Thinh Pham

Tag: travel guide

  • Backpacking Malaysia on a budget

    Backpacking Malaysia on a budget

    Backpacking Malaysia is an amazing experience, and this is useful tips I draw from my first trip to the Muslim country in Southeast Asia.

    Transportation

    Airplane

    – AirAsia is a Malaysian low-price airline, so that it should be the first consideration to “hunt” for cheaper tickets. Ticket price approximately ranges from 1 million to 1.5 millions vnd as your luck.

    – VietjetAir sometimes also sells tickets abroad at the price of 0 vnd. This airline tickets to Malaysia usually cost about 1.5 to 1.7 millions vnd. Notice: These prices include toll, tax, and visa fee.

    Bus

    During this journey, I mainly used bus to move from airport to city center or between cities. Actually, I didn’t use this mode of transport in inner cities. At ground floor of AirAsia airport, there is a bus ticket counter to Kuala Lumpur Sentral. It costs about 11 RM (ringgit – Malaysian currency) and takes about 1.5 to 2 hours duration.

    To move from Kualar Lumpur to others provinces (for me it’s Malacca), I took tram to TBS. And from here, it was easy for me to find bus ticket. Thanks to good traffic condition in Malaysia, the trip was extremely quick and smooth.

    Tramcar

    To take the tram in KL, you obviously need a tourist map. You can ask for one at the airport. However, mine was taken from Sentral market information counter, which is not far from China town. To learn more about using the map, read Southeast asia transportation guide

    Taxi

    I just took a cab once in Melaka when it is out of bus. Malaysian cab is just like “xe ôm” (motorbike taxi) in Viet Nam. We have to haggle or we over-pay. Normally, the price of 1km is approximately 1USD. Use google map to estimate the distance before taking the cab so that you will know the most reasonable price to bargain. The better of your negotiation, the cheaper you have to pay.

    Bicycle

    Riding bike in Melaka was such a fascinating and economical experience. The hostel I stayed charged me only 5 RM for one bike, and I could use it whenever I wanted until I checked-out. Bicycle for hire ranges from 5-20 RM, depend on the owners and kind of bike you hire. You should ask particularly as some people charge the price according to the duration.

    Remember, in Malaysia (so is Singapore), people go on the left side of the road. So please, when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

    Destinations

    Here I just list briefly some main places, please check my journey diary for more details!

    1. Kuala Lumpur

    This is the city with fascinating Muslim construct and surprisingly modern. Those buildings can cause your neck hurt if you want to watch the whole of them (just kidding)! There is Sentral Market, where you can find so many delicate souvenir, which you can’t help buying! Beside, taking a tram in Kualar Lumpur was a strange experiment to me, I could feel the hurry of the urban on each route.

    Malaysian are greatly hospitable, if they see you just like an idiot when they are trying to help you with your direction, they will take you to the place you want if it isn’t far from there without asking for anything. I had a great impression with Malaysian since this trip. Food here tastes well, too. I don’t know whether it is just because I chose to eat Chinese food or not. Last but not least, my other impression about this city is it has a lot of crows.

    2. Melaka (or Malacca)

    Maybe this place was the most adorable and affectionated city in my journey: everything was inexpensive, the atmosphere was cool and fresh, there was a poetic hill with the structure of many culture displayed on the architectures. When evening has set in, you can walk to the waterfront, sit there, have some drinks and enjoy your life.

    The most salient feature of Melaka is China town, every night, take a walk here and you can see many interesting things. In the morning you can comfortably live your dream lately on your bed because the stores are not open until 9 or 10 am. There is no reason for not living lazy one day in life!

    If you feel hungry, just go to the market, you can easily find out many seafood, Thailand food, Indian food… which certainly will satisfy your appetite. Otherwise, if you feel boring, the shopping malls here will always welcome you with the price that can turn you to a shopaholic!

    3. Johor Baruh

    Muggy and cramped. I just had about 5 transit hours and stayed at my seat watching the station, because the time was not enough to go for a troll here. According to the information that I read, Johor is famous with many artificial amusement park, and some fruit-tree farm 80km distant from city centre to the East.

    To what I perceived when sitting at the Center of Johor Station, this city is quite similar to VietNam, torrid, complicated, insecure, definitely different from TBS station in Kualar Lumpur.

    Accommodation

    Honestly, I love hostels in Malaysia. We live in a very nice private room in Kuala Lumpur for just $11, and every thing is neat and clean, air-con worked well.

    Jalan Jalan, guest house we stayed in Melaka was also a good choice where it provides a digit code pass door (well security), bicycle for $2 and however long you stay there, you can ride one you rent. There’s also a guitar so you can play some works as you like.

    Things should bring

    Lock and Plug

    There are 2 things you definitely have to buy if you forget to bring: lock (to lock your locker or room if your locker, or room don’t have the lock, it help you save your money for hiring) and plug to convert two-pin plug to 3 – pin plug. Malaysia and Singapore use the different kind of socket in compare with Vietnam. You just search on google the world “Singapore socket”, there will be some description of this posted by overseas students.

    Clothing

    I thought that I would visit some religious constructs so that I brought along long pants, which I finally realized that was unneccessary. At those places, you can hire the pants with a really low price (just ranged from 10 – 20.000 vnd/ pairs). Your job is just put it on, enjoying you visit, then simply put them back to the owner.

    Malay and Sing’s weather are basically similar to Viet Nam’s, which is sunny, hot and muggy, rainy. Therefore, shorts and sandals are the most suitable and comfortable. long-sleeved shirts/T-shirts will also be needed if you are afraid of sunburnt. You should probably fold a jacket along with some socks in you backpack.

    For all the time you have to sit on the transportation and all of them always turn on the air conditional system, your jacket will help protect you from thermal shock when you get off. In addition, some areas in Malay such as Cameroon or Borneo, which are near Brunei, are quite cold because there are plateaus and primeval forests. But, as my thought, clothes in Malay are inexpensive, so that we can buy there, no need to carry too heavy.

    Sneakers should be considered because most of your moving time, you will go on foot (to the tram station or go sightseeing). Don’t forget to bring a cap/or hat because of scorching sun, and an umbrella just in case it would rain. (an umbrella in Malay costs about 4 Singapore Dollars – estimate 65.000Vnd).

    Beside you should bring along a small backpack to convenient to take a walk. A large one contain clothes, personal stuffs so that quite heavy, we should put it at dorm. Precious things such as passport, camera, cash, phone, should always be by your side.

    Time zone

    One of the differences that I could clearly recognize was the time zone. For the first time in my life I saw the sky at 7p.m were as bright as 5p.m in Viet Nam, some time I lost my feeling about time. To contact with your family, you can easily calculate Vietnamese time by minus 1 hour in Malaysian time. For example, 7p.m in Malaysia is 6p.m in Vietnam.

    The difference lead to many funny story. The first morning in Melaka, I have a short talk with the native man after enjoying my breakfast. He said that people here just began to open their store from 9a.m. A little voice in my head immediately said that people here were so lazy. But that was just my mistaken. When I woke up the next morning, I had my answer: 7-8a.m in Malaysia was as dark as night!

    Budget for Reference

    The amount of money that I spent in Malaysia is as same as in Vietnam, but it became double when I was in Singapore. At the time I travelled, exchange value of currency was:

    1 RM~5.200 vnd

    Kuala Lumpur

    – SIM 3G: 20RM/500Mb

    – Bus fee from airport to KL Sentral: 11RM/ person.

