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#1
23-02-2007, 13:41
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Destination: Viet Nam or Philippines?
i feel as if I've had my fill of Songkran, so I think that will be a good time for a little sidetrip. The frontrunner is the Philippines.....been to AC and had a great time. Never been to Viet Nam, but I've heard great things and things not so great about it. i do love Vietnamese women and would like to experience many more. The problem is, I've heard that you need to know just where you are going and when to go. I don't want to waste many days just getting to know a new spot. Maybe someone out there can shed some light on which place I might enjoy more. Also, as another choice, Sihanoukville is a longshot contender, as I've never been there. Thanks in advance for your comments and or suggestions.
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.... maybe off somewhere soon too |
#4
24-02-2007, 09:50
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Bello Uomo wrote a good trip report on Vietnam Bill:-
http://www.phuket-info.com/forums/bo...d-vietnam.html Still further input would be good to hear.
__________________
Its My Life ..........!
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#5
26-02-2007, 18:21
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my tour in 2005-06
Hi all, I've been a long time reader of this forum and now here's my 2 cents;
My last trip to Asia took place from Oct-05 thru Jan-06. I was based in Phnom Penn and I travelled Vietnam, Laos . Phnom Penn is wild and Sihanoukville is also quite a refreshing change from the time I spent in Thailand (Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Chang) during this trip. I found that things are seemingly changing for the worst in Thailand. The attitudes of the locals is what I am talking about. Some of my highlights: Sophie's in Phnom Penn is a must see!!! My bus ride from Laos back into Isaan was wild to say the least. It's really the wild wild west out there in Laos. My stay in Vietnam (Saigon, Nat Trang, Hoi Ann) ranked as a medium - you really have to be in the know there to get what you want. Archie.
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#6
27-02-2007, 15:43
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Hi Bill, look forward to meeting you at the end of next month and staying in your hotel
  I haven't been to AC but have read enough about it. Strikes me as a Pattaya but on a smaller scale and a bit rougher around the edges. I did go to Ho Chi Minh City in November last year with a heap of history and war-related tours as my primary objective. I thought HCM was an insane yet fascinating place. A bit stressful getting yourself around town - takes a few days to adjust and get the feel for the pace of it. My daylight hours were pretty packed with tours; up at 7am, back at 5pm. The Mekong Delta was really interesting. I agree with you that Viet girls are sexy! How can I summarise 'the scene' for you in a few words? More pressured, more expensive, less pervasive, higher risk. Securing LT seems to be quite a bit harder; the hotels are wary of periodic raids by the authorities who aren't really keen to see this aspect of tourism flourish. Other hotels I spoke with will let you take a friend back, but there is a curfew of 10pm or 11pm, meaning you have to be active early in the evening. I gave up on this option, full stop. ST opportunities exist everywhere, but gee they seemed high risk ventures to me. I like to be "in control of my environment" when on holiday, and some of the offers being put to me did not facilitate this. The girly bars were high pressure; a big culture shock compared with LOS. No such thing as a quiet relaxing beer. The bars in the hotels etc had quite a number of FLs floating around. The ones I met were hardened types, and it didnt help that I couldnt speak a word of Viet to break the ice (unlike in LOS where my patchy Thai always breaks the ice nicely and gets a smile...). Prices quoted to me were - in ballpark terms - double those paid in LOS. Dont wish to dissuade you from going, because it is a fascinating place! Just struggled to find somewhere relaxing to have a few quiet drinks, watch the world go by, check out the hot ladies from a measured distance ----> all of which is very easy to do from a million different places in Phuket.
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#7
27-02-2007, 16:08
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BU, thanks for the info and look forward to meeting you also. At the suggestion of K2, read your excellent report on VN.....it was extremely informative. I'm sure I can get more details from you when we meet. It looks as though Vietnam would be a good place to go for an extended period,
......giving one a chance to get 'the lay of the land' as they say. At any rate, I'm leaning towards going back to the Philippines, as I will have 5-7 days max. Thanks for your input guys. Cheers.
