Route Taken
One of the 2 standards: South to North, Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi (as opposed to North to South…). The great thing about there being one standard route, people going along it in both directions, is that you meet tons of travelers who have just come from the town you’re heading to, and you’ve just come from the town they’re going to next. It makes for great suggestion swaps, and that’s how I found some of my best deals. Also, another great thing about a well-trodden path: it’s easy to get from one place to the next. You can buy a pack of tickets from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi for a mere $25. Here’s my route:

Phnom Penh (Cambodia) – (overland to) Ho Chi Minh – Mui Ne – Dalat – Na Trang – Hoi An – Hue – Hanoi – Halong Bay – Hanoi – Thailand

Total number of days: 18
(See below for breakdown)

Budget

Overall Average: $23/day

Interesting Expenditures:

• $27.13 total spent on alcohol (yay for Bia Hoi)
• $3.30 average spent on food per day
• $90 3-day Halong Bay Tour
• $25 total cost to get from South to North

Food and Drink

Must Eats:

• Pho (Vietnamese soup you’ll find everywhere)
• Spring rolls
• Avacado shakes
• Artichoke tea (in Dalat)
• Steamed dumplings
• Bia Hoi in Hanoi
• Hamburgers at BBQs on roof of Hanoi Backpacker’s Hostel

Highlights

• Jazz clubs in Ho Chi Minh
• Dunes of Mui Ne
• Mountains of Dalat
• Beaches of Nha Trang
• Seamstresses in Hoi An
• Walking tour in Hanoi
• Boat tour in Halong Bay

Basically everything I did in Vietnam was a highlight. But here are a few suggestions…

• Mui Ne - Go sand sledding on the dunes. You don’t go that fast, but it’s quite an experience.
• Dalat - Check out the Café 100 Roofs, a really funky coffee shop with delicious artichoke tea. Take a walk around the Xuan Huong Lake. Try the grilled seafood carts that open at night. If it’s in season, search out some avocado ice cream.
• Nha Trang -  Louisianne, a fancy restaurant with comfy seats on the beach for rent for $1. Why Not Bar for pre-drinks (try the “buckets”), Sailing Club for dancing. Get a hotel near the water, though more expensive, the walk home at night is much safer. Unfortunately, things can get a bit rough after hours.
• Hoi An - Get as many clothes made as you can. You won’t regret it. If you don’t mind the 15 minute walk from town center, stay at Greenfields. It’s a great hotel with a huge backpacker scene (free banana rum punches from 6:30-7:30, a pool, and free internet). It gets really dark late at night, so if you’re walking back, make sure you’ve got some friends with you… which shouldn’t be hard to find at this place.
• Hanoi - Hanoi Backpacker’s Hostel, hanging out around Hoan Kiem Lake, walking tour around the Old Quarter.
• Halong Bay - Gotta do a Halong Bay boat tour. I spent $90,which is mid-range. You can do it for cheaper. I thought the extra $30 was worth it. We stayed on an island one night that we pretty much had all to ourselves, and on the boat with a cabin all to myself the other night. Take a leap off the deck of the boat and get up and watch the sunrise…

Best Deals

• Bia Hoi, Greenfields’s in Hoi An, and Hanoi Backpacker’s Hostel

Calendar of Events

November
4 - Arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (from Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
5 - Ho Chi Minh
6 - Ho Chi Minh to Mui Ne
7 - Mui Ne to Dalat
8 - Dalat
9 - Dalat to Nha Trang
10 - Nha Trang
11 - Nha Trang overnight to…
12, 13 - Hoi An
14 - Hoi An to Hue
15 - Hue overnight to…
16 - Hanoi
17, 18, 19 - Halong Bay
20, 21 - Hanoi
22 - flew to Bangkok