Travelling to Vietnam

benb2

hey

i'm thinking of going to vietnam this summer. anybody have any info on it. i'm thinking of going for 3-4 weeks

RATM

Don't go, its a kip with some of the worst hassle to be found anywhere in Asia. The locals seem to have a chip on their shoulder about the war and treat all tourists like Americans they must get revenge on and also as human ATMs. They lie their teeth off to you just to extract every last penny in a very nasty kind of a way.

If you really do want to go it is nicer and more chilled out up north than in the south but with a month you'll be able to see it all.

Far better places in that region to spend a month IMHO.

Knifey_Spoony

I'd have to disagree with RATM completely! (sorry RATM )

I absolutely LOVE Vietnam.
I was there once about four years ago and loved it, so much so that I spent another month there 2 years ago during my round the world trip.

I found I got hassled less in Vietnam than in any of the other Asian countries I was in.

Do you have any specific questions on it though, your post was very vague...

Gaz

Have to agree with RATM, there are much nicer places in that area ... ie: Laos, Cambodia or Southern China. But if you must go , personally I preferred Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi, less hectic and less hassle. Mui Ne and the mekong delta are nice areas in the south. Ninh Binh was nice in the north , as is Sapa. But again, it really can be any annoying country with regard to the hassle. Really depends what your looking for .... hiking ? beach ? Diving ?

Papa_Lazarou

Was in hanoi two years ago for three weeks. I must agree with the whole hassle side above but then on the other hand it is one of the most beautiful countries i have visited. If u do end up going a must see in my opinion is Halom bay and maybe a quick tip to to the war museum.

lemon_of_old

If you want people cursing at you in Vietnamese while smiling so you think that they're being nice, and being ripped off left, right and centre, then go to Vietnam. That was 3 weeks I'll never get back again. Go to Malaysia instead. It's far more beautiful and people are sweethearts.

elambra

Definitely go, I spent 7 weeks there and volunteered for 4. Yes, the people will try to extract money from you, but that's just part of who they are! They are very entrepreneurial people, and remember you can always just say no (or go for the sunglasses and earphones look!)

youcancallmeal

I posted this over on the Travelfish.org forums recently in response to a thread very similar to this one:

I got pick pocketed in Nha Trang last night. It was my own fault really and there is even warnings in my guidebook about the particular area in Nha Trang where it happens. I was in Why Not Bar with a few other fellow backpackers when one of the guys had gotten very drunk and needed to be brought home. I said I would walk him the few minutes to his guesthouse, I even left my wallet with a friend in the bar but I was a bit tipsy myself and forgot to leave my phone. Once we got outside it all happened very quickly, 3 or 4 motorbike taxi guys came up around us offering us taxi rides while a woman came over and started hugging me offering her services, all this is fairly common here which is why I thought nothing of it and walked on. I dropped the guy off and walking back to the bar I realised my phone was missing at which point a motorbike taxi guy pulled up and said he could get my phone back for me for 400,000 dong. I really needed my phone back so after about half an hour of negotiating and they brought me to a quiet street away from the bar and the exchange was made. Not a very nice experience at all and I have learned a valuable lesson.

Even before this happened last night I've been pretty disappointed with Vietnam in general. I've been here for the last 3 weeks and to be honest I can't wait to get out of here. I've been traveling down from Hanoi to HCMC and the only friendly/nice people I've met are those selling me something e.g. Guesthouse staff, tailors etc. It seems if there is no money involved then they don't have any time for you at all. I understand lack of english is a big factor in communications but even basic things like asking someone for directions on the street usually gets you a rude grunt or most times they'll just completely ignore you. I've been to Thailand, The Philippines and Malaysia so far and they are far more pleasant places to visit. All that being said if I had known what I know now I would still have traveled to Vietnam. I wouldn't want to look back in 20 years time and say I didn't go to Vietnam because the locals are generally unpleasant people and constantly attempt to rip you off.

I've been in Laos and Cambodia since then and the people there are far more pleasant to deal with, especially in Laos!

RATM

elambra wrote: »

Definitely go, I spent 7 weeks there and volunteered for 4. Yes, the people will try to extract money from you, but that's just part of who they are! They are very entrepreneurial people, and remember you can always just say no (or go for the sunglasses and earphones look!)

