Trial trip this Tuesday Hanoi - Quang Binh - Hue - Da Nang and return
Replies: 5 - Last Post: Dec 15, 2012 7:45 PM Last Post By: hanoinonprofith...
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Trial trip this Tuesday Hanoi - Quang Binh - Hue - Da Nang and return
Dear everyone.I haven't been on this trip for about 3 years so i dont know how much has it changed like the roads, buses, trains's timetable and price. now my hostel is already opened for 10 days and my first son will be 7 months old this 11th. So this Tuesday 11th of December i would like to do it again to double check everything and i do hope that i can share some TIP or right information if you need in the future.
Here is my plan if someone are interested in join the trip with me please feel free to contact me to make the plan together or we can meet up on the way for discussing.
1. 11th Drive a 4x4 car ( 4 seats from Hanoi to Quang Binh. I will try to go on the Ho Chi Minh trail. I have been on the Road 1 before. But last year the Ho Chi Minh trail had connected to Hanoi.
2. I will stay in Quang Binh for a night and on the next day i will drive straight to Da Nang. I will say good bye to the car and start my real trial trip by visiting some places in the town, find a good Vietnamese foods on the str. ( I will only try to find places or things are not listed in the guidebooks yet. Cause the things are listed are so popular and i would like to find the special things that the local people really like it in the local price).
3 After Da Nang i would like to take the train from Da Nang to Hue. This is short trip but taking train is more interesting than taking bus, i think.
4 I will find some places and find some kindness Vietnamese Xe Om or taxi driver to get there phone number and infor so may be this will be good if in the future if you dont want to go in a tour you can contact them to have a motorcycle tours with the lowest price as i can. also to find something special in the town and accommodations
5. I will try to catch a local bus to go to DMZ. i will try my best to get the bus timetable and price, contact infor
6. And i will try to catch a bus to go to Quang Binh and visit the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National park, World's largest cave and then i will catch a bus to go from Quang Binh back to Hanoi. I will not stay in Ninh Binh , Cuc Phuong National park or Mai Chau cause i travel to this province every month so i thing i get enough information.
i would like to tell you the most problem on the trip and how to avoid them. My English is not perfect but i hope that you still understand what's i want to say?
I will take photos, videos of every places, things i have been and done every hours or day on this forum so i do hope that if you are interested in reading you can follow my posts. I also post it on my facebook so i do hope i can get more friends.
here is my facebook, right now it has nothing special. i will start posting on it after i start my trip.
Droff me a line if you want to do it with me by calling my number: 84.946.888.804 my name is Manh
Final thing. This is not an advertisement for my new opening hostel. I am just a young Vietnamese generation person. However i love my country and people so i am on the way to build a more beautiful Vietnam's images and i would like to tell you more about Vietnamese people and culture with my little English.
Thank you very much for your reading and i do hope some one will interested in my post and i will welcome all your comments !
See you soon !
Do Manh
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Please find some good xe om drivers in Dong Hoi. You can PM me and give me there numbers. Can you find out what the vegetarian place is called in Dong Hoi? I know it is near the blind massage.3
Hi every one. My plan had to delay for 2 days cause i got sick. Anyway this morning we started from our hostel around 10am. We drove to Ho Chi Minh road and passed Cuc Phuong National Park. This way is very easy to drive , only few bus and truck we met on the way. But from here to go into the park you will jave to turn left into a very bad road for 30kms. So if you just plan to travel from janoi tl Cuc Phuong i will not recommend you to go on this road. But if you travel from Mai Chau it will save alot of time. O tried this road 2 weeks ago.We had lunch in a local restaurant. My experience is stop in a restaurant which is popular for the truck driver . Dont go into a restaurant for bus driver cause there is different price betteewn the driver and guest. We stoped in a restaurant with many trucks and contairners. Our menu is vegetable soup, sauteeded pork , sauteed vegetable and steam rice. And the total cost for 2 people only 80.000d. So cheap and very good food. Dont order beef, chicken or goat meat cause they might charge you 200.000d for 1 dish. Reason is they will tell you the chicken is wild chicken or " ga doi" in vietnamese.
We had dinner in another restaurant with fried eggs with meat, pork, soup and sauteed vegetable and 2 drinks for 135.000d . The restaurant is located in La Khe , huong son. Beside the restaurant has a guest house. We were tired and wanted to stop for a night but the hotel is very durty. Many truck drivers stay in this hostel so we decide to keep going to Phong Nha which is 90km away.
