Korean Job Discussion Forums

[crazylemongirl]

I'm planning a trip to Vietnam.

Looking at flying into Hanoi, making my way down the country, up the Mekong to Phnom Penh and fly out of there.

Anyway must sees/places to stay.

At the moment Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh are on the list. I'm all about old war stuff, so am thinking somewhere in the middle for a stop off. Beaches aren't that big a draw, likewise mountains.

Edit: I'm also thinking about Laos same questions but with the cavet that I know not much about the country aside from that a few travellers seem to think it's cool

[Tiger Beer]

Dalat is the 'mountain town'.. pine trees, waterfalls, etc. Vietnamese find it very romantic.. but westerners who generally don't come from southeast asia climates and generally more colder climates that have pine trees and cooler climates.. its not quite as interesting for us as it is for them. Nontheless Dalat is a very popular (for Vietnamese) and foreigners alike for the mountain experience.

Nha Trang is the most popular tourist-oriented beach town. Discos and such.. there is a monkey island with bears that ride bicycles for the tourists - Vietnamese usually laugh quite a bit at this site and nudge their friends.. westerners stare at horror.

Hanoi area has Halang Bay - a boat ride and overnight stay in the bay - which is essentially huge large rocks that stick up out of the ocean all along the bay. Absolutely gorgeous. Very relaxing as well, and they often offer some hiking as an excursion as well.

Hanoi area also has hilltribes.. forget the name of them.. but many people go there - i'm personally against visiting hilltribe villages - weird to goggle poverty and give money to tour agents to do it.. but many people seem to like to do that.

Saigon has cuchi tunnels - a big wartime attraction. where all the vietcong hid out, etc.

Saigon area also has Mekong Delta.. very interesting.. that was another of my highlights and i'd love to go back just to do that again with more time given to it. very unique and interesting culture on the Mekong.

HoiAn is midway between Hanoi and Saigon.. most well-known for tailors.. many foreigners have a lot of tailor-made clothes done here. It also has chinese-style architecture which accumulates a lot of green moss - if you are there in the rainy season by chance.. the moss illuminates and some people go there just specifically to see that in itself. (but then you'd be traveling in the rainy season which isn't that great).

Hope that helps.

[crazylemongirl]

cool thanks tiger

[thu_tinh]

Yes you should visit Da Lat the last Emperor of Vietnam resided there so you can go check out his house too.
If your going to Ho Chi Minh City make sure you take the time to visit Vung Tau, great seafood.
I wish I could come to! I could be translator.

[huffdaddy]

I highly recommend the Mekong. The best part of Vietnam for me. Go to Cantho (I think. It may be Mytho though so double check.) and get a guy to take you on an all day tour of the floating markets. Should cost around $20-30, IIRC. Very cool.

Hue was a disappointment to me. Not to much to the Forbidden Palace there. And the tombs weren't particularly impressive.

Laos is nice. Laid back with some nice old colonial charm. Nothing overly important to see in the towns I hit (Savanakhet and Vientienne), but I hear that Luang Prabang is suppose to be groovy.

[thu_tinh]

[crazylemongirl]

So Hue is worth a miss. What about Hoi An?

[Tiger Beer]

Hoi An is worth the trip.

I didn't like Hue myself much either.. I was relentlessly hounded by a tout who followed me around for several hours while I was trying to enjoy a liesurely stroll around the city - dampered it quite a bit for me.

One thing though.. generally what people do in Vietnam is they buy this bus pass.. it has off/on priveledges in a linear pattern. They have 5-6 destination cities that the buses will stop at. When they stop, they bring you to a hostel and you are more or less there in that town. You can scramble around to get on the very next bus to get out again. But as you are already at a hostel.. and the bus roads can be quite bumpy/exhausting.. you'll be more interested in the rest and exploring of each place along the way.

