Travel Experts and Me: Put the Travel Book Away

Tortoise Tower in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, Viet Nam. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

You know I have gotten into it with the Frugal Traveler from the New York Times. He called me an amateur and burned me so bad. The reaction of most people was that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Maybe so but it still stung! 

However, I do still read the Frugal Traveler in the NYTs. After all he is the expert on cheap travel. He gets paid to travel so he knows stuff that you may want to know. The other day he was talking about a travel website called TripAdvisor. People I know that also travel for a living use TripAdvisor. It is just a down and dirty, get real kind of web location. They have had 75 million reviews and opinions over the years so they are a well established authority. The beauty of the website is all of those comments from people that have actually visited the places they talk about. It really is very helpful.

When we went to Vietmam a year ago, TripAdvisor was the website that helped us get from Shanghai to Hanoi and then on a night train to Sapa. Following their advice is a good thing. So is reading Fordor's or Lonely Planet.

But in the end, what I enjoyed the very most was the things we did without a guide book in our hands. It was a though I was the first person to visit Vietnam. The Tortoise Tower you see above was located in a lake very near our little Hanoi Gecko Hotel. I have a picture of it somewhere in my files. The picture you see above was taken with my camera in Sa Pa and edited with the SnapSeed application on my iPad. I was looking out the window of the Sa Pa Rooms hotel second story over the roof tops.

Several years ago my husband and I were in Kowloon for a few days. We were just fresh off the boat and did not have all our technology with us. All we had was the sun and the seat of our pants. We wanted to walk to the water and I insisted that we needed to go to our right and not our left.  It turned out that right was wrong. That was when I discovered that confusion is the universal language. A Chinese man recognized that we were lost and helped us read an English Language map...in Chinese and got us turned around. We ate at a small restaurant and ventured in stores like the tourist we were. It was so much fun and really not anything we would have ever found in a travel book. I liked that day a lot.

Frugal Traveler talked about how the guide books and websites can be invaluable. But, in the end, he also said that putting the books down and turning off the computer is a good thing. Walk out the door and take a right turn at the corner. Just start walking. You may end up in some very interesting and unusual place. (Be sure to read the articles below...don't be afraid to venture out.) Think of the stories you will have to tell. Travel is about bragging rights anyway.

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Using TripAdvisor? Some Advice by Seth Krugel
Traveling Hopefully and Fearlessly, Retire In Style Blog
Retirement Travel, Retire In Style Blog

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Travel: Things I Wish I'd Brought When I Got There

Sapa Rooms early in the Morning (Photo credit: Always at Home)

It is just the small stuff I wish I had...not the camera or even a dress for evening wear. When I travel I always wish I had some small item I left at home on purpose or didn't even know I needed. For example,

When we were in Vietnam last winter I saw beautiful sleeping bag liners in shop after shop.  Honestly, I haven't camped for years and did not even know such a thing existed!  But there they were in Hanoi...stacks and stacks of them. What do you use them for I asked my daughter-in-law and she shrugged her shoulders. Did I need one of those?  Well, it turns out, yes I did. 

When we boarded the night train in Hanoi for the long trip in a sleeping car, I took one look at the bed and shuddered. I get it now...that is why I need a silk sleeping bag liner! 

An article on the Lonely Planet website reminded me that beds even in up scale hotels can be full of bed bugs and other critters/crud. A pretty little silk sleep bag liner would be so nice. Now I see that we can buy this item on Amazon and they are called Sleeping Bag Liners. Who knew!

Electronics are another thing...

I went off to stay on an island south of Cambodia. The island resort was a jewel set in a small village. I did not see why I should take my ipad or my iphone along...after all we had our computer and the resort said there was a hook up for computers. It did not occur to me that "wireless" means I can use my iphone AND my ipad. What was I thinking? It turns out that remote does not mean disconnected in any way.

Wash clothes...

The lack of a good cloth to wash my face and body will drive me crazy but it turns out the rest of the world just does without such a thing. In order to get one of those precious pieces of material I have paid extra in resorts and even bought small towels.  It is such a simple thing yet in my world a necessary item.

When do those people eat and sleep? Bring information with you...

As I look back on all of the places we have been I can see that the single most important piece of information we needed was the sleeping and eating habits of the country we were visiting. 

When we were in Spain I never did figure out when the people worked or what their breakfast time was. We ate Tortilla Espana every morning but we never were out when the Spaniards were.

Get that information before you leave home...the museums will be on the postcards in your hotel and someone will send you on your way. But if you want to truly enjoy a country, you need to sit down and eat with the people. Find out when they eat breakfast and evening meals.

Paper vs online...

The last time we traveled I bemoaned the fact that we didn't have a good paper map in English...I know you can go online and get directions but still I like the idea of seeing the big picture and being able to lay the map out in front of me makes such a difference. Whether you are in Saigon, Vietnam or Granada, Spain, the shape of the city and location of the rivers is important. How can you picture the history or commerce of a location without one? I am going to take one with me no matter whether I am on US Interstate 80 or driving between Malaga and Seville Spain.

