Vietnam again

[beerlaodrinker]

Been pro crastinating about where to go for a short holiday in December when the nippers are on school holiday, her indoors wanted to go to Singapore coz she never been there,have a direct flight from Lao to sing but fuck that, that shit will cost me a motza, we compromised. I booked a ticket today to Saigon , the plan is to have a night there then fly to Dalat, taxi to natrang for a couple of nights then taxi or bus to mui then train to Saigon, I think te nippers will love the train, as will I Feel free to weigh in with any suggestions I'm not going until xmas eve. Been to Vietnam before and it tics all the boxes for me, good food, reasonable beer, eye candy, and it's close, plus we can stay in 5 star hotels at 3 star price, I'm not a keeneao (kuripot) farang but it's good to get some bang from your buck, Look forward to moob pics dill

[katie23]

Hi bld, if you haven't done the Cu Chi tunnel tour, then maybe your kids will enjoy that. I think they're big enough to appreciate the tunnels. My niece (10 y.o at the time) enjoyed it & found it an adventure. I don't know if large mammals can fit into the tunnels though (heh!) But crocman was able to squeeze in. Just do a half-day tour, it's enough to see the sights & sounds. A whole day tour might bore you. You could also do a Mekong or Saigon river tour if you like that stuff. I think Dalat & the highlands would be great in Dec- cool temps. Your itinerary is great - Dalat for mountains, Nha Trang for beach, Sgnfor city! Say hello to Uncle Ho for me, and I look forward to the moob pix, as does Patsy, I'm sure! Cheers!

[redhaze]

Dalat is a nice little town, great coffee shops at night and the whole city seems to be out. I loved that. Nha Trang....meh. Its got a beach. Didn't care for the place, very commercial. Found food to be a pretty mixed bag overall in Vietnam. Hate the constant rip offs there as well. Negotiating the price of a water bottle grows old. For food, Hanoi was fantastic. Have fun!

[beerlaodrinker]

Thanks all for the suggestions, a saigon river tour sounds good to me, Been to nha trang before but the kids were a lot younger, The idea behind this short holiday is to get a bit of beach time and eat seafood. plenty of things to do in nha trang for kids, although the beach itself is a little under whelming , mui ne and dalat will be a first, always good to go somewhere new

[crocman]

Hey big fella, you should give Khao lak a try. Easy to get to, great beaches and my mate Pong serves nice cool refreshments and cooks up some mean seafood down on the beach.

There are some great prices to be had at some nice resorts at the moment. Places like The Waters, The Sands and The Haven.

You got some good little joints in Ban Bang La On and Bang Niang and it's nowhere near as touristy as its neighbour Phuket.

[shaggersback]

^ Khao Lak could certainly use the business. Worst October in years due to rain , Elvis , brexit ? , etc etc.
. Mars bar seems to be ticking over ok as its about the only expat gaff in town.
The bars and restaurants are realm struggling with the rents , dive industry in a slump but should pick up in December. Tough times.
. I was talking with the owner of "Red Chili" last week.
. He was nearly in tears over debt.
. It's a nice town realm if your into beaches , diving , Phuket priced Farang food.

[crocman]

^ Khao Lak could certainly use the business. Worst October in years due to rain , Elvis , brexit ? , etc etc.
. Mars bar seems to be ticking over ok as its about the only expat gaff in town.
The bars and restaurants are realm struggling with the rents , dive industry in a slump but should pick up in December. Tough times.
. I was talking with the owner of "Red Chili" last week.
. He was nearly in tears over debt.
. It's a nice town realm if your into beaches , diving , Phuket priced Farang food.

Deffo a nice town for beaches. The dive shops there are always quiet in October as they mainly service the Similans which are closed over the rainy season.

English fella I know(Ian) has two restaurants there both called The Black Pepper. He usually keeps the one in Bang Niang open all year and the one in Bang La On is seasonal. Covers himself that way.

The stores in Khao lak seem to a lot less flexible in pricing than most other locations. They tend to pride themselves on not becoming the next Phuket which is all good but don't cut your nose off to spite your face. A few of the restaurants there charge resort prices and this has to hurt in the long run.

