Archive-name: travel/vietnam-guide/part3
Posting-Frequency: monthly

                                 VIETNAM

                         The Internet Travel Guide

                              Peter M. Geiser


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Contents
 
 Introduction
 Copyright (c) 1995, 1996

 1. General Overview
 1.1 Geographical Information
 1.2 Climate
 1.3 People
 1.4 Events
 1.5 Visa
 1.6 Embassies
 1.7 Border Crossing
 1.8 Money
 1.9 Economy
 1.10 Mail
 1.11 Telephone
 1.12 Acommodation, Hotels
 1.13 Food
 1.14 Health

 2. Transportation
 2.1 Flying
 2.2 Train
 2.3 Roads
 2.4 Bus
 2.5 Minibus
 2.6 Car
 2.7 Motorcycle
 2.8 Bicycles
 2.9 Cyclos
 2.10 Tours
 2.11 Guides
 2.12 Boats

 3. Places
     Hanoi
     Sapa
     Halong Bay
     Cat Ba Island
     Hoa Lu
     Ninh Binh
     Do Son
     Dong Ha
     Hue
     Danang
     Myson
     Hoi An
     Quang Ngai
     Nha Trang
     Phan Rang
     Dalat
     Central Highland
     An Khe
     Pleiku
     Kontum
     Ho Chi Minh City
     Saigon
     Cholon
     Around Ho Chi Minh City
     Tay Ninh
     Vung Tau
     Mekong Delta
     Mytho
     Vinh Long
     Cantho
     Long Xuyen
     Chau Doc
     Rach Gia
     Phu Quoc

 4. Literature and Additional Information
 4.1 Guidebooks
 4.2 Travellers Tales
 4.3 Language
 4.4 HistoricPolitical Books
 4.5 Novels
 4.6 Movies
 4.7 Internet

 A. Contributors

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The Internet Travel Guide
http://www-students.unisg.ch/~pgeiser/itg.htm
Copyright (c) 1995, 1996 Peter M. Geiser
Peter.Geiser@student.unisg.ch

Last change 15. October 1996.
Updates: FAQ: monthly, HTML: more often

Currently available in the series of the Internet Travel Guides:
Cambodia
China
Laos
Myanmar (Burma)
Sumatra
Switzerland
Tibet
Vietnam

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INTRODUCTION

The main objective of this FAQ is to provide the reader with the newest
travel information available, like what is the current situation on visa,
where to stay and what prices are reasonable, etc. It is not a guide to
the Vietnamese culture or history (although I started to include some
information about those subjects as well), for these non-changing facts
are much more pleasantly presented in many good books (see the list in
section 4 in this FAQ). It is also not intended to be a political pamphlet
since politics is often a very opinionated subject. However, I started to
include some political facts where I felt it was appropriate.

Remember: Things change very fast, so by the time you get to Vietnam the
information in this FAQ may be outdated. If you encounter this, please
bear with me. Instead of being upset, rather share your experiences with
other people on the net. The next tourist will thank you if he or she can
rely on your new information. Also, if you find time during your travels
to write a postcard or a letter to me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Some paragraphs are led by the name of the author in brackets. This
doesn't mean that these are their only contributions, but rather that in
that case I chose to leave the words as the author wrote them, adding a
more personal note to the FAQ.


Answering questions

There are many people who send mail to ask me some questions. As much as
I like to answer as many questions as possible, my time is limited. I do
this work in my spare time, so I frequently answer the questions only
after a couple of days (or even weeks if I'm away for a while.) It also
happens that I cannot return an e-mail due to an invalid e-mail address.
Please be careful to include a valid e-mail address, or then ask me to
post the answer in rec.travel.asia.

This guide lives by being up-to-date. Since I cannot travel all the time,
I am glad to receive suggestions, contributions and comments. Any addition
is useful, regardless of the size.

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE

In accordance with the Bern convention, this document is copyrighted
worldwide. The information provided within this document is the property
of the original authors. The author especially reserves the right to the
exclusive use of the term "The Internet Travel Guide".

This document or parts thereof may NOT be sold for profit or included in
any commercial documents (e. g. books, esp. guide books, magazines,
CD-ROMs, WWW-pages, the Microsoft Network or any other form) without the
prior written permission of the copyright holder. This permission is valid
exactly for the agreed version (or if no version was stated at the
published version on the date of the agreement) at the time the permission
was granted; it does not cover future or any other versions. However,
following the common practice of the Internet, this document may be freely
redistributed without any modification whatsoever, including this
copyright notice.

