Airports in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh are pretty easy to navigate, after which you can catch a cab to your hotel. There's even Prima Deli at the Ho Chi Minh airport! Alternatively, you can get your hotel to pick you up for around US$10.
To travel between different cities, you can go by bus/ train/ airplane. Airplane is recommended, especially when comparing a 2hrs flight from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh, versus a 22hrs rickety train ride (which I took!)
Within the cities, cabs are plentiful and cheap. Alternatively, you can take motorcycle cabs for around US$1. I blithely hop onto such motorbkes, though it is kinda awkward when the driver starts professing his love-at-first-sight feelings to you^^.
Ho Chi Minh
Reunification Palace
One of the landmarks in the city.
Cu Chi Tunnels
Day trips are popular, but I didn't see the point of making myself sweaty and itchy while crawling into tunnels, so I didn't go for it^^.
Ben Thanh market
Full of cheap lacquered stuff (e.g. lacquered jewellery boxes for USD1-2 each), silk bags, fake Adidas tennis outfits (US$10) etc. Good for souvenirs and furnishing your house. Night markets will pop up when the sun sets.
Ipanima!
For me, this is the best shop in Vietnam! Situated near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh, this shop sells lovely leather and cloth bags and wallets really cheaply, compared to the prices in overseas countries.
FYI, Ipanima is a Vietnam brand that is really popular overseas and the prices overseas are really marked up! Come to this local store and if you're lucky, you'll bump into one of its sales!
Where to stay
I stayed in Caravelle hotel (when sponsored by company), and in An An hotel (when I had to pay myself). Both were all right.
Hanoi
Hoan Kiem Lake is one of the major landmarks in Hanoi, and is pretty charming, as you walk around and explore the Old Quarter.
You can also consider absorbing some culture and watching a water puppet show from Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre opposite the lake.
Other sights in Hanoi include the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Museum, One-Pillar Pagoda etc.
Halong Bay
Book a one-day or overnight tour with any of the tour agencies for a cheap and hassle-free visit to the UNESCO site. Sinh cafe and Kim cafe are the two popular budget options, but there are a lot of counterfeit operations so do beware.
Dong Xuan market
Full of cheap lacquered stuff (e.g. lacquered jewellery boxes for USD1-2 each), silk bags etc. Good for souvenirs and furnishing your house.
Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh
Books! Lonely planet!
There are sellers everywhere on the street, selling impressively good quality counterfeit books. They even have the latest Lonely Planet editions! If you're good at bargaining, can get the guidebooks for around SGD10.
Mani-pedi!
Feel free to wander into any girly-looking salon. I did basic nail art for my toes for just US$5!
Hoi An
Hoi An is located about a 45-mins ride from Danang (the main arrival point for airplane/ train) and is seriously one of the prettiest places I have ever been to. Firstly, motor vehicles are outlawed, so you can stroll on the cobblestone streets. Secondly, it's a UNESCO-heritage site so there are tons of preserved buildings.
It is also known as the tailor capital of Vietnam, and the streets are seriously lined with tailor-shops. For your first day, I recommend you go to a few shops and tailor make one shirt/ pants in each shop. Then, on your second day, you can compare the quality and prices, and choose one shop to make the rest of your stuff. The shops do pretty well for basic shirts and pants, but I wouldn't recommend anyting complicated. They will offer you catalogues (from Gucci etc) to tailor-make anything your heart desires, but the clothes come out slightly um, wonky. Also, NEVER succumb to making shoes/ bags. I learnt this lesson the hard way ^^.
Look at my piles of clothes! ^^
Cycling to the beach
Apparently, China beach is famous as the site of the Vietnam war. I huffed and puffed there on my US$1/ day rental bicycle. Being the non-beach person I am, I ended up buying two gorgeous pearl necklaces (US$10 each! The girl even used fire on them to prove that they were real pearls!) and one shell bracelet, and just having a yummy seafood lunch there^^
Stay at Thanh Xuan Guesthouse
This guesthouse is really cheap and nice and beautiful! It gave me a twin room even though I was a single traveller, and it came with bathtub, cable tv etc. And the best thing about this guesthouse is the tailor shop next to it! I made lovely short-sleeved silk tops for only US$8.
Misc Tip No. 1
Hanoi is marginally better than Ho Chi Mich but frankly, the roads in both these cities are crazy.
Question: How are you supposed to cross that?!
Answer: Just wait for a native to cross, and attach yourself shamelessly to their side and cross with them.
Tip No. 2
Do not consume fruits/ cold beverages from street stalls. Actually, I've broken that rule before^^. But those with weak stomachs should beware, as a couple of friends ate cut fruit from a street stall and LS the entire plane ride back to Singapore.
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