Phan Thiet in March
Xinchao! And in Russian - "hello. " If you are reading my review, it means that you are planning to visit Vietnam, and now you want to know more first-hand information. And you will get it! We rested in Mui Ne (Phan Thiet)!
The main parameters of our trip:
1. Travel dates: late February - early March. During this period, the weather is really hot, the sun is constant, and during the day it’s just hot. Such is he, this Vietnam!
2. Hotel - The Beach. It is believed that this is a "three", but our tour operators sell it as a "four". First line, private beach, large area, clean pool, polite staff, good cleaning, varied breakfasts - what else do you need? From the technical points I will add: the safe is only at the reception, Wi-Fi catches in the room, the air conditioner is powerful, there is a hairdryer. If you are picky, then you will look for "cons", but I, however, did not find them.
3. Tour operator - Biblio-Globus. Resting place - Phan Thiet Mui Ne. The airline is Transaero. Departure - Moscow. Flight time - 10 hours. The flight is direct. There are not many tourists yet, the roads are free, I didn’t take a bike.
Early booking
Yes, everyone knows about it, but few people use it. It would seem that by buying a ticket 3-4 months before the start of the tour, you can save about 25% of the total cost of the trip. Are you afraid your plans will change? Insure yourself, it costs 3% of the tour amount. This opportunity is provided by "Biblio-Globus". Although I think that all tour operators have such a function. But everyone who was sitting around us on the plane bought a tour 1-2 weeks before departure, and paid in full.
"Can I see everyone? " Can! Another advantage of early booking is a wide choice of hotels. At least all the options we considered were free. See photos, read hotel descriptions and book in advance!
Long road to the hotel
In fact, it is not long - only 230 km. But there are 3 nuances:
1. Time at the airport. We had a Boeing, more than 500 people. We waited for the suitcases for a long time, then the crowd gathered at the exit, it was not clear where to go, what to do. All in all, we lost 2 hours here.
2. The speed in Vietnam is 40 km/h. Yes, they have such a limitation, no one is in a hurry, calm and measured driving. In cities, this is strictly monitored by the police. On the highway, of course, drivers exceed the speed limit, and even then 80 km / h is already the limit. If you get there in 4 hours, then you are in luck.
3. Stop halfway. Maybe this is good, you can stretch your legs and go to the toilet. But the stop takes place at a restaurant, which means lunch, which is not included in the tour price, so we add 45 minutes more.
In total, how much did it turn out? 7 hours, this is in the best hands! There is no way to speed it up, you just need to be mentally prepared for it.
Where to exchange money?
A long flight, a long road, some fatigue - all this is nothing. We have arrived, the holiday has begun!
We arrived at the hotel in the evening, settled in 5 minutes. We left our suitcases and went to eat. And the first question is where to get Vietnamese dongs?
• It is best to transfer dollars to dongs at exchange offices. It is quiet there, there are windows, there are no people, you can safely count the money, and the Vietnamese woman will smile and nod at you all this time. There are not so many exchangers, find the nearest point to your hotel and go there all the time.
• Pharmacies, souvenir shops, spas, restaurants - everywhere you can change money. These are suitable options if you urgently need dongs. The course is the same everywhere.
I'll give you some advice:
1. Always count and check the money received.
2. Does everyone have smartphones? Download "Currency rates" or "Converter", and you will always know how much you will be given. Applications do not require internet.
3. It is better not to change at airports and hotels, the exchange rate is unfavorable.
So let's go eat. Restaurants and cafes follow each other. In front of the entrance to each institution there is a counter with a “menu”, everything is in Russian, there are pictures. Traditional soups, mussels and shrimps, lobsters and crabs, sharks and crocodiles, local salads, freshly squeezed exotic juices - the choice is huge! Have you tried their dragon fruit juice? Here, in the photo, I cut off the “dragon eye” with a machete, then I will squeeze it out. Just kidding, in fact, the photo was taken at the plantation during one of the tours.