If you as the reader has paid to get this document, please let me know. As
much as I would like I cannot give you back your money, but I can try to
put an end to the illegal stealing of other people's work.

**************************************************************************

The Internet Travel Guide
Copyright (c) 1995, 1996
http://www-students.unisg.ch/~pgeiser/itg.htm

Peter M. Geiser
Seeblickstr. 10
9010 St.Gallen
Switzerland

Peter.Geiser@student.unisg.ch

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3. PLACES

HANOI

Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam, buit in 1010. Aproximately one million
people live there. It is (in my opinion) Vietnam's most beautiful city.
With many French colonial building the old part of the city retains a
special charm, with many shops virtually spilling their goods into the
streets. If you want to buy something you have to know in what street it
is sold, i.e. there is a shoe street, a noodle shop street, a clothes
street, a funeral articles street, etc. Its streets are lined with trees,
giving the city a wonderful green colour and providing shade.

People in Hanoi are perhaps not as easy going as people in Saigon, but
they are more hospitable and much friendlier. A good place to meet people
is in the parks at 6 am doing various sports, such as Tai-Chi.

Many new houses are being built, but they are mostly typical Vietnamese,
some 2.5 to 6 m wide and more than 40 m deep. They have 4 to 6 stories, on
each story a beautiful balcony facing the street. Old and new buildings
integrate easily, never destroying the picture of the 'old' town.

Attractions include the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu, entrance fee VND
12000), the beautiful Hoan Kiem lake, the Hoan Keim district (the old
center, with many beautiful, small shops), the St. Joseph's Cathedral, the
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (no entrance fee, VND 4000 for guarding your bag),
the Ho Chi Minh House (VND 2000), the one pillar pagode just next to it
and the Historical Museum (VND 10000).

One of the most exceptional evenings I spent in Hanoi was the visit to the
water puppet theater, Kim Dong Theatre at 57 Dinh Tien Hoang Street. After
an introduction of Vietnamese music, the show started. It is actually a
series of scenes from Vietnamese everyday life, depicted by beautifully
carved and painted puppets. They are held on long sticks by people
standing in the water behind a bamboo screen. Admission was USD 2 or USD 4
with cassette, and they charge USD 1 for photographing.

The Hoa Lu Prison (aka Hanoi Hilton) is a drab triangle. There is
nothing to see and photographing is prohibited. Reportedly, it has beed
dismanteled in March 1995.

There are many tailor-shops in Hanoi. One of the better, with good prices
is the Nice at 110 Tran Phu. The tailor anything overnight.

When arriving at the airport, beware of the cheap, inofficial taxis.
Although cheaper, they certainly will get stopped by the police. Not only
do you have to wait for quite some time, but you will also have to pay a
penalty that is much higher than what you would have paid for an official
taxi.


Accommodation

There are two main areas for budget accommodation. One is the Hoan Kiem
district (also known as the old town), just north of the Hoan Kiem lake.
It is very pretty, with lots of charm. The other is just south of the
lake.  Hotels seem to be a bit cheaper than in the old part, but this
depends on your bargaining success.

BinhMinh: There are three Binh Minh hotels in Hanoi. The addresses are:
27 Ly Thai To str.: The expensive one with prices from USD 30
50 Hang Be: rooms with private shower (warm water) and toilette for
            USD 10 or USD 12
39 Hang Be: four bed dormitory for USD 4 per bed. Chinese style toilette,
            shower with hot water.
These hotels belong to the same person. I'm not sure about the first one,
but the last two certainly do. He also has a hotel at Halong Bay. The
people running the places are extremely friendly. They always talk to the
travellers and invite them to sit down with them and drink tea. They also
book tours to Sapa, Halong Bay, etc. for you.

Viet My, 21 Mai Hac De Str. USD 20 for a double room with one double bed,
bath with hot water, air condition and fan, refridgerator, satellite TV
and tooth brush, tooth paste, towels, shower lotion, rasor blades, etc.
provided.  The rooms are clean and furnished with beatifully carved
traditional Vietnamese furniture. It opened beginning of June 1994.

The Thanh Binh Hotel at 81 Hang Dao Street offers clean rooms with air con
at VND 250'000.

