Left For Dead
Winger
what is food and hygiene like in Cambodia? I've only done Malaysiaand did the lot - class place - Mrs LFD wants her first trip to Asia - also looking Japan but $$$
Holiday in Vietnam
- Thread starter Left For Dead
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what is food and hygiene like in Cambodia? I've only done Malaysiaand did the lot - class place - Mrs LFD wants her first trip to Asia - also looking Japan but $$$
L
Lexingtongue
Guest
Japan can be so cheap. Travel, aye, a bit pricey, but you can find cheap places to eat, loads to do, and airbnb (if it is still available there) provides some very reasonable accommodation.
Left For Dead
Winger
looking at hotels in Phnom Penh, prices are crazy low...can you get train easy enough to Ho Ch Minh?
JimmyQuinn
Winger
Hanoi is manic but worth the experience - arrived at night so hated it at first but it's a hell of a place
Go up to the hills in Sapa and trot around the paddy fields, can get an overnight train from Hanoi. Also from Hanoi you can't miss out on Halong Bay - can organise day trips I think but would recommend an overnighter
Go to Hue - scene of a massive battle during the war, fascinating city - and then do a bike tour from there to Hoi An. The road is incredible. Hoi An is great, very chilled, can buy cheap (but good quality) suits and there's a cool river display thing they do often
If you fancy a beach bit do Mui Ne, think Nha Trang is more touristy (or was when wewent) but it's a bit shit and Mui Ne way better. 30p bottles of beer and massive sand dunes you can go bombing about on a quad bike on
HCMC is great but very westernised compared to rest of the country. Didn't really do much in Danang other than pass through but got the same vibe
It's a fascinating country and I'd recommend doing as much of it as you can - but you'll have a great time in any of the above tbh
JonMc
Striker
Good restaurants very cheap. The usual 7/11s all over the place.
I'm waiting for my niece to see Japan so she can give me advice on how to do it on some kind of reasonable budget. I'd love to go there.
W
wasnotwas
Guest
I would not call Cambodia exotic by any means. If anything, Vietnam is the more developed country.
If you mean "crammed with tourists", then Cambodia might be busier with people going overnight from Thailand to see Angkor Wat and Ankor Thom.
dangermows
Striker
The old quarter in Hanoi is one of my favourite places. Hanoi, Ha long and Sapa all close together and make for a great trip.
Vietnam is much better than Cambodia, although the Angkor Temples are breath taking.
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Parkmaverick
Striker
right guard will not help you here
Two million voices
Winger
From Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh we flew mate, was around 60 quid and took an hour.
Standards were pretty good but the only place I vomited was in Phnom Penh and I put that down to a manky pint.
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Binternet
Striker
Spent a week in Mui Me recently and it was fantastic. Not very touristy compared to other places in East Asia. People are lovely. The place is also spotless and food hygiene is better than most western countries.
I don't get the whole "HCMC is crazy" thing though. No more mad than Bangkok really.
I don't get the whole "HCMC is crazy" thing though. No more mad than Bangkok really.
JimmyQuinn
Winger
Mui Ne is great
Hanoi much 'crazier' than HCMC but in a good way
Just never run across a road
gluepot
Striker
Over the last 5 years I have been to Thailand Cambodia and Vietnam. Some good comments made by previous posters eg 25 and 28.
Thailand has something for everyone, including temples, palaces, beaches, shopping and girls (and lady boys).
Cambodia (Siem Reap) is great if you want to see Angkor Wat which is in my view amazing. Havent been to any beaches there though.
Went to Vietnam in Feb/March recently. Agree with earlier post, Halong Bay is definately * worth a night on the boat, it is so beautiful, recommend Majestic Tours for that.
Hanoi imho has more to offer than Saigon/HCMC, the old quarter in particular, and the service in some of the boutique hotels (eg Essence) is fantastic. Better day trips from Hanoi too, eg Tam Coc. Saigon has Mekong Delta and Cu Chi tunnels but apart from that the "sights" (Old Post Office and Cathedral under renovation) arent that impressive.
Hoi An has a special charm and is worth one or two nights. All along the coast from Da Nang to Hoi An, the big hotel groups are building holiday resorts, in years to come, these will be very popular, but probably mainly for Chinese / Asian tourists.
Da Nang is the fastest growing city in South East Asia and is a good base, from there you can get to Hue (old royal city / bit underwhelming for me, uinfortunately bombed to bits in the Vietnam war. There are a couple of theme parks near Da Nang , I recommend Sunworld in Ba Na hills.
For beaches Da Nang is good, so is Hoi An. There are several other great beaches south of Hoi An but i didnt visit them.
