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kungfuman

Hi fellow ESLers. I'm going to Vietnam and Cambodia for 3 weeks soon.

My plan is to arrive HCM, stay there a few days then bus it to PP, rest a day, then to Seim Rep. Spend 2-3-4 days there then back to PP and on to sihanoukville for 3-4-5 days.

THEN back to HCM and up to Nha Trang.

I figure 4-5 days in Nha Trang is ok but then I still have another 5-6 days left.

Where else can you recommend? Danag? Hoa an?

I arrive HCM July 9 and depart July 31. me and my girlfriend both have multiple entry Vietnam visas.

thanks!

ExpatLuke · Joined: 11 Feb 2012 Posts: 744

I've not been to Nha Trang yet. Hopefully going next month with my girlfriend. But from what I've heard it's a more touristy version of Danang without as nice beaches. Danang is great if you have a bike. Have you considered Hue, Ha Long, Mui Ne, or Dalat?

1st Sgt Welsh · Posted: Mon Jul 01, 2013 8:33 am Post subject:

Hi kungfuman,

I'd personally recommend seeing Hoi An and Hanoi as well. From Hanoi it is easy to do day-trips to Halong Bay. Have a safe and enjoyable trip Smile

.

kungfuman · Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:17 am Post subject:

I was thinking of Hanoi as I wanted to go to Halong Bay but the trip via train from HCM seems long. Thinking about flying North seeing Halong then Danang, then to Nha Tran, then back to HCM at the end.

My return tickets to Shanghai are from HCM but I am considering asking Vietnam Air if they can be changed to fly out of Hanoi and how much it would cost.

1st Sgt Welsh · Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 10:43 am Post subject:

Flights within Vietnam are pretty cheap, especially with Viet Jet, and Danang, Hanoi and Saigon are all well-serviced Cool

.

http://www.vietjetair.com/Sites/Web/en-US/Home

These guys are budget as well:

http://book.jetstar.com/Search.aspx

kungfuman · Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:03 am Post subject:

I took Vietjet my last trip to Vietnam.

The flight to nha trang from HCM was 2 hours late. That's not so bad.

The return from Nha Trang to HCM NEVER took off. And they were totally dishonest with us. 7 hours later a planeload of people were STILL waiting for the truth. We wound up taking Vietnam Air - at our own cost and landed after midnight. The original flight was 5pm maybe.

We did get credit card refunds a month later but the performance was disgusting on Vietjet. (pretty flight attendants though.)

1st Sgt Welsh · Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 11:41 am Post subject:

That sucks kungfuman. However, it sounds like you were very unlucky. I've flown with Viet Jet, if memory serves, four times and I've never had a drama. I'd happily give them another go.

The problem with budget airlines is that if some flight needs to be bumped, due to too much air traffic or whatever, it is always going to be them. It's a shame really, because budget airlines are pretty much the only ones I fly Embarassed

. Anyway, I know how you feel. I'm never, ever going to fly with those Easy Jet muppets again! Evil or Very Mad

Yeah, I know you shouldn't expect too much from them in the first place and, believe me, I didn't. However, much to my astonishment, they were able to lessen even my rock-bottom expectations. It wasn't even so much that they provided the worst service from any airline I've dealt with as that statement would be too generous. They pretty much provided the worst service from any company I've ever dealt with.

kurtz · Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 518 Location: Phaic Tan

Nha Trang = Filthy, litter filled beaches, large amounts of meathead Russians, ladies who will rob you blind, thieves, liars, cheats; possibly the worst place in Vietnam. Danang and Hoi An are nice, do some more research on alternatives to Nha Trang though.

charlesmarlow · Joined: 17 May 2013 Posts: 68

1st Sgt Welsh · Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:33 pm Post subject:

In regards, to the "ladies who will rob you blind", male travelers need to keep their wits about them, especially after a night's drinking. In Nha Trang, quite a few Vietnamese women hang around outside the Sailing Club. They act like prostitutes (and I'm sure some of them are), but the scam involves them coming up to you out-of-the-blue [trust me, it can happen very quickly] and 'soliciting'. The 'soliciting' involves hugging and grabbing around the crotch and, shall I say, lower back region. Of course, they are trying to lift the wallet. This has been tried on me, unsuccessfully, twice. Once in Nha Trang and another time in Bangkok. One of my mates, who isn't as experienced in traveling as I am, lost all his cash, credit cards, ID etc. in Saigon's District 3 one night about a year ago.

