Since I am teaching and didn't have lots of time to pull together a DIY trip, I contacted several local travel agents in Hanoi and got quotes from two of them for a four day (Friday - Monday) trip. The quotes we received were all pretty similar but one of the agencies Binhtours--www.binhtours.com) was very responsive to my suggestions and emails. They are a very small agency located north of the Old Quarter in Hanoi--and very close to West Lake. They seem to cater mostly to French tourists, but the person I worked with (Ms. Tu Anh) had excellent English and was fantastic.


I contacted Binhtours and they sent me two possible options for our trip. One of them looked pretty reasonable in price. I also liked the fact that they did not include all meals in their itinerary. I hate eating where the large tour groups seem to gather and I did have some time to research restaurants. They also had us returning very late to Hanoi and upon request quickly changed us to an early evening flight. I also did a bit of research on the hotels they included on TripAdvisor and asked that a hotel in Hue I liked be substituted. They did that for a small ($15) increase in price.

The other thing that made a HUGE difference for us was that Binhtours arranged for an airport taxi to pick us up at 5am. Typically this isn't a big deal...but I live in a dorm complex in a large university in Hanoi. They lock, chain and bolt the dorm doors between 10pm and 5:30am. It hasn't been a problem for me up to this point...but I needed to get out of the dorm by 5am. The issue is that none of the guards speak English and trying to negotiate an early departure is a major headache. Binhtours did all of this....and I received a call at 4:45am on my cell phone telling me the taxi was outside the gate waiting for them to open the doors at the arranged 5am time. Sure enough....we left our room and found the gate unlocked and an airport taxi man waiting for us. Phew....what a relief.

One more thing about Binhtours. I received a call the first day checking in to see if everything was ok. Was the English speaking guide working out? How was the hotel? And I was told that a huge storm was approaching the coast of central Vietnam and it could impact our schedule (it didn't) ... but Ms. Anh told me that she would call me if they felt the weather would be a problem and she would help arrange an alternative route. Anyway, we were very pleased with them and I liked the personal service they provided to us.

HANOI AIRPORT
As I mentioned, we arrived at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport around 5:30am for our 6:35 flight on Vietnam Airlines to Hue. Check in was smooth and we headed towards security. One thing I must mention about security at the Hanoi airport. Their security people REALLY do check carefully. Last year they found a very small knife I had carried for years tucked into a metal container in my carry on bag. This year my husband lost three pairs of scissors he uses to trim his beard. He has carried those scissors through many, many security screenings and never had a problem. Not in Hanoi. So be sure to put anything that you might wonder about in your checked bags........if not, you probably will lose it! They dump the items into a big clear bin that is FULL of stuff they have taken from passengers. Tweezers, cork screws, scissors and things that typically you might be able to get through security. Not here...they are tough--and of course you don't want to argue.

HUE
Our flight was quick - one hour and we arrived in Hue around 7:40am. No food on the flight, just one bottle of water passed out to all passengers. The Hue airport is small and they use buses to get you from the plane to the airport. I love it when you can disembark from both the front and back ends of the plane. Fast exit for everyone!

Our guide was waiting for us - we hopped into a Toyota four door sedan - and headed out of the airport. Since we left Hanoi early, our guide suggested stopping for coffee and a snack --which was a great idea. We stopped at La Boulangerie Francaise for coffee and some pastries. While there we discussed our tour and some alternative possibilities if the weather really became a problem. Refreshed by the coffee, good pastry and clean toilets, we jumped back into the car and headed to the Perfume River for a short boat trip.

Boat trip on Perfume River

Hue Citadel

I think our day was a pretty standard type of "tour" for Hue. After the river trip, we disembarked at the beautiful Thien Mu Pagoda and explored that site. We also stopped at a private home to look at the gardens and typical central Vietnam style house. It was lunch time when we finished and this is where I really began to enjoy our guide. Her name was Tien and besides speaking excellent English, she really was willing to be flexible and helpful to make this a memorable trip. I expressed my love for local Vietnamese food and she told me that the food in central Vietnam was quite a bit different than Hanoi. She asked what my favorite foods were--(Bun Cha and Banh Cuon) and proceeded to take us to a local restaurant that served both of them. She wanted to show us how these two dishes were different from Hanoi. Well, I was in heaven --and I also was able to see first hand how the locals used their locally grown foods to make an excellent dish. The noodles were different--and the pork was grilled whole pieces of meat instead of paddies. The Banh Cuon was similar except the filling had duck instead of pork. Although it was not necessary, nor expected, I paid for our guide's lunch each of the days we were with her. Of course--the total lunch bill (2 Bun Cha dishes, 5 plates of Banh Cuon and 3 drinks) was less than $5....so this was not a huge expense. But the place was clean, the food excellent and we were totally stuffed when we left!

We spent the afternoon viewing the Citadel area and also one tomb located a bit out of town. At this point the skies opened up and the rain was SHEETING down. Our guide looked at us and said we could continue with two more tombs...or call it a day and visit those tombs in the morning before we left Hue. We had been up since 4am and at that point were more than happy to head to our hotel.

I selected the hotel in Hue on TripAdvisior. I wanted a nice hotel --but didn't want to spend a great deal of money. We ended up staying at the Villa Hue. My husband says it was a mistake to stay here because it spoiled us for the rest of the trip. Nothing else compared to this hotel. The place was beautiful...and located in central Hue....easy walking distance to the Perfume River and its parkway along the banks. The rooms were gorgeous....huge....clean....and comfortable. I think it is ranked as a 3 star hotel....but it easily is a 4 star or higher. The hotel is part of the Hue Tourist College and all the hotel workers are students at the college. They really were wonderful....a bit timid...and noticeably nervous at times, but a smile and a thank you from us seemed to make them more comfortable. One of the young women bumped our breakfast table and rattled the dishes a bit. I looked up and told her jokingly that "She failed".....but I didn't see that her teacher was standing behind me! I felt horrible...but we all did laugh when I managed to get across the idea that I was just joking! Their teacher talked to me a long time--primarily because I teach in a university in Hanoi...so we were comparing jobs and students. It really was enjoyable.


We had dinner at the hotel because of the rain--and I was very glad we did! The food was wonderful....banana flower salad, Hue spring rolls, caramelized fish with the best flavored bok choy I have every tasted! We ended the evening with a shared dessert and a quick walk around the area --since the rain had eased up. It really was a lovely evening and the ambiance of the hotel made the beginning of this trip wonderful.

to be continued.................