Weekend in Vietnam

[malmomike77]

^ it's not strong and you can get in rounds with the locals.

[Ukan Kizmiaz]

I like vietnam, the beer, saigon, the people. The food's good but not as good as thai. Decades ago at Lost in Saigon (?) at 3am on the 2nd or 3rd floor and the dirty bint that tagged along turned the lights off and stole a couple of pool balls in a game with some locals. lucky we were all very drunk.

Lots of other great places - Hoi An, Danang, Dong Hoi etc. Riding thru the hills around Khe Sanh on mopeds with my wife and daughter singing...KHE SANH at the top of our voices. Doing a bike ride tour the fields near Hoi An and the (very) hot young tour guide stridently telling us how the VC won the war an kicked the aussies arses. Dong Hoi , across the HCM trail, across Laos to Tahkek and onto Nakhon phanom - great drive except for the mental truck drivers and fucked roads

yes time to go back

[BLD]

I told em.i thought it was a draw

[BLD]

They don't mind a drink the views. I went with an expat mate of mine to a huge barnlike place in Hanoi where we met about 20 of his Viet work mates. Male and female, the fuckers were guzzling them like there was no tomorrow occasionally one or 2 of them would park the tiger ( throw up) then continue on anew. It was quite bizarre, I like a drink to but I felt like a pussy compared to these shenanigans. Fook.they were hard core. Thank fook I didn't marry a Viet bird .

[DrWilly]

Yeah such a loser for liking my family right.

Except I didnt say that

Bet the rest of the boys loved you having your family there.

[armstrong]

Except I didnt say that

Bet the rest of the boys loved you having your family there.

Yeah, the wives had a good natter together.

[Bogon]

I was paying 8p for a glass in Hanoi 15 years ago or so.

I was there in May this year and think it was about 25p a glass.

The server had what looked like a bingo card and ticked off a box every time you ordered.

There were 4 of us and we got through 24 glasses for around 7 quid before heading off to Ta Hien.

[Topper]

I plan to go to Danang in the spring next year...can't wait, thanks Armstrong!

[Joe 90]

Word is Vietnam is the new Thailand on the backpacker grapevine.

Cheers for sharing Armstrong!

[Joe 90]

I've lived, worked and travelled through Vietnam

Fvcking hell is there anywhere you haven't been TDs Phileas Fogg?

More travelling than Michael Palin and Alan Whicker combined!

Jammy red cvnt

[Joe 90]

Aye, Saigon is a top spot for aimless afternoon drinking.

30 years since I was there - might be time for another visit.

God help us

[Joe 90]

^ it's not strong and you can get in rounds with the locals.

Steady on old chap, that's the slippery slope

[DrWilly]

Yeah, the wives had a good natter together.

The comment stands. Just because one or two others also broke protocol doesn’t make it correct.

[katie23]

I plan to go to Danang in the spring next year...can't wait, thanks Armstrong!

From Danang, you can go on a day trip to Hoi An (UNESCO heritage town). We used a Grab car to get there.

In Danang, I suggest to get a hotel near the beach (not near the city). From Danang, you can take a plane (or night train) to Saigon. Cebu Pacific flies direct from Manila to Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh city (Saigon). CP & PAL have promos - watch out for them. (In my 2019 VN trip thread, Danang was part of my itinerary.) Good luck!

If your wife is a bit business-minded, she can buy Class A stuff (factory made but didn't pass inspection) at Ben Thanh market in Saigon & sell them in PH. The factories of Nike, Reebok, Kipling, North Face, etc are located in VN. Even if she's not business-minded, she can buy stuff for "pasalubong". A colleague of mine bought several North Face and Kipling bags for his nephews/ nieces during his trip to VN.

Btw, you'll need an e-visa for VN but your wife won't. One of the very few instances where her passport trumps yours. The Vietnamese are still a bit salty to Americans & won't give them visa-free access. (Obama did visit Hanoi some years ago & had a chat with Anthony Bourdain.)

If ever you're in Saigon, I suggest to visit the War Museum. You'll see history based on their perspective (fair enough).

[armstrong]

The comment stands. Just because one or two others also broke protocol doesn’t make it correct.

Literally everyone brought their partners and we all went out together.

Gosh, I wonder why you wouldn't bring your partner for a trip away...

[Topper]

^^ Thanks Katie!

Biden is/has just been there so maybe they'll ease up on things. We do plan to stay at the beach, it's the reason for going, but we'll probably head south towards Hoi An.

[Bonecollector]

Hope you guys had a great time, my daughter and I were in Saigon last December and had a great time. If you have never been to Hue, that should be next on your list. Fly to Da Nang, go st8 to the train station and get the train to Hue. Have a couple of days in Hue looking around the mausoleums, then maybe a long day and evening in Da Nang.

Hoi An meh, full of tourists and tacky shit also overpriced. I would go to the ancient city of My Son instead. Rent a bike and take a google map ride through the old villages and farm land.

[hallelujah]

I was there in May this year and think it was about 25p a glass.

The server had what looked like a bingo card and ticked off a box every time you ordered.

There were 4 of us and we got through 24 glasses for around 7 quid before heading off to Ta Hien.

The only problem is that it's pretty weak and you can get a bit bored after a while if you're on a session.

So 6 glasses each sounds about right.

It's worth it just to be able to say that you're paying 25p a beer to your mates at home.

[Reg Dingle]

Only a penny more expensive than what I managed to find in Prague in 1996.

That sounds mental.

... until you see what he was spunking on coke and hookers

[hallelujah]

... until you see what he was spunking on coke and hookers

You've gotta make your savings somewhere, haven't you?

Speaking of which

she can buy Class A stuff

It's always the quiet ones.

[reinvented]

only done the beer hoi thing once in Hanoi, and the old dear in charge had me changing barrels.

prefer the beer in Prague for sure

[katie23]

^^ Thanks Katie!

Biden is/has just been there so maybe they'll ease up on things. We do plan to stay at the beach, it's the reason for going, but we'll probably head south towards Hoi An.

You're welcome! If you'll go via Manila, you can stay 1 or 2 days at a Manila hotel. You could time that on a weekend so you can go to one of those weekend breakfast buffets in hotels. From our last convo, I think Okada Hotel had good value? From Mall of Asia (which is near T3 airport), there's a free shuttle bus to Okada. It's Japanese-owned, so the loos are high-tech.

I second the suggestion that from Danang, you can go by train to Hue. Ride is 3 to 4 hrs. Lots of things to see in Vietnam - it depends on how long you'll stay. Cheers!

[DrWilly]

Literally everyone brought their partners and we all went out together.

Gosh, I wonder why you wouldn't bring your partner for a trip away...

A family weekend football trip? Now there’s a new, aged politically correct idea. Did the hosting team(s) bring all their WAGs too and everyone had fun knitting or did you leave them in the lurch?

As for your little dig, I wouldn’t normally take my partner on a footy/cricket/rugby/golf trip because you spend all day playing sports and all night drinking and socializing with the other teams.

[MarilynMonroe]

Looks like fun, armstrong. Your little girl is growing so fast, how old is she now?

I spent a month in Vietnam back when I did a three month tour of SEAsia 15 years ago now.. time flies!
I loved Hoi An, Hue, Sapa, and Hanoi.. I didn't get to HCMC!

[armstrong]

A family weekend football trip? Now there’s a new, aged politically correct idea. Did the hosting team(s) bring all their WAGs too and everyone had fun knitting or did you leave them in the lurch?

As for your little dig, I wouldn’t normally take my partner on a footy/cricket/rugby/golf trip because you spend all day playing sports and all night drinking and socializing with the other teams.

LOL

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