    – A Big Mac combo: 13RM

    – Tram ticket: 1-4RM according to length of the route

    – Toilet fee: 0.5RM/time

    – 1 bottle of 500ml water: 1.5RM

    – Accomodation: 15 usd/single room

    – Dumpling: 1.3 RM

    – Instant Noodle: 2RM (at dorm)

    – Coconut: 2RM

    Melaka

    – Taxi fee: 20RM/ 5km

    – Chicken rice: 6RM

    – Noodle: 4 RM

    – Bicycle: 5-20RM

    – Drink: 4-6RM

    – Fried rice: 6RM.

    – Accommodation: 10 usd/ double room

    – Bus fee: 1.5 RM

  • Sapa Travel Guide

    Sapa Travel Guide

    First time backpacking Sapa ? My top tips providing useful and in-depth information of get-in, get-around, things to do, food to eat and accommodation tips.

    Get-in

    You can ride to Sapa, however, most of backpackers reports that it takes them at least 5-7 hours and the road is quite rough. There’s a high-speed highway, a bus take only 4-5 hour to Lao Cai city and plus 1 hour to Sapa town. So mostly people choose to take overnight bus to the town to take advantage of time.

    I took Sao Viet bus (789 Giai Phong str. – Hoang Mai, Ha Noi/ 04. 36.686.358). You should book in advance to get best bed on bus. The latest bus is 23:00, and the you’re likely to reach Lao Cai at 3:00, and Sapa at 4:00.

    Another safer choice is to take train. It’s the most safest option up to now, but the price is not cheap compared to other means of transport. Booking at the official website of Vietnam railway to get the best price. It’s supported in English at the top right corner.

    Train time table and cost

    (vietnam-railway.com) “Sapa has no railway station, it’s about 38 km (24 miles) from Lao Cai railway station and easily reached from there by bus, jeep or taxi in about 50 minutes. There are both daytime and overnight sleeper trains between Hanoi & Lao Cai, and on the sleeper trains you can choose between the normal Vietnamese railways sleepers or a whole series of privately-run sleeping-cars of a higher standard aimed at tourists.

    Get around

    The best choice for adventurous travelers are bike rental, they are everywhere, and you can rent one for few buck plus gasonline. Read my biking tips for more details.

    Another way for leisure travel plus a bit adventure, especially for a solo one, rent a bike-taxi, bargain for 100,000 – 150,000 dong/ a cluster of 4-5 close destinations (see where to visit session for more details).

    For a group of travellers, it’s best to take a taxi, there are many brands so I can’t provide a certain price, you should consult the host before take one.

    Best time to travel Sapa

    Situated at the height of 1500-1800m, Sapa is quite cool, just 15-18 Celcius degree, so it’s very enjoyable here.

    Sapa is beautiful everytime, each month the town shows its unique beauty.

    April-May: Best time to see rice terraces, they are green and well-lit by fantastic sunray, some flowers are blossoming this time. A great time for photographers.

    September – October: Rice crops, all the terraces are covered in yellow. It’s gorgeous and majestic!

    December – February: The winter, so you’re expected to see snowflakes by chance and enjoy grilled food deliciously.

    Where to go

    https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1ZWqigBGK1WytB0w81xI4ZFvahPc

    Zoom in my backpacking Sapa destination map for more detail locations

    Ham Long mountain: the highest spot in the town, I see it as a flower garden, similar to Da Lat garden. It’s usually covered by dense fog and drizzle. If you’re lucky enough, then a panoramic view including Sapa town, Muong Hoa valley and Ta Phin village.

    Stone church (Notre Dame Cathedral): Built in 1895 by French, it’s a rare historical relic remaining today. A must-visit spot in downtown. Free entrance.

    Mau son temple: A religious site for pilgrims.

    Sapa lake: Taking a slow-pace duck boat around the lake is a break you’re your destination-rush.

    Cat cat: H’mong village, a journey to explore local culture and rice terrace photography also. 40,000 dong/ pax

    Ta phin: famous for its system of caves and Red Zdao ethnic. The roadtrip through the village and taking traditional herb bath of the Red ZDao are must-do experiences. It’s very exciting and sense of adventure.

    Ta van: Zday ethnic situates here. You’re also expected to see rice terrace.

    Sin Chai: Black Zdao ethnic, less tourismization, so you can find out the most pure atmostphere and local culture here.

    Muong Hoa valley – Ancient stone field: a beautiful stream and unique engraved stones depicts ancient culture.

    Fansipan – the roof top of Indochina: The sea cloud at the summit is very gorgoues and breathtaking, a must-visit spot. You can choose to take cable car (600,000 dong/ return ticket) or hiking trail from Tram Ton station (inside Love waterfall ecotourism park).

    Silver waterfall/ Love waterfall: It’d better visit these places at the beginning and the end of rainy season, when the water flow is at its most beautiful.

    “Gate to Heaven” (O Quy Ho pass viewport): A stunning panoramic view of the famous Pass. To conquer the pass more safely, please read my useful biking tips [http://darejourney.com/sapa-biking-tips/].

    Coc San: Another system of caves, it remains the purest landscape compared to landscapes surrounding Sapa.

    Things to do

    Backpacking Sapa was one of my memorable experience, I suggest some activities to make your trips even more exciting!

    Bike trip: following 4D highway is all you need to explore most of destinations inside and around Sapa, don’t forget to ride along O Quy Ho pass.

    Food tour: Getting around downtown and try new food that you’ve never ate before.

    A visit to ethnic village: Cat cat, Ta Van, Ta phin are among great options to explore local culture.

    Terrace photography: Sapa, as well as many mountainous destinations, offer a great view of rice terrace. It’s best to visit during crop season.

    Homestay in a village: enjoy an off-the-grid experience and local culture also.

    Sunrise and sunset at Sapa: Climbing Ham Long mountain at very right time for beautiful moments.

    Trekking Fansipan: Check-in the highest spot of Indochina is a really exciting activity. Read my Fansipan adventurous story if you need a preference what the trek is look like.

    What to eat

    Sapa cuisine is what I love most, most of them are ethnic food, very unique taste and moreover, the cool ambiance make grilled food taste even more delicious. Some best food you should have when in Sapa are:

    Thang Co (cattle soup): taste very unique, especially enjoy with a cup of corn alcohol. The lowest price is 200,000 dong/ 2-3 people at A Quynh restaurant (15 Thach Son street, Sapa town).

    Salmon dish: a hot pot of the fish is such a great idea for a dinner in Sapa.

    Grilled food: I spent a lot of money on these. A variety of pork, veggie, mushroom, bamboo-wrapped rice, eggs and sweet potatos

    Smoked Pork/ buffalo meat: I ate many strings. The cheapest price I found is a small restaurant of a man located near Silver waterfall, 300,000 dong/ kg pork and 600,000 dong/ kg buffalo meat, you’d better enjoy ethnic herbs served as tea, taste is very good.

    Accomodation

    As a center of tourism, there are many choices here. I use booking platforms such as hostelworld.com, agoda.com and booking.com for accomodation research. Some tips for choosing best bed is to decide what kind of bed you want (bunk bed/ private room), then surfing these website above, use filter for ones higher 7 stars review, at the price and location you’d love to. Read some reviews for more details before deciding booking.

  • A quick travel guide to Chiang Mai

    A quick travel guide to Chiang Mai

    There are 4 kinds of people who will love Chiang Mai: natural-oriented minds, budget travelers, culture explorers and adventure challengers. The quick Chiang Mai travel guide below will explain in details.