VN-Teecha · Joined: 25 May 2010 Posts: 9

kurtz · Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 518 Location: Phaic Tan

It's a toilet. I pulled the chain in Nha Trang after 2 days.

charlesmarlow · Joined: 17 May 2013 Posts: 68

Kungfuman

I hope you are one of the 5% of travelers who enjoy their trip to Vietnam and return. However, as you exit the airport, your trip will begin with the hospitality of Vietnam and her people. As you travel through Vietnam you will also get a taste of this hospitality. You may also see some interesting things and may obtain an understanding of Vietnam. One important aspect of the Vietnamese is that they have a distrust and hatred of each other. So when you see the Vietnamese screaming, threatening etc each other, this may help you understand what is going on. Also, everything is face, and they will die and kill for it.

Also remember the history of Vietnam. It is a conquered society and needs to be told what to do. So don't forget that they understand this and enjoy taking orders from others. In fact, the main reason that Vietnam has been "developing" is because foreigners are here and giving them instructions on what to do and how to do it.

Also, the Vietnamese smile is the most difficult smile to understand. Best of luck with that. You should also pay attention to the word yes, it does not always mean I agree but possibly I am listening, I understand. The Viets also love to withhold information to benefit themselves. You will also meet Vietnamese who want you to go into business with them and they will repeat one of the leading lies of the Vietnamese. The lie is that they are interested in long-term relationships to benefit both parties. But the only kind of relationship that most of them are interested in is to cheat, steal, from their partners. The name of the game in doing business in Vietnam is corruption.

Finally, as you are being ripped off from almost every Vietnamese that you meet, don't forget that their value system is based on dishonesty, lying, cheating, etc.

I hope you have a great trip.

kurtz · Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 518 Location: Phaic Tan

Kungfuman,

If you can avoid long distance buses, that would be nice. The bus drivers like to let on extra people for extra money in their pocket. Also, it's a nice way to get robbed as some Vietnamese pose as passengers and decide they are entitled to your belongings and stop the bus in the early hours of the morning and do a runner. The Central Highlands inland from Nha Trang has very nice people. I'd train and fly as much as possible, flights can be quite reasonable if you book ahead but it's coming to peak domestic travel times; now's a good time to get close and personal with Vietnamese on holidays; hope you've got earplugs and don't mind any queues being a free-for-all.

Sorry to derail this but the above post provides an insight into the outgoing nature of the Viets. Now, what are they really smiling about? I like the way they ask you to invest thousands, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands into their tourism venture like we have that in petty cash, stored away for their fantastic idea. Got to love their shamelessness. I enjoy my travels around the country a lot but I don't for one second discount the notion that I'm a walking ATM or "ga beo" or fatty chicken; ripe for a good fleecing.

Ask the price before you buy anything; from a bowl of noodles to an overpriced and fake watch, don't want to be a fatty chicken, do we?

skarper · Joined: 12 Oct 2006 Posts: 477

I've only ever used Vietnam Air within Vietnam. OK but customer service is not great (like most customer service in Vietnam).

Last time I flew coming back from Hanoi it was late and all the staff were tired out - so a lot of shirking going in. This meant no-one controlling the queue at check in (and only one check in staffed) and no-one making any announcements. It made for a nerve-wracking hour of confusion since there was clearly some problem (foggy weather I think) but as no-one was taking charge it got quite chaotic.

Vietjet looked very cute and had plenty of staff - but had no flights at that time! Go figure.

I'm not keen to try the budget airlines frankly. They must be cutting corners somewhere and I'd always have a nagging doubt it was impacting safety. The difference in price is not huge anyway.

Trains are SLOW and usually crowded. Even if you book a place in a sleeper there is no guarantee there won't be more people than really allowed making it cramped and stuffy.

When visiting Vietnam do not expect it to be cheap. The gulf between the budget backpacker standard and the proper tourist standard is enormous and IMO it's really not worth wasting precious vacation time having a frustrating and uncomfortable time.

But to each their own.