Climate:
Vietnam is located in a subtropical region with an average temperature of about 26-30 . The northern part of Vietnam has four seasons in a year, similar to the climate of Guangzhou. The south has only two seasons a year. Cambodia has two seasons, dry and rainy, the lowest temperature is between November at the end of the year and January next year, varying with the climate of each place, from 24 to 35 degrees Celsius, May to September each year is the hottest.
Currency: Vietnamese dong, 1:1,800 to the yuan and 1:15,000 to the dollar, all in paper currency. The highest denomination is 100,000 dong, and the lowest denomination we use daily is 1,000 dong. ￥ only in circulation north of Hanoi, $ in the country are more popular
Time difference: Vietnam is located in the East Zone 7, 1 hour later than Beijing.
Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, 46 HOANG DIEU ROAD, HANOI, VIETNAM, Tel: 0084-4-8453736
Current:
Vietnam and Cambodia use 220 volts for most of the region.
Clothing:
Woven clothing made of natural materials and comfortable, lightweight clothing are the most appropriate clothing for traveling Cambodia. Lightweight raincoats are also a good choice during the rainy season.
Entertainment:
The restaurants in Saigon and Phnom Penh have a wide range of dishes and food from Asian and European cuisines in addition to Khmer tastes. Siem Reap also has several international restaurants. Phnom Penh has many different types of bars and nightclubs with no shortage of big city nightlife. The National Museum of Ethnology is a good place to go when it comes to enjoying traditional entertainment. Some hotels in Phnom Penh also have Khmer dance performances.
Dining :
Spicy, sour and raw dishes are the mainstay. Famous dishes include Vietnamese spring rolls and beef noodle soup. The main food in Cambodia is rice. Daily dishes include salted fish, chicken, beef or pork, and boneless fish soup. Another popular plate dish is made with Samchruk: a glutinous rice cooked with soybeans and pork.
Water:
It's best to avoid drinking tap water except bottled mineral water. Bottled mineral water is available anywhere. Ice for drinks is preferable to those supplied by hotels and inns. Ice from street restaurants or rural areas should be avoided.
Health:
If you are a resident of one of the countries in the region, you do not need to be vaccinated against anything other than yellow fever and cholera. However, it is still important to be wary of typhoid fever and preventive vaccinations are preferred. Cholera, Hepatitis A and B, tetanus and polio should also be prevented. There is also malaria in Cambodia, so tourists should pay attention to take precautionary measures, and it is advisable to prepare for medical insurance before traveling, which is very important and cannot be ignored.
Business:
Offices open at 7.30am or 8.00am Monday through Friday and close at 17.00 or 18.00 hours. A small break is usually taken at 12h00 and 14h00 for lunch. Stores open earlier and close between 18.00 and 22.00 hours.
Language:
The language of Vietnam is Vietnamese. The language of Cambodia is Khmer. And local dialects are usually not a tonal language. A few residents in Saigon, Phnom Penh and central Siem Reap speak English.
Currency:
Vietnam is denominated in Vietnamese dong (VND), with one U.S. dollar equivalent to 15,000 dong (depending on the exchange rate). The US dollar is widely used in the region, and credit cards are accepted in hotels and stores. Cambodia's currency is called Riel. The U.S. dollar is commonly used in many places to pay for airfare, airport taxes, visas, and hotel and restaurant bills. Banks are open all day Monday through Friday and on Saturday mornings. There is a lunch break from 10.30 to 14.00 daily. Currency exchange offices are available in all major cities, as are banks and most hotels and inns. Traveler's checks are fairly common in hotels and inns, but are more difficult to exchange outside of the major cities. Many hotels, guest houses, restaurants and stores in major cities such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap now accept Visacard and mastercard, and cash in US dollars remains the most reliable and convenient currency to carry.
Shopping:
Vietnam and Cambodia are famous for silverware, textiles, woodcarvings and stone carvings. Saigon, Phnom Penh and the center of Siem Reap are the best places to find souvenirs and handicrafts. Many tourists like to buy plaid headscarves and scarves made of cotton or silk called Krama.