    Get in

    The cheapest mean of transportation to Chiang Mai is ordinary train, there’s one at Bang Sue station, only 270 baht. Overnight train but very basic equipment so you’re expected to deal with noise, dust and back ache because they are all wooden seat. It’s cheap but very fatigue.

    I’ve taken bus, which I thought it was quite more expensive than train at first (488 baht for a class I seat) but then I found that Bus was really worthy because you’re having comfortable seat, a small convenient meal, air-con whole trip with blanket and window offering landscape view.

    The Chiang Mai is close to the city center, the budget airlines as Nok Air usually offer prices at 900 baht, plus 20-50 baht for a songthaew ride, it seem not bad choice for limited-time travelers while still considering budget transportation.

    Get around

    chiang mai travel guide

    The old city (center area, square shape if you see its top-down map) is just 2 kilometer square, so it’s relaxing to explore it on foot.

    Bicycle is the cheapest mean (if you don’t mind walking), just 50 baht/ day, most of hostels offer these. I rented one, no locker, support light equipped (but you should turn off when day riding because it drains more your stamina).

    Motorbike is quite popular, but I read an information mentioning that in festival occasions, you sometimes probably get caught by police and fined for 500 baht if you don’t have helmet or IDP. I didn’t have much to waste 500 baht by chance, so no rental was done.

    Songthaew is popular public transport, and I prefer it if time is not your enemy: 20 baht from bus station to old city gate park. If you rent whole ride, it’s 100 baht as songthaew run in taxi mode.

    Bus is another good choice, but most of them look outdated. You should avoid them in the evening because of the heavy traffic jam, which you suffer exhausted fume, slow going and so much noise. The price is fix, depending on your travel distance. Ask the conductor to be clear, especially open bus.

    chiang mai travel guide

    Stay

    Budget travelers will love the town because there are many budget-friendly dorms/ hostels in town. The lowest price I found was 3 usd/ night (requires at least 2 nights up), usually 5-7 usd/ night is good choice. I experienced 2 dorms – and they are really good compared to the price offer.

    My first night I spent in Cham-cha hostel, dorm room with 6 beds for 5.5 usd/ bed. Check-in was quite slow. You will receive a key to open door to dorm area, so it senses secure.

    The unregistered guests are even fined 300 baht if they get caught. It is generally clean and neat. Bathroom is awesome. Guest space was relaxing and cosy with bed right at front, you can lazily read book on shelf.

    The second dorm I stayed in was Chiang Backpack house, for only 4 usd/ night. I extremely love their coffee space at front, very cosy and open. I ordered a cappuccino and very enjoy while working on writing there. However, the facility was not good, there was a leaking faucet in the bathroom.

    My dorm room was not clean at all. The junior staffs were not speaking English, only senior ones (I counted for three). No book area to read but full of tourism brochures. Laundry costs 40 baht/ kg / 24h service and double for fast service. Bicycle rental costs 50 baht/ day as neighborhood standard.

    chiang mai travel guide food

    Eat

    Don’t forget cho check Food when you read a Chiang Mai travel guide, because food really cheap and truly local.

    First, the option for tightest budget travelers (like me in the very last day in Chiang Mai) is instant noodle in 7-eleven shops. You should buy a canned noodle (just 10 baht) plus additional one (6 baht), pour hot water right inside and pay at cashier.

    Along some roads in the center of old city, there are stalls selling food for labors, just 15-20 baht/ pax, and it’s as delicious as you have in restaurant with a lot of traditional Thai foods.

    There’s no spoon/ fork available can be fixed with cans from instant noodle which you’ve already bought before.

    The restaurants often price from 40-60 baht/ dish, mini buffet for 100 baht. Drinks are the same price, which you can easily access in the old city bars or vendors. There’s one more thing: sweet soup is just 7-20 baht and they really delicious.

    Chiang Mai center market is also a ideal place if there’s a kitchen in your dorm. All ingredients are fresh, clean and colorful.

    Things to do

    Chiang Mai is the city of “Wat” (pagoda in Thai), so you are free to access and photograph as much as you can to most of pagoda in the City.

    If you don’t have much time, rent a bicycle and cycling around old city, spend 10-20 minutes for each so it takes merely a morning to experience “Wat tour”.

    Many Chiang Mai travel guides suggest traveler attending the famous Yi Peng – Loy Krathong festival, where you have chance to release big flying laterns into air with thousands of local people, watching the sky glowing beautifully in very sacred ambiance. 

    The first time visiting Chiang Mai, I missed it after all. So to avoid any nonsense reasons preventing you from taking part in full course of festival, do some research before backpacking to Chiang Mai.

    Read more: Yi Peng festival in my mind

    If you love adventurous sense then Doi Inthanon – the highest spot of Thailand– is a great choice. There are many gorgeous waterfalls, adventurous trails and a peak to challenge. The temperature is quite hot but when you get higher, be aware that it’s getting cold quickly, especially in raining case, so taking along some warm clothes is better.

    Doi Suthep is another choice, but it doesn’t brand the highest spot and just another pagoda complex which is very popular in Chiang Mai. That’s why Inthanon was chosen.

    Many Chiang Mai travel guide lure travelers as Thailand is Elephant country so people make it become a must-do experience while plentiful activists warn us not to put the elephant shows in our checklist due to the animal protection. Indeed, I prefer see wild elephants South Africa safari then.

    And don’t forget to visit various night markets in Chiang Mai, you will be full of surprise for what you see.

  • Hua Hin Travel Guide

    Hua Hin Travel Guide

    How to get in and around Hua Hin? What to eat and Where to go… My travel guide to Hua Hin will find out the best experience!

    My friend, who usually visits Thailand as a hardcore-budget traveler, suggested me join his journey to Hua Hin, as he introduced “Thai King’s resort”. I and (maybe) many ones, have never considered the town as a must-go destination among Pattaya, Phuket, Krabi,… But my experience proves that you’ll hardly find anything new in old places.

    Get in

    He recommended me experience Thai train, which he said “very cheap”. Cheap is not always a comfortable option, you have to keep the mindset if you think budget travel is your choice. However, “cheap” option is likely the way ordinary people do, so you’re expected to live a very local life. For me, it’s worthy.

    After landing, we headed for Don Muang train station, just few steps from Airport and you can easily access via skywalk. To get to Hua Hin, we would transit in Bang Sue station instead of Hua Lam Phong to save 30 minutes. Ticket to Hua Hin surprised me, just 44 baht, for 200-kilometer distance in 4 hours. Very cheap!

    My friend pointed me to the ticket booth, and revealed a more incredible information: it was free to Thai. The key to receive the previlige is to behave or talk in Thai style, so that the officer think you are Thai and sell you Thai ticket. So it’s a advantage if you are Asian, especially look like a Thai. You can check Thai railway website for more details, notice that Ordinary train/third class is likely to be free for Thais.

    Budget tip #1: Train is cheap, Thais are even free, only for third class of ordinary option.

    Get around

    Hua Hin is just 40 km in length to explore, so riding a bike is the best option to explore the town from north to south. The cheapest vehicle is old scooters, which are very popular used by foreigners, cost 150-200 baht/ day.

    However, biking is a dangerous and “cashcow” option somehow. I didn’t do biking in my trip because my research shows that the roads in Thailand are really a graveyard. Another information reveals how worse corruption Thai polices are getting.

    So if you’d love to ride in Hua Hin, as well as anywhere in Thailand, consider owning a IDP (license) and helmet to minimize the risk.