Will be back there in July, looking forward to it.

[rickschoppers]

BLD, what are the current visa costs? I heard they changed the requirements awhile back. I would like to head for Hanoi this coming March, take in a northern beach and wind up in Sapa near the Chinese border to get out of the heat. Enjoy.

[beerlaodrinker]

I'm not sure what they are charging Aussies these days, was planning on going to the consulate next week, I did hear that Americans now have to get a 1 year visa instead of the monthly one, tat now costs about $130' I think the last one I got was $60

[rickschoppers]

That is what I understand as well. The hope is Vietnam will realize they slipped up by raising the entry for Americans and will reinstate the previous visa fees. I have until next March for them to do that. Or, you could lend me your passport BLD.

[beerlaodrinker]

To many rubbery stamps in mine rick

[barrylad66]

When in Saigon I went down to can tho and hired a longtail boat,can't remember but cheap as. I stuck my cycle on and we went around the deltas. I would jump off ride around the little islands and villages,have a few beers and grub with the locals and then weave my way back to the boat and start all over again. Think your nippers and yourself would enjoy. ( without out a cycle)

[beerlaodrinker]

Sounds like a good idea

[beerlaodrinker]

Well , i was impressed with dalat but2 nights was enough, very laidback place and a good vibe from the locals.would go back again. Weather at night was a bit crisp but the hotel had a heater in the room and was cozy enough. Took a private car to nha trang and arrived xmas day. The russians were misbehaving but easy enough to ignore. 2 nights there was enough to.went to mui ne for 2 nights after nhatrang, found the place nice enough but the beaches were under whelming. No wow factor whatsoever. Caught the train to ho chi minh today and enjoyed that was supposed to fly out but decided to extend for a few more days. New years eve in hoville should be interesting. Will post up some pics when i get back

[terry57]

^

Hey BLD,

There is a great little Bar in HCM selling Coopers Sparkling Ale for a few buks a throw.

See if I can dig it up for ya.

[beerlaodrinker]

That would be good. Viet beers ok but thats about it. Im having an easy one in the hotel tonight and giving the minibar a spanking. Heard theres some good craft breweries around that i might try to check out tomorrow

[david44]

can tho and hired a longtail boa

Great suggestion did same myself in Spring, see the Delta before it disappears.

If yer with kids can get a day trip from Saigon for $20 includes bus 90 mins
Then big ferry
Small boat, some inc lunch also lots of nice not too touristy stops local fruits seafood, donkey rides and bee keeping I think, all the agents intown do it easy peasy great for kids young and old, I'll try and add some pix one day

[katie23]

Thnx for the update, Bld. Look forward to your pics. As David said, try the Mekong delta tour, or maybe the Cu Chi tunnels. Say hello to Uncle Ho for me. I might be see him again soon. Cheers & happy safe travels!

[crocman]

Well , i was impressed with dalat but2 nights was enough, very laidback place and a good vibe from the locals.would go back again. Weather at night was a bit crisp but the hotel had a heater in the room and was cozy enough. Took a private car to nha trang and arrived xmas day. The russians were misbehaving but easy enough to ignore. 2 nights there was enough to.went to mui ne for 2 nights after nhatrang, found the place nice enough but the beaches were under whelming. No wow factor whatsoever. Caught the train to ho chi minh today and enjoyed that was supposed to fly out but decided to extend for a few more days. New years eve in hoville should be interesting. Will post up some pics when i get back

New Years in hoville is a little strange, everyone is out on the streets and at ho square milling around. It's like they know they are celebrating but don't really know why.

It made for interesting people watching.

[terry57]

I was in Uncle Ho's town for Xmas and New year maybe 5 years ago.

The way they decorated the city was fantastic and the atmosphere was brilliant.

Jesus fooking Christ, some of those Viet girls were really world top class gorgeous females.

Incredible some of them.

[vella12]

I was talking with the owner of "Red Chili" last week.
. He was nearly in tears over debt.