The Ngoc Minh (Ocean) Hotel at 47 Luong Ngoc Quyen Street offers beautiful
rooms for USD 20.

An very pleasant place is the Hanh Phuc / Dong Xuan Hotel in the old town,
just next to the market, at 3 Thanh Ha St. They have clean rooms with
airconditioning and bath for USD 10, USD 12, USD 15, and USD 20.
Tel. (8)253290, (8)282142. Note: there is now another, rival hotel that
calls itself Dong Xuan (thus the renaming of the original hotel), but I
don't have information other that that it exists.

At Ha Tien 22, the hotel with the same name offers doubles with hot
showers for USD 12 to 15.

The Nam Phuong Il Hotel at 26 Wha Chung has nice doubles with aircon and
hot water for USD 13.

Many people also recommended the Lotus Guest house. The managers speak
German. Nowadays prices are probably a bit too high with USD 12 for a
small room without windows.

One of the most inexpensive places is Nha Khach Van Nghe (Guest House
Culture), at 22A Hai Ba Trung Street. It's right in the centre, nicely
located around a small courtyard. Well worth the money, USD 3 - USD 15.

There is now a dormitory called Bi Bi Guesthouse that costs USD 4/night.

Hotel Mini, 24 Nha Chung , Tel 8269823, Fax: 844250099. The rooms cost
from USD 13 to 25.

The North Hotel 2 has reportedly cheap rooms for USD 12.

At the Vinh Quang Hotel at 24 Hang Quat Street, both English and French is
spoken. Tel 8243423.

For those that want to catch an early train, the hotel just opposite the
train station at 115 Tran Hung Dao, Khach-San 30-4, offers rooms for
USD 9.

Definitely the best hotel in Hanoi, and certainly the one with the most
tradition is the otel Sofitel Metropole. It is located at 15 Pho Ngo
Quyen, Hoan Kien, Tel 8266919, Fax 8266920. A room is USD 294.

Other hotels that have international standard and prices:
 Hanoi, USD 208.
 Royal, USD 159.
 Heritage, USD 137.
 Thang Loi, USD 131.
 Thuy Tien, USD 93.
 Thien Thai, USD 98.
 Duc Loi, USD 64.
 Hoang Minh, USD 65.
 Vijaco, USD 65.


Food

A good place for seafood is Restaurant - Bar 92 at 92 Mai Hac De Str.
When we (5 Westeners) showed up, we were led upstairs to a big table.
There they began to show us what they were offering. To cut the tedious
selection process short, we said how much we wanted to pay and that they
shoud just bring a good selection of their specialities.

Bittet at 51 Hang Buom has fish soup for VND 7000 and soft beefsteak with
lots of garlic for VND 12000.

Excellent Chinese and Vietnamese dishes are available in Kinh Hoa
restaurant at 6 Le Thai To Str., but this place is a bit more pricey.

A good place is the restaurant at the intersection of Minh Viet and Can Go
streets. It has a balcony where you can eat.

On Dinh Lien Street, there are several good restaurants with mainly
Vietnamese guests.

The Cha Ca Restautant at 14 Cha Ca Street is one of the best known
restaurants in town, and it makes use of this fact with exorbitant prices
that are several times what you would pay at other places (VND 60'000!)
They offer only one dish, fried fish, prepared with speed rather than
care. Not recommended anymore.

Just opposite the Nice shop at 110 Tran Phu is a good restaurant with a
nice balcony.

Cheap food can be have at the traveller's cafes. They all have western
style as well as simple Vietnamese style dishes from as little as 3000
VND. They all organise tours around Hanoi (see tours section). There are
the two Darling cafes in Hang Quat, the Queen Cafe at 65 Hang Bac (which
is a big expat hangout), Kolo-friendship cafe at 24 Mai Hac De Str.,
Tourist's Meeting Cafe, 59 Ba Trieu st (corner with Tran Quoc Toan), the
Lonely Planet Cafe and the Green Bamboo. The Green Bamboo is run by the
original runner and inventor of the first traveller's cafe, the Darlin
Cafe. It also has a book exchange service.

The Tell, managed by a Swiss, Urs Hauser, serves real Swiss food, with
ingredients imported directly from Switzerland.

