Vietnam 2011

Vietnam 2011

Henning has planned and the tour guides to Vietnam, 5 september - 29 september 2011 and uses contacts from previous visit to Vietnam. Participants are Lasse, Ulla, Jens, Merete and Henning.

Homepage viettour.dk

VKTOUR in Vietnam with Nguyen Khoa

Facts about Vietnam

Tact and tone in Vietnam

Catch the dragon with the mouse and get facts about Vietnam

Vietnam news

Photo of ethnic minorities

Facts about 54 ethnic minorities

Vietnam maps

Danish Vietnamese society

Vietnam Tour - 5th September - 29 September - 2011
5 / 9: Departure - We travel with Thai Airways from Copenhagen at. 14:35 to Ho Chi Minh City Saigon "via Bangkok. Arrival at Bangkok. approx. 06:00 next morning. Leaving Bangkok at. approx. 08:30 and arriving in Saigon around. pm. 11:00.

6 / 9: Saigon - Airport pickup and accommodation through our hotel Tan Son Nhat. We make an excursion to the Old Presidential Palace (now Independence Museum). In the park outside the museum we see the truck that drove through the gate the 30 quarters in 1975 and marked the end of "American War". There is a supermarket 200 meters. from the hotel if you want to buy something for the train journey tomorrow. But beware, once you cross the road - the best is to go a little towards the road and always check what you want. We go out to eat at. 19:30 at a local Vietnamese restaurant.

7 / 9: Saigon - Breakfast at. 06:00 and we drive from the hotel at. 06:45. Before departure, all the suitcases into the room Hennings, who used to shower before we drive from the hotel at. 22:00 to reach the train to Da Nang at. 23:00. But before then we have a long day ahead of us - the first stop Cu Chi tunnels (about 250 km long tunnels). Mon built these tunnels beneath the French 100-year occupation, but they were vastly expanded under the American war from 1955 - 1975. Cl. 10:15 we continue to Tay Ninh - here lies the main center of the religious movement Cao Dai, a religion composed of Budhism, Hinduism and Christianity. We must be there at last. 12:00 because at this point starts the big parade. We can take pictures from a balcony at first floor. We eat lunch in Tay Ninh and then back to Saigon. After returning home relaxing at the hotel and prepare for the train ride to Da Nang. We eat dinner at. 20:00 before we head towards the train. We are in Da Nang the next day between the hours. 13:00 and 14:00.

8 / 9: Hoi An - We picked the hotel Hai Yen in Hoi An. Phuch and Thuy is on the station to pick us up (one car for us and one for luggage). We drive to Marble Mountain, which we visit briefly. It becomes a little hard ride up the mountain. Pagodas on the mountain was built by Emperor Minh Mang. We see later his Mausoleum in Hue on 16 / 9 After the trip on the mountain we drive to our hotel in Hoi An.

9 / 9: Da Nang / Hoi An - After breakfast we drive from the hotel at. 08:15 and visit a school disability ("Village of Hope") in Da Nang. There are 4 Dane children at the school, ie. children sponsored by the Danes. It has 2 deaf children Chau, aged 18 and Phuch and two who are not deaf - Yhao of 9 years and Fu 9 years. Henning sponsors Chau and have done so for 10 years, so we may Chau's mother to Da Nang. We start in the staff room where we are told about the school and answered questions. We visit the dormitories to see how the children live. Cl. 11:00 we are invited to eat with the children. Drive back to Hoi An at. 12:30 and visiting a clothing store and a silver shop. A little trip to the beach can also be time for that. Dinner in town at. 20:00.

10 / 9: Hoi An - Bike ride. We start from the hotel at. 9.00 and bicycles down to the port increases with bikes on board one of the boats. A voyage around. 15 minutes up the river and we get off on the opposite side by a boatyard, sees a carving in wood. Next stop a brickyard, then a small restaurant where we can get something to drink. We cycle around the small islands. It can be difficult to navigate, so we have a local guide. It is a thrill ride here comes almost never tourists. We bike for approx. 3 hours and then we go back to Hoi An and is back around. pm. 13:00. Now we have lunch. The afternoon is free. Dinner at the hotel at. 20:00.

