​Halong Bay Cruise Day Trip; In Hang Sung Sot and Ti Top Island

Transit day tour side trip for my new journey August 17, 2022 Wednesday

Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City and Cu Chi Tunnel (2011)

My 105th solo backpacking trip and of course, usual budget do-it-yourself (DIY) itinerary from arrival to departure. Also, this trip served as side trip on my quest to new beginning / reborn of my professional worth.

Ha Long Bay in Quang Ninh province has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site twice due to its aesthetic values, geology and caves. 

Vietnam 2022 revisited: in the northern part. ​Bucket list checked; cruising in the Halong Bay.

Larger version of Coron (Palawan) and Hundred Islands (Pangasinan).

HALONG BAY DAY TRIP ITINERARY (Solo DIY Walk-in Tourist)

​Things (print-out and soft copy) I brought to counter frightening Airport Immigration Officers of  the Philippines; Return Ticket print-out, Hotel Booking, BI Travel Declaration Form, Vaxcertph, credit card and insurance, Itinerary, Bank Statement of Account

Day 1: August 17, 2022 Wednesday

0045H ETA Hanoi UTC +0700H; baggage claim; 20 USD = 470,000 VND (23,500); Luggage storage 90k (1 piece) 

0645H ETD Hanoi Airport; Express Bus 86 45k 

0745H ETA Long Bien Station; walk to Old Quarter; Central Backpacker Hostel; breakfast 25k

50 USD = 1,160,000 VND (23,225); Halong Bay Day trip 1,100k 0900H to 2030H 

0900H ETD Old Quarter; aircon van; Buffet lunch on boat; refreshments 45k

Halong Bay Harbour, Hàng Sung Sot,  TiTop Island

2100H ETA Hanoi; Grab motorbike 150k

2200H ETA Hanoi Airport Terminal 2; snacks 176k

TOTAL: 1,631,000 VND (70 USD) 

​Halong Bay Cruise Day Trip; In Hang Sung Sot and Ti Top Island

Indochina 7 Days Solo Backpacking Summary

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011
wednesday to thursday

day 0: ho chi minh city arrival at night
day 1: ho chi minh to siem reap bus trip
day 2: angkor archaeological park solo day-tour
day 3: siem reap to 4,000 islands bus trip
day 4: champasak province (southern laos) solo day-tour
day 5: pakse to phnom penh bus trip
day 6: phnom penh city solo half-day tour
day 7: ho chi minh solo day tour

continued...

here are some observations and advices  that would be helpful just in case you like to do the same.

indochina country maps

1. upon arriving on Tan Son Nhat International Airport (vietnam), copy exactly the local time as reference time for the start of your journey (-0100H from Philippines or UTC +0700H). as for me,  i used the flight-mode function of my mobile phone because i didn't use the roam service since i don't have wristwatch. i used it in every alarm, bus departures and tours i planned.

Ho Chi Minh City Departure at Night

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday
 
objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

ho chi minh solo day tour
ben dinh cu chi tunnel
ho chi minh city other famous landmarks

continued...

after a tiring city tour, i took a rest in one of the parks near the ben thanh market for another battlefield of negotiation i must be prepared of. since im off-budget for extra expenses, i must be able to catch the very best good buy among the items i like to have.

ben thanh market

Ho Chi Minh City Famous Landmarks

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

ho chi minh solo day tour
ben dinh cu chi tunnel

continued...

after half-day cu chi tunnel tour, a just-walk tour on ho chi minh city that includes the following;

The War Remnants Museum is a war museum at 28 Vo Van Tan, in District 3. It primarily contains exhibits relating to the American phase of the Vietnam War. Operated by the Vietnamese government, the museum was opened in September 1975 as "The House for Displaying War Crimes of American Imperialism and the Puppet Government [of South Vietnam]." Later it was known as the Museum of American War Crimes, then as the War Crimes Museum until as recently as 1993. Its current name follows liberalization in Vietnam and the normalization of relations with the United States.

war remnants museum

The Access Inside Ben Dinh Cu Chi Tunnel

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

ho chi minh solo day tour

continued...

half-day cu chi tunnel tour lasts at approximately 6 hours.

availed in a travel and tour office in pham ngu lao for a negotiated amount of 90,000 vnd (php180) that includes roundtrip aircon bus, bottle water and wet tissue. entrance fee of 80,000 vnd (php160) was excluded, total of 170,000 vnd (php340).

ben dinh cu chi tunnel

Ho Chi Minh City Solo Day Tour

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

day 0: ho chi minh city arrival at night
day 1: ho chi minh to siem reap bus trip
day 2: angkor archaeological park solo day-tour
day 3: siem reap to 4,000 islands bus trip
day 4: champasak province (southern laos) solo day-tour
day 5: pakse to phnom penh bus trip
day 6: phnom penh city solo half-day tour

continued...

