Route Xi'an - Shanghai - Nanning - Dongxing - Mong Cai - Halong Bay - Hanoi - Hue - Hoi An - Nha Trang - Saigon - Hanoi - Nanning - Shanghai - Xi'an

Visa< /p>

There are two feasible visas for going to Vietnam. The first is to use a temporary passport, which must be traveled in a group, and the route is limited to Halong Bay and Hanoi. The second is a tourist visa, which uses a private passport and can be obtained in Travel throughout Vietnam. We chose the second one. Currently, Vietnam only issues this visa at the consulates in China in Guangzhou and Beijing. You can ask for the application form directly from them, or apply through an agent. The visa fee is RMB 400.

Nanning

How to get there: Train: 1379, departing at 10:41 am, arriving at 8:40 pm the next day, fare: hard sleeper lower berth 401 yuan

Accommodation: There are quite a few hotels in Nanning, especially near the bus station. The price is about 80 yuan, and you can stay in a clean standard room

How to get there: There are express buses from Nanning to Dongxing. There are buses at 8:30 and 11:00 in the morning. The fare is 40 yuan and the time is 3 hours.

Customs

China customs clearance: Passport and valid visa are enough. A health quarantine certificate is not a required document. This is the same as going to any European and American country. Remember to declare the camera and video camera you carry with you when you leave the customs to avoid unnecessary explanations when you return to the customs.

Vietnam entry: Passport and valid visa required. Vietnam Customs may ask to see the health quarantine certificate, so be prepared in advance. It is worth reminding: the customs officer may forget to stamp the entry border stamp on your passport (it sounds a bit funny, his duty is to stamp passports every day, how could he forget? But he just forgets Stamping our passports with a stamp representing national sovereignty made our trip to Vietnam an illegal entry in the legal sense.

It sounds a bit scary, so when you get your passport back, remember to check whether it has been stamped with the entry border stamp). At the same time, Vietnam Customs must also stamp your entry declaration form (a separate yellow application form) , to avoid trouble when leaving the country)

Vietnam

Currency: The exchange ratio of the Vietnamese currency Dong (Dong) to the RMB is 1800:1, but the RMB can only be exchanged in the north (Hanoi and Halong Bay), from the center to the south, you can easily exchange US dollars for Vietnamese dong at local banks, the exchange rate is 15,000 dong to 1 US dollar. If you don't want to carry too much US dollar cash, you can use international credit cards to pay large amounts ( For example, air tickets), but each time you use a credit card, you will need to pay an additional service fee of 2.5% to 3%.

Climate: The year is divided into two seasons: dry season and wet season, with an average annual temperature of 27 degrees Celsius, sunshine Adequately, wear sunglasses and a sun hat when doing outdoor activities, and sunscreen is also a necessity.

Language: Vietnamese is a pinyin script with 29 letters, created by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century It was recognized as the official language in 1900. In fact, Vietnam did not have its own language before this, and the official language was Chinese. In order to facilitate Westerners to learn, missionaries created today's Vietnamese based on the pronunciation of Chinese.

Communication: In Vietnam, in industries related to backpackers, such as hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, air ticket agencies, banks, etc., you can communicate with them in simple English without any problems. This is what Vietnam is called An important reason why the world is a paradise for backpackers. Of course, when communicating with locals who don’t speak English, you may face the dilemma of ‘talking like a chicken with a duck’.

Income: The average monthly income of Vietnamese is RMB 200.

Safety: The security situation in Vietnam is reassuring. Tourism is a pillar industry in Vietnam, and any behavior that may cause foreigners to worry about the safety situation is strictly prohibited. In terms of security, Compared with traveling in domestic cities, there is no difference.

Communication: International roaming charges for using mobile phones in Vietnam are quite expensive. Take me as an example: ***Use mobile phones in Vietnam Call Shanghai ten times, each call lasts less than one minute, and the total call charge is RMB 220.

Hawkers and cart drivers: the Vietnamese who greet you most kindly. Unfortunately, for them Enthusiasm, there is only one legal answer: 'No, Thanks'. If you want to try to verify this law, I bet you only dare to try it once.

