Vietnam – Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue by Gautam Khattak

Last updated: August 21, 2011

Disclaimer: These are notes I’ve written or gathered from various sources. I have not experienced all things in this document nor is it intended to be a definitive guide.

General Tips

Currency: VND – Vietnamese Dong

Conversion Tool: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=100+usd+to+vnd

(Update for current rates)

100 USD = 2.04 Million VND

1 USD = 20,408.16 VND

100 VND = .0049 USD

Tipping:

Tipping is not expected but very much appreciated in Vietnam. Considering that people earn about $100 USD a month, a tip of $1 goes a long way. Those that often deserve the tip don’t ask for it, others will include it their price for service and still ask for more money.

Local Customs:

Transportation

From Da Nang we rented a taxi for a fixed price to Hoi An. Just make sure you negotiate the price before you get in the car. It should be about $15-17 US.

In Hoi An we rented some scooters for $5 a day. We paid another $5 for fuel to fill the tank but after driving to Da Nang and back we had half a tank left so if you’re not going to spend a lot riding around then don’t fill it up.

To get to Hue we booked a bus from our hotel Pho Hoi Riverside Resort.

Tourist Destinations

Hoi An

Hoi An is a small little town and cool to hang out. Eat the food, walk or ride around. We took scooters and rode to Da Nang. We went to China (where the old show Cua Dai Beach and China Beach and Apocalypse Now was filmed). Then we went up to see the Lady Buddha (you can see it from the highway).
Japanese Bridge – There is a bridge in Japanese architecture built in the 17th century. Japanese settled in this town in large numbers following a treaty with local Nguyen lords signed in the early 1600s. Hoi-an at that time was underdeveloped, but the Japanese envisioned transforming the town into a great trading center. The Nguyen Lords allowed the Japanese to construct streets, pagodas, and other infrastructure, along with housing for the merchants. The bridge is one of a handful of architectural treasures still extant from that era. The bridge doubles as a temple, with shrines to several deities located inside. One theory of the bridge’s religious purpose is that it was built to subdue a world-spanning ‘mamazu’ dragon monster, whose head was located in India and its tail in Japan. The movement of the tail was believed to cause earthquakes in Japan. As Vietnam was located in the area of the mamazu’s back, the bridge was intended to pin the mamazu down, thus preventing any earthquakes.
Cham Ruins of My Son – You can take a bus tour Ruins from the Cham City from the 7th century. My Son is thought to be where the remains of Cham Kings were kept after cremation. The Cham people lived here between the 4th and 13th centuries a had a unique culture which owed its spiritual origins to Indian Hinduism developed on the coast of contemporary Viet Nam. This is graphically illustrated by the remains of a series of impressive tower-temples located in a dramatic site that was the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom for most of its existence. If you’ve seen Siem Reap Cambodia this isn’t all that impressive but it is a UNESCO site.
Marble Mountains – 25km north of Hoi An, the Marble Mountains comprise five majestic granite peaks. At the beginning of the 19th century, King Gia Long while passing through this region named the mountains after metal, wood, water, fire and earth.

There are many beautiful caves in the ‘Water’ mountain and if you climb the 157 stone steps to get to the pagoda you will be rewarded by an impressive panorama.
Hai Van Pass – The longer way to Hue from Da Nang is through the HVP (shorter way is through a tunnel) is a 2 mile long mountain pass between Da Nang to Hue. The view from the pass is quite beautiful.
Hue

I did a city tour in Hue. Booked it through a tour agency in the central part of town.

In the morning

Minh Mang Tomb

Khai Dinh Tomb

Tu Duc Tomb

Conical Hat Making

Incense Making Village

In the afternoon

The Citadel – The Imperial City at Hue is the best-preserved remnant of a vast citadel and royal quarters that once existed on the site. It has been declared a UNESCO site and the remaining buildings have been lovingly restored. But, much of the site was so badly damaged that it has been given over to vast rice fields that cover most of the Purple Forbidden City. Even so, the remaining buildings are sufficient to give the visitor a sense of how the Vietnamese interpreted Chinese imperial architecture and adapted it to their culture.

Thien Mu Pagoda – is the oldest monastery in Hue and one of the most important culture centers in Vietnam. It is on the banks of the Perfume River and about three kilometers from downtown Hue.

Dining & Nightlife

Hoi An is known for its food and for a reason. The food in Central Vietnam is unique to the region and quite tasty.

There are a few dishes that are not found in other areas.

Cao Lau is a thick noodle dish with pork that seemed more like Chinese cuisine – liked this dish.

Fried wontons is the wonton wrapper fried and topped with ingredients – liked this dish but quite messy.  Banh xeo is a rice paper pancake roll filled with fresh ingredients – liked this dish.