Street food is good, everything fresh as you will see in the markets where prawns, crabs, eels etc are held for sale alive in water tanks.
There is a Vietnam episode of Marigold on tour which gives a bit of an idea.
My wife hated that some vietnamese see dogs as a delicacy and you may see dogs sold in the markets (so do Koreans).
In all three countries the people are very friendly and decent, service is good , and its cheap.
I wouldnt stay more than 3 days in any one place, go tour around, flights are cheap and as said earlier motorbike is a popular means of getting about especially along the cost roads, ( though not for me personally)
PS Top Gear also did a good Vietnam special, Clarkson and co thought they were rich with umpteen million dong .... but could only afford second hand motor bikes
PS "GRAB@ taxi app very useful over there (its their Uber)
Thailand has something for everyone, including temples, palaces, beaches, shopping and girls (and lady boys).
Cambodia (Siem Reap) is great if you want to see Angkor Wat which is in my view amazing. Havent been to any beaches there though.
Went to Vietnam in Feb/March recently. Agree with earlier post, Halong Bay is definately * worth a night on the boat, it is so beautiful, recommend Majestic Tours for that.
Hanoi imho has more to offer than Saigon/HCMC, the old quarter in particular, and the service in some of the boutique hotels (eg Essence) is fantastic. Better day trips from Hanoi too, eg Tam Coc. Saigon has Mekong Delta and Cu Chi tunnels but apart from that the "sights" (Old Post Office and Cathedral under renovation) arent that impressive.
Hoi An has a special charm and is worth one or two nights. All along the coast from Da Nang to Hoi An, the big hotel groups are building holiday resorts, in years to come, these will be very popular, but probably mainly for Chinese / Asian tourists.
Da Nang is the fastest growing city in South East Asia and is a good base, from there you can get to Hue (old royal city / bit underwhelming for me, uinfortunately bombed to bits in the Vietnam war. There are a couple of theme parks near Da Nang , I recommend Sunworld in Ba Na hills.
For beaches Da Nang is good, so is Hoi An. There are several other great beaches south of Hoi An but i didnt visit them.
Street food is good, everything fresh as you will see in the markets where prawns, crabs, eels etc are held for sale alive in water tanks.
There is a Vietnam episode of Marigold on tour which gives a bit of an idea.
My wife hated that some vietnamese see dogs as a delicacy and you may see dogs sold in the markets (so do Koreans).
In all three countries the people are very friendly and decent, service is good , and its cheap.
I wouldnt stay more than 3 days in any one place, go tour around, flights are cheap and as said earlier motorbike is a popular means of getting about especially along the cost roads, ( though not for me personally)
PS Top Gear also did a good Vietnam special, Clarkson and co thought they were rich with umpteen million dong .... but could only afford second hand motor bikes
PS "GRAB@ taxi app very useful over there (its their Uber)
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Bob Fleming
Striker
Love the Nam like. Was there in 2009. Got a bus down from PP to HCMC. Loved the buzz of HCMC myself. Mad place. Flew up to Da Nang but went straight to Hoi An. Lovely place for a few days. Up to Hue then which wasn't so good but the DMZ bar was class. Then Hanoi which is great, Ha Long bay which is worth a trip but choose your tour company wisely. We used Red Dragon cruise which was class but not cheap. Some friends went cheap and had a crap time on overcrowded boat being hassled by people in small boats wanting to sell them fake fags. And that part of the bay was filthy.
Went up to Sapa after that which is beautiful.
Went up to Sapa after that which is beautiful.
kossoff
Striker
Phu Quoc, Ha Long Bay, Dalat and Nha Trang (although a lot of people dislike it for the Russians) are great too.
Hanoi is amazing. Go.
Tam Coc and Perfume Pagoda also good day trips from Hanoi.
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Left For Dead
Winger
Cracking post- do you buy internal flights there or do it here?
Comprehensive- anyone done Laos?
JimmyQuinn
Winger
We didn't fly mate - did trains and overnight buses (young and skint)
Not sure what the craic is re: flights but to be honest the trains were great and as I say do bike from Hue to Hoi An (or vice versa)
Don't bother with the overnight bus though unless you wanna experience it - they never stop using the bastard horn
Can't remember much as were ill and didn't stay long, but getting in is a pain, involving getting off one bus, walking to the border, getting a visa with your passport photo that you've brought, then getting on another bus.
The tubing/piss up looks cool, though and laos beer is lush.
kossoff
Striker
Vientiane (weirdest capital city ever - as in not corporate/commercial nonsense you find in most others - no grid layout or anything like that), Vang Vieng (gorgeous place but full of knob heads in the hostels) and Luang Prabang (nice place) .