    Budget tip #2: not riding means not taking risk of being fined and traffic accidents, so you can save money and maybe your life, as well.

    Accomodation

    So you have checked hostel/ dorm in booking, agoda, traveloka,… and find most of the price ranges 300-400 baht. Don’t be fool, just take a walk around backpack town, especially Nares Damry Alley, to see the real room price. Much cheaper than internet booking, just 100-200 baht/day.

    I suppose the websites are likely to hide the cheap option, so when you walk and choose a certain hostel in town, check if it’s available booking through above website, which sometimes can save a bit more money via promotion program.

    My experience in a hotel offering dorm room option in Hua Hin: Traveloka platform run a deep promotion, but when I searched in the app, it didn’t show anything cheap. Just when I found a cheap dorm in Agoda, then I typed directly in Traveloka search box, then the hotel showed up.

    There’s no fan dorm room left, so I had to unpurposely book the air-con option, which was more expensive. I thought that the room was likely to be full occupied when I check-in.

    I was wrong, I was the only one in the room. In fan room, my friend was also a sole dreamer that night. So in my opinion, hardly is there not available rooms in Hua Hin, get in the town and find a true bargain yourself.

    Budget tip# 3: consult online booking, but prefer traditional booking to save even more money.

    Eat

    I love Hua Hin because it offers very reasonable price range and food tastes very good and cook by unique recipes. In the morning, I ate in a local food stall at hua hin 74 (หัวหิน 74) which only costs you 30 baht, full of energy and local smells.

    Some street foods are even more cheap and very delicious. I really enjoy a food that I cannot name it, it includes some crispy pieces, sliced steamed rice rolls, sweet soya sauce and decorated by scallions and coriander. Just around 10 baht. I love it.

    My another love is roasted marinated fish. The flesh was soft, fresh and sweet, well-roasted so it completely smelled good. Just 35 baht for a fish. I and my friend, we had it mostly, except for bones.

    All the ingredients, spices, skin, marinating herbs, flesh,.. can be eaten all. I’m quite sure this is a must-eat food in Hua Hin. There are also some roasted dishes in vendor cart: chicken, pork, cake,… buy one by one to enjoy all because they are all cheap. I think they just costs you 70-100 baht in total.

    You can find the couple vendor I met, who usually wander around the backpack street. This is how they look like.

    Another choice to find cheap food is school neighborhood. There’s a very insight that ordinary pupils are not rich, so the food serving them is possibly reasonable and in some case, very colorful.

    Drinks are from 10 baht, foods are from 20 baht. I love wandering and enjoy view when the class dismiss and kids get out of their school and crowd at vendors, yelling for their food or drink in very childish manner.

    There’s indeed a food court near backpack street, it looks like picture below, but the price is really for tourists but locals. And as usual, beach is the rip-off heaven. But lying in a beach chair and have a coconut in sunset view. Admittedly, it’s worth spending some money for a tropical experience.

    There is a HUGE night market in Hua Hin and it’s very easy to locate in Hua Hin 72 street, not far from clock tower. Various foods are displayed, price is not deeply cheap as other local food store but it’s not really expensive compared to other destinations in Thailand.

    You should notice that food is quite salty and spicy and will be likely to make your stomach cry for help and your asshole be in hell. Be ready!

    Budget tip #4: school, street vendors are budget-heaven while beach and backpacker town are likely to be rip-off hell. Night market is a good place to spend some money.

    Things to do

    There’s a photography spot in Hua Hin 61 alley – Phetkasem road intersection, where hundres of starling perching on electric wires, making it look like a note sheet when you look up. They cry aloud so it’s quite annoying when you get close.

    Hua Hin beach is also a great place to swim and sunbathe. Clear water, nice sand and coconuts decorating along beach. My friend said that it is as beautiful as Pattaya but living cost is much more cheaper.

    There are some amusement parks nearby in Cha-am, I visited Santorini park, Swiss Sheep farm, Venezia,… built up to serve the people who wish to be in Europe once. The structures are duplicates of Europe ones.

    On top of that, I love PlearnWan market and recommend it for the successfully vintage style. Venezia is most expensive, Swiss Sheep farm is more reasonable while Santorini is just 150 baht for foreigners and PlearnWan offers you free entrance.

    Budget tip #5: Europe parks are most suitable for ones who love artificial Europe scenery, If you’d like to get there or Europe-born, consider ignoring them.

    Best Places to Visit

    Hua Hin is listed as one of the most all-time favorite destinations in Thailand by both locals and travelers. Exotic beaches, ancient temples, impressive palaces, numerous shopping areas make Hua Hin become more lured and worth trying to visit once. Therefore, with Hua Hin attraction guide right below, you will know best places to drop by when coming to Hua Hin for the first time.

    King Mansion (Maruekhathaiyawan palace)

    This palace is also called “the palace of hope and love”, first built by King Rama VI in 1923. It wows all travelers coming to this spot with such gorgeous buildings painted in yellow and white. There’s a long and straight corridor stretching to the beach where you can take some beautiful photos. The Maruekhathaiyawan is located between Hua Hin and Cha Arm for your information. According to Hua Hin attraction guide, this spot deserses a visit right when coming to Hua Hin because you will learn a lot about the history as well as the unique beauty of the palace.

    Hua Hin Railway Station

    Hua Hin railway station was also constructed in Rama VI majesty but it lies quite far from the heart of the city.  The most outstanding feature of this railway station is its designs and decoration which give off feelings of Victoria majesty and Thai architectural styles. Though being colorful, vibrant, this place still remains some ancient, solemn factors inside. That makes it not only more mysterious to discover but also one of the most favorite destinations highly appreciated by a lot of travelers.

    Hua Hin night market

    Hua Hin night market is a must-go destination in the list of Hua Hin attraction guide. Lying in the center of Hua Hin, this night market draws a great number of travelers to it everyday. From 6 pm onwards, the market suddenly turns alive with lights, stalls and flocks of people. By walking around for a while, you can find a variety of goods sold such as crafts, handmade items, delicious Thai food,… Other than that, Hua Hin night market also owns so many restaurants that serve best seafood dishes you’ve ever tried. If you’re in Hua Hin, don’t forget to give this night market a try!

    Plearnwan shopping village

    This is also another spot for those wanting to buy some stuffs and taste Thai dishes. It’s just been built recently with special architecture and decoration bringing images of ancient Hua Hin villages. If you are in Hua Hin. Furthermore, Plearnwan village also has many game booths, a ferris wheel, an outdoor cinema… to help all travelers feel more entertained.  That’s why Plearnwan village’s very preferred in this Hua Hin attraction guide.

    Phraya Nakhon Cave

    It takes about 40-45 minutes driving from Hua Hin to one of the most magnificant and mysterious caves in Thailand. This cave belongs to Khao Sam Roi Yot national park and quickly becomes a favorite destination to many travelers from all around the world.

    The cave is really huge and owns a lot of amazing stalactites. It receives light from a big hole up above and that makes this cave give a vibe of hidden charming paradise and bring you a lot of excitement when seeing this scene.

    Hua Hin Hills vineyard

    No one should leave Hua Hin without visiting this interesting tourism spot. It’s located to the west of Hua Hin, approximately 35km driving. On the way to this place, travelers are taken aback with such idyllic and vibrant countryside landscapes.

    Here in this vineyard grows many kinds of best quality grapes. These grapes are usually grown and used to provide for some wine labels as Siam winery, Monsoon Valley… So don’t forget to take this Hua Hin attraction guide and drop by Hua Hin Hills vineyard when staying here.

