Compass Travel Vietnam
Explore Hue alone with 2.4 million VND
Traveling alone for the first time, Thao chose Hue as her destination due to its low cost, delicious food and friendly people.
Nguyen Thi Thao, born in 2000, a final year student at Hanoi Water University, had a solo trip to Hue in early June. Thao had been to Hue once 2 years ago with her family and her impression of Hue was very sad, However, she thought “it’s probably because I don’t know how to go” so she decided to try again. In particular, seeing many people posting pictures of the beautiful Thuy Xuan incense village , Thao wanted to go even more. In the period of stress, again inviting everyone to hesitate, Thao was alone. In addition, Thao also evaluated Hue as an easy place to travel from Hanoi, low cost, friendly people, suitable for traveling alone.
Below is Thao’s experience of discovering Hue from Hanoi for 2 days and one night with 2.4 million VND.
Schedule
Thao left on Sunday night to arrive on Monday, avoiding crowded weekends. Thao chooses a bus for the trip to save money. She booked in advance, depending on her health situation, whether she will book a return flight or not. However, due to a good bus experience, Thao decided to go both ways by car.
On the first day, Thao visited Thuy Xuan incense village, Minh Mang Tomb and Khai Dinh Tomb . She chose such a schedule because the 3 locations are close to each other in the shape of an arc. In the village of incense, she planned to go to Mother Tuyet’s shop recommended by many people, but going in the morning was against the sun, so Thao stopped at Mother Hoa’s shop. Because she saw Thao walking alone, Mother Hoa asked a neighbor to take pictures for her. After that, Thao visited Minh Mang Tomb and Khai Dinh Tomb. Khai Dinh Tomb is Thao’s favorite place in her journey to discover Hue, even though it is the second most crowded. “It’s a really beautiful place that I don’t know how to use words to describe it,” Thao said.
In the evening, Thao stopped by the marina, walked around Truong Tien Bridge, and passed through West Street. Because she went alone, at 20:30, she returned to her homestay to ensure safety and rest for the next day.
On the second day, Thao visited Hue Citadel , Thien Mu Pagoda and Huyen Khong Pagoda . In the imperial city of Hue, Thao only visited the outside, not inside because she had gone from the previous trip. She came here at 6 o’clock, there was no one, so it was easy to take pictures, but failed because of the sun. After visiting the two temples, Thao ate and drank and returned to the hotel to rest. At 6pm, get on the bus to return to Hanoi.
Thao said, the schedule of 2 days and 1 night is suitable for her, having a lot of beautiful photos and eating a lot of delicious food. With this schedule, she went to all the spots and was free from the afternoon of the second day so that she could rest and avoid the heat. If anyone wants to explore more of the sea, Thao recommends going 3 days 2 nights.
Eating
Food is something that Thao cannot ignore when coming to Hue. She commented that the food in Hue is diverse and cheap, only about 35,000 VND in return. Thao enjoys dishes of Sen Xu snakehead soup , Ba Cu’s beo roots , 67 Tran Hung Dao’s tea, salted coffee , Me Keo beef vermicelli, Hoa Dong mussel rice, Gia Di pressed cake, Truong Tien O Tho bread, and coffee . Mat Biec coffee , Me Hanh sour shrimp rolls. In which, Thao is most impressed with Truong Tien bread and pressed cake.
To balance the time to eat and play, Thao gets up early and starts going out early. She will go sightseeing first and then come back to eat. “Going thirsty but not hungry. I always keep a cold water bottle ready,” Thao shared her experience. She spends her afternoons and evenings eating and drinking.
Costs and Notes
Thao spent 2.4 million VND for the trip, which includes the cost of a round trip car of 650,000 VND, accommodation 750,000 VND, motorbike rental 300,000 VND, tickets to the two mausoleums 300,000 VND, meals 300,000-400,000 VND . Regarding accommodation, she noted that priority should be given to a safe location, avoiding alleys and especially being close to the center. She also suggests booking directly on the fan page to get a cheaper price when booking through the app.
To take good photos when traveling alone, Thao brings a sturdy tripod, aligns the right angle and, in particular, keeps the mentality of not being shy when people can look at it with different eyes. In addition, you can ask other tourists to take pictures for you.
The weather in Hue in the summer is hot and sunny, so visitors need to protect themselves from the sun carefully, and bring umbrellas to cover the erratic sun and rain. Because the places in Hue are sacred, Thao prioritizes choosing long skirts that are both convenient for sun protection and polite.
About the experience of being alone, especially with her daughter, Thao shared “should know how to lie a little”. “The whole trip, everyone asked me why I went alone, it’s so sad to go alone, where are all my friends? Every time someone asks like that, I will say that I go to a relative’s house to play and then it’s convenient to go sightseeing, not say go alone, so it feels safer,” Thao said.
Traveling alone for the first time, Thao also encountered some memorable memories. On the morning of the second day, when taking pictures in the imperial city of Hue, the tripod broke due to a strong break. “At that time, I thought it was okay, if the most important thing breaks, I don’t know how to handle it.” Then she tied the broken part with a hair tie and had to find a store to buy 502 glue, luckily it could be reused as usual. The distance from the incense village to Minh Mang’s mausoleum, the street was small, deserted, without a single person and the house worried her. “At that time, I was scared and told myself I would never travel alone,” Thao recalled. However, she does not regret because “should try once to step out of the safe zone and see how it is because of my youth – I am allowed to be free”.
Explore Hue alone with 2.4 million VND
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