(Michael) A nice restaurant in Hanoi is Ngu Ngu Ngu (aka Five Royal Fist)
at 16 Le Thai To street, on the second floor of a theatre with nice views
of Hoan Kiem Lake. The place caters to ex pats, fills up quickly and
serves everything from nicely prepared Vietnamese food to pizza, steak,
sandwiches, burgers, etc. (The fried potatoes are superb.) We were there
on the 20th anniversary of the reunification (April 30th) and had a
wonderful view of the fireworks display on Hoan Kiem Lake.

(Lotta and Johan)  Sad to say, but the best restaurant we found was not
vietnamese but Italian. Anyone who yearns for western food should go to
A Little Italian at 81 Tho Nhuom St. Evenings, it's better to make a
reservation, phone 258167. They have wonderful pizza and pasta dishes.
It's quite expensive though - most of the pastas cost 4$50.

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SAPA

Located in the middle of breathtaking landscape, Sapa is one of the most
wonderful places in all of Asia. Being a former French hill station, it
is situated in the midst of mountains, just south of the Fansipan, with
3143 m the highest point of Vietnam. It is very convenient located for
hiking in the surrounding area, where you can visit many small villages
of minorities, mainly the Hmong (Meo) and the Dao. Make sure you are
there for the weekend, as there is a market. Especially the Hmong sell
beautifully embroidered bags, caps, jackets, etc.

Of course, nowadays it has become extremely crowded by tourists,
especially on the weekends. I dare say that someone who has been there
just one year ago will not recognise it anymore and certainly not like the
crowds. But that's the way of most of the insider locations...

(Lotta and Johan)  A wonderful place. The surroundings are breathtaking,
and the atmosphere friendly. During weekends, the minority people walk
down from the mountains to sell their goods and handicrafts at the
market in Sa Pa. They wear their beatiful costumes, and they would wear
them even if the tourists weren't there, which felt good. At night the
Hmong people gathered on the street, and the young girls and boys sang
traditional, monotonous tunes to one another to find a husband or a
wife. All the tribes members, as well as some tourists, gathered around
them and listened. As a couple had found each other and finished
singing, they left hand in hand. Let's just hope tourism doesn't spoil
this wonderful place!


Accommodation

There are now more than 15 hotels, mostly charging USD 6 for a double
room.

The Pansy hotel is quite nice with a great view of the Fansipan.


Food

One of the best places to relax in Vietnam is the Cafe d'Auberge. From its
terrasse you can enjoy an excellent view of the surrounding valleys and,
of course, the Fansipan.

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HALONG BAY

The name Ha Long means 'where the dragon decends into the sea'. This
wonderful landscape with its 3000 islands rising from the emerald waters
of the Gulf of Tonkin resembles very much the famous mountains of Guilin,
China. Make sure you make a boat trip (rent a boat or take part of an
organised tour, see tous.)

(John) It is very convenient and a good value to take a organized tour,
and it doesn't cost that much more than it would cost to go on your own.
The 2-day organized tours usually include transportation there and back
(5 hours each way), two 3-4 hour boat rides, two lunches, one dinner, one
breakfast, and overnight accommodation. Mine cost $22. Three day tours
are also available which include a day at Cat Ba national park.

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CAT BA ISLAND

Cat Ba island is a national park. It is covered by tropical forests and
is home to a variety of animals.

The ferry from Haiphong takes 3 hours and costs USD 5. It leaves several
times a day, e.g. at 1 pm.


Accommodation

Anh Tuan Hotel, just 200 m up the road opposite the ferry landing. It has
nice, clean double rooms for USD 6 to 8.

Don't go to Cat Ba Hotel. It is government run and not a very good choice.


Food

A good place to get fresh sea food is the Huu Dung restaurant in the road
opposite the ferry landing.

There are many Karaoke bars.


Tours

The owner of the Huu Dung resturant offers tours on the island and in the
bay. A 5 hour walking tour through the rainforest in the national park
costs USD 10 to 12. A boat trip in the bay costs the same. Make sure that
noone wants to get to Bay Chai; it is not worth the money.

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HOA LU

(Lars) Among the more scenic areas I would recommend is the vicinity of
the old capitol of Hoa Lu (I think the first emperors lived there), just
outside Ninh Binh. The landscape shows the same type of sharp-rising
cliffs/mountains as in Ha Long, although here you'll find small
rice-fields in between. Take a boat ride along the small rivers (they
actually pass under the mountain in a few places); go exploring caves (I
didn't have time); or just stroll down the dirt road between the
cliffs. It's beautiful!  Close by are other places well worth a visit:
Bich Dong pagoda and Tam Cuc.