    Santorini park

    For a change of air, you can pay a visit to Santorini park where can bring you to a paradise of stone-paved road, domed towers, colorful windows, white constructions… reflecting exact the images of Greek island with the same name.

    In this area, you can also find out many restaurants, shops, stalls, amusement park… to spend your whole day relaxing and entertaining. From here, travelers are given wonderful cliff-top sights of the beachfront and the sea that make this park worth a visit right away.

    Hua Hin floating market

    According to Hua Hin attraction guide, it’s a big mistake if lacking one of the most popular destinations like Hua Hin floating market. On the man-made banks of river, you can see a lot of shops displaying all kinds of goods. These shops owns an attractive retro-style design that brings you back to Hua Hin’s old days.

    One special thing of this market is  you can buy some unique handmade souvenirs that you can’t see them elsewhere. If you feel interested, you can take paddle or Thai boats to discover many other corners of this floating market. To visit this market, you should head to the south of Hua Hin on the way to Khao Takieb.

  • Top 5 destinations for a perfect Hua Hin day trip

    Top 5 destinations for a perfect Hua Hin day trip

    Many ones travel from Bangkok to enjoy a Hua Hin day trip. To be honest, among 5 destinations total, I love only one. What about you?

    For my reason to book a Hua Hin day trip. Actually, I and my friend didn’t expect this until the last morning in Hua Hin. He ran into me and pushed me pack up in hurry to join the tour. Originally, a young beautiful chinese girl bought the tour online, but there’s some trouble between her and the driver providing the tour. My friend heard of the conversation and with an intentional mind, he suggested the girl share ride.

    So that’s why we had a chance to visit King’s mansion, some Europe style parks and a vintage market at the end – a highlight option for those who love Europe but don’t have a chance to visit.

    The tour is only the ride and costs 800 baht in total for a person. We shared ride so we paid 100 baht/ person additionally.

    King’s mansion

    The first destination in Hua Hin day trip is to visit King’s mansion. This is paid spot, including outdoor or indoor pass, which you can choose to wander around the garden or put your steps on King’s Stilt house.

    The fee for outdoor is 30 baht and plus 30 baht if you’d like to Stilt house. You should get dress formally or be requested to wear more appropriate clothes, for me, it’s a black suit, the one usually used in funeral (we were in Thailand during King’s national funeral).

    The atmosphere was quiet and green, like a park with a big tree at the center, a green wall rounded a fountain with a chair, a sight that we usually see in Western park.

    There’s a Thai band playing traditional instruments with their great dexterity. However I hardly enjoy whole show because they played as if it was a rehearsal instead of a real performance.

    There’s a beach rocked to view the horizontal line, sea is even so it’s quite peaceful feelings walking along the tree lines, but it’s not as excellent as Phuket An old well nearby is quite impressive with its mechanic design.

    The premises was under construction, an overhaul, so you’d see beams everywhere. On the way to house entrance, we encountered a banyan tree which there were many pieces of paper look like incantations hanging on.

    There’s a prohibition on camera, and you have to put your shoes into a bag and carry it whole the journey around the house. The bag was cute. I really would like to take some home as souvenirs

    The house was very airy and clean. It wasn’t really impressive for young people except for the historicaholic. If you’re not interested in history pieces, or royal daily life, so the place is not for you. It’s quite boring.

    Santorini park

    The second place and a lovely spot of Hua Hin day trip is Santorini park. Actually, this is a commercial complex which there are many many shops inside and features tiny water playground. The ticket costs you 150 baht for only a walk around. The ambience was make very colorful, young – a kind of gorgeous western-style background.

    I think this is an ideal place for photography: Using white tone, various color – most of them are bright. There are some hand painting on the wall, which is great for selfie. In Hollywood sector, you’ll see more cartoon, dracular or monkeys from movies. I love hulk most, he seems very “handsome” and muscular.

    For shopping, the price is quite reasonable compared to other park in Thailand. The normal visit takes you 30 minutes, but posing and shoping may require more time.

    Venezia

    Venezia complex in Cha-am was modeled on Venice, Italy with all of sophisticated relief, statues and buildings. However, it’s just like other park – nice place to take pictures. No more.

    In my opinion, the tourism spot is quite expensive compared to its value. The owner even splits it up into many sectors and sell tickets which the more you pay, the more places you can visit. But the cost makes us agree to just take a look, get some photos and go next.

    It’s double or triple the ticket price of Santorini. Yeah, we were quite shocked when receptionist showed us the price list.

    Swiss Sheep farm

    To hug a sheep, you have to pay 120 baht (Adult) or 80 baht (Child) for entrance ticket. Open everyday. The ticket booth is quite fashionable, but I didn’t get it. Why designers put many not-related items on the walls?

    This is an other photography option for ones who love western lifestyle or in case you truly love sheeps.

    Plearnwan

    I love this most – vintage style market – the final destination in Hua Hin day trip. Free entrance – so budget-friendly. All you have to do at door is open your bag and prove there’s no food/ drink inside. You can obtain a pocket guide-map at desk, offered by a local resort.

    The market offer reasonable price with a lot of street food/ drink available. Vintage coffee shops are ideal for sipping a coffee. Plants are put agreeably, harmonize among one another.

    The market is small complex, two levels and painted in deep brown tone, along with wooden walk and plus some pieces of old metal roofs, make it more vintage style. There’s a long couch so no worry finding places to get your legs rest. You can book a room and fully enjoy night market (until 9 PM).

  • Top 3 destinations you should go in an old Manila walk tour

    Top 3 destinations you should go in an old Manila walk tour

    In south-east asia region, many of my friends wish one time touching Europe, not only for the modern lifestyle but also gorgeous Roman buildings. After a walk around Intramuros in Manila, I came up with an idea: No need to visit Euro for old buildings because Manila is truly an amazing destination for those who love old European architecture.
    If you backpack Manila, why not take an old Manila walk tour and you’ll see

    Fort Santiago

    I bought a ticket to Fort Santiago when it was 4PM. The sunset was so beautiful, reflecting its charming on the water, through tree shades and old buildings. The ticket booth was decorated in Christmas style. It was still New year days.

    The Fort was under construction, a lot of steel walls were set up, blocking your sight but creating a clear path for visit. You first see a coffee, then a souvenir shop and the visitor center at last. You can go inside and pick a free tourism map of Manila and Philipines. Nice!

    After that, few steps will take you through a picnic area. A ruined building plays as a landmark, with some statues depicting the Spanish missionary men and a wall of memory.

    I quickly processed through the sector, followed the path leading directly to Fort Santiago (and Rizal statue also). You’ll cross a bridge and see a pool of lily pads floating peacefully below, glowing in sunset light.

    The atmosphere is very astonishing. A rocky gate welcomes you, a signboard explaining the destination history, a bronze-step line guiding you to the center. But you can choose to go along walls to take a clear seeing how good Pinoy preserve the historical sites like this.

    I first chose to follow the walk on walls, there were some buildings closed, which was a bit pity. I just enjoyed the exterior while the interior remained still unknown. I really loved the ambience and how ruins were maintained perfectly, offering a credible experience.

    Price is 75 php/ pax.

    The Manila Cathedral – Basilica

    Not too far from Santiago Fort is Manila Cathedral – an beautiful gothic-style church, which have been rebuilt for … eight times. What you see is eighth version.

    I was impressed at first sight. It’s so religiously charming and somehow, sacred also. I entered through an arch gate. There was a guard but he looked like very sleepy (it’s nearly evening), so though there’s a sign telling the visitors to claim their baggage, he just yawned and gave me passing waves.