In general, the food is delicious, the prices are cheap, the average bill is 300.000 dong for two, which is about 500 rubles. Of course, there are European and even Russian cuisines. But who wants to eat dumplings in Vietnam?
Where to go in Phan Thiet?
So, you ended up in the Phan Thiet Mui Ne recreation area. This is just one street, you can walk it at a leisurely pace in 2 hours. It is not difficult to guess that on the one hand there is the village of Phan Thiet, on the other - Mui Ne. Everything between the two villages is a tourist infrastructure, this includes hotels, pharmacies, spas, restaurants, shops, souvenir shops, as well as local centers where you can book excursions. How to get oriented? Where to go? Where can you save? What do you need to know?
At the hotel, we took a free guide "POVIETNAMU. RU", so compact with a bright cover. What useful have we found on its pages?
1. A map on which landmarks are marked.
2. Dictionary. The use of Vietnamese words with a Russian accent brings them closer. Try it yourself!
3. Discounts in spa salons. The guide has these small cards, something like coupons. You present it in certain salons - you get a discount.
4. Descriptions of excursions.
5. Addresses of pharmacies.
I only mentioned what interested me. The book is sensible, helped save 30 dollars in the end. The site of this guide is www. povietnamu. ru.
Vietnamese delicacy
Cobra is the food of the Vietnamese emperors. Surprised? Read on and you will be shocked! I must say right away that it is difficult to describe in words, photos help only partly. I'll try to structure the whole process:
• Tourist "pokes" in the menu, pointing to the page where the cobra is depicted. The waiter nods, writes down the order in a notebook. (This "pleasure" costs - 50-70 USD). And then the show begins! Not for the faint of heart! All visitors to the restaurant automatically become spectators, the ticket is free.
• Two Vietnamese come on stage, they look about 15 years old. I hope that in reality they are at least 20. They carry out a bag of cobras, alive! You can even hear their hiss.
• Two young guys carefully take out a cobra. One holds the head, the second holds the tail. The snake is not trying to escape, she understands...
• The first cuts the snake's belly. Then the second puts his fingers in, he looks for the heart and ventricle of the cobra. After 30 seconds, he takes out the insides, then puts them in a glass.
• The first Vietnamese squeezes the snake's blood into the same glass, offering to drink it to a tourist who has chosen this type of dinner. The traveler drinks, the audience applauds, the Vietnamese are happy! The curtain!
• In conclusion, the tourist receives 2 more dishes: snake skin soup and cobra meat.
I personally could not overcome myself and order a cobra. After all, I was born in the year of the snake, and I simply would not forgive myself such a “dinner”. Seriously, what I saw was enough.
"BOKE": a must-see!
Do you want to feel the local color, see what the Vietnamese live on, understand their customs, and most importantly, try real and fresh food! The "Bokeh" zone is the "heart" of Phan Thiet Mui Ne! Squid, octopus, shrimp, fish, crabs, mussels, oysters - all this is right before your eyes. Everything moves and moves, there is also, by the way, a crocodile, there it lies, only its mouth sticks out. Just show your finger what you want to eat, and within 10-15 minutes everything will be done to you in the highest grade. "Bokeh" is always fresh, very tasty, cheap food! Do not think, my review is not an advertisement for Bokeh, I just have such vivid impressions of this place! Here is the before and after fish.
Attitude towards Russians
As the guides told us, from the school bench every Vietnamese, especially in the southern regions, is taught that the USSR is all good, and the USA is bad. After all, the war with the Americans left its sad mark on the history of Vietnam, and it was the Russians who helped to overcome the enemy. This information is passed down with each generation. Therefore, the attitude towards Russians is always the best! This is felt everywhere: at breakfast and dinner, at the reception and in a taxi, on the street and on excursions, in spas and pharmacies. That is why for me Vietnam is a kind country where tourists are loved, where I will return 100%!
Vietnam is in our hearts, in our memories and on our shelf!