Half my beef with Vietnam was exactly the opposite- most touts just wouldn't take no for an answer. One cyclo driver in Hue followed me down the road for over ten minutes and wouldn't stop pestering me for some business. I literally had to go eyeball to eyeball with him with threats before he would just get the message and fcuk off. And trust me Im a pretty laid back individual but the Vietnamese really managed to extract the worst out of me.

Other cyclo drivers would bring you half way to your destination before stopping and saying it was going to cost you more money than what you had first agreed. Only after getting out of the cyclo would they say 'OK Ok I take you for the first price'. A lot of them tried this trick on and Im guessing less experienced travellers fell for it quite often or otherwise they wouldn't bother. In the end if they tried it with me Id just get out and leave them with no money and walk away.

With other drivers you would agree to be taken to say 3/4 sights around a city then half way through the trip they would try to convince you that the final two sights are 'closed for repair' and start asking you for their pay. I always insisted on going to these closed sites to suddenly find that they are really open and open 7 days a week. Tricks like that are the lowest of the low; I met 2 girls in a guest house in Hanoi who really wanted to see the Airforce Museum but never got there in the end coz they fell for that trick- they were leaving the next morning so completely missed out on it because of some selfish asshole who wouldn't do an honest days work for quite decent money. I've absolutely no time for scam artists and they only serve to give Vietnam a bad name. The sad thing is it is full of scammers like that and they have truly managed to give Vietnam the reputation it has now.

Overall you'll face hassle all over Asia but Ive been to every single country in S.E.Asia as well as to India, Nepal and a rake of countries in the Middle East and without doubt Vietnam is by far the worst hassle Ive faced anywhere. Second on my list comes India but at least there the hassle comes with a smile and not the nasty snarl that many Vietnamese men put on when you don't play the game they way they want you to.

Incidentally Ive always asked mates over the years about how they found Vietnam and the issue seems to be split 50/50. My sister loved it, a cousin hated it ( and legged it to Laos after 6 days )and so on. But OP IMHO if I only had 3-4 weeks to travel in S.E.Asia then there are far more relaxing and enjoyable places to be than 'Nam.

mcwhirter

benb2 wrote: »

hey

i'm thinking of going to vietnam this summer. anybody have any info on it. i'm thinking of going for 3-4 weeks

I travelled from china into vietnam by land a few years ago and flew from hanoi to laos.
Hanoi is an interesting place to visit, Ho Chi Minh is buried there.
Its extremely hot and humid however. Accommadation is cheap but lots of people on streets trying to sell you things constantly.
The people are more aggressive than thailand or Laos, I could understand how america could not defeat them.

Easy to get around, trains are good.

Larianne

I really liked Vietnam! More so than Cambodia and Thailand. Thailand is WAY worse for hassle. I dunno I think you learn how to handle the hassle and the locals then leave you alone. In fairness you can't blame them, they need the money.

There is lots to see. I prefered HCMC to Hanoi and the Mekong Delta area was one of the highlights of my 2 years of travelling.

I got a lot of information from travelfish.org

I dived in Nha Trang but the sea is over fished so you won't see many big fish around.

Arcee

Have to agree with most posters - Vietnam was my least fave place in South East Asia. Would rate Laos, Cambodia and Thailand above it, however will admit I was only in the south of Vietnam and I've heard many great stories about the north. I do plan to give it another chance in the future.

If it's your first time in SEA I would definitely recommend going somewhere other than Vietnam. You would easily see a whole lot of Thailand in a month or if you just wanted to see the highlights of Laos and Cambodia, you could squeeze them both in in a month too.

Shutuplaura

Liked vietnam, moreso the north than the south to be honest. The people are nicer in other countries, the Vietnamese don't have a chip on their shoulder, its just they are more in your face about getting money out of tourists than Lao or cambodians. No doesn't really mean no to them and it can take a bit of getting used to. You'll get pretty openly ripped off - the amount will be small though so there is no point getting stressed about it.

We started in Saigon which we didn't really like but by the time we reached Hanoi it didn't bother us - perhaps thats why we liked the north more. Hanoi is my favourite city in Asia. Love the 10c beer you drink from street stalls.

Going back in a few months

Larianne

Shutuplaura wrote: »

Liked vietnam, moreso the north than the south to be honest. The people are nicer in other countries, the Vietnamese don't have a chip on their shoulder, its just they are more in your face about getting money out of tourists than Lao or cambodians. No doesn't really mean no to them and it can take a bit of getting used to. You'll get pretty openly ripped off - the amount will be small though so there is no point getting stressed about it.