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NINH BINH

Ninh Binh is a good place for an overnight stop on the way between Hanoi
and Hue.

A small walk of a quarter of an hour up the small mountain to the Bich
Dong Pagoda lets you enjoy a nice view of Hoa Lu. Some people may want to
charge you VND 10000, but this is only for the boat.

The Tam Toc Caves are worth a visit. It is only 12 km from the village, so
you can rent a bike for some VND 5000 to 10000. Another possibility is to
combine the caves with a boat trip to Hoa Lu. The boat is VND 25000.


Accommodation

THe Than Thuy's Guest House at Le Hong Phong Street offers rooms for USD
9. Its owner speaks English and German.

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CUC PHUONG NATIONAL PARK

(Lars) A high-altitude, mountain rainforest.  Several trails for the
hiker. Approx. 70 km northwest of Ninh Binh.  Hostel-style accomodation
available. Didn't look too clean but I would have stayed one or two
nights, if only I would have known about it. Also better looking huts, but
I don't know any prices or where to rent them. Can be reached from Ninh
Binh or on daytours from Hanoi.

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DO SON

Do Son is said to be the most beautiful beach (actually there are three
beeches!) in the northern part of Vietnam.

There is a casino (the only one in Vietnam?).

There are some villas at one of the three beaches for USD 20.

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VINH MOC

When the villagers of Vinh Moc found themselves to be in a 'free-fire
zone' in 1966, they began to dig the 2.8 km long tunnel system. There
were up to 1200 persons living in these tunnels. Since it is easy to get
lost in the maze of tunnels, be sure to hire a local guide.

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DONG HA

Nha Tro, Hai Ly: I'm not quite sure about the name, but this is a small
mini hotel on the right side of a little side street just off the main
road, opposite the bus terminal. It has pleasant rooms with a double bed
and private shower (cold water only) and toilette for USD 6. People are
friendly and can organise a tour to the DMZ (on motorcycle for some USD 10
to 20.)

Try the Phung Hoang mini hotel at 63 Le Duan (Hwy 1). It is run by a nice
family, and the food is excellent. The rooms are USD 10 or less.

There is a tour guide named Jimmy Hoa who is reported to be fair and well-
informed. He served as a Sgt. in the Army of the Republic of Vietnam
(ARVN) during the war and worked as an interpreter for the US 3rd Marine
Division for three years. He will organise tours to the sites around Dong
Ha.

Don't use the Quang Tri tourist department. They chage too much and don't
deliver.

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HUE

Hue was the national capital from 1802 to 1945. 13 emperors of the Nguyen
dynasty lived in the forbidden city.

I didn't like Hue. This may have been because of the rain or because I
expected too much of the sights. The city itself is nothing special.
Recently, I got word of many tourists avoiding Hue because of the rather
steep prices for the sights.

The main attraction, the Imperial City is mostly bombed flat (one of the
haviest battles of the American War took place in Hue during the Tet
Offensive in 1968). The few remaining buildings (five if I remember
correctly) all have been converted to souvenir shops. And all of this for
USD 5.

A little outside of the city are several old tombs from former emperors.
The admission costs USD 5 each! As an alternative try to walk around the
tomb to find any open gates where nobody charges admission, but this will
not always work. Since all of them look similar, it is not worth to visit
all of them, one or two will suffice. The nicer tombs are the Tomb of Minh
Mang and Tu Duc Tomb. The Thieu Tri tomb has no walls around it, so it can
be visited for free.

Most hotels offer beautiful boat trips to the tombs for USD 5. This boat
trip is often combined with the Thien Mu Pagoda.

(Michael) The Minh Mang tomb is poorly preserved, but the setting is
beautiful. Tu Duc is in better shape, but the layout is not as nice. It
is a long, long walk from the river to Tu Duc. Thien Mu is worth it if
just to see the famous car (see LP).

(John) Hue has brought in the new year (1995) with raising their prices on
all their attractions from an expensive $3.50 to an outrageous $5.00 per
foreigner.  The local prices are $0.50.  The tombs are really not that
great, A fair price is $1-2 to see them.  I would visit one tomb only
since many of them are very similar. At the Imperial City I joined two
other people to hire a guide for $3.  His English was excellent and the
guide was well worth it.