    The first chamber includes a Holy Marie statue and a Christ on Cross, lit up in warm yellow. I think that the major elements make it magnificent is colorful glass window. So gorgeous, so charming, so noble and you would accept my opinion: can’t take our eyes of them for the first time.

    The walls are also made of big rock blocks all so they create successfully senses of everlasting. Statues of saints like Peter are set up on a base. It’s after Christmas for days so there are still a background with Holy family representing on the hall.

    I followed the side-walk to explore the rest. The ceiling is very high, Archy and lit up on column. The benches are wooden brown, smells new.

    The main gates are closed so you have to enter through side gate. This is a free-entrance destination but you can donate as your will.

    San Agustin Church

    The third place I suggest you to visit in Old Manila walk tour is San Augustin church. It is a Roman Catholic church located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila. When I reached it at 10 AM, it’s not quite crowded. The entrance fee is 200 PHP.
    There’s no guide map issued at the entrance so you’d better take a photo of maps in the walls. Just look up!

    The ground floor is dedicated to exhibit the history of St Augustin missionaries while the upper one is to showcase the relics and other works generated once upon the time.

    Here you see and very enjoy not only the Roman architecture but also the historical ambiance from rooms to rooms, along corridors and in main chamber.

    The first room you encounter is installed a big ship at the center and walled with beautiful paintings. They tell the story of how Christ messages coming to Philippines. The room also features a movie corner where you can have a seat and watch documentaries. Quite useful and you can relax yourself in a dark air-conditioned atmosphere.

    I do love the paintings on the walls, they are so historical and fantastic. You can have more materials to live in Catholic history for a while, especially the St Augustin friars lives.

    There’s a garden at the center of the church, where a fountain continuously flows night and day, make it a bit noise intentionally. Indeed, friars use this place to communicate with God. I felt very peaceful there, really nice for a relaxation after a long walk around ground floor.

    There’s a room displaying the statues made of woods and ivory. They are very delicate. Most of bodies are made of wood while hands and heads are crafted from ivory. Really impressive!

    To get upper floor, you’ll step on stairs made of big rock blocks shipped from China, with some paintings depicting friar executions during their mission spreading God message in Philippines.

    Once visiting the church, don’t forget to enjoy the ceiling because they are very worthy a look. The most beautiful is in main chamber, you can also see others in the stair to upper floor.

    This floor is mainly to showcase the artifacts or relics collected in missionary journey from China, Europe to Philippines. It suggests the science aspects in church world, featuring Mendel and other priest doing science.

    The sense of harmony between religion and science make me feel that, instead of fighting against each other, the two factions can have an agreement.

    There’s a large garden at the back of the church. However there’s nothing significant to see.

  • Doi Inthanon Travel Guide

    Doi Inthanon Travel Guide

    First time to Chiang Mai and wanna check in Doi Inthanon at best price. My Doi Inthanon budget travel guide will hopefully help you well.

    There are two Doi (mountain) nearby Chiang Mai, which is ideal for people loving trekking or nature-oriental mind. They are Doi Inthanon and Doi Suthep. While the later is quite close by, the former locates 100 km far from Chiang Mai.

    Doi Inthanon is a complex of 482 km square and 2565m in height, known as “the roof of Thailand” – the summit is the highest spot in pagoda country and “the tail” of Everest mountain, so it’s worth a visit.

    This is a large area, so you’re likely not to cover whole the place in one day. 2-day trip is advised.

    Travel to Doi Inthanon

    There’s no direct bus to Doi Inthanon, so you have to choose one of four popular ways:
    1. Rent a motorscooter for 200 baht/ day
    2. Rent a sedan for 800 baht day (you’ll drive yourself)
    3. Rent a songthaew that you have to bargain for the best price (usually 1500-2000 baht/ day trip)
    4. Take songthaew to Chom Thong, then find another one routing to Doi Inthanon headquarters, which is the most challenging options, but budget-friendly. I chose this one, with a bit change.

    Starting point from Chiang Mai, I located yellow songthaews at the southern gates. You should just speak “Doi Inthanon” loud (don’t speak anything else because few drivers can speak English, don’t confuse them). If they nod, then ask “how much”, they won’t say anything but collect money to show you how much you have to pay for the ride. For me, it’s 40 baht.

    The ride will take you 3-4 hours, depending on how many times the driver collects passengers. The less he does, the more quickly you get to Chom Thong. You’ll see a T-junction heading toward Doi Inthanon, but remember do not jump off the songthaew, the driver will get you to the bus station, which you’re finding songthaew for Doi Inthanon more easily.

    While I was asking for any songthaew to Doi Inthanon, kinds of hop-on-hop-off. Then I found a yellow pick-up running tourism package mode, which means they will offer you typical routes and destinations and price.

    The more destinations you go, the more you have to pay. My Thai friends initially pay 1300 baht/ trip to 3 places and it’s only 200 baht charging me as addition.

    Note: If you’d like to know more details about the vehicle taking us to the peak then: It’s a yellow songthaew, number 39, and the driver is a man forty-something, dark skin and short hair with a gentle smile. He parks his car right at the station in front of the central Wat (Phra That Si Chom Thong Worawihan).

    When should we visit Doi Inthanon

    In theory, we can travel to Doi Inthanon whenever we’d like to. However, if you’re looking for some true experience and better weather, then knowing which months are the best for your planning is valuable.

    There are 3 period:
    – Dry season (December to April): Your trekking will be more safe and hardly cancelled because of the weather condition.
    – Rain season (May to November): dozen of rains make it ideal to watch waterfall in their full power and beauty.
    – Bird season (March to May): Various flocks of birds parade over the national park, your chance to meet and photograph them is high.

    Get around

    Map of Doi Inthanon National Park. Via chiangmai-chiangrai.com

    You’ll see many places to visit in the map above. Let’s pick up something typical:
    1. Wachirathan waterfall: a tall waterfall with high humidity.
    2. Doi Inthanon summit: Cool breeze and a beautiful ancient wooden walk
    3. Twin pagodas: Colorful pagodas with nice view spots and beautiful garden
    4. Agricultural education center: A culture learner will love this place: living inside tribes, drinking traditional coffee, studying how King Rama VII – Bhumibol Adulyadej – help his people getting rid of drug farming.

    See more: My doi Inthanon adventurous trip

    Doi Inthanon travel cost

    First, you have to pay at Doi Inthanon #1 checkpoint, 50 baht for the local adult (Child for 20 baht) and 300 baht for foreigners (150 baht for kid). If you ride a car, it will be charged 30 baht, a motorscooter for 20 baht and bicycle for 10 baht.

    Note: So my experience shows that if you’re an asian, South-east asian is far more better, and enable to speak Thai, or with a Thai friend’s help, you will easily get local tickets. But, this is black-hat method, so it’s not encouraged.

    My tour including 3 spots: Wachirathan waterfall, Doi Inthanon summit and Twin pagodas. Most of them are free entrance. The only paid destinations is Twin pagodas, which costs you 40 baht/ person.

    Stay in Doi Inthanon and nearby area

    It seems there’s few dorm/ hostel options, so you’re likely stay in hotel in Chom Thong, which is quite costly. My choice at first was to sleep overnight at Doi Inthanon camp site. A tent for 250 baht/ night, night-share will only cost you 50 baht. You can also use your own tent, price is around 50 baht.

