Flights
I paid 700 Euro (500 Pounds) for an open mouth ticket Frankfurt /Hanoi -Saigon /Frankfurt with China Airlines via Taiwan. There are some more cheap flights by Aeroflot. I booked at travelchannel.de. But I had to stay one day in Taipeh. I did a free half tour trip for transit passengers, strolled through the city afterwards and took a bus to the airport in the late evening. At night I slept at the airport on a bench. 

It is mostly cheaper to fly to Bangkok. There you can stay in the Khao San Road area, its famous for backpackers with some other more finer hotels, too. In the morning busses leave for Siam Reap, next to the ancient temples of Ankgor Wat, where you should stay at least two days. The busses charge only 7 Dollars but another 5 Dollar in expected for the Visa Service. You get the Visa at the border (20 US $). From Siam Reap busses go to Phnom Penh (6 US) and in Phnom penh you can take a bus to Saigon (30 Dollar Visa), 2 Dollar Visa service and about 5 US $ Bus). On the way back you can enter Thailand from the South, coming from Sihanoukville. For more details: cambodiainfos 
There are also some budget airlines from Bangkok to Saigon.
Airlines: airbangkok.com,  airasia.com, tigerairways.com,

 

Visa:
You need a Visa for visiting Vietnam. In Germany I paid 64 Euro (48 Pounds) for a Visa for one month. I had to send my passport to the embassy and it was back with the Visa in one week. 

You also can make a stopover in Bangkok and get a Visa there for 30 Dollars. Go to the backpacker quarter and buy a Visa in a travel agency there. It should take two days, but I can only report what people have told to me. You need a Visa for Cambodia and Laos (each about 30 Dollars), too. Many people do a roundtrip in this area; transport is cheap. It is more difficult to get a Visa at the border, sometimes (but not often) you are fleeced. 

How many time for Vietnam?
You can travel from North to South in three weeks, visit all the highlights, but you won´t have any time to relax. Four to five weeks is enough to see all of Vietnam in a leisurely way, but there is no time to dawdle. 

Example
(Days: Halong 3, Sapa 4, Hanoi 1, Perfume Pagoda 1, Tam Coc 1, Hue 2, Hoi An 2, Dalat 3, Nha Trang 1, Mui Ne 2, Dalat 3, Saigon 2, Cu Chi1, Mekong Delta 3 = 28 days !! ) 

Arrival
My arrival was in Hanoi. You have to fill out a form and you get a yellow copy that you have to show at the departure. Important !!  Don´t loose the yellow copy, otherwise you have to pay another Visa at the departure. The officer will ask you, where you stay. You can fill in a cheap hotel  (e.g. Prince 79 Hotel ), but I hadn´t had any problems by saying some hotel in the Old Quarter.

You can draw money at an ATM and there was a counter of Vietcong Bank too at the airport. At the exit a Minibus ( 2 Dollars, Taxi 15 Dollars, Public bus ?) was waiting to bring you to the Old Quarter in Hanoi. The bus drops me at a hotel, that had really nice rooms. At first they ask 24 Dollars, but after telling that I want a 10 Dollar room and will look around there was another room for 10 Dollar. Don´t believe full season etc. For Saigon look: Departure. see also: Visa

Departure

You have to pay an Airport Tax of 12 Dollars: you can pay also in Dong (195.000 Dong) or in both currencies. The rest of your Dongs (reasonable amounts) could be changed in Dollars at the airport. Some people will ask you before, if you want to change your last Dongs. The yellow copy of your entrance leaflet will be checked (don´t loose it!) The taxi fare to the airport from Saigon City is 4 Dollars (60.000 Dong) 

Passport and other travel documents
In travel agencies or in Hotels, many people require your passport. I hadn´t any problems to get my passport back, when I was leaving the hotel; other peoples didn´t tell problems either. Many travellers bring copies of their passport and travel documents from home and give the copy instead of the original documents. 

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Money
You are a Millionaire in Vietnam, if you change more than 70 Dollars or Euro in Dong. 

