When I was in Hanoi, I took a 3 days and 2 nights tour package to Ho Long Bay. This is a interesting trip only if you do not mind having long waiting time for almost everything.
Guess more co-ordination is needed to be done.
After hours of waiting, we finally onboarded the ship. We had the first night stay in a hotel in Cat Ba island.
The next morning, we continued with the sailing on the ship.
Lunch was served on the ship. Boat people also approached us trying to sell their items
The ship continued to sail slowly and we had a good view of the bay
My 1st trip to Hat Yai was by the coach from Golden Mile. The 2nd trip was by plane from Changi Airport. The 3rd trip was by bus from Johor Larkin Bus Terminal. I will say Hat Yai is a place to eat and shop. A stay for 2 to 4 days is enough.
I took the van from Hat Yai bus terminal 2 to Karbi.
I got the public bus 01 from Da Nang and it took me about 45 minutes to reach to Hoi An.
From the bus station, I took a slow 30 minutes walk, under the blue cloudy sky, to the hotel.
I stayed in a 4-bedded room but 2 of the beds were empty during the 2 nights stay.
The staff were are friendly. They provided directions for places to visit.
The hotel provides breakfast. There are also nearby restaurants providing alternative food.
There is a entrance fee to get into the Hoi An ancient town but I saw many people did not buy the entrance ticket. The entrance ticket allows you to get into certain places in the old town, You can also use the ticket to watch the water puppet show. I think it is worth paying for the ticket
Inside the Hoi An ancient town
I took the half day tour to visit My Son Sanctuary (means beautiful mountain). This is a UNESCO Asia- Pacific World Heritage site. It is also known as the mini Angkor Wat.
Huế is a city in the central of Vietnam. It was the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty emperors and Vietnam’s national capital from 1802 to 1945.
A major attraction of Hue is the Imperial City (皇城). This is a walled enclosure within the citadel (京城) of the city of Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty.
The Imperial City was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. This historical site is still undergoing restoration when I was there.
When you walk out of the visiting site, you will be encountered by locals trying to sell anything they have on hand.
The Thien Mu Pagoda (Heaven Fairy Lady Pagoda) is one of the most fascinating ancient pagoda in the Hue city. It is situated on Ha Khe hill, north bank of the Perfume River, in Huong Long village. I walked for about 5 kilometers (about an hour) from the city to reach there. After been there for about 30 minutes, I walked back to the hotel; I could have taken the boat ride back instead.
The Hue Royal Antiquities Museum is a World Heritage but I found there is no nothing much to see.
The market is on the right hand side of the the bridge when I walked from the main road. Besides vegetables and meat, the market also sells food, drinks, household items, clothing, shoes, etc. I bought a pair of Adidas shoe and some roasted Vietnamese cashew nuts through a hard bargaining process.
The city area where I stayed.
I stayed in the Amona Hotel. The check-out time is at noon but I was allowed to stay till the late afternoon for the bus come and pick me up to Da Nang, I gave the hotel a 5 Star rating in Agoda.
Mui Ne is about four hours by bus from Ho Chi Minh City. Most of the hotels and resorts are situated along the road and the long distance bus will drop the passengers in front of their respective hotels while travelling from one end to the other of the road. This place is worth a stay for 2 to 3 days to relax and enjoy yourself.
I did not get into the muddy stream as I did not want to wet my socks and shoe. I should wear slipper or sandal instead.
Behind the hotels is the long stretch of white and sandy beach. Some resorts have their own personal beach reserved for the hotel guests.
This is a very impressive fishing village.
There are not many attractions in Mui Ne but the two sand dunes are worth the visit. In the white sand dunes, you could imagine that you are in the desert but you will not have any fear of getting lost or dying of thirst. There is no camel but you could take the jeep or motorbike to get into the sand dunes. But I would recommend that you take a slow walk to have the feeling of walking in the desert. Despite the striking color, the red sand dunes are much more less impressive than the white sand dunes.
I took the bus from Xiamen (厦门) to Fuzhou (福州). I walked into a hotel but was rejected. The staff said according to the regulations and for safety, foreigners are to stay in at least a 3 Star hotel.
I asked the locals and found that the 3 Star hotels are not within my budget. Finally, I was directed to stay in an apartment (写字楼). The counter staff said that the regulations are only for hotels and apartments are excluded.
Went to the Panda Word and I only saw one sleeping Panda.
There is also a mini animal show.
Some of the food I had in during my 3 days in Fuzhou.
