#  >  > Travellers Tales in Thailand and Asia >  >  > Vietnam, Nepal and Burma  Travel Forum >  >  Saigon to Hanoi 2005-7

## WujouMao

as some of you might know, i went backpacking in asia for 2 years. Vietnam is my least favourite country. why?, traffic and blatent overcharching

 i cant remember where these falls were. but they look lovely

some differant pictures of buddah


i like the look of this one. it was in a vietnamese culture park off the beatern track in the Mekong Delta

temple walls plastered with broken bottles

many designs made from chinese looking china bowls. these resemble chinese dragons


crusing along [Shane up front]

Nha Trang, Cham temple on the coast

i have to say we never popped into this rather strange craft. i hadn't even remotely even thought a thing like this would exsist. 
next time i'll try, there is always a next time



Hoi An. streets flooded here, major

]



this part of town escaped the rising water


went of one of thoese dredded bike tours. really hate them, as you find the bikers take you to the touristy places, like Marble Mountain. 


if you saw the end of Series 12 of Top Gear when they were in Vietnam, this is the town Clarkson and Hammond got the Marble from. 

still, you get to see how rice noodles are made, even if its child labour involved

or to see silk worms doing what they do best


this is My Son temple. another Khmer looking temple in the middle of north and south. not much to look at, and its rather run down.
 the bike tours said dont bother, but i make my own mind up. still wanted to see it

walked for hours up a mountain slope to find this in a cave


Citadel, Hue, most of it is been destroyed during the war. looks nice with the moat

got mobbed by vietnamese girls who had come to another temple to pray

Ho Chi Minh was on holiday in russia getting his anual makeover. so it was closed for the duration


the only place i seemed to remember the name of in Vietnam, and the place i loved the most. Sapa. 
got of the bus and was asked in amazing english if we wanted a room for the night. these hill tribe girls work as guides, 
so they are not as shy as the ones who are not in the industry. these girls, we had met the night before in the only happening bar in town

took us on a FREE tour of their countryside. normally you would have to go on a tour and pay some dollars. 
all they needed was 2 days worth of food for their trouble. 


Sapa was also my 1st time of seeing rice terraces, so Sapa is still the best, even tho there are some fab ones in China and Philippines


i'm still camera shy, i know it would of been better from the other direction, but not everyone likes their photo taken, and ask for money instead, which complety spoils the moment

Bac Ha, less touristy, but every satuday its colourful as the hill tribes wear their tradional outfits. again, i'm worried not to upset the locals by sticking my camera in their face



went to see some caves. were put on the wrong tour lol. still saw something for the day.

must be knackering to row the boat all day


reminds you of Gualin in china if it has a river running through it

now that is what you call balance. i cant even stand in a boat when its fastened to the pier lol and these guys are standing while its moving, 
and the rim is touching the water. Mad


who's scared of spiders? bit stupid i know. we both got up real close to this, and we wasnt even sure if it was dangerous. what a knob




looks like bulls horns, but its a type of nut

rambutan. bloody expensive in UK cos its imported. 6 will cost you about $6


you want some copy shoes that will hurt your feet?


rice on a barge, going to a floating market

more rambutan

dont be squeamish anyone thats not asian. trust me, it tastes better than it looks, and its ...

pig brain!

everyday traffic in Vietnam. blown away by the sheer volume of it. hardly any cars or trucks etc. just mountains and mountains of bikes. 
on you marks, get set..

GO!!, even when the traffic is stil coming from the right. bollocks!!!

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## Rural Surin

Great piccies mate! Just adds to the TD photo archive. :Smile:

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## staggerleee

food looks good.  that's a crazy spider, is it edible?  Beautiful waterfall. How's the water?

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## Happyman

The plantation I worked on in Vietnam ( Rach Gia - in the south west ) was alive with those spiders - The locals wouldn't go near them so I guess they bite !!

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## Loombucket

Great collection of pictures there, love that countryside and you can't beat a good market. Always happy to see more, if you have them.

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## hillbilly

Will have to visit that area one day. Great pics!  :Smile:

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## phuketbound

Cool pics. I've been to all of those places, except Bac Ha. 

What happened in Hoi An? Flood central. I spent a week there, and loved the place. 

The traffic is insane there in Hanoi. If you get a chance do the DMZ tour from Hue.

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## WujouMao

> food looks good.  that's a crazy spider, is it edible?  Beautiful waterfall. How's the water?


i have no idea if its edible. more like its bloody poisonous and it eat me!

anyway, fingers crossed. If i happen to make it to 'spiderville' in cambodia where THEY do eat deep fried spiders, i'll let you know  :Smile: 




> If you get a chance do the DMZ tour from Hue.


Shane and i went on a tour with easyriders who did ask us if we want to go to the D.M.ZED, but we just couldnt bear anymore heartache about the vietnam war. just spending a day in the american war musuem in Ho Chin Mhin was enough for us

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## barbaro

Wujoumao,

Love your pics.  Informative and very good at the same time.  You have a good eye.