If you are going south.. it'll usually be Hanoi to Hue to Hoi An to Nha Trang to Dalat to Saigon. (Sometimes I've seen some others added in like Vinh depending on what pass you by).

[ajgeddes]

The bus pass is good, but I much prefer the train. The problem with the bus is that it is really hard to sleep. In Vietnam, the trend is do drive and be constantly honking your horn. Even on night rides, they just honk their horns constantly if there is any other traffic. Usually you are okay between 11-4, but outside of those hours it is loud. Unless you are being cheap, I wouldn't take the bus. Also, they aren't all air conditioned, so it can get hot and uncomfortable.

Hue, isn't the most fantastic place in the world, but if you are really interested in a tour of the old DMZ, you may as well just stay in Hue and do a tour from there because the towns closer to the DMZ are pretty small with nothing to do.

Hoi An is fun, just stay there and relax and bike over to the beach.

[crazylemongirl]

What about Vientienne and Luang Prabang? I really enjoyed cambodia, and imagine that Laos is very similar to the country.

[Schneepat]

I did a two month trip through Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam in June/July. If you want to see what there is to see I've put a link to my photo site.

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/schneepat/my_photos

Laos was by far my favorite. I did stick to the tourist trail from Vientiene up to Luang Prabang. Best part of the trip for me was at Vang Vieng with the kayaking down the river followed by drunken tubing. Luang Prabang was a close second with the relaxing scenery.

Phnom Phen scared me. Along the riverfront was pretty decent, but once you get out of that "tourist haven" you really see the way most Cambodians live... and it's not pretty. Kind of makes one feel guilty for spending thousands of dollars travelling while so many go hungry. The highlight of Cambodia was Angkor Wat.

Definitely do the Halong Bay trip and stay on the boat. Depending on your boat, the cabins can be a bit shady, and you will have to room with someone if you're traveling solo... but being out there for the night was absolutely fantastic.

One big hint... if you're going by train in Vietnam... the travel agencies tack on an extra $20 - 30 US "fee" for booking train tickets for you. It's seriously simple to just head down to the train station and buy the tickets yourself. They don't call it a fee... they tell you how much the ticket will cost, and then once it's in your hands, you realize that the difference between what you paid and what it cost is rediculous.

Another thing about the Halong Bay thing... the tour agencies in Hanoi all charge different prices... the higher priced ones claim "better service"... that's crap... the agencies are just the middlemen for the boat companies, and unless you're booking a deluxe cruise, the boats are all pretty much hit or miss. There were people on my boat who had paid less than me... and there were people who had paid quite a bit more. The best bet seems to be to try to book a tour through the hotel you're staying at and to bargain for a reduced room rate for booking through them.

Just some hints here... pm me if you have any specific questions.

[ajgeddes]

[hogwonguy1979]

did Laos on my own this summer, very nice place. Vientienne was OK, a very sleepy town for a national capital worth a couple of days. Enjoyed sitting on the Mekong drinking a BeerLao (one of the best kept secrects of Laos) watching the sunset. There is also a Wat that does massage and an herbal sauna for like $4, definitely worth it

I flew up to Luang, very nice spent 5 days there and should of spent one or two more. Just a laid place to chill, the Wats are great to poke around in, the novices all want to practice their English (and its better than some of my univ students), The waterfall trip was worth it for an afternoon, didn't do the cave trips. You can get a nice place with air con, tv etc for $10/nite, fan for about half that. I've also heard the boat trips FROM Thailand to Luang are very nice. If you want a guesthouse rec PM me

Didn't do Van Vieng maybe I'm too old to be hanging out getting drunk riding an inner tube

If money isnt a problem in both Vietnam and Laos, I'd rec flying, its not that expensive in both countries and you get there faster. Then again I'm not a bus person.