Every travel website can give you a list of the latest and coolest travel gadgets. In fact here is a list I wrote. But has anyone ever told you to pack a wash cloth...I didn't think so.

I'm just saying!!!

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Frugal Travel....Vietnam might be the place!

I was reading the Frugal Traveler this morning.  Author of the column, Seth Kugel, writes for the New York Times and is the "guru" of cheap travel.  You remember him...he was the one that blasted this blog out of the water last spring.  The article today is about Portugal.  Now that really is a place I would like to visit. But.....

In my world the Far East (excluding China) is by far the best buy for the frugal traveler right now.  We just returned from a trip to China and Vietnam. We visited Sapa, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and the island of Phú Quốc in Viet Nam and Shanghai in China. If I were looking for the most frugal of all adventures, Vietnam would be my choice right now...that is what I know so indulge me.

• Flight: $1450 (from Tucson AZ)
• Rooms:  $20+ Sapa Boutique Hotel, $140 Grand Hotel Ho Chi Minh City, $20-$100 Hanoi, $150 Cassia Cottages Phú Quốc (included breakfast).  This is a resort so the price is higher but in this case I think it is probably a very good choice.
• Trekking:  We booked our day hikes in the hotel we staying at.  We booked the guide after we had arrived. There are websites for treks with overnight stays in villages.  2 days 3 nights will cost around $170.  
• Overnight train fare from Hanoi to Lao Cai $25-$78.  Connecting Bus (1 1/2 hr.) $2 one way.
• Note:  A trip to Halong Bay could be another place you should put on your list.  

Sapa Rooms Boutique Hotel Lobby/Restaurant 

Night Train to Sapa from Hanoi

Valley below Sapa on the slope of the Hoang Lien Son range of mountains 
at the eastern extremity of the Himalayas.

Trek to Cat Cat Village

Cassia Cottages, Phú Quốc

I don't know when you last stayed in a $25 hotel room but it had been a very long time for me.  We stayed in a very small hotel in Hanoi called Hanoi Gecko.  The rooms were clean and the hotel was extremely small.  The hotel owner was there to greet us personally and the breakfast we were served in the morning was in a dining room off the lobby.  It was all just fine!  On the other end of the spectrum, we found the resort on Phú Quốco be very luxurious in Vietnam's terms and within a few years the price will probably be beyond our reach.  Our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City was indeed very nice but was not a 5* hotel.   All in all the trade off we made for the cheap rooms allowed us to upgrade in other locations.

Shopping Viet Nam is still very affordable and Hanoi Old City is very much like it has always been I think.  The charm of the way of life that reflects how the Vietnamese really live is still alive here as it is in Sapa.  The farther you go south the costs seem to go up.  

Market Place, HCMC

HCMC from the air.

A young frugal traveler that is willing to stay in less than *****hotels will find this to be a winner.  At least that is what we found.  Save up all your credit card points, keep a look out for cheap airline tickets or special...this could be the trekker adventurer's trip of a life time.

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10 Days in Vietnam...planes, trains and automobiles!

Wonders of Sapa...Hmong Woman and me

I am not the sort of person that orders a hamburger when I travel.  Honestly, I have never liked them anyway so why not experience the food that local people are eating?  But this morning I am questioning that decision.

Day before yesterday we decided to take a boat excursion so the family could snorkel and everyone could fish for their lunch.  The wind blew but it didn't seem to dampen anyones spirits as we baited hooks to fish then donned snorkel masks to leap off the boat and paddle around rock to see Angle Fish in Vietnam waters south to Phu Quoc Island.

The fish was cooked in the kitchen of the boat by a woman that cleaned up after we had eaten  (Note:  I was sick last night!)  But it was worth the experience and everyone seems to be just fine.....

I also am all about the details...a prison on Phu Quoc Island held captured Viet Cong for the French and then the Americans.  We drove by the prison walls and the memorial site when the Vietnamese prisoners were held.  Many died during those years.  In fact the prison yard is visible from the road.  It made me feel very sad.

Did you know that in Vietnam they have a  floor 13.  I didn't notice if any numbers were missing because their "bad luck #" is different from ours.  Hotels here have casinos and the Grand Hotel where we are staying has a beautiful elevator to take gamblers to the tables.

People live on the fish farms that keep a price catch ready for the right boat to come and purchase them.  We cannot even imagine the living conditions where children are raised and adults spend all of there lives.  The people are cheerful and laugh with each smile.  Americans are treated with respect and here in Ho Chi Min City we are not assaulted on the streets by vendors.  We drove by the American Embassy that stands as a monument to the "American War" with the helipads preserved so that tourist can see.

