Thread: Vietnam travel tips/suggestions

Originally Posted by juddy

Interesting you liked Laos.

Of all the places we were looking forward to seeing .Laos turned out to be the bottom of the pile, we just did not get it, Luang Prabang was full of people walking about with there heads stuffed in the Lonely Pundit. We had 5 days there and I got a little bored.

Vientiane was ok I suppose, stayed in a loverly B&B over looking the Mekong, owned by a Australian chap, the orange Defender 110s, and Range Rover Sports also made it a fun few days.

We are however going to drive there next year on our Asia trip and I think that will be more enjoyable.

Most of our time was spent in the far north. Luang Prabang was lovely and quiet when we were there. Vientiane was a but of a hole though

Originally Posted by Ranga

Apparently Da Nang (China Beach) is a dive.

I quite enjoyed Da Nang, then again our room was literally on the beach.
Plenty of interesting places to walk around, my dad has some gorgeous photos of the lantern shops at night.
Traffic is simply pick a moment and just keep walking, as said they'll avoid you.
Get used to saying no and walking away, it will take a few attempts some times but they'll eventually get the picture. Don't be afraid to ask up front how much something like a taxi ride should cost, if you're doing repeat journeys you'll get a good idea of what you should be paying.
If you're going to Hanoi then the green coloured taxis are the ones to get from memory, there are a couple of options but the green one was the best.
Try and get hold of a business card or written address of where you want to go, as vague sign language and broken english isn't the best way to communicate your intentions.
As said previously, the vietnamese are quite proud of their victory, don't be too surprised if you visit museums to find tags that say "Knife used by glorious comrade xxxx to kill y number of capitalist traitors" and things like that.
Definitely check out Cu Chi if you're down south, the firing range was closed last time I went but they have some cool toys
If you want any specific local knowledge, let me know as we have a family connection there
Cheers
Muppet

Spudboy, being in Adelaide you tend to have limited options for getting to Asia without a couple of legs.
Look at Vietnam Airlines, which fly direct from Melbourne or Sydney to both
Ha Noi and Ho Chi Min.
If you are after a flight from Adelaide, you have Singapore Airlines or Malaysian, but both will most likely a bit more.
Internal flights in Vietnam are not an issue through Vietnam Airlines. They run a fleet of new and modern aircraft.
Vietnam Airlines also run Angkor Air in Cambodia. I would have no hesitation in jumping on any of their aircraft.

Greg

And Laos Air, is fine, one of the best flights I have ever been on.....