Good Stays & Eats

General Tip: if you don't know of a good place to eat in town, check Trip advisor and/or go to places that have a lot of locals.
Can Tho:
See earlier post about things to do in Can Tho.
Saigon:
Saigon, also known as Ho Chi Minh City, is the largest metropolitan area in the south. It's a major hub for import, exports, large & small businesses. It has possibly the best variety of good eats in all of Vietnam. Also because of it's proximity to the equator, it's hot hot hot year round. We were there in the cool time... averaging 90 F most days. But if you can bear the heat & humidity, there's lots to shop, eat & explore in the vast city.
We stayed at Hotel Nikko, which is a really nice 5 star hotel. It's expensive relative to Vietnam, but very affordable compared to US standards (& when booked through Agoda.com - almost 50% discount). It's a little far away from Chu Phap's as well as Cho Ben Thanh (you have to take a taxi everywhere but you're going to want to anyway since it's stinkin hot in the day time). Hotel Laundry is really expensive. You can ask the concierge for the nearby laundry place... about a block and a half away from the hotel... about 23,000 dong per kilo (1 dollar per 2 lbs)
We also stayed at the Silverland Grand Hotel & Spa - DO NOT stay here. It claims to be 4 stars... pish... more like 2.5-3 stars. Not worth the money, though it is walking distance to Cho Ben Thanh (Ben Thanh Market). 

1. Cục Gạch Quán - Amazingly delicious slightly expensive (but completely worth it) Vietnamese food. Everything here is delicious, but especially the bbq pork, fried tofu, sauteed squash blossoms, iced tea... 


2. the "cua rang me" place by Chu Phap's house (Quan 5)- Delicious Crab 


3. Ngọc Sủỏng (by the Tan Nhat Son airport, there are multiple in Saigon) - order the seafood eggroll & goi ca. So delicious! 


4. Trois Gourmands - Delicious, pricey french food 


5. the banh cuon place close to Chu Phap's house is super yum & cheap 


6. Must try the coffee shops by Chu Phap's house - Chu Phap & Thim Hien know all of the good places (Thuyen, & there's another one). Really good coffee & lovely ambiance. 


7. Vietnamese War Museum (meh - a lot of anti-American/pro-communist propoganda & gruesome photos) 

Hoi An:We stayed at Villa Hoa Su Frangipani (http://www.villahoasu.com) which is similar to living in paradise. The grounds are more luxurious than any place I'd been, in a comfortable, casual way. It's a bed & breakfast, though you can request that they make dinner for you... pretty delicious and affordable option.

• Good Eats 




• Lo Banh Bao Banh Vac, 533 Hai Ba Trung, Hoi An, Vietnam 




• Things to order: Banh Bao, Banh Vac & Hoanh Thanh chien 




• ask Tâm at Villa Hoa Su to take you to her favorite place to eat Mì Quảng 




• DO NOT make clothing here, no matter how persuasive the folks are about the quality of Hoi An tailors. There are no Vera Wang up and comers here... it's all in the details & they don't specialize in details in Hoi An. You get what you pay for here. 


• Do rent the mopeds from Villa Hoa Su and venture out into the town or drive along the coast towards Da Nang. It's fun & relatively safe. Avoid staying out too late on the mo-ped... opt for taxi's after sun-down. 


• Do walk around the old part of the town and check out the historic family homes "Nhà Cổ". You can buy tickets in town. 


• Ride the bikes down to the beach and hang out.. beware of strong rip tides. 

Nha Trang:

We stayed at the Novotel Nha Trang hotel (also booked through Agoda.com). You have to upgrade or pay a certain price (look for it on Agoda) to get the ocean view rooms (really nice view of the South China Sea). It's right across from the beach & they have lounge chairs & towels for guests (get there early if you want a chair/umbrella as those get taken early in the morning. Good breakfast variety (usually comes with the hotel stay). The beach is nice & clean in this town & the water very swimmable.
Night life: Guava, Sailing Club
Alert- don't go to Vinpearl. It's a tourist trap, owned by a Viet-Russian expat, and really a cover up for a prostitution company. It's awful.

• Must eat Nem Nuong at đừơng Lê Lợi. Just say that to the taxi driver (make sure you get a Mai Linh (green taxi) in Nha Trang. Fyi, be careful of that taxi brand in Saigon, they can be shady sometimes. There're two famous restaurants, one that takes up two different shop fronts and one little one. I've heard the little one is more delicious but I've tried the larger place & it's really yummy too. The banh trang is a little hard & chewy, but that's how it's supposed to be. 


• Seafood Bánh Xèo mực & tôm at Tháp Bà street. Very yummy seafood banh xeo. It's not really a restaurant... more of a little shop on the corner with kiddy chairs & incredibly inexpensive. Just ask the Taxi driver (Mai Linh) to take you to eat Banh Xeo at Thap Ba street. 

Hue: We didn't visit but on my next trip, I'm definitely headed here. They have the best cuisine in all of Vietnam, IMHO (in my humble opinion).
Ha Noi:

Very crowded, narrow, chaotic city. Cooler weather but much more smog than any other part of Vietnam. We didn't stay here long (2 nights), but we did have some delicious food (twice):
Chả Cá Lã Vọng on Chả Cá street. There are multiple restaurants of this name... you have to go to the one that looks kinda greenish... when you go upstairs (that's where all the dining takes place) you know you're at the right place if it's crowded. It's also a little dirty looking.
Ha Long Bay:We took a 3 day, 2 night (1 night stay on the boat, 1 night stay on Cat Ba island) cruise through Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay & Cat Ba Island. Really fun. www.vega-travel.com. We paid $332 as a couple for the Deluxe room. The other folks on the boat had the cheaper rooms... they seemed fine with their rooms too. There are certainly more up-scale junk boat cruises out there... You definitely get what you pay for. We liked this cruise because of the company (younger tourists around our age) and our tour guide Duc (hilarious).
The ride from Ha Noi to Ha Long Bay is a little rough if you get car sick easily (roads in vietnam can be slow, heavy congestion, a little tumultuous) try to get the front seat because otherwise, you're packed like sardines in the back. Some people left the cruise after only 2 days, though if you stay a 3rd day, you get to kayak/swim in the quieter Lan Ha Bay & also hike & bike around Cat Ba Island. Well worth it. The cruise also included food... the food on the boat was so-so. All the fried things were delicious. The others... so-so.
Sapa:

The trek from Ha Noi to Sapa is not for yuppies. It's an 8 hour slow, loud & bumpy overnight train ride to Lao Cai, and then a 1 hr windy drive from Lao Cai to Sapa. The restaurants we ate at were not particularly tasty & the Hmong people are terribly exploited... Eh, I would probably not venture back there again. You can get very cheap very good foot/shoulder/head hour-long massages for about $7. Pretty amazing.