This journey from Shanghai to Hanoi,  Hanoi north to Sapa, Sapa south to Hanoi, Hanoi to Ho Chi Min City (Saigon), HCMC to Phu Quoc, Phu Quoc to HCMC, and finally back to Shanghai has been one of the most amazing of my lifetime.  It has brought new meaning to "planes, trains and automobiles" because we have traveled in them all.  I honestly can say I am writing From Vietnam with Love.

Hanoi Street Scene

Phu Quoc Harbor 

Sapa Tour Guide (Su, was featured on Luke Nguyen Vietman Cooking Show) 

Amelia goes Snorkeling 

Beach hopping on Phu Quoc

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Vietnam...Selling to the Tourist from Hanoi to Sapa

Well, campers, out here where the rubber meets the road things are always happening. You can read the travel books about Vietnam till the cows come home but until you have actually have the shoe shine man take your shoes away from you you don't know a thing.

Hanoi

I have aways found that no meant no in most languages. However, in the far east, the shoe shine guys are polishing your shoes as you walk down the street...even in China. No has no meaning for them.  I have pulled my foot away many a time and have even walked around with shoe polish all over my shoe because I didn't escaped totally. 

In Hanoe I did not get away. My shoes were polished and even re-soled as I looked on helplessly. My feet were slipped into slippers and I leaned against a building waiting for the guy to finish. When the calculator came out and the price was quoted I gasped. Doesn’t 50,000 Dong sound like a lot to you? I told my family they would need to bury me in those shoes because they were so valuable! Then I realized I had spent a whole $2.50 more or less. The Dong is 21,000 to each $1. WOW!

We took a night train to Sapa (north of Hanoi very near the China border) and stayed there for 3 nights.

The Hmong people live in Sapa. They are a separate culture from the Vietnamese and treated as less valuable citizens in the country. 

During the Vietnam War the Hmong people worked as spies and many of them still speak perfect English.

The government educates them to a lesser degree. The women are sent in to town once a week to sell to tourist. They sell silver pieces and linen.

When speaking to them one on one, I realized they do not think of themselves as "Vietnamese" at all.  

They are a very cheerful people leading a difficult life. they are managing to survive even though tourists are not an easy. They have learned to sell their wears using the "dripping water torture".  It seems that they are very successful at wearing tourists down so they will buy what they do not know they want.

We were staying in a boutique hotel called Sapa Rooms. It was an old French villa converted. It was not elegant in any was but we could lounge inside a heated restaurant area with windows looking out in every direction. No other restaurant in the area was heated so it was very luxurious. One felt a bit like a caged animal as the Hmong women stood in groups and watched our every move. I could only smile as they descended on everyone that stepped out the door. We discovered right away that timing was everything in this dance with the Hmong women. Escaping was not easy!

It was a shock to us for the first few hours. Of course, as with most of the places we visit, it takes us a day or two to get the hang of things. In this case we only stayed for three nights and one of the days we took that long walk I talked about in a previous post.

I did manage to get some beautiful blue textiles and a piece of the native garb they women wear from our guide's mother and another vendor in the same section of the market place.

The people harvest, prepare the hemp thread, weave the fabric and dye it a beautiful indigo blue.  Women's hand's are permanently colored from the dye. On our hike we saw dye vats and the fabric hung to dry outside the huts. Was I awed by the beauty and uniqueness of this world? You bet I was. When you walk the trail and hear the gentle hopeful voice almost begging you to share your wealth, you just have to be humbled and amazed.

We are now on the island of Phu Qoc in the Sea of Thailand just south of Cambodia.  I will post more tomorrow. We are well, the food is wonderful and we are loving this vacation.

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Good Morning Viet Nam!

I don't know if this is normal but in this neighborhood everyone is jarred awake at 7:00 am.  Loud music plays over speakers that hang over the streets and alleyways so communication with the citizens is always possible...I think. My daughter-in-law says they do this in Japan too.  Music, followed by morning announcement greets each day.  Who knew!

We are staying in the Hanoi Gecko Hotel in the heart of the city near Hoan Bien Lake.  Small hotels, hostels surround the area and vendors, restaurant owners live and work on the street.  Everything you have ever seen or heard about this city is true...then multiply it by ten and you are almost there.

Hanoi at night taken from restaurant balcony where we ate.

View from our bedroom window

Hotel Gecko is down this small ally

The core of the city here feels very small.  I don't know if there are other areas like this or not.  Traffic does not adhere to any rules that I can see.  A teaming mass of humanity moves at a snails pace in a small space.  There is no center line and driving on the left or right side of the road is okay.  Everyone just takes the path of least resistance.  Did I mention that I love it!  This make me feel alive.

We arrived in Hanoi last night after dark.  It was a 3 hr 45 min flight directly from Shanghai on Viet Nam Airways.  We learned that if you want to get the best deal on a taxi, you let the driver talk to the hotel owner.  He will negotiate the fee for you, or at least that is what happened for us.

We will shop today and then board a train this evening for an overnight train ride to Sa Pa.  More tomorrow (I hope).

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Note:  The internet is free fast and does not appear to be firewalled to the max!