DAY SEVEN:
HO CHI MINH CITY DAY TOUR

ho chi minh city tour route map

Phnom Penh (Cambodia) to Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) Bus Solo Trip

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

phnom penh city solo half-day tour
the killing field (choeung ek genocidal center)
tuol sleng genocide museum (S-21)
phnom penh city other famous landmarks

continued...

phnom penh city (cambodia) to ho chi minh city (vietnam) bus travel time took approximately 6 hours including the stop-overs and crossborder checkpoint.

I availed the last trip bound to ho chi minh city that costs $12 in travel and tours company. If i bought it directly to the bus operator, it will be $9 only, another budget wasted. 1430H is the last trip for all the bus companies bound to ho chi minh city, the last departing time before that is 1330H but on different bus.

inside the bus with neck pillow

Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) to Siem Reap (Cambodia) Bus Solo Trip

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

day 0: ho chi minh city arrival at night

continued...

DAY ONE:

HO CHI MINH CITY (VIETNAM) TO SIEM REAP (CAMBODIA) BUS TRIP

ho chi minh city to siem reap province bus travel time took approximately 14 hours including the stop-overs and crossborder checkpoint.

I claimed my passport and had my free breakfast of baguette (a long thin loaf of French bread), a scrambled egg and a tea. I went back to pham ngu lao road where we found the series of travel tours booking office. We have to book siem reap bound bus trip.

bus terminal along pham ngu lao road

Ho Chi Minh City Arrival at Night

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

DAY ZERO:

HO CHI MINH CITY (VIETNAM) ARRIVAL AT NIGHT

I arrived in NAIA terminal 3 past 2100H and paid php1,620 for travel tax and php750 for terminal fee, a whooping php2,370 everytime any single filipino travel abroad, what a budget mess! in regards to immigration officer, they asked questions in local words every filipino's should be attentively replied.
- when will you come back (kelan ang balik mo)?
- what are you going to do there (anong gagawin mo dun)?
- what is your work (anong trabaho mo)?

NAIA terminal 3 check-in

Indochina Bus I booked-in

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

indochina backpacking preparations
indochina guesthouse i checked-in

continued...

HO CHI MINH TO SIEM REAP BUS
route: vietnam to cambodia
bus name: phnom penh sorya bus transport
travel time: 0800H-2200H (14 hrs)
fare: $15 (php645)
how did i know: stroll along pham ngu lao
address: along pham ngu lao
services: double-decker, fully aircon, free bottle water, restroom, TV, free wet tissue, free visa assistance
remarks: 4/5 stars

bus from ho chi minh to siem reap

Indochina Guesthouse/Dormitory I checked-in

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

indochina backpacking preparations

continued...

NGA HOANG HOTEL (ho chi minh city)
room: dorm-type up to 6pax
rate: $6(php258) per pax / night
how did i know: stroll walk-in
address: along the alley near pham ngu lao
services: fully aircon, CABLE TV, towel, soap, free toothbrush/toothpaste, private bathroom, free wifi, free use of computer, free breakfast (baguette, fried egg and tea)
remarks: 4/5 stars

ho chi minh guesthouse @ $6 a night

Indochina Backpacking Preparations

vietnam, cambodia and laos 11th solo backpacking tour
august 24 - september 1, 2011 wednesday to thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

here were the things i did weeks, days and hours before my travel.

(1) itinerary - most important of them all. since 7 days outside philippines especially on countries with very, very minimal english-speakers, planning ahead the best and cheapest route is highly advisable. as much as possible, if you want to make a real budget trip, make a detailed itinerary as far as you can. i.e., every day of your plan has as much as 80% actual time and amount to spend. most of the transpo to be use is a tourist bus, please see below table for possible alternative routes that i made.

plan c on final decision

Vietnam - Cambodia - Laos 7- Days Solo Journey

Indochina transnational 11th solo backpacking tour

august 24 - september 1, 2011 Wednesday to Thursday

objective: to visit the best tourist spot that fits to my budget at limited amount of time.
additional tasks: lost half of my pocket-money in day 1... show must go on for the planned itinerary no matter how it takes

Indochina, or French Indochina, was a federation of French colonies and protectorates. It consisted of Cochin China, Tonkin, Annam (all of which now form Vietnam), Laos and the Khmer Republic (now Cambodia).

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM:
timezone -  +0700H UTC
former name - north and south vietnam
capital - Hanoi City
currency - dong (VND) 1PHP = 500VND, 1USD = 21,000 VND
basic phrases - Cám on (thank you), Xin chào (hello)
visa (for filipino) - tourist visa-free at 21-days

The Vietnamese became independent from China in AD 938 after their victory at the battle of Bach Ðang River. Successive dynasties flourished along with geographic and political expansion deeper into Southeast Asia, until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century. Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving a nation divided politically into two countries. Fighting between the two sides continued during the Vietnam War, ending with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam

indochina currencies; vietnam dong, cambodia riel & laos kip