Vietnam

[flipflop]

Thinking of taking the little lady there in November, so come on knobheads - some recommends would be much appreciated

Cheers

[rickshaw92]

The beer is passable for the most part considering where you are gonna be. In Saigon the Chu Che tunnels are worth the trip and the war museum is cool too. The food is pretty good as well. It's a nice place to chill out. Where are you gonna go? Nah Trang has a kinda nice beach and Hue is well worth a visit. Foreigners are allowed to take the train these days so getting about should be a bit more comfy than the bus from Shin Cafe. I was inn Hanoi for the 1999 / 2000 bash and it was really kewl.

http://www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm

[ReptilianKittenEater]

Been a little while since I was there, and I was only around Saigon. The Mekong Deta is great and there were not too many tourists around way back. I second the Cu Chi tunnels, make sure you watch the "American Killer Hero" propoganda film for a laugh when you're there. Beer and food are cheap there but the latter may give you the runs.

[rickshaw92]

RKE wrote:

Beer and food are cheap there but the former may give you the runs.

Fixed that for ya.

[gnaruki]

A friend of mine is in Saigon doing the english teaching thing.

I was about to go there for my spring-break-get-away but opted for an American roadtrip.

What do you want to know? Beer? Place to stay? Food? Motorbike rental? I've only been to Hanoi and some of the outlying areas a few years back.

[ReptilianKittenEater]

RKE wrote:

Beer and food are cheap there but the former may give you the runs.

Fixed that for ya.

Good point. Something gave me rocket propelled emissions and I blamed the chicken but could have been the booze. Avoid a beer called 333, it is piss and worse at 90 degrees F.

[rickshaw92]

Avoid a beer called 333, it is piss and worse at 90 degrees F.

That stuff is stellar compared to the bia hoy sold in little jerry cans by the side of the road.

[Tacos]

Food is incredible. Eat as much of the local delicacies as you can find. Hoi An, was my favorite for food, but Saigon and Hanoi were both really good too.

The beaches were a letdown, not as nice as I expected, especially compared to the rest of SE Asia.

[waylonwally]

don't go to the war museum, or cu chi tunnel. they are propaganda tools aimed stoopid tourists.
go to vung tau by speed boat and eat sea food, then go back to saigon for more eating hanging out.
then go home.
don't waste your time travelling their highways modeled after the hochiminh trails. fly if you can.

[coldharvest]

Don't leave nothin' for the dinks

[gnaruki]

don't go to the war museum, or cu chi tunnel. they are propaganda tools aimed stoopid tourists.
go to vung tau by speed boat and eat sea food, then go back to saigon for more eating hanging out.
then go home.
don't waste your time travelling their highways modeled after the hochiminh trails. fly if you can.

And the slow train between Saigon and Hanoi is apparently an excellent place to get all of you shit stolen.

At least their propaganda doesn't pull the baby-killer bs.

All I gleaned from some of the museums and such is that Vietnamese are mean-assed killers that play dirty.

[Tacos]

the museums tell their side of the story, I think they are still worth seeing if you have the time.

and whoever said to avoid the roads if possible was right, fly if you can.

[OneLungMcClung]

Hiya FF.

You'll like Vietnam.

Go to the Cu chi complex, just for the shit of it. Fun being down in those tunnels. There are two complexes if I remember right, one at Ben Dinh and one at Ben Duoc. I went to Ben Dinh. There will be 2 sets of tunnels, one widened out for gringos, and one that is the original size. I'm a big guy, 6'5", and it was hilarious squeezing into a VC tunnel that a child would have trouble with. Once in a while someone will freak out down there, just tell em to keep moving. Bring a flash light, there are openings down there that aren't well marked and you aren't supposed to go into.. Make sure you get rabies prophylaxis/vaccine before you go, bats like the tunnels and tourists get bit sometimes. There's a "rifle range" there that is more like a carnival; you are well versed in guns so you can probably skip it, but bring ear protection if you do it, the headphones they give you aren't worth a shit and you'll hear everything and get some decent hearing damage.

Ben Dinh is closer to Saigon/HCMC, and if you can, do the tunnels then the Cao Dai temple on the same tour. Cao Dai is pretty neat, it's must just for seeing a weird catholic/Buddhist/Taoist cult that was a big part of their history, especially during the American War. Cu Chi and Cao Dai = one day tour.

You'll get propaganda no matter what, but its pretty laughable, just understand that any tour is going to have "facts" that are far more in line with Hanoi's views than what really happened. RKE talked about the "American Killer Hero" film, its a hoot, especially since the gubmint takes it seriously.

The dong is the second least valuable currency in terms of exchange rate. You'll get something like 33,000 dong per British Pound. And dinner is less than 30,000 dong easy.

Rickshaw is right, if you want a headache get some bia hoy from the Jerry cans. It's a local home brew that is part of Saigon culture but frankly not that good. 333 is decent beer. You'll be able to find beer from other Asian nations like Singha (Thai), San Migy's from the Philippines, etc. Great Pho all around. Cholon in HCMC is the worlds biggest China Town. It looks like Taiwan a bit.

Fly if possible, the roads are styled after the Ho Chi Minh trail and can be a bumpy bastard.

Read up on how to cross the street in Saigon/HCMC or Hanoi. Scooter traffic like you've never seen. Whitey gets killed a lot because they think running across the road is a good idea. One of my best memories is crossing Lei Loi and having to stop on the yellow line between lanes as a bus passed in front of me while eight scooters zipped behind me by less than four inches.

Go to Vung Tao for good seafood.

Hue is a good tour.

If you're going to beach it "China Beach" (My Khe beach) is picturesque. Just up from Da Nang. Touristy and fun. Surf is normal, Decent left right beach break, lots of the accoutrements of beach life. You n the missus can just chill out and drink and eat.

I haven't been up north; a buddy said the north is stiffer, less fun.

[Sri Lanky]

Then I'll go north....but Laos first.

[nowonmai]

A friend of mine got his wallet pinched a couple of years ago by a pair of street thieves in Saigon (which for some reason they keep referring to as Ho Chi Minh City) who used one to distract while the other one took his wallet and ran. Friend immediately grabbed the distractor by the bollocks and squeezed him hard until his cries of agony made thief #2 return with the wallet. The police then tried to arrest him but it turned out alright in the end as he just refused to stop leaving the tiny copper the choice of shooting him or letting him go.

Personally, I don't trust the commie bastards and would rather give my tourist dong to people who deserve it.