White rose is steamed rice paper filled with shrimp – didn’t like this as much.

Vietnamese Coffee is quite sweet since they use condensed milk instead of cream or milk.

Beer is also extremely cheap ~ draft beer is usually less than 8000VND.

Most of all the restaurants and cafés have free Wi-Fi which is nice.

Treat’s Café and Re-Treat Café (only difference is location) – Good food and cheap prices.

Banana Leaf Café – This restaurant had really great food and a good view of the river from the 2^nd floor balcony. BUT if you don’t like rats running around the floor you may not like it (but the food is really good) J. The restaurant showcases some of the Hoi An delicacies.

Before and After – A fun expatriate bar located in downtown Hoi An. Fun place, good music. I recommend this hangout.

Mandarin Café (Hue) – This café is definitely worth a stop if only to see the owner Mr. CU. He is an amazing photographer that has his pictures up for display and purchasing. He is also super nice, we tried to buy like 2 prints each and he ended up giving us an extra 3 each for free just because he’s that nice of a guy.

Shopping

Central Vietnam is a good place to get custom shoes made. Other than that I didn’t do any shopping.

Lodging

Hoi An

Pho Hoi Riverside Resort – This hotel was pretty decent and had an exotic vibe to it. The breakfast was included and not too bad. The shower wasn’t all that great and the Wi-Fi didn’t really work in our room. The hotel was in a good location, just outside the main part of town but on the other side of the river so it had a nice view.

Hue

Canary Hotel – Clean and decent hotel in a centralized location. Nothing too fancy but I’d stay here again.

Helpful Links

Itinerary I followed (my first visit)

Day 1 (Saturday):

Day 2 (Sunday):

Day 3 (Monday):

Vietnamese Phrases

English Phrases	Vietnamese Phrases
English Greetings	Vietnamese Greetings:
Hi!	chào
Good morning!	chào bu?i sáng
Good evening!	chào bu?i t?i
How are you?	b?n có kh?e không?, kh?e ch??( informal )
I’m fine, thanks!	Cám on b?n tôi kh?e
And you?	B?n thì sao?
Good/ So-So.	T?t / cung tàm t?m
Thank you (very much)!	Cám on ( r?t nhi?u )
You’re welcome! (for “thank you”)	Ð?ng ng?i ( don’t mind asking for my help )
Hey! Friend!	Này!, Ê!
I missed you so much!	Tôi nh? b?n l?m
What’s new?	Có gì m?i không?
Nothing much	Không có gì nhi?u
Good night!	Chúc ng? ngon!
See you later!	G?p l?i sau nhé
Good bye!	T?m bi?t
Asking for Help and Directions
I’m lost	Tôi b? l?c
Can I help you?	Tôi có th? giúp b?n di?u gì?
Can you help me?	B?n giúp tôi d?oc không?
Where is the (bathroom/ pharmacy)?	Phòng t?m ( nhà thu?c ) ? dâu?
Go straight! then turn left/ right!	Ði th?ng, sau dó r? trái / ph?i
I’m looking for john.	Tôi dang tìm John.
One moment please!	Làm on d?i m?t lát!
Hold on please! (phone)	Xin gi? máy!
How much is this?	Cái này giá bao nhiêu?
Excuse me …! (to ask for something)	Xin l?i cho h?i?
Excuse me! ( to pass by)	Xin l?i, làm on nhé!
Come with me!	Ði v?i tôi
Good/ Bad/ So-So.	T?t / x?u / bình thu?ng
Big/ Small	L?n / nh?
Today/ Now	Hôm nay / bây gi?
Tomorrow/ Yesterday	Ngày mai / hôm qua
Yes/ No	Có, vâng, dúng v?y, ? / không
Here you go! (when giving something)	C?a b?n dây.
Do you like it?	B?n thích nó ch??
I really like it!	Tôi th?t s? thích nó.
I’m hungry/ thirsty.	Tôi dói / khát
In The Morning/ Evening/ At Night.	Vào bu?i sáng / t?i/ ban dêm
This/ That. Here/There	Cái này / cái kia. ? dây / ? dó
Me/ You. Him/ Her.	Tôi / b?n. Anh ?y / cô ?y
Really!	Th?t sao?, V?y à?
What? Where?	Gì co? ? dâu?
What time is it?	M?y gi? r?i?
I love you!	Tôi yêu b?n!
I feel sick.	Tôi c?m th?y m?t.
I need a doctor	Tôi c?n d?n bác si.
One, Two, Three	M?t, hai, ba
Four, Five, Six	B?n, nam, sáu
Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten	B?y, tám, chín, m?oi