Vietnam report travel.

  

Punctual as never before at 7.00 my Air Asia Company plane leaves for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam (one-way price including taxes, with hand luggage only Euro 50.00).

I therefore arrive at 8.40 am at the international airport of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam (6 hours of time zone, compared to Italy and 0 compared to Thailand).

To enter Vietnam you must have a visa which can be obtained by following this procedure:

Send the following documentation to the Embassy of Vietnam, Via di Bravetta 156 - 00164 Rome:

original passport (valid for no less than 6 months);

-1 color passport photo taken recently;

- 1 completed and signed Visa Application form;

- Proof of payment by postal current account no. 67977314 payable to the Embassy of Vietnam in Italy for 90 euros, of which 80 euros for consular fees and 10 euros for courier expenses;

After obtaining the visa (ordinary procedure from 3 days to 2 weeks), the Embassy will retransmit the Passport by courier at the expense of the applicant of 10 Euros, already paid by postal order, adding them to the 80.00 Euros of consular fees. .

If you want, you can send everything to the Consulate of Turin but Obtaining a visa is more expensive.

Furthermore, for those who enter the country by air, it is possible to obtain an Airport Visa by obtaining a kind of VISA online on the appropriate site that you pay USD 20 by credit card and deliver it to the visa office of the Airport, where you have to pay USD 45. This way you can get a Tourist Visa to visit Vietnam.

It is logical then to reiterate that the aforementioned visa can also be obtained in a couple of days in Ventiane, the capital of Laos and Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, also relying on hotels and hostels, but not 10 days before, 10 days later. and during the Chinese New Year which usually takes place in the period between the end of the month of January and the beginning of the month of February.

 

At Hanoi International Airport, located about 35 km north of the city center, currency exchange at a decent exchange rate.

From the Arrivals Hall of Hanoi International Airport, located about 35 km north of the city center, I move to the right on foot for a few tens of meters until I find a parking lot where Bus no. 17 to Long Bien Bus Station near Hanoi's Old Town. The journey takes about an hour and costs 8,000 Dong. I get the ticket on the bus from the Ticket Agent.

I get off just before the Long Bien Bus Station, and in a few steps I am in the chaotic Old Quarter where I rent a bicycle for the whole day for the price of 50,000 Dong.

I travel around Hanoi by bicycle amidst impossible traffic and visit the most important attractions of Hanoi.

Entrance to the Ngoc Son Temple in Hanoi in Vietnam costs 20,000 Dong.

Entrance to the Temple of Literature in Hanoi in Vietnam costs 20,000 Dong.

Entrance to the Quan Thanh Temple in Hanoi in Vietnam costs 20,000 Dong.

Parking for bicycles at Quan Thanh Temple in Hanoi in Vietnam costs 5,000 Dong.

The entrance to the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Hanoi in Vietnam, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, costs 30,000 Dong.

From the Old City to the Gia Lam Bus Station, located about 3 km north east of the center, I take a taxi with a taxometer but probably the same is rigged and I have to fork out 90,000 Dong.

I take the ticket for the 17.30 bus to Halong city for the price of 120,000 Dong. I wait for him for 2 hours but then in the end they tell me that the same is blocked and therefore as there are no other buses they give me back the money and they tell me that I have to go to the Luong Yen Bus Station, located 3 km southeast of the center of Hanoi. And I go there with an urban bus for the price of 5,000 Dong, paying the appropriate controller inside it.

The 7.00 pm Bus between Hanoi and Halong City leaves late from Luong Yen Bus Station, located 3km southeast of central Hanoi. The Bus has reclining seats that allow you to lie down almost like a bed. Payment of 150,000 Dong must be made directly to the driver. The trip takes about 4 and a half hours. Logically you have to get on the bus without shoes.

 The bus drops me off at Ben Xe Bus Station, located about 5km south of Halong City. I am the only tourist. There are taxis waiting for you. One for the price of 30,000 Dong takes me to a partner hotel located in the center of Halong City. Pao for one night 8 USD for a double room for single use. The drama is that he sells me the 1 day and one night excursion to Halong Bay departing at noon and arriving at noon the next day, including 2 lunches, a dinner, a breakfast, the excursion to the caves and the one in Kyiak, all the necessary transfers and the bus back to Hanoi for the all-inclusive price of 82USD, after I negotiated a lot to get a big discount. I think I got a good deal and instead I took a jab because I later learned that my cruise mates paid for it from 50 USD to 75 USD, but it fits, it's part of the game.

My complete travel report with map, photographs and videos is available at this link:

http://vivendosalendo.blogspot.com/2016/12/viaggio-in-indocina-myanmar-vietnam.html