(John) The tombs are on the outskirts of town and are reachable by boat
for $4/person if organized through the Morin.  A boat can be hired
privately for $12.  The tombs can also be reached by bicycle.  Upon
visiting one of the tombs I was charged 0.50 each way to cross a river by
boat with my bicycle.

(Michael) To get across the river to the Dong Ba market, check for
private boats at the Huong Giang end of the Dap Da bridge and river taxis
at the other end. Be sure to negotiate the price before getting on the
boat. Tourist price seems to be about a dollar to get across the river.

(Michael) Cruises both directions on the Perfume River are well worth it.
We engaged a 'dragon boat' for $12 a day. One day we went out to Thuan An
beach for the day. Another day we went the other way to visit a few
tombs. Both trips were very nice and much enjoyed by my daughter.
Negotate directly with the boat owner for the best price. Again, try
getting a boat near the Dap Da bridge, or just down the river from the
floating restaurant.

Since April 1996, Hue's airport is closed. It is not quite clear for how
long, but I presume that it will not be forever. Before closing, the
airport bus into the city costs USD 1. Tell the driver where you would
like to go and chances are he will take you directly there. He will also
know good guest houses.

There are bicycles for rent at VND 7000.


Accommodation

Hue has a great number of hotels and mini-hotels.

The Hung Vuong Hotel, 62 Hung Vuong Street offers excellent value for the
price. A double room with TV, aircon, hot water and even with breakfast
included is only USD 10!

Morin Hotel: A good backpacker hangout, with rooms from USD 8 to USD 20.
This hotel is under restauration until at least the beginning of 1997, but
there are still some rooms available. When it will open fully again it
will probably be much more pleasant, but also more expensive.

(Doug) You hear a lot about the Morin Hotel in Hue, both good and bad.
It's probably the most popular, or at least well-know traveller's hotel
in Hue.
I have never stayed there, but I did have a cuppa cafe sua in the court
yard cafe last month.
The place has a lot of history but something that most travellers don't
know is that the Morin and the streets and buildings around it, were the
setting for some dramatic events during the battle for Hue city in the
communist Tet Offensive in February 1968.
At the time, the Morin housed Hue University. Just down and across the
street (away from the river) is a walled complex that is currently a
police or military site. In 1968 this complex was the MACV (Military
Assisstance Command Vietnam) compound, a US military command center. That
building was the only significant US position in Hue that was not captured
by the communists in the Tet Offensive. Actually there were not many US
troops inside Hue at all prior to 68. The MACV compound was mostly an
adminstrative site. But, with reinforcements from Phu Bai just down the
highway, it did become the command centre for the recapture of Hue.
One of the first buildings recaptured from the communists was Hue
University (The Morin Hotel). US troops fought a running battle for the
Morin, clearing the building room by room, mostly by tossing hand
grenades. Once the Morin was in US hands, motars were set up in the
courtyard, and it became a command post supporting attacks against other
buildings to the west, such as the heavily fortified Treasury building
(now a VietCom Bank).
The book "Fire in the Streets" by Eric Hammel, details the battle for Hue,
and includes enough detail, maps and photos to allow you to track the
progress of the conflict, street by street and building by building.
It's not for everyone but reading it can add a new dimension to your visit
to the city (cheaper than a visit to the tombs), and may add a poignant
edge to your stay at the Morin.

I had a look at Le Loi Hotel, near the train station on the street next to
the Perfume river. Since I didn't stay there, I cannot really say much,
but it certainly did look ok. Many people actually liked the place better
than Morin. Rooms are USD 8 to 40.

The Dong Loi on Pham Ngu Lao just off Le Loi Street (opposite the Century
Riverside Hotel) offers clean rooms with private bath for USD 10. Their
restaurant cannot be recommended, though.

The Thanh Loi Hotel is very nice. A clean four bed room with aircondition
goes for VND 200'000.

(Michael) We ended up at the Binh Minh hotel at 12 Nguyen Tri Phuong St.
It was ok at USD 40 for a huge room with air con, fridge, TV (not
satellite), a big bath, breakfast and a double bed and a single bed.
However, at night, the air con kept tripping the circuit breaker whenever
the compressor came on, and I was up most of the night resetting the
breaker.