We started in Saigon which we didn't really like but by the time we reached Hanoi it didn't bother us - perhaps thats why we liked the north more. Hanoi is my favourite city in Asia. Love the 10c beer you drink from street stalls.

Going back in a few months

The beep beep, beep beeeeeeeep drove me nuts in Hanoi!!

Gaz

Shutuplaura wrote: »

Love the 10c beer you drink from street stalls.

Bia Hoi ? Fantastic stuff .... got filthy drunk on about 3 quid

Shutuplaura

Gaz wrote: »

Bia Hoi ? Fantastic stuff .... got filthy drunk on about 3 quid

Yeah, that place they called Bia Hoi corner in Lonely Planet - 5 streets meet in the old town and the bia hoi sellers seem to congregate there. great stuff.

lemon_of_old

God yeah, the bia hoi was wicked alright.

I dunno. I thought Hanoi was quite ok and HATED Saigon. I enjoyed Halong Bay and HATED the Mekong delta (hated it hated it hated it). I liked Mui Ne and - yep, you guessed it - HATED Nha Trang. So there are a few places I'd give a bit of a positive spin on.

For me, it was tiring. Like, the whole saying no thing, that wasn't a problem, I have no probs saying no! I just kept walking, no I don't want moto, no I don't want hotel, no I don't want bus ticket, no I don't want marijuana, no I don't want your first born, - you just stop listening to it after a while. But when all you want to do is walk to the shop to buy a bottle of water, and you have to (politely of course) mentally block out 5 or 6 people swarming around you, trying to get something out of you, it starts to wear you down.

When I landed in Kuala Lumpur, I actually found myself so so relieved to be out of it. I hadn't realised it affected me that much until I left. I felt constantly wound up and tense and extremely aware that if I wasn't completely on the ball, I'd have something robbed - e.g. my mate went to sleep with her ipod on one night in a hotel in vietnam, woke up next morning with the earphones still in her ears but no ipod...... Also, same girl, a moto driver pulled the same trick about taking her half way to her destination, and she refused to pay more, he brought her to the right place, she got off, he demanded an extra 20,000 dong, she said no no no no etc, he said yes yes yes yes etc, eventually just to shut him up, cos he was attracting a crowd, she offered hiim 10,000 - then he called a policeman, and the policeman made her pay double! WTF?

Also, on Vietnamese police - we went to a bar one evening in Hanoi for a few quiet drinks. while we were there, a drunken vietnamese fella beside us grabbed a barstool and ****ed it across the room, grabbed MY beerbottle, emptied it out and started waving it around at me, the barman walked him out, but he wandered back in 5 minutes later, punched a girl in the face, then jumped and KICKED her in the face, was escorted out again. Then 5 mins later, he came back in and sat at the bar and was served! We went outside to find police, found a van of 6 or 7 of them, told them the story and they said, no it's none of their business! As the girl lies bleeding on the floor of the bar and her attacker is sitting at the bar drinking and sneering down at her! seriously!!

Honestly, I have a million stories of how **** Vietnam is. There's probably a few more in my blog.

That's no way to be. They're poor in Cambodia and Laos too, but they're not confrontational like the Vietnamese and they don't make you regret your decision to visit a country. In conclusion, Vietnam, ugh.

RATM

lemon_of_old wrote: »

When I landed in Kuala Lumpur, I actually found myself so so relieved to be out of it. I hadn't realised it affected me that much until I left. I felt constantly wound up and tense and extremely aware that if I wasn't completely on the ball, I'd have something robbed - e.g. my mate went to sleep with her ipod on one night in a hotel in vietnam, woke up next morning with the earphones still in her ears but no ipod...... Also, same girl, a moto driver pulled the same trick about taking her half way to her destination, and she refused to pay more, he brought her to the right place, she got off, he demanded an extra 20,000 dong, she said no no no no etc, he said yes yes yes yes etc, eventually just to shut him up, cos he was attracting a crowd, she offered hiim 10,000 - then he called a policeman, and the policeman made her pay double! WTF?

That's no way to be. They're poor in Cambodia and Laos too, but they're not confrontational like the Vietnamese and they don't make you regret your decision to visit a country. In conclusion, Vietnam, ugh.