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## Chuckycheese

Your pictures are excellent; especially the one of the spider. It looks downright professional. I'm heading to Hanoi in February and will depart from Saigon....it looks like great fun! Thanks for sharing.

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## Tassman

Thanks for the cool pics and expirences. 
That spider was just awesome, some thing I will look for, on my next visit to SE Asia

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## WujouMao

> Your pictures are excellent; especially the one of the spider. It looks downright professional. I'm heading to Hanoi in February and will depart from Saigon....it looks like great fun! Thanks for sharing.


i too am going back to Vietnam in Feb. i'm heading back to Sapa. I have a better camera this time, although its still a compact. hopefully i can get some nice pictures of the ethnic markets

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## Thaiguy

*Top Marks Sunshine, good pics interesting commentary , could do without the pigs brains though.*
*Didn't realise Vietnam was expensive ? have a friend on the way there now ,appreciate some cost comparisons with Thailand if possible .*

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## WujouMao

> *Top Marks Sunshine, good pics interesting commentary , could do without the pigs brains though.*
> *Didn't realise Vietnam was expensive ? have a friend on the way there now ,appreciate some cost comparisons with Thailand if possible .*


pigs brain congee was great stuff. as for Vietnam being expensive, it wouldnt be if they were honest with the prises and didnt overcharge you by 5 times the normal prize. i dont mind the odd overcharging, but not too much. i'm not that stupid or naive to pay it. i just walk off instead

if you want cheap, go to Laos

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## kingwilly

i cant see any pics, where are they hosted?

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## Propagator

^ 

Not seeing to well KW

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## Udonite

> Originally Posted by Thaiguy
> 
> 
> *Top Marks Sunshine, good pics interesting commentary , could do without the pigs brains though.*
> *Didn't realise Vietnam was expensive ? have a friend on the way there now ,appreciate some cost comparisons with Thailand if possible .*
> 
> 
> pigs brain congee was great stuff. as for Vietnam being expensive, it wouldnt be if they were honest with the prises and didnt overcharge you by 5 times the normal prize. i dont mind the odd overcharging, but not too much. i'm not that stupid or naive to pay it. i just walk off instead
> 
> if you want cheap, go to Laos



Great pictures, I think you were overcharged with the Rambutans.

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## Anja09

I agree that the traffic in Vietnam is horrible, especially in Saigon (it induced me homicidal thoughts more than just once). Yet, I still enjoyed my time there very much. I was working for 6 months in Vietnam and found the Vietnamese to be very lovely people.

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## Marmite the Dog

Do you know Milky?




> I was working for 6 months in Vietnam

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## WujouMao

> dont be squeamish anyone thats not asian. trust me, it tastes better than it looks, and its ...
> 
> pig brain!


yummy

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## barbaro

> Do you know Milky?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>  Originally Posted by Anja09
> 
> I was working for 6 months in Vietnam


I don't believe we met.  

How are things?

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## porno frank

That some real cool scenic pictorials on viet nam.  :Biggthumpup:

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## Pol the Pot

Nice pics. Good to see somebody not whingeing and whining because they couldn't handle the Vietnamese.

It's cheaper than Thailand, Laos and Cambodia by the way.

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## ossierob

Good pics and story....I really enjoyed it...the food the ...town/city and country shots and the bloody spider....Thanks

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## Mid

> i have to say we never popped into this rather strange craft. i hadn't even remotely even thought a thing like this would exsist. next time i'll try, there is always a next time


these are the boats that carried the refugees from Vietnam to HK .

not something I'd care to emulate .

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## Nice Guy

^ How could those boats get to HK?

I am thinking of seeing Vientnam for the first time on my next trip to South East Asia this December.

These pics are enticing.

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## cambtek

Seen the same spiders in cambodia.
Those cham temples up in the hills are great,except the one that got hit by the B52 strike.
Hue is lovely and not much traffic.
Thousands of school girls on bicycles wearing ao dais.
the citadel is magnificent.
Did the DMZ/khe sahn/dong ha tunnels day trip-unreal.
Was back in saigon last week with the phrase book,speaking some viet made it very enjoyable.
Apart for the aggressive girls at that bin than market people were lovely,cant understand the criticism.
Went to the hot tocs on DBP at night-WOW.Twice-WOW.

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## Bobcock

> Thousands of school girls on bicycles wearing ao dais.


Really?...Sadly I didn't see a single Ao Dai the time I was there.....

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## WujouMao

> Originally Posted by cambtek
> 
> Thousands of school girls on bicycles wearing ao dais.
> 
> 
> Really?...Sadly I didn't see a single Ao Dai the time I was there.....


saw a few in the sticks. Must of been a special occasion or something

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## Bobcock

To clarify, I didn't see one that wasn't on a waitress or hotel receptionist.

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## Pol the Pot

It's the uniform for secondary school girls and female university students. And what a good Vietnamese woman will wear when she goes to see Uncle Ho's mausoleum.

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## Up2U

> *Top Marks Sunshine, good pics interesting commentary , could do without the pigs brains though.*
> *Didn't realise Vietnam was expensive ? have a friend on the way there now ,appreciate some cost comparisons with Thailand if possible .*


Vietnam is about half the price of Thailand for local items (food, clothing and so on), but tourists are ripped off left, right and centre.

