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going_places
Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 30
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 Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2006 5:48 am Post subject: Planning my break in Vietnam |
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Hey all,
I'm a currently teaching in a hogwan in Korea and am looking to check out Vietnam on my off time in the beginning of August. I have nine days to play with and am also considering a three day stint at Angkor Wat.
Recommendations for a first timer in Vietnam?
I figure I'm probably only going to have enough time for a North or South tour. I'd like to see Halong Bay and check out Hanoi, and possibly Hoi An (and If I do this I'll be sacrificing Saigon.) I don't what to cram too much so I can relax and take in the sights, so I'm looking to narrow my options a bit. Is their more to see and do in Saigon? Where are some nice beaches? Best food? Best places for unique sites and people? |
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saint57
Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 1221
Location: Beyond the Dune Sea
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| Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I have nine days to play with |
Sounds like the makings of the worst vacation ever. Two countries in 9 days. 3 days in Cambodia including a trip to Angkor Wat. Forget it! Go to HCMC and the surrounding area for 9 days. You'll be happy. |
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Gordon
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 5309
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:18 pm Post subject: |
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| saint57 wrote: |
| Quote: |
| I have nine days to play with |
Sounds like the makings of the worst vacation ever. Two countries in 9 days. 3 days in Cambodia including a trip to Angkor Wat. Forget it! Go to HCMC and the surrounding area for 9 days. You'll be happy. |
I agree with. I just came back from 24 days in Vietnam and I only saw the southern half of the country (the Mekong to Danang). Fortunately, internal flights are cheap, so you can cover quite a bit of ground without having to endure 12-14 hr bus trips. HOWEVER, you should book the tickets at least 5 or 6 days in advance as I found the plane tickets usually sold out a few days in advance.  Hoi An is fantasic, you could easily park yourself there for 9 days. In HCMC, you can book 1 or 2 day tours of the Mekong Delta (the highlight of our trip) for next to nothing and go on some amazing boat rides past floating markets. |
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Porlestone
Joined: 24 Aug 2005
Posts: 95
Location: Asia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 8:39 am Post subject: |
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REMEMBER THIS RULE OF THUMB: WHEN IT COMES TO VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA -- LESS TIME VIETNAM, MORE TIME CAMBODIA!
About 9 days. If it were me, 2 days max in Vietnam, just enough so you can see all about the stuff in this this thread here. Any longer and at the end of your trip you'll regret you wasted some of it in Vietnam when you could have been really appreciating your time in Cambodia. Hear me now or believe me later.
In Vietnam you'll have no choice but to stay Pham Ngu Lao area, the convenience and #152 bus will make it the better location. $5 a night max for a motel room that will be moderately clean! Pay anymore and you should be getting the works.
Skip Cu Chi Tunnels, nothing to look at and a landscape as boring as something in North Dakota or something. The one tunnel you crawl in isn't special. Just do War Remnants museum even though it looks more like a sloppy flea market / scrapyard, the Independence Plaza or such. Then off to CAM!
Taking motorbikes in VN - first of all don't bother! Any very short trip through town is 5000 dong. From one district to the next or short to medium length trip is 10,000 dong. Across town is 15,000 max. They ALWAYS try to double & triple it. They also get very attached to you. HCMC is in the running to be a rip-off meca.
Before any of you apologists try to deny it, looks like even the local Vietnamese media is getting in on the act and pointing about the foreigner bias - well at least they touched the tip:
http://thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=7985
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Visitors from the US, Canada, and France have also expressed their disappointment of the way they were treated in Vietnam.
Visitors have often complained they were treated as if they were trying to evade or fool customs at airports and train stations throughout Vietnam.
Complicated booking procedures left some tourists less than impressed after tours turn out to be hastily arranged and led by gruff bus drivers and guides.
Signage is another basic problem to those who first arrive, confused and befuddled by lack of sleep in the oft two-day journey to arrive to Vietnam without a sense of direction.
Constant risk of theft
Taxi service, whether by van, car, or motorbike, is a constant source of worry for visitors coming in from developed countries.
Meters that are not secure, accidental detours, �exorbitant flat rate� demands, and dual pricing (high for visitors, less for Vietnamese) fool no one from the West.
In this regard, Westerners have been traveling for years and have �been their, done that�, and read all the travel books since their first prints were issued 20 years ago.
The fact that it continues to go on unabated in Vietnam leaves another black mark on trustworthy and safe travel throughout the country.