11 / 9: Hoi An - This day shall we island tour to Champ Island, which lies 10 km offshore. We will be picked up at the hotel by car and sailing at. 09.00. First stop is the port on Champ Island and we go a little tour of the city. There are almost no tourists. On board the boat again we sail to a Robinson Krusoe beach with bananas and coconuts. There is a bathroom and a toilet. You can dress for swimsuits at the beach. There is also an opportunity for snorkeling. We eat lunch on the beach, which is included in the ticket (20 USD). We sail from the island at. 15:00 and again at home. 16.00. Dinner in town.

12 / 9: Hoi An - A half-day bike ride around the area around Hoi An. Then lunch. Afternoon free to explore the city. There are opportunities to experience the historic town of Hoi An, who was a wealthy port city at 16-18. century. As a result of visits by a significant number of foreign merchants, the city is characterized by a unique architectural style with both Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese influence. You can visit the Phuc Kien hall, the Japanese Covered Bridge, the old merchant's house, Tan Ky house and a workshop for traditional crafts in the old town. Dinner in town.

13 / 9: Hoi An - This day is public holiday. There are many shopping opportunities, for example. clothes and silver. Remember to pick up clothes and silver before we go on! Dinner in town.

14 / 9: Hue - We drive to Hue at. 07:30 and arrives at. 11:00. We will be accommodated at a hotel Hoa Hung. There have been ordered bicycles. Cl. 12:30 we bike from the hotel with first stop at The Deaf restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet. Then we drive into the Citadel, where the old royal palace is located. Here we go around and see what has been rebuilt. We cycle back to the hotel. Cl. 19:30 we're going out to eat at an interesting restaurant.

15 / 9: Hue - We eat breakfast at. 06:00. There have been ordered bikes and boat. There are 1700 meters. the moorings and we bikes at. 07:00 the boat. Bikes taken onboard. We also eat lunch on the boat (3 U.S. $). We cruise on the Perfume River and the first stop is Thien Mu Pagoda, which is a very exciting and very beautiful pagoda and a peaceful place. It was from a monk in his car in 1963, drove to Saigon, pulled up in front of Presidential Palace, walked out on the site, poured gasoline over himself and lit fire to herself. The picture went around the world. This action turned the war for Americans, because they had public opinion against both the U.S. and in Europe. At that time there were approx. 750,000 Allied soldiers in Vietnam. We sail on to Minh Mang Mausoleum - a very beautiful mausoleum in a nice park. Back to the boat and across the river to Kai Dinh Mausoleum. Now the cycles of order is approx. 3 km to the mausoleum. It is a completely separate mausoleum - a large stone colossus and a lot of stairs, but very pretty at the top with large mosaics. There is a good view from the top. We cycle back to the boat. There are now 2 possibilities: we can either ride home (approx. 10 km) or take the boat home. The flying home to have bicycles on the boat (but coming around. 45 minutes later the home). We provide U.S. $ 3 for a nice lunch on the boat. On the boat can also buy silk - one of the good shopping places. Buy some edible to train and remember plastic mug - we must, to Hanoi by train at. 16:00. We have rented bicycle taxi the 1750 meters to the station.

16 / 9: Hanoi - Arrival in Hanoi early morning (between kl. 05:00 and 06:00). We take a taxi to our hotel Camilia 4, 44 Hang Gaiy where we eat breakfast. It is not certain that we can get rooms so early. We make a small hike in the vicinity of the hotel, we walk around the Hoan Kiem Lake, the most central point in Hanoi. On the way we order cycles for at. approx. pm. 09:00, we must test our abilities on the bike in Hanoi. Beware - and learn the Vietnamese bike style! It becomes a thrill ride until we get accustomed to traffic and learned the technique. It will look bad, but it is important to understand the way the Vietnamese do it. Forget all Danish rules and use the Vietnamese! Rules: When you pass other bikes or motorcycles, so show what you want, highlight what you are doing and not undo! Are you left in an intersection, then drive on the wrong side, leaving as few passengers as possible! After the ride we get the nerves in place at Hoan Kiem Lake. And so were the rooms would be clear. We unpack and eat lunch at Little Hanoi. Rest of day free. Dinner is at. 20:00 in the city.