(Michael) So, we moved out and into the Huan Giang Hotel on the river.
This cost USD 80 for a huge room with satellite TV, a good buffet
breakfast and a two bed room. The river front restaurant at the Huang
Giang is (confirming LP) excellent and a very good value. The sunset view
is great. The hotel itself fills up every night with groups of French
tourists doing Vietnam in a week or some such thing.


Food

The Ang Tae just next to the Imperial City has a beatiful garden.

(Michael) The Song Huong floating restaurant is more expensive and not as
good as the Huan Giang. Plus, they always practice the 'cold towel'
rip-off. If you eat there, have the bill read to you and make sure you
are not paying for food, drinks or towells that you didn't use.

(Michael) A nice restaurant near the Citadel: Royal City Restaurant (Quoc
Huy), 43 Dinh Cong Trang St, near Hien Nohn gate.

Hien's Canteen just opposite the Dong Loi Hotel is a friendly place,
perfect for breakfast or a quick snack.

The Lac Thanh at 6 Dinh Tien Hoang Street is packed with tourists. While
it used to be good, the success with all the tourists caused the prices to
rise and the quality to drop. Not recommended anymore.

A nice place to sip che (tea) is between 13 and 15 Hung Vuong. Only 10m
from the main street, this tea-house is very popular with Hanoi's youth.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
DANANG

The city of DaNang doesn't offer much. The Cham museum is the highlight
and definitively worth a visit. There is also a nice Cao Dai temple near
the train station.

DaNang has an excellent Cham museum, housing many beautiful stone
carvings of ancient origin (Khmer and Cham). Entrance is VND 20000.

DaNang is a good place to start a day trip to My Son. These Cham ruins
are definitively worth a visit. A taxi to bring you there, wait for your
return and bring you back costs around USD 25, while a motorcycle is about
USD 6. The entrance fee, including crossing of the bridge and a minibus to
the ruins, is now USD 5.


Accommodation

Relatively new opened (May 1996), the Lan Phuong, 25 Phan Chau Trinh has
clean rooms for USD 15.

Just five minutes from the railway station is the That Nhat Hotel. They
have doubles for USD 8.

The Danang Hotel at 3 Dong Da Street is popular with budget travellers. It
has singles and doubles from about USD 6 to 20.

Next door, at 5 Dong Da Street is the Marble Mountain Hotel. Rooms go for
USD 5 to 20.

One door further, at 7 Dong Da Street, is the Dong Da Hotel, also known as
the Khach San Huu Nghi. They have rooms from USD 6 to 10.

Sport Hotel: Inside the stadium of Danang there is a hotel with double
rooms for USD 15. The rooms have private toilette and shower with hot
water.

The most expensive hotel is the Marco Polo with rooms for USD 132.


Food

In Danang there is only one travelling cafe, the Lien cafe. It is just
opposite the Marble Mountain hotel in the north of the town. They rent a
taxi with driver to go to My Son for USD 25, minibusses to Nha Trang are
USD 15 and motorcycle are USD 4 (50 cc) and 5 (70 cc) per day. The people
are very friendly and can offer many good advice. The food is cheap and
good.

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MYSON

These Cham ruins are a very beautiful spot to visit. Of course there are
some people trying to make money out of you. A taxi or a motorcylce can
only go to a small river a bit away from the ruins. There is a ferry and
motorcycle transportation service, but it is easy to cross the river a
little bit upstream and the walk to the entrance takes only about 20 min.
At the ferry station is a tent from the red cross. They show some ugly
photographs from people with wounds inflicted either by mines or the war.
The main goal is to extract money out of the tourist's pockets. Typical
for Vietnam, I was not sure if it was real or a scam.

(John) The Cham ruins are nice, but I experienced many hassles upon
visiting.  I rented a motorcycle for $5 in Hoi An and drove myself to
MySon.  I bargained the ferry operator from an outrageous $10 to $3 for
three people and two motorcycles to cross the pond both ways.  Upon
parking the motorcycles just before the entrance, we had problems with a
guide who did not speak English that insisted we must use a guide to see
the ruins.  He finally left and stole our gas.  We were overcharged by
1000% at the entrance gate, and a begger wanted a toll for crossing a
bridge.

