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$37/day: A Shoestring Budget for a Honeymoon in Vietnam

2/20/2016

By: Ryan

Vietnam should have been the cheapest country in Southeast Asia that we visited. The food, hotels and activities were the same or even cheaper than in Thailand. But getting around, i.e. the transportation, turned out to be quite a bit more expensive. Whereas we found the intercity bus system in Thailand to be efficient and safe, the buses in Vietnam are just fast. Too fast, dangerously so. More on that below, but the gist is that we spent more to get around Vietnam safely, which drove the overall price up a bit. But still, who can complain too much when you can spend just $37 per day for two people to travel around a whole country?

Here's how it broke down for the two of us:

Lodging: $13/day. We mostly got private rooms in inexpensive, but highly rated, guesthouses. We used hotels.com as much as possible, because they give you a free night for every 10 nights you book. We found the quality of hotels in general in Vietnam to be better, for less money, than in the rest of Southeast Asia. We often found ourselves remarking about how cheap the hotels were for how nice they were. Many hotels even include breakfast for free, so that's something to look for when booking.
Food: $9/day. Pho (noodle soup) for breakfast. Bahn Mi (sandwiches) for lunch. Fried noodles or soup or Bot Chien (fried tofu) or something even more exotic for dinner. Lots of Vietnamese coffee. We stuck to local food - we didn't want the "full american meals" anyways. Food catered for tourists is always more expensive. Most plates of local dishes cost $1 - $1.50 USD. A fresh fruit shake or coffee costs $0.50 - $1 USD. Compared to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, Vietnam's food is a bit cheaper and just as tasty!
Activities: $3/day. We spent our time walking around cities (Ha Noi, Hoi An and Nha Trang in particular are great to wander in), visiting museums (typical entrance fee of $1-2), grabbing a beer (Vietnam has the world's cheapest beer - its not hard in certain cities to find a glass of Bia Hoi for $0.20 USD, and its not half bad either!), and on our week-long cycle tour down Vietnam's Highway 1. Read more about that here, but as far as the costs go, we bought and outfitted bikes for a net after we sold them again of just $97. We did also pay for a relatively more expensive ($10 each) kayak tour in Lan Ha Bay and to see the Citadel in Hue ($7 each). All in all, its easy to see and experience the country on a tight budget!
Transportation: ($11/day). To get around Vietnam (not including getting to the country in the first place, or leaving after we were done), we mostly took buses for short trips between cities, but flew the longer legs between Ha Noi and Hue, and Dalat and Saigon. You see, we had gotten advice from other travelers about how dangerous the buses in Vietnam are. And after a few first hand experiences, we learned those other folks were not wrong! So we decided to fork out a bit more to have a safer and faster trip on those longer legs. If you're not worried about the long bus trips, you can shave a few dollars off and spend around $8/day on travel within the country.
Other: ($1/day). Everything else from laundry ($1/kg) to using a public toilet ($0.10).

All told, we cannot recommend Vietnam enough as a budget travel destination, though of course your costs to get there could be the deciding factor on whether its worth it for you. Once in the country, its exceptionally affordable, with great food, nice people, and lots to do!

Thoughts, musings & lessons learned from the road: Part II

2/17/2016

June 11, 2015 marked the halfway point of our roadtrip throughout the American West. At that time, we wrote a reflections post highlighting some of the lessons we had learned thus far, just a quarter of the way through our year-long honeymoon. Having recently wrapped up our 3 months in Asia, we're now half through our overseas adventure. It does not feel like we've been here for three months already, but alas, time truly does fly! Southeast Asia has been colorful, diverse, enriching, gritty and raw at the same time and this has left one helluva first impression. Most importantly, our time here has made a lasting impression on both of us. Here are some thoughts, musings, and lessons learned from 3 months in Asia.

From Crisina:
I must preface by saying that each item on my list is the most basic form of an otherwise multi-faceted, often existential internal dialogue, inspired by the thrills and challenges of the last three months here. I am happy to elaborate on any one of them - just ask!