    Other than that, the food is reasonable, so spend on tasty roasted pork, sweet potatoes or buy some souvenirs is advised. You’ll love the way produce are displayed. They look colorful, fresh and cute.

  • First 24-hours in Manila, Filipino capital

    First 24-hours in Manila, Filipino capital

    My Manila quick guide will help you deal effectively with the first hours in the strange city, which is usually very tense because you have to get used to many things: transportation, language, people, things to do,… 

    Custom gates

    To be accepted, you have to prove that you have friends, booked hotels and on top of that: the paper proving you have a ticket getting out of the Philippines.

    I usually use e-booking, then show e-ticket. However, I made a big mistake when at custom gate of Ninoy Aquino airport. I didn’t have screenshots or printed e-ticket, while the booking app requiring internet connection to show the ticket status and information. It was very time-consuming because the free 3G signal was very weak. Even more sadly, it only lasts for 1-2 minutes then you have to reactive it.

    So when you fly to, remember to prepare any relevant papers to quickly get through custom procedure.

    Taking Jeepney from airport to downtown (I stayed in Malate)

    Usually, budget flights land on Ninoy Aquino airport at early dawn. So you can stay for a while, take a nap until morning, which is safer to travel to downtown via Jeepney.

    At the ground level, you step out of the gate, crossing a small road used mostly by taxi and transfer buses. In case you need to travel to the other internal, just ask the kind officers standing nearby, they would point you. I asked them jeepney, they pointed me to the highway.

    The highway is under a big skyway. When you are on one, speak “Baclaran” loudly, and give the driver 8 peso. If you sit close to the backdoor and cannot give money directly, just give it to people on cabin, they will take it to right one. Then looking through window to enjoy street culture of Manila. I mean, it’s very chaos but you soon get used to it.

    When you see the Baclaran – a place like a square, where there are dozens of jeepneys, taxis gathering. Sign the driver to stop, get out and catch another Jeepney. Repeat the process: speak loud the destination, if Jeep go through, people node and go on, if no, had better chang to the others. Filipinos are good at English, so no worry with local communication.

    Note: I calculate the Jeepney fee is around 5 peso/ km, the minium fee is 7-8 peso and the maximum is not over 20 peso. So you estimate the distance and give driver exact amount of coins/ cash, it’s very easy. If you cannot estimate how far you go, or how much you have to pay, so just give jeepney 10-20 peso, they give you correct change.

    Should I buy 3G SIM in airport?

    My answer: No, for your wise. When I ask the Globe/ Smart “free” SIM counter, the seller asked me how many days I stayed in Manila. Then they showed me the package table: 300-500 peso. Ok I’m not a kid! But actually, just take free SIM, but don’t buy load.

    I read a blog post mentioning that one can buy a SIM for only 50 peso, plus 100 peso load and register for 3G (or “Surfing” in Filipino style). You have nearly 1Gb in total for 3 days. But ridiculously that, the coverage is so unstable that hardly can you use 3G in need. Get used to the situation and you will be better adapt to traditional ways like maps/ notes to get from A to B than taking advantage of electronic devices as we usually do.

    Where do you get the SIM for good price? Simply, in seven-eleven stores. Speak loud “Globe SIM”-> “40 peso” -> “100 load” and receive two card: one is SIM and the other is load.

    Load your SIM into your cellphone, try to establish the first connection (I emphasize that the coverage was very weak and unstable in my case), then you tear load plastic cover layer, reveal the code (both two box, one is 10 digits and the other is 6 digits).

    Press *143# to access the main menu, reply 2 to load, follow the guide.

    After the load, you press *143# again, choose “surf promo” -> “go surf” ->  package 50 php (recommended), then choose freebie (I chose facebook, haha)

    Now you have a 3G SIM ready to serve you. But wait, remember that strong coverage is mostly nearby modern buildings like malls, hotels. Even when I was strolling around Intramuros and trying to surf web to read more about the ruins and old buildings, I couldn’t make it due to the poor signal.

    Where to go first in Manila

    If you don’t have a certain itinerary, I recommend you get jeepney drop at Intramuros area. You can take a little walk for street breakfast and take a look at Fort Santiago, Intramuros, Manila Cathedral and St.Agustin church. If you are still free after that short trip, then Rizal park will fulfill well.

    In the afternoon, remember to locate the Manila university, where you can have local lunch at local price. It’s very shady and cool. Crowded and dirty a bit in a very local way.

    After lunch, take a jeepney to Manila ocean park to watch beautiful wild creatures. No doubt that this is the best place to run-away from Manila daily high heat.

    Next, you can take Jeepney go south, to Botanical garden to continue animal observations or to Cultural center to explore. You can expand destination list anytime because there are dozen of points of interesting surrounding.

    When it’s evening and you feel hungry, so getting to Harrison plaza is the best suited. Jeepn(ey)-ing and you standing right in front of the big building. Enter the Shopwise and have dinner, you can also choose other food stalls along plaza but there’s a built-in food court in Shopwise food area, so I strongly recommend there to have good cheap food and drink instead of finding it difficulty looking for a suitable places for a dinner.

    After dinner, you can take a walk around Harrison Plaza for sales, but I recommend massages. It’s incredible. You feel fatigue and tired after long walks so massage is the best (and sometimes cheap) therapy for you.

  • Phu Quoc Travel Guide

    Phu Quoc Travel Guide

    After 4 days riding around Phu Quoc, now I’m feeling a bit regretful for people who came to Viet Nam without any chances to visit the beautiful Pearl island (yeah, it’s nickname!). How lovely it is ! 

    This guide follows my findings and real experiences so it’s quite personal. Hopefully it’s useful for world travelers who tend to be in this south-east asian country for a time.

    1. How to get to Phu Quoc

    There are 2 ways to set your foot on the beautiful island: on boat and on air.

    Boating: first you need to catch a open bus to the Rach Gia – Kien Giang, it usually costs you 8-9 usd, you should take the night bus. Because you’ll be there in the early morning and take a speed boat (3-4 hour, 10-12 usd) to the eastern port of the island.

    Flights: this is easier way to get to Phu Quoc, it’s cheap (if you seek successfully a cheap ticket like me, just 35 usd for a return one, cover many fee, my roommate claimed that he’d gained a 25-usd return ticket, such a good bargain) and very fast (just 1 hour and you’re definitely walking on the beach then if you can’t stand sunbathe once you’re there, I think I fall in love with the tropical sunlight at first sight, so do you). Vietjet Air, VN Airline and Jetstar share their schedule of 2 flights/ day. Feel free to book perfect time.

    That’s enough for getting to. Now we move to getting-around session.

    2. How to get around Phu Quoc

    It’s just 50 km in length, theoretically, you can walk across it for deep experience. I haven’t had that, if you did, feel free to share, I’m keen on listening to sport-spirit people.

    Amazing road trips around Phu Quoc island

    I chose a motorbike ride for 4 days there. In Viet Nam, if you don’t take a ride on motorbike, it’s particularly wasteful, it’s a once-in-a-life experience, without the rides, you’re likely to be considered having not been to Viet Nam. Just kidding, but you should put the key into the lock and get full throttle, it’s absolutely truly deeply lovely. It costs me 6 usd/ day ride plus 2 liter gasonline available.

    Otherwise, you can take motor-taxi for approx 3 dollar/ 10km or original taxi at 8 usd for the same distance.

    Bikes are also available in Phu Quoc and it costs as same as motorbike price. Ask the receptionist if you’d love to pedal around.

