Category: vietnam

Hanoi to Sapa: Bus or Train?

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

If you ask me the perks of joining so many random groups on Facebook lately, I think one of them is the fact that I got a lot of ideas what to post on my blog, be it in English or in Indonesian. I mean, they took me to a lot of interesting posts that inspired me to write more as well, so I think that’s good for my productivity.

This time, I would like to share with you my experience in using public transportation in Vietnam. Especially for Hanoi-Sapa-Hanoi route, as one of the members on The Solo Female Traveler Network posted a question on which public transportation is better to take from Hanoi to Sapa: bus or train?

Well, I’ve got an experience to use both on my last journey to Vietnam. I know it’s been awhile since I traveled there in 2016, but I think my two cents can give you some ideas what to choose next time you’re planning to Sapa from Hanoi.

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The Battle of Online Cabs in South East Asia: Uber, Grab or Go-Jek?

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

I remember getting lost in the city that I had never been before with the language that I barely spoke, hailing a cab to get me somewhere without knowing how to tell the driver about your destination could be really difficult. Nowadays, with the emergence of Uber and then some similar platforms, life is a whole lot easier!

In the past few years, I get used to traveling around South East Asia and the existence of these platforms are so handy at times.

From my home country Indonesia to Uncle Ho’s Vietnam, I gotta say Uber, Grab and Go-Jek are applications that I would not delete from my phone as long as they operate. But which one is the best amongst the three?

Hard to tell, but everything has its perks so stay tuned! 😉

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Tracing Back In Time: Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone (DMZ Tour)

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

By the time I arrived in Hue, I couldn’t decide whether I would stop in Hoi An or just go straight to Ho Chi Minh City as I chose to cancel my booking at this homestay in Hoi An. For some reason, I got trapped into this situation of being both indecisive and spontaneous traveler at the same time when I got to Hue.

I mean, I only got 2 weeks in Vietnam, and I felt like I wanted to see everything all at one. At some point, I just wish I could stay at least a month in Vietnam.

Anyway, I was lucky that I stayed at Sunny Fine Guesthouse and I had Toan to consult in order to seek the second opinion to consider. As I spoke to Toan, he suggested me to join DMZ Tour and still go to Hoi An instead of going to Ho Chi Minh City.

I was hesitant to go to Hoi An as I wanted to go to Chu Chi Tunnel, which could take the whole day from HCMC. And according to Toan, DMZ tour is highly recommended as I would be able to see tunnels too. And even more sentimental as I will be able to see the border between North and South Vietnam which was once established to divide both areas during the war.

You see, I’m the kind of traveler who always gets emotional when it comes to sentimental stuff. Like I could freak out just by the idea of being in two places at the same time. So just like that, my doubt disappeared and I decided to go for DMZ tour!

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Review: Sunny Fine Guesthouse – Hue City, Vietnam

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

As I’ve done a road trip from North Vietnam to South Vietnam back in 2016, I get asked a lot of times about which city that I liked the best when I traveled to Vietnam. Without hesitation, I would answer their question with one thing: Hue.

Not so many Indonesian people I know have a special interest in Vietnam as I do, so it was only normal when they would question what Hue is in the first place. I don’t know though, but with the news about VietJet Air and its bikini flight attendants opening a route to Indonesia, maybe it will start opening Indonesian people’s eyes about the land of Uncle Ho? We’ll see. 😉

Okay, back to Hue. In this post, I would like to write a review on one of the best guesthouses that I have ever stayed, Sunny Fine Guesthouse.

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A Sudden Date in Saigon

Posted on by Marya The BeauTraveler

If you love traveling and you happen to be single, I suggest you to not only use Couchsurfing to find some traveling partner but also to create an account of some online dating site and actually put some time in your itinerary to meet up and have a sudden date.

That’s what I’ve done in Ho Chi Minh City. And it was a blast!

I decided to give the online dating site a try when I landed in Hanoi for some reason: love can be found anytime and anywhere. If the online dating site is the answer, then be it.

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