Taste of Vietnam

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  I have chosen Vietnam as my dream vacation. Vietnam is where my parents were born and raised. Growing up, my parents would recall memories of Vietnam. What they did, and where they did it. I will design a vacation from the places that I remember my parents mentioning.  

This trip to Vietnam will be in May. That being the case, I would consider it my graduation trip. This trip would consist of my girlfriend and myself. Neither of us have been to anywhere in Asia, let alone Vietnam. We’re expecting it to be a culture shock. During most of our trip my cousins will act as travel guides and translators for us. My Vietnamese is beyond pathetic while I’m only able to count to 10, and order a very limited variety of food. My girlfriend on the other hand speaks nothing but English.

The budget I have allowed myself is $5000 Canadian, not including the cost of flying.

The nominal exchange rate of 1 Canadian dollar is 20500.16 Vietnamese Dong (March 2013)

Cost of living is extremely low in a place like Vietnam. For example, a bowl of Pho, a tradition soup and noodle dish from Vietnam, costs $1. A common method of transportation is on a motorbike which costs $800 to purchase a brand new Honda and a couple of dollars to fill up on gas every couple of weeks. These are just some example, but with the exchange and cost of living being the way it is, $5000 budget is ample.

While looking at hotel prices in Vietnam, it is good to note that most hotels with good ratings, out of 6 according to this website, are still less than $50 USD, which isn’t much more expensive than CAD. That being said, while we’re in Ho Chi Minh City, we’ll be living for free, however, once we start travelling, from May 7th until May 20th, it will cost us at most, $1040 (13 days times an over estimate of $80, 20% of our budget).

http://www.asiarooms.com/en/vietnam/index.html

http://www.saigonist.com/content/cost-living-vietnam-its-really-cheap

This blog is chronicle all the things I want to do within 15 days.

Goals for this vacation:

Learn more about Vietnam

Learn more about where my parents grew up

Eat a lot of cultural food

Drive a motorbike in Vietnam

Flight and vacation length

I will be flying with Air Canada on this trip.

When I went to Cuba, I went with a smaller company, Sunwing, and it I came across a few complications. Smaller company means less aircrafts and thereby more possibilities of delays, which was what happened with my trip to Cuba.

My plan is to depart on May 3rd and return May 20th.

It will be two different flights, however. The first flight will be from Toronto to Ho Chi Minh City, and the return trip will be from Hanoi to Toronto.

Toronto to Ho Chi Minh

Hanoi to Toronto

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We will arrive in Ho Chi Minh City on the 4th. While we’re here we will stay at my cousins home which will save us money from staying in a hotel.

For the first three days (4th-6th) we will situate mostly in Ho Chi Minh City and explore around the city to see what it has to offer.

Some of the places that we would like to visit are Dam Sen Cultural Park, Bến Thành Market, Ho Chi Minh City Hall, Museum of Vietnamese History.

Bến Thành Market

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A market where vendors open their stores and sell souvenirs. A spot for tourists to explore and purchase cheap merchandise as gifts.

Dam Sen Cultural Park

A theme park built around Dam Sen Lake. The park has an electric games zone, theather, antique castles, small west lake, children’s play area, sea life center, fishing area, 2km monorail, and common amusement park rides.

Paddle boating is available on the small west lake, something my girlfriend and I will enjoy because it was one of the best things we did in Cuba.

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Ho Chi Minh City Hall

City halls are always fun to see. The city hall in Havana, Cuba resembles that of the White house. Ho Chi Minh City Hall slightly resembles that of Buckingham Palace!

Also, being a Political Science student, it’s interesting to see the place where municipal government is run.

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Museum of Vietnamese History

Next we would spend the next 10 days or so travelling North to see the rest of Vietnam.

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We will be using the Vietnam Railways System. They charge a rate based on where you departure and your destination. Altogether the amount of the traveling we will use by railways will cost less than $250 per person for the most luxurious seats.

The first place on our way to Hanoi, our end point, which I would like to visit is called Da Lat. Two days here is more than sufficient, including travel (May 7th – 8th).

We would like to visit the Hoa Binh Square in Da Lat at night. It is quiet similar to the Bến Thành Market, however, Hoa Binh Market is most active at night selling souvenirs, and street food.  

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Furthermore, I would like to go to the Cao Đài temple in Da Lat. Cao Đài is a Buddhist temple, and being Buddhist myself, it is something I would love to see.

The next stop will take a couple days of explore and travelling. The estimated dates are May 9th-13th.

Đà Nẵng was a name I grew up hearing even though I didn’t know what it meant and where it was, except that it was in Vietnam. Đà Nẵng is a fairly developed city, designated as the commercial and educational center of Central Vietnam.

Surrounding Đà Nẵng is what I expect to see in Vietnam as this is what picture of Vietnam always depicted. Sceneries of green stretching across the land, with high rocky mountains and caves. One of them is called the Marble Mountains, something I would definitely like to see. Even seeing pictures creates awe, seeing it in person will be breathtaking.

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It would also be amazing to explore the caves in or around the Marble Mountains

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We would spend a day on the beach to relax during this trip at My Khê beach to go swimming in the ocean, tan, and take in the Vietnam coast

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We would see the Bà Nà Hills which is a mountain resort with a 5 km long cable car going up and down the mountain. Bà Nà's peak at 1487m above sea level.

May 14th- May 16th

The next place we will visit is Huế. This is the home town of a close family friend and I would like to see the places where she grew up.

One of my favourite things to eat is Bún bò Huế a noodle and soup combination unique to this region. While my palate has been diluted by Toronto imitations of Bún bò Huế, I’m hoping that having this dish from the original creators will be, awesome. Unlike Pho, Bún bò Huế is extremely spicy and uses primarily pork rather than beef, like Pho.

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Further, I will visit the Imperial City of Huế which slightly resembles the Forbidden City in China. The Imperial City is located in Hue because it was the former capital of Vietnam. The Imperial City is 2km by 2km surrounded by a moat.

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The last place that we will visit is Hà Nội

May 17th- May 20th

Hanoi is located approximately 1760km north of Ho Chi Minh City.

While we're here we will try more of the locatal cuisine. Our journey from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi will consist of us eating the same foods that I grew up eating, but just from different places. Every small town or city makes Pho and other dishes differently. A secondary goal of this trip is to try all the variations of Pho there is to offer.

Some other dishes I will try include:

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Canh chua, sour soup made with fish, something my mom made.

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Cơm tấm a rice combination with three types of protein: chicken/pork chops, pork rinds with minced pork, and steamed egg.

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Bánh bao a steamed bun with egg, Chinese sausage, and pork filling.

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Bánh mì a Vietnamese style sub with different types of pork, pate, pickled carrots and radish, and parsley.