An American named Barbara and her husband chose Vietnam as their final destination on their Asian tour. She said she was charged US$5 after using a restroom, after discussing the matter; disappointed she finally surrendered $3 after the dispute, and found Vietnamese before her paid less. |
Yah they paid about a nickel. |
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Henry_Cowell
Joined: 27 May 2005
Posts: 3352
Location: Berkeley
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| Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 11:44 pm Post subject: |
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You'll have fun. "Porlestone" doesn't -- for whatever reasons. It's that simple!! 
I enjoy myself immensely whenever I visit Vietnam. You'll enjoy it too. |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 08 Feb 2003
Posts: 778
Location: Hong Kong
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| Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 2:53 pm Post subject: Re: Planning my break in Vietnam |
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| going_places wrote: |
Hey all,
I'm a currently teaching in a hogwan in Korea and am looking to check out Vietnam on my off time in the beginning of August. I have nine days to play with and am also considering a three day stint at Angkor Wat.
Recommendations for a first timer in Vietnam?
I figure I'm probably only going to have enough time for a North or South tour. I'd like to see Halong Bay and check out Hanoi, and possibly Hoi An (and If I do this I'll be sacrificing Saigon.) I don't what to cram too much so I can relax and take in the sights, so I'm looking to narrow my options a bit. Is their more to see and do in Saigon? Where are some nice beaches? Best food? Best places for unique sites and people? |
I've been to Vietnam twice.. each time for one month.
I'd agree you'd have to choose either Hanoi or Saigon.. or you could fly to each city and spend 4 days in each city as well as 3-4 days in Cambodia. That would be the best option.
Hoi An probably isn't worth it with the time you have available. Its almost smack dab in the middle making it not worth going to unless you are traveling south to north by bus/mini-vans. Also, Hoi An is relatively small and just a tailor paradise for cheap suits and tailored-made items. Granted the cool moss on the houses is interesting.. but one day was more than enough for me in that tiny little town. You'd spend days getting somewhere thats not really worth it compared to the Saigon area, Hanoi area, Angor Wat area.
Regarding beaches.. not so good in northern vietnam.. but have some kinda okay ones in southern vietnam. not really worth going to though with just 9 days total. but if u really wanted.. nha trang is on the tourist trail not too far from saigon.
unique sites and people.. i'd say people in cambodia are most interesting.. followed by saigonese.. and hanoi would be least interesting in the people department. |
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great
Joined: 02 Mar 2006
Posts: 3
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| Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:42 am Post subject: |
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Nine days?.......
As you say that you would like to include places like Hoi An, Angkor Wat and Halong bay, I assume you like to see natural and cultural sites.
Angkor Wat is both to me, as it is located in the countyside. Though not far from the city of Siem Reap, it is actually kind of in the middle of nowhere, which makes to me part of its fascination when it suddenly appears. But in that case, you should definitely fly to Siem Reap in order to not loose any of your precious time for long bus rides or so. Plus the comparatively evenings in Siem Reap might give you a kind of relaxation you like to have during holidays, too. You should calculate not less than four days for Angkor Wat, three at least.
Do you really want to visit two countries in.....(9 days)? I would think about taking things a little bit easier and spend the rest of the time in Phnom Penh or Sihanoukvolle (K's main beach destination, pretty relaxed and enjoyable for a few days). Though I just came back from a trip one month trip to Kambodia, Vietnam and Laos, I don't feel like giving a specific advice on Vietnam.
Anyway: I wish you a good decision and a nice trip! |
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going_places
Joined: 01 Mar 2006
Posts: 30
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| Posted: Tue May 09, 2006 7:11 am Post subject: |
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Alright--I'm planning a separate Cambodia trip in Febuary when I have a month to play with between contracts--seems like the more reasonable solution at least. Plus the weather may be more bearable as compared to August, (not that I imagine Vietnam will be much better in this regard, correct?)
For now, I'm shooting for N.Vietnam Hanoi and Halong Bay. Any suggestions on places to stay in Hanoi and in the Halong Bay area?
Thanks for the advice BTW.  |
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KYC
Joined: 11 May 2006
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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If you're going to Hanoi, might as well stop by Da Nang & Hue. I recommend taking the train from HCM to Hue. And once in Hue I recommend you going to a place call Dong Phong Nha...it's one of nature's beauty. I absolutely love that place....besides that theres nothing else to do in Hue...you'd be bored silly in 4 days  Somehow I lasted a month in Hue...amazing really |
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