1 Dollar = 15.500 Dong   100.000 Dong = 6 Dollars;  10.000= ~ 60 cent;  1.000=  ~ 6 cent
1 Euro = 18.000 Dong    (Dec.2003)
1 Pound = 26.000 Dong

There are notes (no coins!) of  500 (red), 1000 (brown), 2000 (brown), 5000 (blue), 10.000 (red), 20.000 (blue), 50.000 green and 100.000 (brown) Dong . 

Be careful with your 100.000 Dongs!. You can easily confuse them with 1.000 or 2.000 Dong bills. I nearly paid 300.000 Dong for the minibus to Hanoi from the airport instead of 30.000 Dong. 

You can draw money at ATM at the airport or in bigger towns, but the fee of your home bank is very high (I paid 4,50 Euro for withdrawing 120 Euro in Dong to my bank and 1 Euro to the Vietnamese Bank). 

Better is cash in Euro or Dollar (no fees) or Traveller Checks in US-Dollars. Vietcong Bank change this checks for a fee less than 1 %, other banks charge 2 %. 

It is very important to have small money, it is not wise e.g. to negotiate 6.000 Dong for a mot bike ride, without having the right money. Therefore ask for small money when you change your money and pay bigger bills (Hotel etc) in 100.000 notes. 

Reasonable amounts of Dong can be re-changed in Dollars at the airport.

Paying with credit card or traveller check is often accepted in hotels, tour companies etc., but an additional fee of 2 to 5 % of the bill will be charged. 

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Health
A Hepatitis-A vaccination is advisable for any destination, Hepatitis B is communicated like Aids and you should use condoms anyhow if you have sex with a stranger. You should have the European standard immunisation like Tetanus etc. Other expensive vaccinations against Japanese Encephalitis, Typhoid, TB or Rabies are only advised, if you stay longer than a month in remote risk areas, otherwise the likelihood of an infection is smaller than a crash of your airplane. 

Antimalaria drugs don´t prevent infection, but the poison of the drugs kills the parasites during their development and reduces the risk of becoming ill. It takes one and a half year that your body break down the poison. So antimalaria drugs have extensive side effects and some have a considerable risk of getting a mental disease (paranoia, suicide). Therefore some advice to treat malaria only, if symptoms occur. Don't travel without need, if you are pregnant, some antimalaria drugs might harm the fetus. For that reason also don't try to conceive while you taking antimalaria pills. You should have an adequate health insurance for travelling. 
 

When to go? Weather!
The best month for travelling in the South is December to April, but the weather in North Vietnam and Central Vietnam could be total different. In Saigon the weather in summer is hot and sultry. In Central Vietnam typhoons can bring rain until late November (the most rainy month there), it was bucketing down. In winter the northeast monsoon brings clouds and drizzling rain to North Vietnam. Good months for travelling the whole country could be December, March and April. 
 

Saigon	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Day Temp	33	33	34	35	34	33	32	32	32	32	31	31
Night Temp	15	16	18	21	21	21	20	21	22	21	17	15
Rainy days	2	2	2	5	16	22	24	22	21	21	12	7

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Activities
There are some things to do in Vietnam. Hiking is on the agenda in Sapa and Dalat or in some NP parks in the North. Adventure tours (abseiling, canoeing) are offered in Dalat. Diving and snorkeling opportunities are around Nha Trang. Surfing is possible in Mui Ne (see Link there). There are some nice beaches (e.g.Mui Ne). Cooking courses are available in Hoi An and you can learn to weave basket in one of the villages near Sapa (ask there). 

Electricity
220 Volt.  Reckon on voltage swings!

Dangers
Vietnam is a safe country. But handbag and camera snatching from motorbikes were reported from other travellers, be careful. Be also careful of street kids who sell postcards,who divert you and others who steal your belongings. Be aware of street kids or street girls, who touch or hug you, they will mostly try to grasp your wallet. Don´t accept drinks from strangers that could be drugged. Be aware of your fellow traveller. Some backpackers only have a living by ripping off people whoever they met. 

Be careful with your credit card, don´t loose sight of, some scams are reported. A lost credit card is like a suitcase of money. The bank will try to put the risk on you. 

