Travelfish #374: What to do with a week in Vietnam

Everywhere is on the way to somewhere Hi everyone, Hello from Udon Thani in northeast Thailand! I ended up having to change my trip slightly (because I forgot about a Buddhist holiday) but have so far been through Nakhon Ratchasima (the site of a horrific mass shooting the kicked off the day I left), Phimai, Khon Kaen and now Udon Thani. Next up Nong Khai and Sangkhom. I am very much looking forward to [Sangkhom]( [Meet Phimai. Photo: David Luekens] Meet Phimai. Photo: David Luekens Coronavirus update: Still no confirmed cases in Indonesia, which is being viewed by many [as a sign of incompetence rather than luck](. Wait and see. In other countries, notably Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore, numbers continue to grow slowly. Some regional travel, especially if you’ve been in China recently is becoming increasingly complicated—so please do be sure to keep abreast of current events. Would I advise cancelling travel to Southeast Asia? No, but I would say try to avoid flying when possible (trains are good!), avoid large crowds, and be extra aware re washing hands, snogging strangers and so on. The verdict on should you wear a mask if you are not infected is very much up for debate. Please read widely and make up your own mind. This Foreign Policy story has advice from [people who actually know what they are talking about](. Please don’t forget we have a donate to Travelfish page. If you’d like to make a one-off (or regular even!) donation, [please see here](. Thank you! Lastly, if you’re heading to Thailand for the first time, you may enjoy another newsletter we have called “Welcome to Thailand”. It starts with a series of daily emails, each covering an introductory aspect of Thailand. Then it switches to a weekly (Tuesday) instalment, each recommending a destination or attraction in Thailand that you may not have heard of. All subscribers also get a complimentary PDF itinerary for Southern Thailand. [Sign up here](. Till next week! Stuart Support Travelfish! If you'd like to chip in (if you haven’t already) for using the site, we'd love you to sign up for a year-long subscription for just A$35. [See more here](. Destination: A week in Vietnam with no domestic flights Of all the countries we cover on Travelfish, Vietnam and Indonesia are the two that people most often come unstuck with in trying to do too much in too little time. Yes sure it is physically possible to visit Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City in a week, but that does not make it a good idea! So if you’ve just got a week and want a taste of the country, what to do? Here are three simple ideas to get you going, each involving flying into a different city, but with no domestic flights after that. Flying into Hanoi With a week you would have enough time to spend three days in Hanoi and spend a couple of days in either Sapa (stay in a homestay, not the town) OR Ha Long Bay. The other two days could be spent out west in Mai Chau (think rice field valleys and lots of cycling around) or heading to the southeast at Ninh Binh (often described as Ha Long Bay on land). Both of these can get quite congested on weekends, so plan accordingly. Flying into Da Nang The immediate temptation here is to blow straight out of town and head south to Hoi An, but Da Nang itself, especially when combined with China Beach, is worth a couple of days. Head to Hoi An, allow about three days in the town itself and consider giving an extra day to an excursion from there—perhaps to My Son or Cham Island. The Hai Van pass is well worth the effort for a day out. Alternatively, if you’re not sold on Hoi An (or have been there before), after your two days in Da Nang, take a motorcycle tour from there north to Hue. It takes a full day and includes plenty of sights along the way. Once in Hue, it deserves at least two days, and consider heading out to the beach for a lazy day in the sand—the beach here is far better than at Hoi An. Flying into Ho Chi Minh City Like Hanoi in the north, Ho Chi Minh City has loads of museums worth your attention and the food is to die for. I’d say it warrants two full days. Following that you could head down into the Mekong Delta, Can Tho is a popular choice, to observe Delta life and visit some of the floating markets (do get up early). You can also visit the Delta on an organised tour, which will almost certainly save you money, but travelling there independently can make for a better experience. With your remaining days you could head to the beach—perhaps Mui Ne to the north, or, if you want something more local, but with not as good a beach. Vung Tau. Regardless of where you go, if it is your first time in Vietnam, I strongly recommend doing a street food tour very early in your trip. Partly because the food is just so great and stuffing face is a great way to deal with jet lag, but also because a good street food tour can help you on those first baby steps of getting an understanding of how Vietnamese food works, what you eat where and when and so on. Treat it not just as a eating experience, but a learning one too. The above are just three ideas and there are plenty of other approaches—some may find seven days could vanish just sitting around in Hanoi cafes... but what I would warn against is trying to cover too much ground—that tends not to work very well in Vietnam—and if you’re there for just a week and are considering domestic flights to fit what you want in, I’d suggest reconsidering. Good travels Stuart Premium members only: Book a round the world with [roundtheworldflights.com]( (must travel from the UK via Asia, Australia, New Zealand AND the Americas) and get £30pp off your trip. Offer valid for departures to December 2021. Log in to the Member Centre on Travelfish now for your coupon code and [start designing your own round the world trip »]( Ten things worth reading Soldier kills 29 people in Thailand before being shot What a tragedy. Thailand badly [needs to take a look at its gun culture](. Russian children killed in speedboat crash [Talking about tragedy](. How long till serious action is taken against these cowboys? Racism and xenophobia amid a new epidemic An interesting and concerning piece on [how Coronavirus is playing out in Singapore](. Thousands of Southeast Asian digital manuscripts now available online [What an amazing resource!]( Muay, the conscience of Laotian society If you were wondering why there is so little news out of Laos, [here is a part of the reason why](. What to eat, see, and do at Bangkok’s Thonburi neighbourhood [Plenty of ways]( to work up (and deal with) an appetite. 22 Travel podcasters you should listen to Suddenly [your commute to work won’t be so painful](. Popular night market loses Chinese tourists, avoided by Thais Expect [more stories]( like this sadly. Exporters hit by China’s virus shutdown race to shore up supplies The flow on effects from Coronavirus are hitting not just tourism. [This report from Vietnam](. Planning some travel in Thailand’s northeast? I was lucky enough to spend the other morning in Khon Kaen with Tim Bewer. Time is a Lonely Planet author and also runs his own tour business. Let me tell you, [he knows his stuff!]( Something to read The Sad Part Was “Prabda Yoon won the prestigious SEA Write Award for [Kwam Na Ja Pen (Probability)]( in 2002, but it’s only now that these stories have been translated into English for The Sad Part Was.” Travel shot [Enjoy the views. Photo: David Luekens] Enjoy the views. Photo: David Luekens Till next time [Sam and Stuart.] That’s it from us for now. As usual, enjoy the site’s new additions and drop us a line if there’s something in particular you’d like us to cover in Southeast Asia. Travel light! Stuart, Sam & the Travelfish team [( You're receiving the Travelfish newsletter because you signed up at Travelfish.org. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe Instantly](. Make sure you're getting our emails! If you're a Gmail user and would prefer your Travelfish newsletter in your Primary in-box rather than Promotions, just drag this email from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab, and click "yes" when it asks if you want to do that for all of our emails. Better still, [read this newsletter online.]( [Disclosure]( | [Privacy]( | [Unsubscribe]( We want travellers to love Southeast Asia as much as we do. 9 robinson close, hornsby heights, nsw 2077, AUSTRALIA [Unsubscribe]( | [Change Subscriber Options](