FNG TRAVELS |
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
IN VIETNAM |
“FNG” for “F*king New
Guy” was a derogatory term used to describe new recruits rotating in with an
established combat unit during the Vietnam War. FNGs were shunned because they
were raw and to a unit of bloodied battle-tested veterans FNGs were a
liability. Not knowing what to do or even how to use their equipment in the
jungle warfare of Vietnam led to higher attrition rates for new recruits and the
old-timers counting the days to go home just didn’t want to risk their lives.
Conscription
legislation limited a draftee’s tour of duty to two years. After a boot camp
lasting 4-6 months, plus a month of travel to Vietnam, plus a month of accrued
leave that a soldier earns for every year in the service, there was little more
than a year for a draftee’s tour of duty. Rather than pulling whole units out
they would rotate in the ‘FNGs’.
Right about now dear
reader you’re probably saying: “WTF is Greg talking about FNGs?
Well, we will be FNGs
on this upcoming trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Although we have been through
plenty of “boot camps” having traveled quite extensively over the years, we are
not at all familiar with the culture of either country and the language and
negotiating our way from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh to Siem Reap, Cambodia would be
very difficult if not impossible on our own. So, in a first for us we are
taking a tour! Usually we just wing it, get to our destination, and enjoy the
sights. The image we have of “tours” is of a moving constantly crowded melee
that pauses somewhere before churning onward. That’s why we settled on Overseas
Adventures Tours because this company specializes in small group tours.
Limiting the tour to 16 individuals (we have 14 travelers in our particular group) we are
assured that your favorite FNGs will not only survive their tour of duty but enjoy
it as well. The pacing is different with
our “Inside Vietnam” tour with O.A.T., and we will stay at 7 locations over 18
days, with an overnight stay on a traditional Vietnamese wooden boat on the
picturesque Halong Bay.
BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A
DONG?
The trip is not cheap,
but at 294,599,983 VDN or Dong, nearly everything on the trip is included.
International and domestic airfares, transfers, gratuities, meals are included
as well as some very unexpectedly beautiful 4-star hotels.
According to the World
Bank, since 1986 when Vietnam began their economic reform called Doi Moi
(literally “restoration”), meant to push the country towards a “socialist-oriented market economy”, Vietnam has transformed from one of the
world’s poorest countries to a middle-class economy. I’m sure there is still a
dichotomy between rich and poor, but our hotels are shockingly gorgeous. So,
whatever a “socialist-oriented market economy” is, it did save the country from
the brink of economic collapse.
NOT THE ‘HANOI HILTON’
/ A QUICK LOOK AT OUR ITINERARY
 |
MAY DE VILLE HOTEL
HANOI |
Our first stop in Vietnam is Hanoi, where we will spend the first 6 days exploring the capital. We will stay at the May de Ville Luxury Hotel...and not the infamous Hao Lo Prison. Hao Lo means Hellfire, but the prison was dubbed the Hanoi Hilton by the American POWs held there during the war.
The prison itself was torn down, but one can visit the memorial to the original French Colonial prison, called the "Maison Centrale" with a room dedicated to the American War POWs.
HA LONG BAY CRUISE
After Hanoi we will
travel by bus to the beautiful Ha Long Bay to take an overnight cruise on a
traditional Vietnamese Junk. Ha Long is part of the Bay of Tonkin and is an UNESCO world heritage site with over 1,000 limestone islands and islets rising from turquoise waters. |
| Ha Long Bay |
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| Ha Long Bay |
HUE
We will take a domestic
flight to Hue. The Tet Offensive was centered around this city. For two days
we’ll get to explore Hue and visit an orphanage. Our hotel is the Cherish Hotel
a few blocks from the Perfume River. No…the evening’s entertainment will not be
a viewing of Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. |
| Cherish Hotel, Hue |
CHERISH HOTEL, HUE
HOI AN
The Hoi An Central
Boutique will be our home for the next couple of days in this coastal city and
while there we take a boat cruise to the Thien Mu Pagoda, take a street food
experience tour, stroll the UNESCO heritage ancient town which dates from the
13th Century and walk over the Japanese Bridge and visit My Khe
Beach, better known as China Beach from the television show of the same name.