Motorbike scams: see Transport

But theft and crime is not frequent. Most of the Vietnamese people are poor but honest, also kids and people who are selling postcards. Violent crime is very rare. Don´t get involved in Vietnamse fighting.
 
 

Prison in Vietnam - money confiscated - form some liable source was told that a young woman was put into jail without  telling her, for what she was charged. She was freed without any commentary after some days, but the money was held back without telling why. She complaine d at the amerikan embassy, who couldn't help. She gave up then. I would have tried to complain at the higher officials  The government can pursuit the criminals in uniform only if the get enough information to pursue them.Rreminding the peoples features, fotos, dactylograms or some DNA would help. If it would be useful at the end I don't know. Who has some experience could mail me!

 

look also: legal matters 

Legal matters
The attorney fees for Vietnamese lawyers should be negotiated before. There is no tariff structure, fees depend on the reputation of the lawyer, the importance of the matter, the wealth of the client and right touch of negotiations. Most things in Vietnamese court (as elsewhere) are settled by a compensation sum. If you are accused of a crime offence you have due to international law the right of contact your embassy that will usually only provide you with a Vietnamese lawyer, whom you have to pay. 

Be aware that you will spend many years in Vietnamese jail, if you got catched with a small quantity of any drugs, even Marihuana. If you got caught with a bigger quantity of hard drugs, you might be sentenced to death and officially murdered. 

Prostitution is not allowed in Vietnam, but obviously somehow tolerated to a certain degree. But you can’t be sure, having to pay a considerable fine, if the government take action against uncontrolled spread of Prostitution and if you get caught.

Children prostitution is a crime and you can expect some years in prison in Vietnam (some Asian states provides the death penalty) and also in most of the European countries, if you commit this crime. International organisations work with local authorities and people to combat the tourist industry of children prostitution. Bait and switch and premiums are used to persecute tourists, who use children prostitution. 

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Women travelling
Vietnam is one of the best countries for travelling as a woman. Rape or sexual harassment is very exceptional and women has to fear in general less than in Europe. Vietnamese men also usually don´t try to pick up woman travellers. I met women, who were travelling alone and who didn´t report any problems.

Overcharging and others nuisances
is a general problem. Sometimes you really will hate this country, because many people try to squeeze out the highest amount of dollars that is possible from foreigners. For a short distance taxi drive on a motorbike the fare in Hanoi  is  2.000 to 3000 Dong for Vietnamese. Foreigners pay 5.000 Dong. But bikers ask 25.000 or 35.000 Dong as the first offer. Sometimes people are very coarse: I had negotiated a price of 6.000 Dong from the railway station to the old quarter (less than 1 Mile). After that the guy ask 6 Dollars (95.0000 Dong). I gave him the promised 6.000 Dong. He threw the money to the ground and disappeared.  I took the money from the ground. After some minutes he came back and took the 6.000 Dong by cursing like a washerwoman. If you have missed to negotiate the price, give what you think is reasonable and don´t give, what the salesman demands. Consider that the daily wage of a hard working factory worker is no more than 2 to 6 Dollars. A principle of law says, that the usual fee has to be paid, if contractors don´t have negotiated a price before. And the usual Vietnamese price is very, very low. Your counterpart will curse anyway, even if you have paid the tenfold usual Vietnamese price. 

Take it easy, don´t be angry. This is Vietnam, not Europe! Keep composure and be humorous!. Make some jokes! This is relaxing to the whole situation! On the other hand, be just! If you pay 5 Dollars for a room or 17 Dollars for a three-day trip include transport, guide, food and hotel, you can´t expect air condition in the room or a luxury bus. 

Get used of the price level and restrain yourself in buying goods at the first days after your arrival. 

Vendors in the north are pushing hard, people in the south are in general more gentler. On the other hand more crime was reported from the South.

It was reported that motorbikes and also public busses (e.g. Sapa) suddenly stop at remote areas for asking considerable amounts of more money. You may take a picture from the public bus driver and complain. 

In elder Lonely Planets books it was mentioned that local officials have asked for fictitious travel taxes and fees. These troubles hardly exist longer, Vietnam officials obviously don´t want to threaten tourism by chicaneries any longer.