17 / 9: Hanoi - This day we train to Sa Pa, but the train only at night, so we have a full day in Hanoi. We bicycles from the hotel at. 07:30 and the first visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (remember long pants) and then his home. By the end of the park lies the one-legged Pagoda Chua Mot Cat, then a brief visit to Ho Chi Minh Museum. We cycle so to the old university also called Literature Museum. We eat lunch close. We cycle back to the hotel and will be out of the rooms before noon. 12:00. We pack for a 4-day trip, for we are only back in Hanoi Wednesday morning (22 / 9). Then the suitcases into the trunk space and luggage to Sa Pa packed in hand luggage. Now the afternoon free, we must in water theater. After theater dinner in Hanoi and taxi to the station. The train runs at. 20:00.

18 / 9: Sa Pa - We are in Lao Cai at. approx. 06:00 and the train is not running anymore. Taxi 38 km up the hill to the mountain town of Sa Pa in 1700 mtr.'s Height, so up here, the temperature may be different than in Hanoi. We are now on the border with China and will be accommodated at Hotel Lotus overlooking the valley. Sa Pa is an exciting city and we are here for 3 days (2 nights). After we eat breakfast accommodation. Cl. 09:00 We drive on motorcycles 14 km to a Red Dzau village. When we arrive, there are many familiar faces, and on our way around the village follow many red Dzauer with. Everybody wants to sell, but wait until we have completed our trip. When we reach the end of the village and saw one of the homes we need across the rice paddies. Here it is important to get a Red Dzau to keep you in his hand as we go on the breakwaters, and it might be nice to have a supportive hand. Whoever helps you will not have money for it, but you can buy by the red Dzau. We take a drink and say goodbye to Darvin Village and a nice ethnic people living as they did 1000 years ago - just added mobile phone and TV. We drive back to Sa Pa and eat lunch at Luyen and her daughter-Phung Dung. They have made a nice lunch for us for U.S. $ 3 + drinks. Afternoon free to enjoy life in Sa Pa - a peaceful place. Dinner in town.

19 / 9: Sa Pa - Now wait a little tougher trekking down the mountain. We start at. 09:00 and gets lunch from the hotel. It will be a fantastic journey through many villages. When we have gone 2 km, we come to a place where we can buy sticks to support us by. Here you will also follow many local black Hmunger with. At one point we come to a place where we can eat our lunch and buy drinks. We continue and sees many ethnic villages both Jaffa, Seiol and black Hmung, but they are similar. When we reach the last bridge, waiting for a motorcycle upon us, and we pay 30 million to run the 20 km back to Sa Pa. Dinner in town.

20 / 9: Sa Pa - the evening train back to Hanoi, but first we will visit black Hmung villages. This area is called Cat Cat. We walk through the market and continue down a poorly paved road. After 2 km we turn to the left and takes up several flights of stairs to visit a couple of black Hmung home. Black Hmungerne also live as 1000 years ago, except that many have TV. Since it is mountainous area, you can also just work the land as 1000 years ago. When we come to a waterfall, we have reached the bottom of the mountain, then we continue on the right, goes up some stairs and through the next bridge we motorcycles (20 kr) back to the market. Then there is time to walk around until we have late lunch / early dinner. Khao tell when we need a taxi to Lao Cai to catch a train back to Hanoi.