The road is very quiet but becareful when you drive in the dark. We had stop 2 times cause there was many cows sleep on the road. And you might ask to stop at the forest ranger police station. But is was fine the police man helped us to show the way to get here.
1 more thing you should know before you do this road is. During my trip from Xuan Mai , Hanoi to Phong Nha. We didnt see any ATM and not so many petro station on the way. So you should bring some cash with you.
Right now i checked in a guest house name Thanh Dat in Phong Nha. It is just few houses after on the right. The lady here is very friendly and speaks little english. The hotel has guest comment book and also price list for room and services. The room rate from 200.000d to 250.000d. And the rooms infront of the hotel have a bigger size and better view. The room doesnt include breakfast.
I also meet 2 people fron London just arrivered from Danang. They will do a farmstay trip tomorrow morning so they will get picked up at 9am. While if you are going by yourself you might have to wait for other people to share thd cost of the boat to visit the caves or you pay more to have your own boat. The lady of the hotel told me that and i am going to check it tomorrow morning.
Have a good sleep and see you
Do Manh
4
Right now i am taking the sleeping bus from Hue back to Dong Hoi. So this morning we waked up at 6 and had breakfast in a local restaurant near by. The noodle soup in Phong nha is not as good as noodle soup in Hanoi but cost same price for 30.000d.We went to the phong nha ticket center to buy ticket but we came so early so there was noone to share the boat. I left my phone number at the receiption and went out to a coffee shop nearby. I met 4 xe om drivers and spoke to them about how mich does it cost to take 1 people go around. And here is the best deal in the area. 250.000d/motorbike for 1 person to the Paradise cave and back. 300.000 if you go to thespring center after the paradise cave. This including the time they have to wait you outside and bring you back to the hotel. I used my galaxy note2 to take their photos and there phone numbers together so i will post them on my wall later. You also able to hire a motlrbike from them for 300.000d/bike/day. Including 2 helmets but doesnt include the petrol.
There is only 1 bus from Phong nha to Dong Hoi. It leaves everyday at 8.00am from Phong Nha for 60.000d
Taxi is very rarely here, most popular transpotation is xe om. It is 150.000d if you want to take motorbike taxi from Phong Nha to Dong Hoi.
There is no bus station here, no ATM so you will have to go to Dong Hoi.
8:30 the lady at the center called me. There is a group goes to the cave and she asked them to let us go together.
The entrance fees in Phong nha is quite high. 80.000d/person for 1 cave and if you visit the Tien son cave is another 40.000d . The boat is 320.000d/ boat and it can take 12people with lightjacket on boat.
The landscape on the way is very peaceful. You will see some people working as fishing or harveting the vegetable on the river. The water in phong nha is quite clean, i dont see trash in the water and in the cave.
The cave is amazing and good for relaxing and taking photos.
I really enjoyed my trip to Phong Nha. The landscape and people are very nice.
The only thing i dislike is there were a kid followed us to sell some postcards. She tried to tell us about here diffkculities . We didnt buy anything but gave her 5000d. I hope it will not happen like Sapa, ha long, tam coc... then many tourist will come here. This place is great.
I went to some local restaurants the set menu for lunch here is from 100.000 - 150.000/person . It depends on how many people.
We checked out thanh dat hotel at 11.30 and drove to Hue. The road from phong nha to Quang tri is nice and quiet while 60kms from quang tri to Hue is busier and durty.
Continues
5
Here is the name of the Vegetarian restaurant in Dong Hoi. I found this restaurant as you said. It is opposite to the Blind massage shop. Its address is: 86 Duong Van An street, Dong Hoi. Here is more details about this restarant:It opened on 24th of September 2012. It is running by Dong Hoi Women team and supported by some foreign groups. The chef is a lady name: Hiep 0916496575. She showed me the newest menu of the restaurant. There are many kind of foods for you to choose in the menu or you can order a set menu. The price is quite cheap from 10.000d - 20.000d/dish so if you are 2 people you can have a big lunch or dinner with only 100.000d.
I will up the menu and photos of the restaurant and Hiep Photo on my blog and facebook later. I've just arrived back this morning. and i am making the final repost for this trip. See you later