Street vendors and others
People have a living from selling goods to tourists. Many people will offer to you moto bike rides, postcards, handicrafts, copied books, food and sometimes also massage services. This stops, if you stay longer in a town without buying anything, but  increase, if you buy something. If you don´t like (English) books, tell them " I am German, Italian etc...".  Massage service women that offers single male "bum bum" gave up, if you told them they are very cute, but you like sex only for free. If you like such service, negotiate also the price of the room and look at the legal chapter above. 

Very often children are selling goods, because children often have more success in buying things to foreigners as adults. In my opinion children should play in this age and you shouldn´t support chidren work by buying goods from them. 

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Language
People who are working in the tourist business speak English, but not the average citizen. Very few old people understand French. As a tourist you can go around with English without problems. 

Accommodation
A room with bathroom and fan was everywhere (also in Hanoi and Saigon) in December 03 available without breakfast for 5 Dollars. Prices always are negotiable (see arrival) and may increase in high season. Add one to two dollars for a nicer room or a room with air-condition. The supply was higher as the demand. You pay per room and not per person. The rooms were always in best conditions; the best standard I had noticed as a backpacker traveller yet. 

Tours
There are many tour operators that offer tours to tourist attractions of Vietnam. You book the tours at the many travel agencies in town or at your hotel. They pick you up at your hotel and you will soon find yourself in a bus full of backpackers. The company cares for everything. Guide, meals, hotel and transport are included. Usually a kind of buffet is offered; so everyone takes what and how much he likes, better than dishes on separate plates. Drinks are of course (it couldn´t be just calculated) not included, also you are let out at a central place in town and have to go the last (two minutes walk) to your hotel by your own. Due to fierce competition prices are low and you can´t travel better and cheaper as with this companies. If you want to travel in small groups, you have to pay some more money. That may work in very high season. But you can´t be sure, that you will found yourself on the ordinary tour anyway. I have always booked big tours in December and this never was too overcrowded. Some other people told, that they were ripped off by some tour companies, who were charging alleged extra services to exorbitant prices (e.g. Hanoitorserco).  The tours I booked ( Kim Travel, Sinh Cafe, TM Brothers) worked well and I never was ripped off. 
The disadvantage of this package tours is, that you get lost of some experience of real Vietnamese life. If holiday time is scarce, it is not reasonable to arrange things by yourself. 

for special tours see also highlight section (coming later) 

some links: kimcafe79travel.com , 

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Transport
Open Ticket Busses
The cheapest and easiest way to travel in Vietnam are the Open Ticket Busses from  tour operators (see above). You can buy single trips or an open ticket (a book of 4 to five tickets) from Hanoi to Saigon for less than 20 dollars. Typical sections you can go daily are Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Dalat, Mui Ne and Saigon. The fare from Hanoi to Hue is only 7 Dollars. Busses are available from Hanoi to Vientiane (Laos- 36 hrs!)  and from Saigon to Phnom Penh, too. You have to book the bus at the travel agency a day before, sometimes, that happened to me once, the bus is full and you have to take the next one.

Trains
are more expensive; the fare is from Saigon to Hue 20 Dollars (hard seat) to 55 Dollars (soft sleeper). The journey from Saigon to Hanoi takes more than 30 hrs by train! Night train Hanoi- Hue "Soft Sleeper2 should cost 29 Dollars.

I have heard from traveller who just booked a connection flight for 100 Dollars to Hanoi from Saigon Airport after arrival at the same day.

Short taxi drives are in Vietnam at the rear seat of a motorbike. Many guys are offering this service. For short distance you usually pay 5.000 Dong. You have to negotiate, elsewhere you get ripped off (see overcharging chapter). And don´t pay until you have reached your destination. 

Taxis
in Saigon should have two stickers "Taximeters" at the front windscreen, taxis with one sticker should charge double the price.

It was reported that motor bikes and also public busses (e.g. Sapa) suddenly stop at remote areas for asking considerable amounts of more money. You may take a picture from the public bus driver and complain. 