When we are vulnerable, and open to such vulnerability we truly grow.
I have a deeper, more expansive sense of empathy than ever before.
In my early/mid 20s, I lived in France and Chile, and backpacked around Europe, South America and South Africa. Today, Ryan and I are easily ten years older than most of the travelers we've met, which has made me reflect on my youth, and how I have changed since I last trotted the globe. In a society that reveres youth, what does it even mean to be youthful or young at heart? What are the underlying values of youth that keep the hearts of the old, young?
Very generally speaking, I admire the sense of community expressed throughout Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Which makes me wonder, does the American cultural concept of the nuclear family isolate us?
Food, again: I feel amazing in the absence of dairy, gluten and processed foods. Food is exceptionally fresh! What does this mean for us when we get back to the US?
We must not let history repeat itself! GOTV 2016!
This next point comes after reading a thought-provoking book, and intensely reflecting on my career path, the (sometimes decade's old) factors influencing that path, my personal versus societal definitions of "success," and the constant struggle to strike the perfect work-life balance: Are we obligated to our potential?
As I said before, Earth is full of beauty, magic, and kindness, and we get to live here. Let’s take better care of it, and of each other!
Ryan still is the kindest most patient person I know. He has been my anchor and tethers me to an ever-evolving reality.

From Ryan:

Getting around between cities can be really frustrating. Buses are painfully slow in countries where the roads are bad like Laos and Cambodia - it can take 10 hours to go 200 miles. But they're frighteningly, dangerously fast in countries where the roads are good (like Vietnam). And getting around is much more expensive than it should be (relative to how cheap food and hotels are, for example).
People are SO NICE. Even in countries where the US left behind a massive mess (Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam) after overseas agression, the people feel and exhibit no ill will. We were told many times that their present feelings on American transgressions is that the past is the past. And we have multiple stories of the kindness and generosity of strangers that continue to leave us in awe as recollect them. Like when the family on Don Det island pulled us off the street to join their karaoke party or the sandwich vendors on our bike trip who saw me rubbing my sore knee and offered some therapeutic medicine.
Still, the foreigner pricing (higher prices charged to people who don't look like they're local) is hard to swallow. It happens mostly with transportation (intercity bus tickets, boat tickets, etc) and buying produce or goods at markets. Knowing what the prices should be sometimes helped in negotiating a more fair deal, but it was usually impossible to get the same rate as locals. Even though the prices are still cheaper than what we'd pay in the US, this was a real downer.
On the flip side, dealing with foreigner pricing, and sticking out like a sore thumb in general, was an eye opening experience for a white male from the US like me. Nothing illuminates one's own privilege quite like removing yourself from the circumstances that propagate it.
OMG, the Food! So cheap. So fresh. So delicious. This was probably reason #1 I wanted to come to Southeast Asia. And it did not disappoint. Pho. Pad Thai. Khao Soi. Bahn Mi. Pad See Ew. Tropical fruit shakes and juices. And so much more. I miss it everyday.
Who else besides Cristina could have tolerated spending 24 hours/day with me for these past 3 months in Asia during such a new and challenging experience? I'm an incredibly lucky guy to be with her on this life's journey.

Top Free Activities in Kuala Lumpur!

2/15/2016

By: Cristina

Kuala Lumpur (KL) gave us a very fancy welcome. Literally, the airport terminal we arrived in was shiny and new, and had a lofty, nice mall brimming with shops, eateries and people from all corners of the globe. Looking back, this was the perfect prelude for all that KL had to offer us during our quick 48-hour layover.

Given that we only had a matter of hours in this cosmopolitan metropolis, we arrived with a list of things to do and see. Fortunately our hotel was centrally located and in a neighborhood full of restaurants, bars, street food, fancy shops, and public transportation. We were also very lucky and could walk to all of the places we wanted to visit, which happened to be FREE! Yup, KL is full of FREE things to do, and has creative and well-manicured parks making this city exceptionally easy to visit on a budget. Here's a list of what we did:

Petronas Towers at sunset: Ascending the towers is expensive and crowded. Visiting the park at their base is not. We came here thirty minutes prior to sunset and got a stunning view of the towers as daylight faded and office lights illuminated. The surrounding park has a wading pool, grass, running trails, decorative and drinking fountains, and multiple vantage points for gazing at the twin towers and their dazzling, hourly light-and-water-fountain music shows.
National Mosque: Tourists (non-Muslims) are welcomed to visit the mosque outside regular prayer times. The mosque is huge and employs a modern, geometric architectural style and is beautifully decorated with ornate mosaics, beckoning fountains, and symmetrical Arabic script evoking a sense of paradise. Visitors must be dressed appropriately and robes are available for men and women, and headscarves are available for women. Visiting is a must.
Orchid and Hibiscus Garden: Adjacent to the Bird Park, these free gems are full of, you guessed it, orchids and hibiscuses! The gardens are colorful, smell so fresh and sweet, and are on a hill affording views of the city below. While here, we found shaded benches beneath fans for the perfect pit stop from the heat and tropical sun.
Temples: Wander through Chinatown and the city centre and you will inevitably find Taoist, Hindu, and Islamic temples. In fact, we know of few other places where you can find so many religion's temples located so close together and many even allow visitors inside for a look to marvel at the brightly colored interiors and detailed decorations. (In full disclosure, the mosque in downtown KL, as distinct from the National Mosque, is currently closed for construction. So we couldn't see it, but it is quite close to other temples and will be reopened soon enough).
Petaling Street Market: This was one of the most dense markets we visited in Asia. Stalls are crammed together throughout the city block hawking mostly clothes, shoes, cellphone accessories and designer knock-offs. Walking through here was kind of a rush.
Central Market: Here vendors sell touristy goods (think jewelry, pillow covers, t-shirts etc), as well as designer knock-offs and every-day accessories. This market has an indoor and outdoor section and several food stands selling Malaysian sweets! Yum!
Textile Museum (several museums): The textile museum was, honestly, kind of boring. It was very well done with informative displays and easy to understand translations, but also kind of repetitive. The building housing the museum was beautiful and had elements of traditional middle-eastern style architecture with onion-bulb turrets, doorways and windows; and ornate, geometric mosaics and decorative frosted glass. The textiles displayed inside were beautiful as well, but it really was not the most interesting museum.
Street food: Ok, this you have to pay for. But it is so cheap, it might as well be free. Think $1.50 for a large bowl of curry noodles. Food in Malaysia reflects the vibrant diversity of this city and is a delicious blend of South Asian (India), East Asian, British and Middle Eastern influences. Eating here was like having died and gone somewhere magical - and washing it down with fresh rose-lime juice!

We both agreed that we felt like we were short-changing Malaysia. Our 48-hour tour of KL left us hungry for so much more that this beautifully diverse and lush country has to offer! We wished we could have stayed and explored its beaches, islands, jungle, mountains, etc. We also agreed that we were grateful for our time in KL and that we will have to come back.

And that's a wrap, Southeast Asia. What can I say? We were both very sad to leave, yet so excited for New Zealand. Asia was full of magic and wonder, kindness and beauty, and certainly not without its trials. Visiting here was challenging, didactic and enriching in a way that is difficult to articulate. We both feel so fortunate to have shared this experience and we will be back!

Sizzling Saigon (or is it Ho Chi Minh City?)

2/8/2016

By: Cristina

Wait, is it Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon? Ho Chi Minh is the official name, and the one that appears on maps. But the airport code is SGN, so is Saigon acceptable? Outdated? Indicative of political preference? Regional? Well, after four weeks in Vietnam, we wrapped up with five days and nights in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) aka Saigon, and noticed that in the North, this sizzling metropolis is more often referred to Ho Chi Minh City, whereas in the South (where it is located), the latter is more common.

As I mentioned, Saigon buzzes with a feeling of its own electricity. This city's energy makes Hanoi or Bangkok seem like sleepy suburbs. Mostly because of the constant buzzing and honking of scooters, and the swarms of traffic at all hours of the day...and night. Also, the city is HUGE - home to 8.2 million people just within the city limits. Fortunately for us, many of the sights, shops, museums and markets are clustered in the same inner-city districts, making them accessible either on foot, or by bus. (The latter, however, came after some serious trial and error, we got lost on the bus three times in one day!)

Anyway, while here we took one day to buy camping gear and get ready for New Zealand, which is right around the corner. After our "errands" we devoted our remaining days to museums and other sight-seeing and visited the gorgeous Reunification Palace, the brutally eye-opening yet fascinating War Remnants Museum, the bustling Ben Thanh Market, the Jade Emperor Palace (free!), and the informative and well-curated History Museum. We also took the time to explore the neighborhood around our hotel, which was removed from the tourist area and afforded us a much more authentic (and fairly-priced) look at daily life in HCMC. We particularly liked the food carts serving up bot chien, banh my and banana fritters, early-morning coffee and people watching, and wandering through the mews. This city is full of hidden gems! It also has creative and artful public space. A great city overall, and a perfect last-stop in Vietnam!

$37/day: A Shoestring Budget for a Honeymoon in Vietnam

Thoughts, musings & lessons learned from the road: Part II

Top Free Activities in Kuala Lumpur!

Sizzling Saigon (or is it Ho Chi Minh City?)

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