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HOI AN

Hoi An is a beautiful old city which is nearly undamaged from the wars.
It once was the most important port of Vietnam around the time of Macau's
peak. Due to the monsoons, many trading vessels (Chinese, Thai, Dutch,
Portuguese and even Japanese) took it as an ideal stop. This helped the
city to develop into a trading center.

Many merchants bought houses to conduct trading activities all year round.
The old houses one can visit are beautiful. There are quite a few open
to the (paying) public. On the left side of the market there are some
silk shops. They only sell the silk, but it is possible to let them
tailor a shirt, a dress, trousers, or whatever you wish for you. Prices
are USD 2.5 - 4 per meter of silk, to tailor a silk shirt costs around
USD 4.5 (including the buttons which sell for USD 1!).

(John) I would suggest renting a bicycle in Hoi An and going on one of
the small dirt roads into the nearby villages and around the rice fields.
There is a very nice beach nearby that is an easy 5 km bicycle ride away.

Nowadays it is bustling with tourists. It is famous for its tailors.

There is a ticket for VND 50'000 that includes admission to any four
sights of a choice of seven of Hoi An. The Japanese Bridge that is
included is actually free, being on a main road.


Accommodation

There are many hotels and mini-hotels in Hoi An.

The Hoi An Hotel at 6 Tran Hung Dao Street has dormitories for USD 3.
There are other rooms starting at USD 10. However, there are travellers
who recomend looking for other hotels, since the staff is not very
helpful. If is the biggest hotel in town.

Another one is the Thanh Binh, with nice clean rooms with fan and bath for
USD 8 and 10. Unfortunately, the staff could drive you crazy. They were
terribly notorious, always screaming at you telling you how beautiful you
looked, and then trying to sell you a tour, a transport somewhere or a
tailor.

Close to the market, at 73 Phan Boi Chan Street, is the Huy Hoang Hotel.
It is directly at the river and has a terrace overlooking the river.
Doubles cost USD 12 to 15, including breakfast.

The Thien Trung Hotel has large rooms with aircon and hot water for
USD 13.


Food

Very popular among tourists is the Ly Cafeteria 22 at 22 Nguyen Hue
Street.

Very famous for its food, especially its seafood, is the Cafe des Amis at
52 Bach Dang Street. For VND 40'000 you get a menu with 5 different
dishes. If you eat there for the third time you will be considered a
special guest, and get a whole duck for two persons.

(Lotta and Johan)  The nicest cafe in all Vietnam, in our opinion, was
Dzu Dzi, opposite to Thanh Binh on 12 Le Loi St. It was a family
business with extremely friendly service and nice food. The kind of
place where you can sit all day sipping lemon juice and banana shakes,
watching people, writing postcards and chatting to the owners.

The Lac Vien Restaurant on Phan Chu Trinh Street is recommended for the
barbeque beef and the cuttlefish and shrimp soup.

(Lotta and Johan) Warning: We rented bicycles in Hoi An, and went to the
beach. Highly recommended, but do NOT rent a chair or have lunch at the
first place to the left as you get down on the beach! They ripped us off.
We orded lunch from their menu without asking for the price. Stupid, you
might say, and sure it was, but after several weeks in Vietnam we were
tired of being paranoid all the time. We ordered grilled prawns and they
charged 9000 dong (almost one dollar) for EACH prawn! One serving of
squid cost 50000 dong (4$50). We argued with the owner, of course, and
after a while, he gave us some of the money back. The little girl
waitress came after us later, and said she felt bad about it. Of course,
she didn't get any of the money.


Shopping

(Lotta and Johan) Clothes and silk! There are loads of tailors. We tried
Thong, next to Dzu Dzi cafe on 16 Le Loi St. She was nice and did a good
job. So did Yaly, next to the market on 27 Tran Quy Cap St., but you had
to be patient and really tell them when the result wasn't as you
expected. They had a wider collection of fabrics than Thong, Prices?
Really cheap, 7$ for a raw silk blouse or a dress in Chinese silk, 4$ for
a pair of wide Vietnamese style trousers in Chinese silk etc. I spent a
large part of my travel money there!

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The homepage of the Internet Travel Guides is at
http://www-students.unisg.ch/~pgeiser/itg.htm

Please send your comments, suggestions and contributions to the address
below. For questions, please see my note in the introduction.

e-mail:peter.geiser@student.unisg.ch

Peter M. Geiser
Seeblickstr. 10
9010 St. Gallen
Switzerland

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