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#8
27-02-2007, 18:59
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Quote:
For sure. I did not want to over-commit to Vietnam without getting a 'feel' for the country first. Ideally, next time I would start at HCM and work my way up the coast to Hanoi. Lot of interesting places in between, according to the people I met in HCM who had done that type of trip. Food and accommodation is cheap and plentiful in HCM. And the coffee....mmmmm.
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#9
27-02-2007, 19:11
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Hey Archie. Where did you cross over from Vietnam to Laos? I presume that you went up from Saigon to Na Trang and up again to Hoi Ann? Then crossed somewhere in central Vietnam? I am planning this route myself. I will be doing it in June. The plan at the moment is to cross over to Laos from Vietnam at Lao Bao. I intend to get back into northern Thailand from Laos (somehow) then. The plan sort-of stops here though... Still researching! Any suggestions or advice (a bit more detail of any kind!) would be greatly appreciated...  Pádraig
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#10
02-03-2007, 15:15
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Hi Swan, Did you write a trip report for Sihanoukville? Any info would be great. Aloha Andrew
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#11
02-03-2007, 15:23
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Quote:
I have heard good things from bussies who have been there.. A TR with hotel info and things would be handy..
__________________
Men have only 2 emotional states, hungry and horny.. So ladies, if you see me without an erection, make me a sandwich.
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#12
02-03-2007, 15:23
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BTW has anyone driven in vietnam at all ?? I keep hearing how this is impossible via forums but the embassy seem to be ignoring me..
__________________
Men have only 2 emotional states, hungry and horny.. So ladies, if you see me without an erection, make me a sandwich.
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#13
21-03-2007, 16:43
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Quote:
Yeah, that's right. We travelled up to Hoi Ann (up the coast by train, it's definitely worth spending the extra few bucks for 1st class). We took a minibus from Hoi Ann that dropped us off about 1 mile from the border and the moto-mafia wanted 4-5 US$ to shuttle me with my huge Samsonite so we said no way and walked the whole way. Had I known, I would've gotten the bus driver to bring us to the border directly. But I guess they all want a piece from the ATM. Once out of Vietnam it's like 1 mile dirt road in "no man's land" before you get to the Laos Border. Another rough time with the Samsonite was to be had. A backpack is hugely recommended here. The border crossings from Vietnam to Laos were pretty uneventful other than the 'helpers' all want a piece of you. They even assist you with filling out the forms, for a nominal fee. It was a very long day of travel because we left Hoi Ann in the morning and arrived mid afternoon at the border. By the time we crossed in Laos it was about 5pm and there aren't any places to stay once you arrive. We had to wait for the 7 or 8pm bus to arrive to take us down the road. So we were introduced to Beerlaos and soothed our thirsts for the few hours until the bus arrived. Wow! It arrived. It's like a 1960 greyhound bus half filled with Laos folks and the rest is all kinds of cargo, including about 6 feet of stuff spanning the whole roof. This bus was really loaded and I thought to myself 'this could be my last bus ride', but the copious amount of Beerlaos consumed relaxed the nerves and off we went after we were squeezed into the last seat in the back of the bus. It was a long ride (1 am) until we arrived at a small town that was the fork where we got off and the bus kept on going. It was fairly hard to communicate since English is not spoken much in this area. But we got by though. The following morning we took a bus to Savannakhet and stayed a few days there and then off to Vientiane. Nice riverside picnic areas in Vientiane to enjoy Beerlaos. After a few days here, I went through the border to Issan after doing the bus-shuttle hop at the border (uneventful also). I'll add pictures later... Last edited by swan : 21-03-2007 at 17:46.
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#14
22-03-2007, 18:37
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Good post Archie! Plenty of useful insights there… Sounds like you did a lot of real traveling. From what I gather it usually takes a long time to cover short distances in Laos… My plan at the moment will be to just travel through Laos (to get to Vientiane) from Vietnam and eventually get back into Northern Thailand. I also gather that this way of traveling usually involves getting up real early in the morning and then spending the entire day sitting on a bus going about 30 or 40 mph… My younger brother spent a week there a few years back, so I have got plenty of Info from him. My plan will be subject to change, but I definitely want to get a look around Laos when I will be so close to it… The main mission of my trip will be seeing Vietnam and Cambodia (in that order.) and back to Thailand for (hopefully!) at least 6 weeks then… Still on course… Cheers...
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