Learn a little of the language (it is tonal, similar to Thai) and you find that you are charged far less. I live in HCMC (Saigon) and apart from the US$ 700 per month for an apartment I get by on less than US $ 100 per week, although I am working 12 hours a day.

Local restaurant meals US $ 1-3; Western restaurant meals US $ 5-50 (but that is stupid money). Beer in bar US $ 1.75 - 3.50 a pint/bottle, depending on brand and bar. Paperbacks (new) US $ 6 each with cover price around 9 dollars.

The first rip-off you will encounter is the taxi from the airport. HCMC drivers will ask 300k dong, when the price to city centre is about 120k dong. Hanoi you should pay less than 300k dong, but not much under. (One US dollar is just under 20,000 VN dong)

Don't expect much in the way of girls. Doesn't happen except in particular areas, and can be expensive. You go there for the culture, not the fun.

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## Pol the Pot

Don't know when you were last on Bui Vien, but lots of new 'girlie' bars have opened there in the last year. I was quite surprised.

Very obviously the girls are hookers. Quite nice, drinks are cheap and no ladyboys.

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## WujouMao

> Don't know when you were last on Bui Vien, but lots of new 'girlie' bars have opened there in the last year. I was quite surprised.
> 
> Very obviously the girls are hookers. Quite nice, drinks are cheap and no ladyboys.


Round the corner of Bui Vien is a road called De Tham, which heads towards the main road Tran Hung Dao.

seems only the locals hang out there and its girls galore

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## Pol the Pot

> Originally Posted by Pol the Pot
> 
> 
> Don't know when you were last on Bui Vien, but lots of new 'girlie' bars have opened there in the last year. I was quite surprised.
> 
> Very obviously the girls are hookers. Quite nice, drinks are cheap and no ladyboys.
> 
> 
> Round the corner of Bui Vien is a road called De Tham, which heads towards the main road Tran Hung Dao.
> ...


De Tham is an 'exception'...

The three big bars there are Allez Boo, GoGo2 (or similar)  and the very new Buffalo Bar. All are full of hookers, including some that look suspiciously young.

The owner of these bars knows people and has protection.

I'd go for the smaller, seedier beer bars. The girls cost 20- 30USD short time.

Careful if you go out to Pham Ngu Lao Park at night, quite a bit of street meat cruising there on motorbikes with their pimps, not very safe.

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## grasshopper

:Smile:  Brings back memories of living on Cong Quinh St and "teaching" English at a large school run by a former coffee shop entrepreneur. The owner, on me leaving to return to Oz, asked:
"What do you think of my school?"
I replied, in a nice way: "Well some of the students in my classes shouldnt be at that level. They should be in beginner's class."
His answer was"
"In Vietnam, nobody like to be in lower class."

And it was a school for students needing the certificate to enrol at an Oz Uni. Sounds a little like LOS, no?

Still, the night life on Bui Dinh, De Tham and Pham Ngu Lao were great. I asked a guy named Tattoo Dave, TFEL teacher : 
"How do you get onto a girl here? (In a non literal sense, I mean). 
His reply: 
"Just be here. They will come."
And they did. 
 :bananaman:

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## WujouMao

> Still, the night life on Bui Dinh, De Tham and Pham Ngu Lao were great. I asked a guy named Tattoo Dave, TFEL teacher : 
> "How do you get onto a girl here? (In a non literal sense, I mean). 
> His reply: 
> "Just be here. They will come."
> And they did.


Just so long as you are not black as the Vietnamese girls can't stand them cos as i quote what one girl said to me, "they smell". i pointed out to the girls its their sweat that smells or either that, they don't use Lynx.

seems you have had your fair share of girls there. just how to you manage taking them back to your hotel cos the hotel ive been into refuse point blank to let a Vietnamese girl upstairs.

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## Pol the Pot

Book and pay for two rooms. Or catch a taxi and get her to explain you only want a short time room.

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## zillionmax

cool pictures and great places to see in the future

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## WujouMao

> Book and pay for two rooms. Or catch a taxi and get her to explain you only want a short time room.


lol you're trying to tell me the man downstairs in the lobby wont suss that i'm paying for 2 rooms, one of which is barren and empty till the fateful night of picking up a chick and giving her her own key?

Me thinks he rather take the money then then tell the lass don't bother following me up the stairs into 'her' own pad.

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## Pol the Pot

Them commies are like that. Book two rooms and the registration records for the police are in order. They see two rooms with two different guests. No connection.

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## grasshopper

You have to rent a flat or a house and hope that the neighbours are good sports. Most hotels wont allow visitors after about 8 or 9 pm, but there are ways.  There is one hotel on Pham Ngu Lao towards the end of the park, cant recall the name. Probably Golden Lucky or something. Its been a few years now. Sigh!

If you want to find out the ones that "do", just get hold of a taxi girl and she will take you to that very hotel.  File that away in your little black book. 

 :Smile:

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## WujouMao

Golden lucky? sounds like a brothel hotel

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