    A smile from the vendor in Pineapple isle, the South of Phu Quoc island

    3. Where to live – accomodation

    I was surprised. The island witnesses the rising in price (even in 2020s). I’ve come to many places in Viet Nam and many time there are always low cost motels. However, in the island, often you have to pay 15-20 usd/ day/ bungalow.it’s expensive completely compared to the standard equipment. As a budget traveler, I don’t like the situation much.

    If you’d love to the luxurious style, there are many high quality resorts with stars under their brand.

    Though the I was lucky enough to homestay with 3.5 usd/ person/day in a dorm room full of travel lover. I think that’s one of the memorable experiences making up the trip.

    Phu Quoc is a safe place. Initially I planned to have dreams inside my sleeping bag on abandoned beaches (there are many ones in Phu Quoc). Fatefully I ended up in a dorm room.

    4. Where to go

    Many points of interests to explore. I list below and you can check it out.

    a) In the center

    Dinh Cau Night Market is mentioned in most Phu Quoc travel guide

    Duong Dong is a crowded town, including Dinh Cau/ Bach Dang night-market, Dinh Cau port, local entertainment at Nguyen Trung Truc – Nguyen Hue intersection, flying kites on Vo Van Kiet street, Duong Dong Sea Food market.

    In the Nguyen Trung Truc port, you can buy service of catching squid or fishing on boat. Cost: 8-12 usd. From my experience, it takes 45 usd for a full boat for the squid option. So if you can team-up many members, you’re likely to have better cost optimization.

    A seed in the forest, Duong Dong lake

    Duong Dong lake is beautiful and quite place to trek, while Tranh stream is famous destination shouldn’t be missed.

    b) To the south

    Local lives on Pineapple island, southern Phu Quoc

    Discover how pearls are created on manufacturers along the Long Beach. An Thoi is a coastal town, you can take tourist boat to get a tour to the cluster of isles. They are often Hon Thom, Hon Dua, Hon Roi. The historical prison is also a good choice to understand other aspects of the island.

    Travelling to Fingernail Island in the South of Phu Quoc island

    With an adventurous spirit, taking a small speed boat fully equipped with safe vests and snorkel sets to explore quite isles far far away and enjoy floating on sea and vivid coral reef below offering satisfactory feelings. I’ve been to Mong Tay isle and it’s definitely a must-go destination in your check list.

    Snorkel in far far isle aroud Phu Quoc

    Sao beach is a wonderful place to enjoy tropical sand and sea. There’s no doubt that this is one of the best beach in Viet Nam. The sand is fine and white, while the water is as clear as crystal and when the sun is high, and you’ll sense how beautiful the three-color sea is! There are some bar here, offering beach chair and tropical fruits and beverage. Nice place to sunbathe and rest.

    A trip to Southern isles of Phu Quoc island

    While Sao beach is for rest. Khem (or Kem) beach is for eating. There are a lot food store here, and you can buy fresh sea food from the fishermen and have them cooked in the store.

    Don’t miss to have fresh, delicious seafood in Kem beach

    It’s very reasonable there but the only disadvantage is the road to this place is quite rough and somewhere on the beach is heavily littered.

    c) to the north

    There’s also a wild trail route through a part of the national garden Phu Quoc. It’s the most beautiful when it’s in sunset and you notice the orange sunlight somewhere on your track, sometimes, the monkeys go out of their shelter and cry as a greeting for human guests. I love the peaceful moment there. I prefer a bike trip to explore this place.

    A dirty trail route in Northern Phu Quoc island offers a sense of solitude for travelers

    The quite road along the national garden is a good experience, I love riding here, enjoy solitary moments on a motorbike, taking photographs somewhere. The north of the island is remote area, offer original scenery in Phu Quoc (remember that the island now is a HUGE construction site).

    Little trees in the mangrove area near Hon Mot islet

    The nearby Hon Mot islet is like a deserted resort project, it is the only place to admire mangrove trees.

    Don’t miss a chance to pose on an Eucalyptus-mde bridge

    There was also a bridge made of Eucalyptus trunk. You would love to steps and pose on it for instagrammable shots. Clear water and also fish crowds right below.

    Starfish selling at Ham Ninh, Phu Quoc

    d) To the east

    Ham Ninh fishing village is a best place to have seafood in overwhelming level. The road is in good condition, so it’s nice to circle around and buy souvenir.

    Seahorse trading near Ham Ninh port

    This is the first time I’ve seen seahorse, how cute they are. However, they’re traded as a ingredient for liquid. I prefer they’re in my aquarium.

    The rocky dragon in Ho Quoc pagoda

    If you love pagodas, there’s one nearby. Ho Quoc pagoda with cemented road easily to get in, and a stunning sculpture that your camera just shoots continuously. The high terrain here give you a nice perspective to the sea.

    e) to the west
    On the route to the west, you’re enjoying many many pepper gardens than anywhere else in the island. I recommend you visit in the sunset for better photography shot. Imagine how beautiful it is when orange sunlight penetrating through rows of peppers, leaving its trace as shadow on the ground.

    I think that’s Vinpearl Land is a choice for recreation. but for deeply indulging in local living and culture people, Ganh Dau is preferred. To observe a fishing village with naive children running along main road, playing in a little school yard, adults prepare for fishing trips or just gossip after a long day of trade and catching, to visit a traditional market where you can buy original goggles and other unique equipments,.. are unforgettable moments.

    Ancient coral reef at Ganh Dau

    5. Things to do in Phu Quoc island

    There’s also a small racing field for mini F1 racing model, it’s like a hit-and-run style we usually play in recreation park. Go there to hit our friends, of course, by these little and funny cars.

    Vinpearl land is available here. From far sight, you see a tall rolling wheel, reaching for its leg and the entertainment park is right in front of you. It cost 25 usd/ticket. At the opposite site is vinpearl safari. This kind of experience is still very fresh. Total costs the same as her sister: 25 usd/ ticket, it’s said that you will get into a protected SUV and go around with rare species wandering outside.

    Speed boat plus snorkel is great experience, I love it. Trekking in the Duong Dong forest is also exciting.

    6. What to eat in Phu Quoc

    Seafood, seafood, seafood everywhere, you’re soon purposefully overwhelmed in seafood. How fresh,cheap they are. A set of steamed king crab is just 6 usd/ 1kg. Many seafood offer good bargain, especially in Ham Ninh port.

    Seafood, seafood, seafood everywhere in Phu Quoc island

    Go there to explore the world of seafood and you won’t feel any regrets (except that you’re indifferent to seafood for a long long time, haha, because you’re eating too much there).

    Roll ice-cream in Phu Quoc night market

    Rolling ice-cream is also good, I’m interested in how they are made, skillful and artful. The caramen peanuts with variety of tastes, burned seaweed with garlic, skillful cakes,.. all can be explored in Dinh Cau night market.

    Nice beaches, fresh seafood with reasonable price, many interesting place to visit make it become one of the most famous destination for travel. The Pearl owns very unique aspects that nowhere else is available. If you travel to Viet Nam, Phu Quoc island is a great recommendation.

    What to buy in Phu Quoc (and bring them home like souvenirs)

    A natural pearl presented inside a showroom located on the Eastern bay of Phu Quoc

    You may know Phu Quoc’s nickname is “Pearl Island”. So it’s definitely that pearls are the popular souvenirs (and pricey gifts) to buy. The peppers are also among the specialties in the island, not to mention rose myrtle fruit products (like syrup or wine). Last but not least, the Phu Quoc fish source is well known for the high quality and flavor.

    More Phu Quoc photography

    Clear-as-crystal water