Mong Cai: Prosperity due to border trade And in the prosperous town

Accommodation: There are more than a dozen family hotels near the bus station, and the prices are mostly between 80 and 100 yuan.

Attractions: None found so far

Halong Bay: The tourist advertisement calls it 'Guilin on the Sea'. The location of Halong Bay is called Halong City. It is divided into east and west parts and is separated by a bay. The east part is called Hong Gai and the west part is called Bai. Bai Chai.

How to get there: Take a bus from Mong Cai Bus Station to Hong Gai. The fare is 35,000 dong per person and it takes about four hours to arrive. After getting off the bus, walk west for about 100 minutes Just meters away is the ferry terminal. There is a ferry every ten minutes. The cost is 500 dong per person and it takes five minutes to reach Baizhai. Don’t rush to find a hotel after arriving, because the lively place of Baizhai is on the beach, about two kilometers away from the pier. Spend 4,000 dong to hail a motorcycle and walk along the seaside. You’ll be there in a short while.

Accommodation: There are many hotels opposite the beach. Accommodation suitable for backpackers is in the area opposite the beach where restaurants are concentrated. Just around the corner, you can stay in a clean and spacious double room for only ten dollars.

Eating: You can eat Chinese-style seafood here. Further south, there are seafood to eat, and the price is even cheaper, but the cooking method is the same as in China. It's different. It can be said that it has a unique flavor, but the people who eat it feel a little unwilling. In Halong Bay, two people can spend hundreds of yuan to eat seafood, and you can eat it to your heart's content. It's not very corrupt.

Attractions: Going out to sea to see the 'Fairy Mountains on the Sea' is a must-have in Halong Bay. You

You can charter a boat to go out to sea on your own at the pier next to the beach, or you can join a one-day tour provided by a local travel agency. There are various caves on the 'Fairy Mountain', which in my opinion are just that, but it is still a pleasure to go out to sea by boat and enjoy the wind.

Hanoi (Ha Noi): a noisy city

How to get there: The bus station in Bai Chai is to the east, very close to the ferry terminal. From here to Kin Ma Bus Terminal in Hanoi ) about three and a half hours, the fare is 40,000 dong per person. After arriving at Kim Ma Station, take a motorcycle to Hoan Kiem Lake. By the way: the most convenient urban transportation in Vietnam is motorcycle, which is cheap and fast It seems to be very safe (from north to south, we have not seen a single motorcycle accident). The Cyclo (a human-powered tricycle with the passenger in front and the driver behind), which is highly praised by former donkeys, is only suitable for short-distance sightseeing, and the price is very low. Not low either.

Accommodation: The Old Quarter is located just north of Hoan Kiem Lake. It is full of family hotels. Most backpackers live in this area. There are too many choices, and sometimes it’s too much. It's a headache, especially when you are a complete stranger. So the following hotels are provided, which we have stayed in. They have hot water, air conditioning, satellite TV, small refrigerator, and bed sheets, duvet covers and pillow covers are changed every day, which doesn't sound bad:

Sports Hotel

Address: 96 Hang Bac Street, Hanoi

Telephone: (84-4) 9260 0154

Price: USD 8/day

Eating: There are many Cafés in the same area, offering Western-style meals, and the price is about the same as a set meal in a tea restaurant. The problem is that it is not easy to find Chinese-style meals. Or you can also try local A small restaurant for people, if you can be sure that what you order is what will be served.

Attractions: Long Bien Bridge, Ho Chi Ming's Mausoleum, Temple of Literature, Water Puppet, City Museum< /p>

Open Ticket: This is a bus ticket equivalent to a combined ticket. The starting point is Hanoi and the end point is Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). You can stay in several major cities in the middle. The stay can be as long as you want (not More than half a year, which seems a bit too long), after you confirm your seat the day before you decide to leave for the next city, you can take the shuttle bus for the next day. Almost all backpackers choose this way of travel. Most of these tickets Provided by travel companies, in addition to providing car services, they can also provide accommodation and meals in related cities, which is a bit of a one-stop service. The most famous one is Sinh Café, and the one we took was T&M Brother's Café. They are all similar. It won't save you time on the road. The ticket price is 26 US dollars per person, and the total trip is about 2,200 kilometers.