vietnam

[marley2000]

my partner and i are going to vietnam for a month in two and a half weeks. we have read and watched tonnes about it (including talking to my step bro whos been there) and know all about what to take, wear, swallow, inject! and have changed our itinery (right sp?) several times. what i'd like to know from anyone who has been if there was anywhere that blew you away, somewhere romantic you went; restaurant or place. we will be there for our 3 yr anniversary, christmas and new year so any ideas are welcome. xxx

[JoolsTwo]

Go and buy yourself a good travel book. :-)

[bongerman]

An amazing country to travel in. Are you doing a round trip or flying into Hanoi and out of HCMC (Saigon), or the other way round?

Personally the most romantic place for me was Halong Bay in the North. Also really enjoyed Hanoi itself where my wife and I had an anniversary meal at a restaurant called the rickshaw where you sit in cycle rickshaws at the table. Sounds weird but is actually a very smart restaurant!

If you go to Hoi An make sure you go to the (deserted) beach 4 miles or so out of town - hire bicycles.

Wow, loads of memories coming flooding back as I type - might add more later!

Enjoy....

[JonnoGenie]

I've been twice now. The first time in the late 80's when I did a week long tour of Saigon and the south (it took months to organise, and cost a fortune). That trip made such an impression on me, I never wanted to return, and witness the place as having changed.

I did however return in 1995, and did a much longer trip (in combination with Laos). I was relieved to see that even down town Saigon had not changed a great deal. Well the people hadn't, although most of the Amerasian children had gone (to the US) by then. There were some new hotels, and the place was sprucer. Oh and the 'Museum of American War Crimes' had rebranded itself, the 'Museum of the American war' or some such, lol.

Anyway, I digress. But Vietnam is a pretty life changing place to visit. I hope the country has not changed too much since then. It is incredibly enchanting, and beautiful. The people are by and large fantastic, the food is amazing.

Highlights from my last trip were taking a taxi to drive us from Da Nang to Hue. We had time to stop and enjoy and photograph the views, and some of the views on that coast road are just jaw-dropping. The palace in the centre of Hue (go to a few of the best ones in Hue, there are so many it is a bit like Kyoto, Japan, easy to get 'templed out').

[JonnoGenie]

I wonder if it has changed. The people in Saigon were so happy to see western tourists, and so industrious. In Da Nang, some of the locals were really not too happy to see foreigners there (given the history of the city, not too surprising). In Hanoi, the people were reticent, and you got quite a lot of cold looks as you wondered around, especially in the poorer bits of the old town.

The Marble Mountains in Da Nang were pretty amazing. One cathedral like 'cave' had a hole in the roof that let the sun shine down in amazing beams of sunlight. I've never seen anything like that before... just me and my friend sitting there with this huge vertical beam of sun playing back and forth into teh darkness...

I could ramble on for ages :-D Four good books to take if you enjoy reading about and learning about a place you are travelling through...
- The River of Time - Jon Swain
http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Time-Jon-Swain/d p/0749320206/sr=1-1/qid=1164052839/ref=sr_1_1/ 026-2893067-8519651?ie=UTF8&s=books
- The Lands of Charm and Cruetly - Stan Sesser
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lands-Charm-Cruelty-Tr avels-Southeast/dp/0330333879/sr=1-1/qid=11640 53346/ref=sr_1_1/026-2893067-8519651?ie=UTF8&s =books
- The Quiet American - Graham Greene
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quiet-American-Graham- Greene/dp/0099478390/sr=1-1/qid=1164053509/ref =sr_1_1/026-2893067-8519651?ie=UTF8&s=books
The Sorrow of War - Bao Ninh
http:/

[marley2000]

Wow, you've all been amazingly helpful. we are flying to bangkok to stay with my stepbro for a couple of days then flying over to hanoi then working our way down to saigon then flying back. we've had so many different plans its hard to remember which one we decided on! we are visiting hoi an (one place we didn't want to miss) and halong bay. we don't particularly want to go anywhere where tourists have taken over! we're going to sapa, lao chai, halong bay, the tunnels(forget the name, the ones that are less touristy in the middle), da nang, hoi an, hue, yok don national park(to ride an elephant, apparently you can have one overnight with a guide if you want!),da lat, mekong delta..i think we read somewhere you can have an overnight stay on a boat at halong bay...i may have missed somewhere off or added a place we dont plan to go but i dont have my plan with me! i know its a lot of places and we probably wont fit them all in but we are expecting it to all change! we considered nha trang but it looks a bit touristy..? im so excited, we go on the 6th dec. im hoping that it will be life changing as im temping at the moment and am planning to figure out what i want to do with my life when we're out there. jimjools ur stupid but i know u so i'll let you off ;-)

[JoolsTwo]

Aaah Thanks Marley. :-) xx

[JonnoGenie]

Ah <reclining back in my chair opening a beer>, you are going to have one hell of a trip there. Enjoy it!

[mrsann]

We were in Da Nang and Vung Tau last year and the trip was just amazing the people were really friendly too.If you can spare the weight take some coloured pencils or feltpens with you as they are the most prized posession for the local children just make sure that one or two opportunists dont manage to grab the lot! We took lots and were thanked by a market trader insisting on giving us a cup of a local pressed fruit drink (very sweet and thick but o.k.)The whole trip was fabulous and we'd love to return there if funds ever permit

[marley2000]

i'll think of u jonnogenie when im sitting in a hut on a beach sipping a beer. can't waitx

[JonnoGenie]

I remember sitting in some super luxurious colonial style hotel in Hanoi in the mid-90's, the Bristol or something? A night or two, a treat. And me and my buddy getting a cocktail list and enjoying a few.

B52's, we had a few of those. The Vietnamese are just beyond irony: done history, let's get on with it. Have one of those and think of us eh Marley? :-)

[marley2000]

of course jonnoGenie xxx