That just sums 'Nam up for me. Its just now that you spoke of the iPod theft that you've jogged a memory for me....I met an Irish lass traveling on her own in Saigon in an internet cafe, she was sitting beside me and was quite distressed. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that her passport had been nicked two days previous. Then when she was down some other internet cafe emailing the Irish embassy to try to sort it out her Visa card got robbed as well.

Horrible sh1t to have to go through on a holiday, really felt sorry for her. We swapped email address and I gave her a bunch of dong to help her out. We're still in contact to this day and shortly after we were there we both sweared that we'll go back to Vietnam to see if we misjudged it.
That was 8 years ago and at this stage by reading other forums it sounds like it has gotten worse:mad:

If only the govt. there could get a handle on things it could be a super place to visit.

Straight Flush

Vietnam is a fantastic country and one that I really enjoyed. There's a good mix of places to see there - big cities, small picturesque towns, history, beaches, mountains, countryside - along with great cheap food, clothes and alcohol.

Yes, there is a culture of trying to rip the tourist off so at times you'll need to have your wits about you. Learn what something should costs in a place and don't pay more. Also, you should avoid using motorcycle taxis if at all possible. When you get pestered for business by anyone, just say nothing and flat out ignore them. The Vietnamese speak softly so it's easy to learn the art of having deaf ears. I would undoubtedly say that I had far more hassle in Thailand than in Vietnam.

However, if you're not confident about dealing with this hassle and you haven't travelled to similar places then perhaps Vietnam should be pushed down your list of destinations. If this is the case then you should hit Malaysia where you'll have a near hassle-free trip in what is probably my favourite country.

Also, before going to south-east Asia, be sure to carefully research the weather where you're going for that time of year.

lemon_of_old

How you feel about a country is completely a personal thing. As one poster said, it seems a 50/50 chance you'll either love or hate Vietnam. I've found on my travels that a lot influences your experiences in a country. If you go in with high expectations, there's a good chance you'll be disappointed, which incidentally is what happened to me in Laos. I had a great month there, but everybody had built it up to me so much in advance, I expected a lot more. Looking back, it's a fabulous place, but at the time I felt a bit meh. On the other hand, I had no expectations of Cambodia, other than there were going to be loads of beggars and a few nice temples, and I was completely bowled over by the place. It's quite rough and ready, but beautiful and exciting and the people are great.

I think my time in Vietnam was negatively influenced by other things - my granny passed away just before I got there, I got food poisoning the first day I arrived in Saigon, when I recovered and went to check out the city, I was knocked down by a motor bike, the weather was atrocious - wet and freezing, I was travelling with people I didn't really click with but who were quite clingy and I couldn't really get away from them, and I just wasn't happy.So if your head isn't in a good space, it makes it so much harder to negotiate a country like vietnam. You just don't have the patience for it. Sometimes I wonder if I'd been in great form would I have a different view of the country. Guess I'll never know, cos I ain't ever going back!!

But at the end of the day, whatever somebody says about a place or country, don't take it too much to heart. I know I basically ripped Vietnam to shreds in previous posts, but there's a good chance you might love it. So many times I've had a conversation with somebody about a particular place and our opinions are poles apart. So listen to the advice, but give it a go and form your own opinion.

(I'm still sticking with my "Vietnam is crap" stance though!)

jackbhoy

lemon_of_old wrote: »

How you feel about a country is completely a personal thing. As one poster said, it seems a 50/50 chance you'll either love or hate Vietnam. I've found on my travels that a lot influences your experiences in a country.

100% agree, every has their own tastes and one or two bad experiences, or just not being in right frame of mind can ruin your perception of a country! In Vietnam for couple of weeks now and overall I love it. Most people we met hated Hanoi but after nearly 5 months travelling it is probably my favourite city so far. I could spent days sitting drinking a 15cent beer or coffee and just watching all the craziness go by, so different from most of SE Asias tourist trail.

I have met people who think Luang Prabang is the most amazing place they have been in Asia but I hated it, imo its the most over touristed and gentrified place I have visited on this trip, each man to his own and all that!

lemon_of_old

That's so funny, that's exactly how I felt about LP. It's Disney Does Laos, as a friend described it.

But yes, you'll never know whether you'll like a country or not til you give it a go yourself.

I'd be interested to know other posters opinions on this - did any of you find Vietnam much more heavily touristed than Cambodia/Laos/Malaysia? I was shocked at how touristy it was. And how urbanised. On the bus trip from Saigon to Mui Ne, which took about 3 or 4 hours, it felt like we were driving through one continuous ugly town. It was weird.