Telecommunications:
Mobile phones can be used. If calling back to Guangzhou: 001-86-20 + area code. IDD international telephone facilities are available in many hotels and hostel rooms, from which visitors can send faxes, and such services as postal kiosks are also widely available but costly. Postcards are readily available at postal kiosks and are also provided in several hotels and hotel rooms.
Mobile phones
Before you go to Vietnam, online materials generally tell you, "According to the relevant regulations, tourists going to Vietnam are not allowed to bring items such as video cameras, focus cameras, computers, VCDs, cell phones, etc."
If you are carrying things that cannot cross the border, your guide will usually advise you to store them in a hotel in Dongxing, but of course the storage fee is not low - a cell phone will cost you around $20-30.
Because we didn't want to add to our own hassle, and considering that Vietnam may not have cell phone reception, LG and I left our cell phones with a friend in Nanning.
But the fact is that bringing a cell phone to Vietnam is necessary and carrying it across the border is easy.
Cities along the Vietnamese border generally have Chinese communication signals, and the signal is especially strong in Dongxing, so carrying a cell phone with you increases one's psychological security. Accommodation in Vietnam is generally in private hotels, wake-up call service is very poor, bring a cell phone as an alarm clock is also necessary.
If you carry a cell phone to the border, it's best not to store it, as it's more of a hassle to retrieve it on the way back; and as long as you turn it off and hide it in a pocket on your person, you can usually get through - several people in our group managed to get through.
Cash
There are limits to the amount of cash you can carry. But if you have a lot of it, just store it in a couple pockets on your person and don't put it in your luggage so it doesn't get caught by the X-ray machine.
I didn't want to buy souvenirs in Vietnam, so I only brought a small amount of RMB cash, and then realized that not bringing US dollars was the biggest mistake.
When I traveled to Thailand and South Korea, I knew the benefits of the US dollar, but I didn't realize that the Vietnamese people were also far more welcoming of the US dollar than the Chinese yuan (I was previously misled by online information that the Chinese yuan is hard currency in Vietnam, and that it can be used anywhere).
Self-help travel services: Vietnam is well-policed, simple and inexpensive. There is a whole chain of self-help travelers in Vietnam, with a wide range of affordable travel services, and many self-helpers from different countries to accompany you along the way. Travel agencies can do everything: book tickets, organize tours, rent bicycles and motorcycles, exchange money, apply for visas, and so on. All travel agencies have an Open Tour Bus, a Hanoi-Saigon bus pass for $25, which can be signed at any stop and is in good condition. The bus is in good condition. It is recommended to buy the ticket at one stop, and the time is more free. Vietnam's land spans more than 2,000 kilometers from north to south, in order to save time, the general travelers are taking long-distance buses at night, the passengers are basically self-help travelers, do not have to worry about safety issues. Because of LP's recommendation, Sink Café is the most famous among foreigners, so it has the most backpackers. Our experience is that Kim Café has better service and relatively fewer passengers, which is very important for night bus rides. There is also a larger TM Brother, we took a night bus once, the original 35-seater bus was turned into a mini bus, the theory was not fruitful, and I got a stomach ache after sitting there for one night, so I suggest that donkeys who are going to go there in the future should not choose this company. Various cities have many small family hotels, mostly in the old city, easy access to transportation, architectural features, but also to be able to follow the local customs to experience the city style. Family hotels are generally narrow four or five-story building, two to three rooms per floor, some have balconies across the street, chic and clean. Prices for standard rooms are mostly $6-8, with some adding $1 for air-conditioning, making them very affordable. These homestays can provide bicycle and motorcycle rental services, booking, tour guide services and enrollment with travel agencies. Note: You need to show a health certificate to enter the country by land from Guangxi, and