel
The hotel is located in what seems to be the developing area of Halong Bay. There's a lot of construction there. I tried to walk to the beach to watch the sunset from the hotel. Don't bother, because it kind of cuts off to a construction site. You'll have to walk through grass loaded with rodents to get to the beach. Should just go to the roof top bar to catch the sunset. You can walk in and go to the balcony without buying a drink.
Tour group dinner: The dinner was okay. By now I was kind of tired of the deep fried spring rolls I was eating with the group. I just wish there was some other types of variety, such as fresh spring rolls? Anyway that is something else. I still ate.
Day 9 - Cruise Halong Bay transfer to Hanoi
This is the top highlight of my trip. I just loved the cruise and going through Halong Bay. The cave walk was also pretty amazing too. We had lunch on the boat which was prepared early in the day before we arrived and cooked while we were in the cave. Then we left for Hanoi. My tour guide offered a City Tour of Hanoi, which isn't part of the itinerary. I thought this was going above his job, and it was helpful because we used his pointers on how to get back to the Hanoi hotel to the Market place. He also pointed out a lot of everyday Hanoi things during this walking tour.
Hotel: La Belle Vie
The room is a lot smaller than Saigon and this is located further out from the market. The street is quieter and a lot dustier. The shower in this hotel is weird. Our tour guide has requested that the mirror be taken out away from the shower door. Since the shower room has no full door from the toilet, water gets to the toilet side of the room. Aside from the toilet, the room is pretty nice.
Day 10 Hanoi City Tour
Museum of Ethnology. This was very interesting and honestly the most interest part was when we were outside with our tour guide, looking at the different buildings. He was very descriptive and you really feel like you are learning about these people. There is free time to go into the actual museum part. Which is an extension of all that was described during the tour with our guide, however somehow I felt the outside part was more interesting.
We also went to the Ho Chi Minh complex. Where you can view the mausoleum, the square, and his museum. Our group stayed in the square.
We also added the Hoa Lo Prison. This was also an interesting visit where it added to the history. It seemed my group was very interested in learning/seeing places for the Vietnam War, we added this museum to our tour. It was very interesting. It also adds to what was seen in the Saigon. Then we took a break for lunch and watched the Water Puppet Show, which is included as part of this city tour.
After the Water Puppet Show, my friend and I went to the Bun Cha place where Barack Obama had dinner with Anthony Bourdain. The restaurant is about a 20 minute walk from the market place. The amazing thing about walking to the restaurant is, the size of this small street leading up to the restaurant. Just imagining that secret service vehicles were driving on this street to this small restaurant is pretty amazing. Of course the store itself has the Obama set where it adds the bun cha, spring roll and a beer. The pricing is reasonable. I just had the bun cha itself. It is about $1.80USD or $2.40 CAD. Not bad for a meal.
Day 11 - Full Day in Hanoi
Optional Tour: Thay Pagoda and So Village with lunch - Cost USD$55.00
This tour is similar to how I felt about the cyclo tour with the royal feast. I felt like it was unnecessary for me. The Thay Pagoda is beautiful and is peaceful. So that was a nice visit. For the So Village, I thought it would be similar to that what we saw in the Ethnology museum, which isn't the case (that is fine too). We are invited to a woman of 87 years old's home to view how she leaves. She loves her beetle nut and we get to tour her home. Then we visit another person's home and we walk around the village. Lunch is at Al Fresco's Italian restaurant. I would have preferred that we went to a market or something but I guess it's just easier, and since we have a Vietnamese dinner the last night.
Last group dinner was a traditional Vietnamese dinner. However it is similar to what we've been eating in our all group meals. Soup, deep fried spring rolls, rice, some lemon grass meat, some veggie, and then fruit. It would have been nice is our group meals could switch it up. Though I have to honestly say, when it was not a group meal, I did not order any deep fried spring rolls for myself.
Overall, I really enjoyed my Vietnam tour with Group 1. I felt like I was really lucky in that everyone in my tour group got along and they were so great. I learned so much on this tour. Not only about Vietnam, but also reaffirmed that an event can happen and each person has their own interpretation on what happened. While I didn't enjoy two of the optional tours, those were optional tours that I decided to join. I wouldn't have known what it was until I joined it. The Hue hotel isn't so great, but that really is the only one that was really below what was expected.
One common complaint is not having enough time in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon. I was lucky because I added 1.5 days to Ho Chi Minh City, so for me I was able to walk around and adjust. I can see that if I followed the tour schedule, I wouldn't have been able to view all the museums. I originally wanted to try the Lunch Lady at Ho Chi Minh but since it was far, I didn't bother going.
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