Renting a motorbike
is a good idea but also risky. A new motorbike costs about 2000 US-Dollars (Japanese) and 500 Dollar (Chinese) and the motorbike or some part of it could be stolen. Usually you have to leave your passport or other valuable things for security. It is reported that some renters arrange to steal their bike by duplicate keys. Another trick is that your motorbike don´t work (because of technical manipulation) and you have to pay for the repair service. You may have an accident by your or others fault or even by intended crash. 

But there is not fraud everywhere, people have reported about good fun with Motorbikes in Vietnam.

You should need no driving licence for motorbikes up to 50 ccm and you ought to need an international driving licence (that you get at home) for motorbikes till 125 ccm (I am not sure, information is only from lonely planet Vietnam 2003).
 

Renting a car
should be possible (30-60 Dollar/per day) . Gas is very cheap in Vietnam. I don´t know, if your driving licence is valid in Vietnam, you may have to take a driver too. Ask if food and accommodation for the driver is included in the price. An insurance against loss and damage should be included, too. 

Email
Everywhere in bigger towns there are many Internet cafes for surfing and sending emails. Prices are less than 1 Dollar per hour (3000-9000 Dong). Connections are quick in the South and low in the North. 

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Food
The typical Vietnamese food is rice served with plates of vegetables, meat, fish and spices. Food was always excellent. Most dishes are about 2 dollars. Food is served with chopsticks, but you can ask for a spoon at least. Try the "Cha Ca" in Hanoi (see Hanoi chapter). In the Mekong Delta area you can try snake. In the North you can eat dog meat, but you have to look for it, most Vietnamese refuse to eat dog. It is a rarity like horsemeat in Europe. In tourist areas there is always a menu in English.

There are different brands of beer, the most offered is Tiger Beer (1 dollar bottle); local beer is a bit cheaper. I liked the brand "Hanoi" most. Vietnam produces excellent wine; try the red "Dalat" wine. 

Vietnamese usually eat "Pho", a filling noodle soup for breakfast. So breakfast in a restaurant is usually poor. In the evening and in the morning people are cooking and eating on the street. You may buy some food and sit there, too. 

Some recipes:   http://asiarecipe.com/vietnam.html  Mail more!

Shopping
Vietnam is a good place for shopping. Many tailors make dresses. Vietnamese are masters in copying goods. It is a good opportunity to buy cheap an imitation of a backpack. Copied Music-CDs are sold for 10.000 Dong, software 20.000 Dong per CD. English copied books are sold for 2 Dollars. Sometimes the copy is really bad. If you need glasses, an optician will measure your eyesight and frames with synthetic glasses cost less than 20 dollars. 

But be aware, that you might get serious problems at your home customs, if they discover, that your baggage is full of pirate-copied goods! 

Books

Guidebooks
Lonely Planet: Vietnam, 7 th Edition 2003 - Backpacker Guide-
Rough Guide: Vietnam another backpacker guide 

some Literature
Bao Ninh: The Sorrow of War 
Graham Green: The Quiet American
Maguerite Duras: The Lover
Tom Mangold and Jaohn Penycate. The Tunnels of Cu Chi

Links 
vietnamtourism.com. ( Vietnam Tourism Office), vietnamadventures.com, vietnamonline.com, vietnam-travel.com
viettouch.com (Art, History and Culture) datacomm.ch/pmgeiser Vietnam/Cambodia/Laos
destinationvietnam.com (US Magazin) travelspots.com/vietnam.htm  (US online guide)
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn (Newspaper) vnagency.com.vn (Vietnam News Agency
vietnamair.com.vn Vietnam Airlines, hoianworldheritage.org
metalab.unc.edu/vietnam  Links

Mail me more!! 

Feedback, criticism, news and pointing out mistakes in grammar and orthography are welcome! 
mail me!!

   kambodschajoe@hotmail.com

Excuse my English, that is not my native language, thanks!

It would be kind to mail me 1-5 mistakes you found, if you think this side is helpful for your trip. Thanks! 

If you translate part of my homepage in correct Vietnamese, English or another language, I could translate part of your English written homepage in German!

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