if you don't do it beforehand at home, the customs officers will make things difficult for you and ask for a bribe. If you enter the country by airplane, you can avoid a lot of trouble by filling out a health declaration form, and the immigration officers are also kind and courteous. We went with a buddy as soon as we entered the country before leaving the airport, we found that we lost our return ticket, the airport staff was very patient to help us find the airline contact. When entering the passport to check that there is no missing stamp, nowadays cameras, DV and other valuables are not required to declare; in the cities try to take taxis and rent bicycles and walking, do not take rickshaws and motorcycles, easy to unpleasant disputes; must bring things - inflatable pillows, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, swimsuits, rain
Vietnam Attractions:
Ha Long Bay is the most famous scenic area in Vietnam, the Vietnamese people call themselves the eighth wonder of the world, and UNESCO put Ha Long Bay on the World Heritage List in 1994. Because the small islands in Halong Bay are all limestone peaks with different shapes and beautiful scenery, which is similar to the landscape of Guilin, Chinese guests who have traveled here affectionately call Halong Bay "Guilin on the Sea". According to Vietnamese myths and legends, a long time ago, a mother dragon landed in the bay, blocking the rough waves, so that the people in this area live and work in peace and contentment, so people call this bay "Halong Bay". The mother dragon was accompanied by a group of dragon children, so the nearby cove was also called "Bay of the Dragon". In the past, Ha Long City was called "Hong Ky City" and was the capital of Quang Ninh Province in Vietnam. In recent years, Vietnam has renamed Hung Kei City to "Halong City" in order to further increase the popularity of Halong Bay. Hon Gai is also the famous coal capital of Vietnam, which is rich in coal resources, with shallow seams, which can be mined in the open air, and the high-quality anthracite coal of Hon Gai is famous all over the world, and is exported to a large number of countries, such as Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, and Southeast Asia, etc. The coal sculptures made from Hon Gai coal are also popular in Vietnam. Coal sculptures made from Hon Gai coal enjoy a high reputation. Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is located in the center of the Red River Plain, the birthplace of the Vietnamese nation, at the confluence of the Red River and the Dung River, and is one of the largest cities in Vietnam, with a jurisdiction equivalent to that of a large province in Vietnam. Hanoi is a city with a long history. Before the 10th century AD, it was successively named "Long Chieu", "Zi Cheng", "Song Binh", "Luo Cheng", "Dai Lo City". According to Vietnam's history books, in 1875, Hanoi had 36 streets, including ZI street in the southeast of the city. Historically, Hanoi has been a city with more developed business in Vietnam, where transactions were carried out in rows and markets. Interestingly, many streets at that time were named after the goods that were centrally traded, such as "Cotton Street", "Paper Street", "Sail Street", "Fish Dew Street", " Fish Dew Street", "Silver Street", "Tin Street", "Tea Street" and so on. Many of these street names are still in use today. Hanoi is a major tourist city in Vietnam, with lakes dotted throughout the city, evergreen trees and flowers blooming all year round, with beautiful scenery, known as the "Spring City of Flowers". Hanoi's attractions and monuments are among the best in the country. Famous tourist attractions include: Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, Ba Dinh Square, Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh's former residence, Ho Chi Minh's Lake, West Lake, Duc Phu Temple, Temple of Literature, Temple of Medicine, Ngoc Son Temple, Zhen Wu Kuan, Zhen Quoc Temple, Golden Lotus Temple, etc. The wide Ba Dinh Square is the most beautiful place in Vietnam. The wide Ba Dinh Square is the place where President Ho Chi Minh, the revered leader of the Vietnamese people, read the Declaration of Independence, announcing the establishment of the Democratic **** and State of Vietnam. Nowadays, in the middle of the square, the Mausoleum of President Ho is built. Located in the center of the city, H? Chí Minh Lake is rippling with blue waves, embellishing the city with exceptional beauty. Hai Phong is the largest port city and one of the largest industrial cities in northern