21 / 9: Hanoi - Breakfast at hotel in Hanoi and bike ride to a big market before we get the rooms by noon. Then lunch and afternoon free. Dinner in town

22 / 9: Ban Lac - Breakfast early at the hotel in Hanoi, because we must run away at. 7:00 and 145 km to Mai Chau where we will visit a silk factory. We see the whole production from the larval silk to the finished product. We can taste silkworms schnapps, buying goods or silk in the piece. We are now running over Hoa Binh, where we have Vietnam's largest power plant, which once provided all of northern Vietnam with power. Now you build 2 new power plants that are even larger. But we do not pause here on their way back and running instead on the left to Son La and come to Mai Chau valley and the village Ban Lac, where we say hello to Hoa and Thu, who is white crowns. White Thai people migrated 300 years ago to settle in this valley. Almost everyone can speak and write both Thai and Vietnamese, many also in English. When we arrive we will check in at first floor and eat lunch at Hoa and her husband, they make some of the best food in the village. So we go on a little bike ride - bikes we rent in the village. After dinner we can stroll into the village before we take a beer or coffee on the first floor terrace.

23 / 9: Ban Lac - We cycle from village at. 08:00. We visit a school which is located approx. 10 km from Ban Lac. It will be a hard journey with many elevations where we have to withdraw. It becomes so easy on the trip home, where we must remember to brake, so the move is not too noisy. It is now more than 10 years ago, Henning visited the school first time. Cl. 12:30 Lunch at Ban Lac and at. 15:00 we go on another bike ride - an incredibly beautiful ride, but perhaps a little difficult for some places, we carry the bikes. We're back from the trip, so we can eat at. 19:30 and be ready to see the village dances ancient dances for us. We would also be allowed to try. It takes place at Hoas sister Sun, she is a very skilled weaver by the Vietnamese government use when displaying ethnic art abroad. Coffee e.l. at first floor terrace.

24 / 9: Hanoi - We're back to Hanoi, says goodbye to Hoa and Thu and running at. 07:30. First stop on the trip home will be referred to the power plant in Hoa Binh. Then it goes to Hanoi, where we arrived at lunchtime. Afternoon free. Dinner in town.

25 / 9: Hanoi - We go on a bike ride to the Ethnic Museum, where we see an exhibition on the 54 ethnic groups living in Vietnam. It is an outdoor museum with a large indoor section. Lunch near our hotel. Afternoon free. Dinner in town.

26 / 9: Cat Ba - We leave the hotel at. 07:00 for we are going to sail on Halong Bay. On the way we visit but only one center with many disabled people - especially hearing impaired who suffer through their parents of the U.S. orange poison. It was here Oanh worked before Henning had sent her to school. She had hitherto never been taught because of her disability. We've probably already on the trip met this happy and positive girl. When we reach Ha Long, we change to a boat that sails us to Cat Ba. We eat lunch on board and visit a beautiful stalactite cave "Grotte". Khao tells of the cave. In Cat Ba we quartered and have time for a rest. Cat Ba is located in the Tonkin Gulf, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Cl. 20:00 we sail out to a restaurant on the water where we get fish and shellfish.

27 / 9: Cat Ba - We make a trekking trip around. 3 hours. Cl. 08:00 We drive by car the first 20 km, so we come out in the mountains. We are not stronger, than that everyone is involved. Mid-term, we stop at a beekeeper, where we can buy beer and water. Cl. approx. 12:00 we land in a bay where a small boat flying us out to a bigger boat. On the boat served lunch, which we have ordered in advance (3 U.S. $ + drinks). Then sailed to a beach on an island on which live monkeys - the only place in Ha Long Bay. When we do not want to swim more we sail back to Cat Ba. We eat in town.

28 / 9: Hanoi - We must get up early and back to Hanoi. We cruise from Cat Ba pm. 07:30 to Halong Bay and run against Sao Do, the way we visit a pottery factory, where you can buy cheap stuff in ceramics. In the Sao Do we welcome Hang and Oanh families. Forward to Hanoi and Camilia 4th Here, we pack for the return journey, there is a possibility of changing room and bath in the hotel. Cl. 17:00, depart from the hotel. Departing at. 20:30 with arrival at Bangkok. approx. 22:30

29 / 9: Departure - After midnight (at approx. 01:00) we fly to Copenhagen with the arrival at. approx. 07:30