'Three wonderful weeks' with Vietnam Orient Tours

I spent three wonderful weeks in Viet Nam, Jan. 28-Feb. 19, 2007. I had never before taken a custom, privately guided tour and it was not my intention to do so this time. However, after contacting Vietnam Orient Tours (Fremont, CA; phone 510/794-8989, e-mail tourvietnam@aol.com or visit www.vietnamorienttours.com), I found myself letting them put together the whole trip.

Chi, the owner, was quick to help, make suggestions and advise me. Her first suggestion was to begin in Hanoi in the north and work my way south to arrive in time for the Tet holiday at Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, the place she felt it could best be appreciated.

She worked hard to incorporate what we requested, e.g., my traveling companion, Francesco, an Italian living in Germany, would read his Baedeker guide and request a side trip to visit the Bahnar tribes near Kontum, and I would read my Lonely Planet and request this or that. Chi was patient and successful in incorporating it all.

Francesco’s trip was 17 days long and mine, 23, with four more days in front and two at the end.

We ended up with guides from beginning to end, and I can say that this made for a more stress-free experience. We just did not have to worry about arranging transportation, lodging or even most meals. And we always had an interpreter handy.

It really comes down to efficiency. There is no doubt that one can visit more of a country in fewer days if everything is prearranged. On the other hand, looking for your own hotels and restaurants can be a lot of fun or even an adventure that helps you more fully experience and remember the country through increased interaction with its people.

Aside from being able to accomplish so much, I think that by having a preplanned trip we saved a lot of money. Chi and the agency she works through in Viet Nam, Focus Travel in Hanoi, arranged for sumptuous hotels at a fraction of their street rates.

For example, the wonderful Majestic Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City gave us each a beautiful suite that would have cost a minimum of $250 per night had I arranged them myself. At that rate, the four nights I spent there would alone have cost one-fourth of what my entire 3-week land tour package cost, which included the 4-night stay.

We found that in Viet Nam, car hire is available only with a driver, so independent exploration is limited. Personally, I would not want to attempt to drive there; it was rule-less madness. I have rented and driven cars in Turkey, Romania and Ecuador, to name a few, but Viet Nam is in a whole other league of chaos.

One of the first things you need to do after arriving in Viet Nam is get a lesson in how to walk across a street. The traffic never stops, but if you give the motorbikes and cars room to maneuver and you move predictably, they will flow around you.

This is another reason that a guided tour is appealing. If you are required to have a Vietnamese driver for all the driving, you might as well throw in an English-speaking guide too.

Viet Nam is still developing its tourism business skills. Our first guide was a freelancer for Focus Travel who was more interested in developing his own travel company than in sharing insights about his country. I sent an e-mail from our hotel to our contact at Focus Travel griping about a few things, like the lack of seat belts in the car and the attitude of the guide.

After that nudge from me, I could see that the agency was earnestly trying to provide top-notch service. In fact, after returning from Sapa we were met at the train station by one of the owners/directors, who became our guide for the rest of our stay in Hanoi. We learned a lot from this gentleman about Viet Nam and the Vietnamese travel industry and its growing pains.

He also unexpectedly arranged for us to have an early-morning hotel room for a few hours after our overnight train trip so we could take a shower and freshen up — a thoughtful bonus he provided.

If you go to Viet Nam, you no doubt will have a guide at some point, whether for a city tour or a museum tour. Local guides, at least, are almost a necessity there (and not expensive), as few locals speak intelligible English and few signs are in English, including the information in most museums.

What you will find are guides who speak English quite proficiently but whose pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired. The problem, I was told, is that there are few native speakers teaching English in Viet Nam, so the students are learning from those who do not speak well to begin with.

It can be tedious having to focus so intently just to understand what the guide is saying, especially if she or he is enthusiastic about the country and wants to impart lots of information. So, if you have the option of choosing your guide, I suggest spending some time talking to each to make sure you can understand him or her.

My itinerary was fairly packed and included a lot of variety, from kayaking to a cooking class. Other than the initial slippage in Hanoi, the arrangements created jointly by Vietnam Orient Tours and Focus Travel were excellent.

The hotels were stupendous; the guides timely, attentive and informative; the restaurants of high quality, and the vehicles in good condition. Everything ran smoothly; there were no snafus, and we were well cared for throughout. In fact, we two often had three people attending to us: our national guide, a local guide and our driver.

When I recall all the attention we received, the quality of the hotels and the three internal flights, I think that I got a very good deal for $4,000, which included single supplements (I had my own room each night, even on a luxury boat on Halong Bay) and covered just about everything from the time I landed in Hanoi until I left from HCMC 22 days later. (My transpacific airfare was covered by frequent-flyer miles through JAL/American — a wonderful flight.) Francesco paid $3,300.

As for Viet Nam itself, some of my must-see or must-do items would be visiting the Sapa highlands to see the weekend markets and the many colorful local tribespeople, e.g., H’mong, Dzai, et al; spending one or two nights aboard a junk on Halong Bay (the Ginger was a wonderful and luxurious small boat, which also offered kayaking excursions from the ship); visiting the floating markets of the Mekong Delta, and, of course, meeting as many of the warm and friendly Vietnamese people as possible.

Vietnam has something for everyone, from beautiful beaches and beach resorts to trekking and kayaking, and it is a photographer’s paradise. Also, it may never again be such a bargain.

RICHARD ORSER

Santa Cruz, CA