Like Tiger Beer said I'd do Hanoi (Halong Bay and do the Hanspan trip) Hoi An and get some clothes made, Nha Trang is OK the beach was dirty last summer though and Saigon, do the tunnels and the "war crimes" museum. We didn't do the Mekong but I want to at some point. If I go on my own again I'll do it

[the eye]

I just came back from Nam.
must sees:

Hanoi
Good for about 3 days. Try to stay in the old quarter, near the lake. I REALLY recommend this hotel....
http://www.giabaohotel.com
It just opened 4 months ago. Buffet breakie and internet is included in the rate. Plenty of cushy soft towels and a nice strong shower with a full size tub. They offer all the complimentary toiletries you can imagine. Rooms have clean air conditioner, cable TV and a very comfortable bed. The rooms start at $25, but if you stay for a few days they will discount. I stayed there for $20/night and they took off the tax as well. They are quite willing to negotiate prices and the service is excellent.
Other good hotels that I saw...
Camelia, Prince, Sunshine.

Tandor Indian restaurant has geat Vegetarian and Non-Veg Thali.

If you are interested in buying Vietnamese Coffee, which i also recommend, visit Mai's Cafe, in Hanoi. You can choose from many strains of roasted beans for $5-9/kg, and mail it here.
96 Pho Le Van Huu
Hai Ba Trung District
Hanoi
phone:(84) (4) 822-7751


Halong Bay
You can organize an overnight trip to Halong bay from Hanoi. I second ajgeddes recommendation for Tropical Sails Co. Junks. He recommends booking with Handspan Tours, but if you go directly to the Tropical Sails Head office, you will save $5, and also get a top floor bunk, which has a better view.
http://www.tropical-sails.com/

Handspan's reserved bunks are all on the lower level, and the windows there are blocked by the railing.
The next best Halong Bay Junk would be from Kangaroo Cafe. Not only do they have great food at the cafe, but their tours are excellent and much easier on the budget. A Halong bay overnigt tour is $59, and you do everything the same as Tropical Sails.
http://www.thingsasian.com/goto_article/article.1519.html

Another tour you should take from hanoi, is to the Perfume Pagoda. It was really cool and involves a full day bus, boat and foot trek. Kangaroo Cafe does a great tour there.
Also in Hanoi, check out the One Pillar Pagoda, and nearby HoChiMinh's stilt house. The Temple of Literature was interesting, and the Museaum Of Ethnology was great.

Sapa
Apparently, the hilltribe tours to Sapa are excellent. Kangaroo Cafe does a good tour there according to everyone i spoke with that used them. I also don't appreciate oogling people like they are zoo animals, so I didn't go. But, the people I spoke to really enjoyed the landscapes and villages.

Hoi An
Excellent if you're interested in getting custom made shoes or clothes on the cheap. I designed my own sneakers and had them made for $7.
There's also some interesting things to see in the old city.

I agree that Hue is not worth a visit.

Ho Chi Minh City
Lots of historical points of interest. War Museum was excellent. The Reunification Palace (Imperial Palace) was great...however, IF you go to the Reunification Palace, you SHOULD let a guide take you through it. The guide is free with admission to the palace, but you have to wait a few minutes until enough people join in.
From HoChiMinh City, organize a half day tour to Cu Chi tunnels. Do not do the full day tour that includes the temple visit. Just do a half day tunnel tour. I recommend Kim's Travel agency inthe Pham Ngu Lau district. It's in the Lonely Planet book.
And a must must must see, is the Mekong Delta. At minimum, do a 2 day tour. One day is mainly tourist markets. @ or 3 days is really gorgeous stuff. Make sure you have DEET based mosquito repellant.

In HoChiMinh, the Pham Ngu Lau district also has good, clean and cheap hotels.

Souvenir pricing guide:
T-shirts: 20-25,000 dong
Cone shaped hats: 5,000dong
Hand made mini purse: 10cmx20cm: 25,000dong

Basically, vendors will settle at half of their first offer. So start your negotiation even lower than that. Act suprised when they make their first offer and go way lower.

[huffdaddy]