Vietnam, located on the Red River Delta, bordering Quang Ninh Province in the north; the Gulf of Tonkin in the east; and 104 kilometers from Hanoi in the west. The urban area extends along the left bank of the Kyong Tai River to both ends, including a part of the island in addition to the land part, with an area of 1503 square kilometers. Hai Phong city has 3 counties of Hong Pang, Le Trinh and Ngo Quon and 7 counties of Gai Hai, An Hai, Suoi Yuan, Vinh Bao, Sinh Long, Kien An and Tu Son, with a population of 1.42 million people, and the city has a population of about 300,000 people. Tu Son Peninsula, 20 kilometers away from the city, is a summer resort in northern Vietnam. It is a seaside landscape with beautiful scenery, and generally guests traveling to Hai Phong have to take a trip to Tu Son. On a hill on the seashore of Tu Son Peninsula, the last emperor of Vietnam, Bao Dai, built a summer palace, which is now known as "Van Huong Guesthouse". In 1993, a Chinese American invested in the construction of a large casino and gaming center at the Van Huat Guesthouse. Tu Son Peninsula is divided into three zones, of which zones 1 and 2 have turbid seawater with high salt content, while zone 3 has clean and quiet seawater, soft sandy beaches, calm winds and waves, making it an ideal seaside bathing spot. In the area of Tu Son, there are many sanatoriums built by Vietnam's central departments, most of which are now open to the public to receive tourists. The main place for shopping in Hai Phong City is the Iron Market, which is an old market, named for the main business of ironware in those years, and invested by Guangxi businessmen in the past few years to build a large-scale integrated market. Hai Phong city tourism facilities are still relatively backward, the city's star-rated guesthouses, the larger guesthouses are mainly Friendship Guesthouse, Navigation Guesthouse
Vietnam self-guided tour tips:
Two, from Mangjie to Halong
Leaving Mangjie, the next destination is Halong Bay.
There are two ways to get to Halong Bay: by car and by speedboat.
Originally, I planned to take a car, although I knew in advance that the mountainous road was twisting and turning, and also knew that because of the bumps, it was named "Free Massage Road". But I didn't know that there was an option to go by water, and no one on the Internet mentioned this situation, so I didn't bring more money. LG and I originally planned to Vietnam do not buy souvenirs, only "investigation" of their food, feast, so only brought about 1,000 yuan, thought enough to use four days and three nights, who knows that LG must take the boat to Halong Bay, two people round-trip boat ticket *** cost 500 yuan, we left the country and immediately became shy of money! The people, to be careful with their budgets.
The fact that LG's decision is completely correct, friends must choose to take a two-way speedboat.
Speedboat is not only smooth, comfortable, and clean, fast, because of the departure of early and time-consuming short, we are two or three hours earlier than those who take the car, punctual open dinner, but also in the evening sunshine in the beautiful beaches of Halong Bay stroll, spend the night and then leisurely eat late-night snacks. And those who took the bus arrived at 10 p.m., so tired that they went straight to their hotels to sleep.
More importantly, the beauty of Halong Bay is countless, the travel agency specifically arranged for the next day to swing boat sea time is only half a day, to see the scenery is only one of the nine cows of the Halong Bay, while taking a speedboat when crossing the northeastern waters of Halong Bay, you can be more and longer to appreciate the beautiful scenery of Halong Bay, it is well worth it.
Three, seafood dinner
The day after arriving at Halong Bay, we were arranged to visit the sea scenery in the morning, and have a seafood dinner on the boat at noon.
If you are not a glutton, I suggest you do not buy seafood in the "sea market". The quality of the lunch on board is good, and you can be assured of a good meal.
1, will not Kan price do not be the first deal
LG is a big greedy cat, only to set off on the thought of lunch to buy seafood to eat at their own expense. Cruise just near the "sea market", he was the first to jump down, the first sale transaction. The other tourists continue to bargain on the basis of the price paid by LG, saving a lot of money.
It is recommended that you not be the first to pay for seafood, especially if you don't know how to bargain, it's best to follow the price of others, and then press a little.
