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Leisure trip at a glance
Country: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Period: 14 Dec to 23 Dec 2007
Flight timings:
14 Dec: SQ 188, SIN-HAN, ETD 1435 ETA 1700
20 Dec: VN 255, HUI-SGN, ETD 2050 ETA 2210
23 Dec: SQ 173, SGN-SIN, ETD 1655 ETA 1955
Air tickets: Single-way Economy Class tickets (each way at 14,875 krisflyer miles thru' on-line redemption)
Airport Tax: SIN-HAN = SGD 62, SGN-SIN = USD 41
Accommodations:
Overnight train in King Express (14 Dec)
Sapa hotel (15 Dec)
Overnight train in King Express (16 Dec)
Tourist Boat Canh Buom 2 (17 Dec)
Thang Long Opera hotel (18 Dec)
Overnight train (19 Dec)
N.Y. Kim Phuong hotel (20 Dec)
Rex hotel (21 Dec to 22 Dec)
Currency exchange rate: VND 10,000 = USD 0.64 (Dec '07 period)
There is time difference of one hour between Singapore (GMT +8) and Vietnam (GMT +7). Total cost was about SGD 1000 including airport taxes, transport, food & hotel, and excluding personal expenses. Was glad that I was able to redeem Krisflyer mileage points at such a late timing and use up most of my expiring mileage.
The trip was partial free and easy as the first six days were covered by a tour package while the rest of the days were free and easy. Here's the overview of the trip itinerary:
Day 1 – Afternoon flight to Hanoi by SQ 188 and took overnight train to Lao Cai train station.
Day 2 – Transferred from Lao Cai to Sapa by mini-coach. Visited the minority market, and Cat Cat and Sin Chai villages. Stayed at Sapa hotel overnight.
Day 3 – Visited "Heavenly Gate" and the Thac Bac waterfall. Free and easy for the rest of the day. Transferred to Lao Cai train station and took overnight train to Hanoi.
Day 4 – Transferred from Hanoi to Halong Bay by coach. Cruise along Halong Bay in a traditional junk and visited the Dau Go Cave. Stayed overnight at the junk.
Day 5 – Kayak around Halong bay in the morning. Transferred to Hanoi by mini-coach. Watched the traditional water puppet show at Hanoi in the evening. Stayed overnight at Thang Long Opera hotel.
Day 6 – Day tour of Hanoi. Visited Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, One-pillar pagoda, Temple of Literature and toured the old quarters of Hanoi by Cyclo. Visited Ngoc Son Temple and shopped at Trang Tien shopping mall. Took overnight train to Hue.
Day 7 – Had a quick wash-up and visited the Imperial city by foot. Stopped at Mandarin Cafe for afternoon snacks. Took a mini-coach to Hue airport to board VN 255. Arrived at Ho Chi Minh city and stayed overnight at N.Y. Kim Phuong hotel.
Day 8 – Visited Ben Thanh Market, Independence Palace, Central Post office and Notre Dame Cathedral. Went to one of the shopping mall for dinner. Stayed overnight at Rex hotel.
Day 9 – Took the one-day tour package to Cao Dai temple and Cu Chi tunnels. Had dinner buffet and stayed overnight at Rex hotel.
Day 10 – Last minute shopping at Ben Thanh market in the morning. Took a cab to Airport to take a flight SQ 173 back home.
Recommended Souvenirs
Food Souvenirs
- Bought some Trung Nguyen G7 Instant 3-1 instant coffee packs, local snacks and cocounut-coated peanuts (photo below). I realized that Trung Nguyen coffee can be bought in Singapore but at a higher price.
- These magnets were bought at a Souvenir shop in Hanoi. The small fridge magnet of 1½ inch cost USD 1.00 for two packs (left photo below) and bigger fridge magnet of 2½ inch cost USD 1.00 per pair (right photo below).