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Japanese Bridge, Hoi An
|
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| China Beach |
HOI AN CENTRAL HOTELNHA TRANG
Another domestic flight
will take us to this resort city known for its white sandy beaches. Nha Trang
is evidently very popular with vacationing Russians.  |
| Nha Trang |
The Em Oi Boutique Hotel
will be our home here, and perhaps the ultimate highlight of our trip to
Vietnam will be a visit to a local family who makes bamboo chopsticks.
EM OI HOTEL
 |
| Dalat coffee |
DALAT
To get to this city, nestled in the central
highlands we need to take a three-hour bus ride and pass the region’s rice
paddies. Nicknamed the “City of Eternal Spring,” Dalat has cooler temperatures
and was once a summer getaway for the French. Most importantly though Dalat
produces some of the best coffee in Vietnam, grown on the slopes of Langbiang
Mountain and is an integral part of the culture in Dalat and served in all the
cafes. We won’t have time to visit K’ho Coffee, but we will enjoy dinner with a
local family. The centrally located Du Parc Hotel will be our hotel in Dalat.
KHO COFFEE DALAT
DU PARC HOTEL DALAT
HO CHI MINH CITY
One more domestic
flight takes us to the final stop on the tour, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly
Saigon. We are staying at the Central Palace Hotel, about a kilometer from the
American consulate. We go on a city-wide tour after we land and then we’ve got
the rest of the day to ourselves.
O.A.T. suggests we
discover the city by scooter. Driven by a student we’ll zip along the streets
to see the city like a local.
Er, NFW for this FNG. |
| War Remnants Museum |
Another suggestion is
to visit the War Remnants Museum. Formerly known as the Museum of Chinese and
American War Crimes, it was shortened to its present title in 1995 when
diplomatic relations were normalized with the United States and a U.S. embargo
of Vietnam was lifted. Some of the exhibits include American military equipment
from that era, as well as a guillotine. The War Remnants Museum is one of the
most popular museums in Vietnam.
The next day is spent on
a sampan along the Mekong Delta and later we visit a coconut candy workshop!
 |
| Central Palace Hotel |
Then it’s back to the
sobering reality of war with a visit to the Cu Chi tunnels. Part of an
extensive network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong for transportation of
weapons and personnel and protection from aerial bombing. Not far from Saigon
the tunnels featured living accommodations, kitchens, and medical facilities.
Because of our small
group size, we’re evidently able to see parts of the tunnel system not normally
accessible to American tourists.
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| Ci Chu Tunnels |
CENTRAL PALACE HOTEL, SAIGON
HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA
Overseas Adventure
Tours offer “pre” and “post” trips to their “Inside Vietnam” adventure. We
opted for a post-trip 5-day visit to Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat and the
Legacy of the ancient Khmer Empire. Traveling to Cambodia will not be for the
faint of heart. The genocide by the Khmer Rouge took millions of souls by some
calculations and our hotel is less than 2 kilometers from the Killing Fields
Genocide Museum at Siem Reap, now a resort town and the gateway to the UNESCO
world heritage complex of Angkor Wat. |
| Cambodia flag |
Angkor Wat is a massive
Buddhist religious structure that was first erected as a Hindu Temple dedicated
to Vishnu in the 12th Century. It is considered the largest
religious structure in the world. Angkor Wat is on the Cambodian flag.
We fly to Siem Reap,
and we are staying at the Tara Angkor Hotel. We will visit the Killing Fields
and Angkor Wat on different days and on our last day cruise Tonie Sap Lake and
visit a floating village.
KILLING FIELDS MEMORIAL
TARA ANGKOR HOTEL, CAMBODIA
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| ANGKOR WAT |
I cannot stress enough
that without the guidance of O.A.T. we FNGs would not experience half of what
this part of the world has to offer, so we welcome this departure from our usual way of traveling.
It’s worth your dong.
Thanks for reading and
check back on our progress as we travel to Vietnam and Cambodia.
Love, Janet and greg
© 2024 by Gregory Dunaj