Vietnamese people are very smart, their scale error is quite large, you do not buy seafood with him on the catty, "a fish a price" and ask them: "How much do you sell this fish?"
2, buy what seafood good
While seafood in the country also eat a lot, but so fresh seafood domestic is not common.
We had live cuttlefish in Halong Bay, which was very exciting.
It is recommended that you buy live cuttlefish, octopus and grouper to eat, the first two are rarely available live and the latter is a fish that is abundant in Vietnam. There was plenty of it, and business was booming, so go up and ask about it.
Seafood
While the guides will try to recommend the "sea market" for its variety and so on, if you're looking to save money, the small sampan boats that some fishermen drive around on to peddle their own seafood are ridiculously cheap.
The owners of the "sea market" are second-hand dealers who buy the fishermen's aquatic products, and they are treacherous and ruthless, and the simple fishermen usually sell their seafood at a frighteningly low price.
LG bought a lot of seafood entrusted to the cruise ship owner processing, then there are fishermen will show their seafood to me, live cuttlefish and grouper about a catty about the price of 60 yuan / strip, I thought I heard wrong. I thought I had heard wrong. Later, someone bargained down to 30 yuan per fish. One of the aunts in the group told me that she saw the fisherman get 30 yuan RMB and only left 10 yuan in his pocket, the remaining 20 yuan quietly handed over to the cruise ship owner as a kickback, and the ship owner later asked the tourists for another 15% of the cooking and processing fees, earning a lot of money ah!
Let's think about it: how much did the "sea market" earn?
While the fishermen themselves are ruthlessly exploited for their products, we as consumers save a lot of money, so it's more cost-effective to deal with the fishermen. But you may have to take a risk - what if there are no sampans coming up that day?
Nightlife in Halong
Relaxing on the waterfront
Halong is indeed a beautiful place with beautiful scenery.
The guesthouse where we stayed was halfway up the hill and a few steps away from the waterfront. The waterfront here is very clean and quiet, I don't know if it's because there are fewer people swimming in the winter, or if the threat of bird flu has resulted in fewer tourists. I can't see Halong Bay at night, and I don't have the stamina or energy to savor the pleasure of relaxing at night.
So, in order to travel more easily and richly, I suggest that friends pay 250 yuan per person to go on a speedboat.
According to our guide, Hanoi generally does not circulate RMB, we only changed a small amount of dong in the front desk of the hotel before we came out, the exchange rate is 1:1700 (generally the exchange rate of RMB against the Vietnamese dong between 1:1500 and 1:2000), the waiter of the café speaks English, and also agreed to make an exception to charge RMB, but the exchange rate is only given to 1:1500, and there is no RMB to find for us, we But we were grateful.
The cafe is beautifully decorated, with two fireplaces, warm and elegant, very moody, and the food and drinks are reasonably priced, a cup of "Carpaccio" coffee is only 8 yuan RMB, the taste is great. We also ordered a couple of Vietnamese dishes, which were very good. Unfortunately, dinner was too much for both of us, and we couldn't eat much more than a few bites. Walking on the beach with your beloved, walking on the trestle bridge, with the sea breeze blowing softly, the lighthouse and fishing fires in the distance, and the waves gently tossing in the near distance without a trace of a fishy smell, such a situation is really pleasant.
If you have a child's heart, you can bring a flashlight with you when you go to Vietnam, and it's fun to go to the beach at night and catch crabs. We saw the dense crab holes in the sand and began to regret not bringing lighting tools.
Barbecue on the beach
It was almost 10pm when we felt that we had digested almost all of our dinner and decided to go looking for a late night snack.
Before we came here, we had planned to eat authentic Vietnamese food, and we had been to several Vietnamese restaurants in Shanghai, which were expensive and we didn't know if they were authentic.
In Halong Bay, there is a beautifully decorated Vietnamese restaurant right on the waterfront, which has a lot of guests, so I'm sure the flavor must be good. LG and I tucked into only 500 yuan hesitantly walked away with us for breakfast, making us very uneasy.