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wat 2 do in vietnam? - Page 3

post #31 of 38
7/5/10 at 2:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt View Post
(ok something to work from. Assuming that you don't need to spend too much time with the fam, I'd give Saigon 2 days and make sure they are over a weekend. I'll take care of you, I'm an excellent host .............. Fly back to Saigon. One the national carrier, about $100 one way, on the budget airline, $50 if youre lucky. If you have time, and feel compelled to get some island/beach time, then either fly to Phu Quoc (more popular) or Con Dao (my prefered) and you will be done. Thats $100 RT to either. A pretty damn good itinerary.
Matt, excellent advice especially about Phu Quoc. My missus is from Saigon and she is looking at buying some beach front land on that beautiful untouched island. She was there last week for a recce mission and came back with some amazing pics. Here is a link if you wanna know more about the place http://www.mysherpa.info/phuquoc/index.cfm. Basicaly Phu Quoc is Phuket or Pattaya 20-30 years ago before it went all downhill. It's also a UNESCO designated eco-tourism island so if nature and chilling out is your thing then don't miss it. I've been a lurker for a while and i must say, Matt you knowledge on Vietnam is amazing. I'm a Singaporean based in Singers and involved in the offshore oil & gas industry and I'm always visiting HCM (we have an apartment there), Vung Tau, Hanoi etc. May I ask how long have you been there? If your offer for a drink is open to all visitors, I would be glad to buzz you next time I'm there. To the OP, Vietnam is great place but you need to relax and drop the First World mentality about timing, service etc. to enjoy it or to do business in my case. Just remember, you are water and they are rock. Or so my wife says. Cheers or Chia!
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post #32 of 38
7/5/10 at 6:38am
cool. I lived in Singapore for two years myself, but have been in SGN for over six. Let me know when you are up here, happy to go for a beer. Tell your wife to look into Con Dao, cheaper land, better infrastructure (paradoxically), and nicer beaches. Will come down to superstition though, a lot of Vietnamese are dead set convinced that it's haunted.
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post #33 of 38
7/5/10 at 8:35am
Con Dao looks interesting and an amazing find. I just Googled it, it certainly is isolated and I hope it does remain off the beaten path. Wife is a naturaised Singer now but at hear a Saigon gal so that means superstitous as f*** as you must know.

Phu Quoc is building a regional airport with routes to SIN and HK so travel there would be easier for us in the future. Besides I've always dreamt of running a beach bar/huts with chill out scene. Nothing posh but laidback and stylish. I guess normal mod-cons woud be built up by the govt. so that makes it easier and attractive as an investment.

What do you think of Ha Tien on the mainland opposite Phu Quoc?

BTW, if you could use a percentage how much of Vietnam have you physically covered?
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post #34 of 38
7/5/10 at 9:53am
Quote:
Originally Posted by suited&booted View Post
What do you think of Ha Tien on the mainland opposite Phu Quoc?

The freshest seafood you'll find anywhere, but in general it is a bit dumpy without much to do or see. There is a fresh seafood market which is interesting, and some nice day trips - get a moto driver to take you to Hon Chong and Hon Phu Tu. Kind of a preview of halong bay...but if you've already been to halong it will be anti-climactic.


Make sure to try the snails with pepper/lime by the water downtown - just sit down at the little plastic tables/chairs and ask for sea snails ("oc"). Or when in doubt, draw a picture because very few people speak English in Ha Tien.

Ha Tien proper is not worth more than a half day, really, unless you have some time to burn.
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post #35 of 38
7/5/10 at 11:38am
Hey MetroStyles,

Thanks for tips. Did you take a train/bus and meandered around from Saigon or took a plane to Rach Ga? Did you then take a boat trip to Phu Quoc?

Cheers,
Rezal
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post #36 of 38
7/5/10 at 12:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by suited&booted View Post
Hey MetroStyles, Thanks for tips. Did you take a train/bus and meandered around from Saigon or took a plane to Rach Ga? Did you then take a boat trip to Phu Quoc? Cheers, Rezal
I don't know of many trains in Vietnam. I came in via motorcycle ride ($10) from Cambodia...across the border into Ha Tien, took about 2 hours. From there hired another moto rider to take me to Hon Chong/Hon Phu Tu and back for a day trip. Took a bus to Rach Gia, transferred to another bus and went to Can Tho for a day. Then took a bus from Can Tho to Saigon. Flew to Hanoi later, bussed to Halong bay, flew from Hanoi to HK and that was it for Vietnam. Spent a lot of time in Saigon so I missed out on a lot of middle/North Vietnam, so obviously I would not follow my itinerary if I were you.
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post #37 of 38
7/7/10 at 9:50pm
you don't really want to have much to do with the trains here if you can avoid it...other than the Sapa train from Hanoi. That was funny actually, when Tom (tiger02) came up to visit and we did the bike trip from Hanoi to Sapa, we decided to put the bikes on the train and head back to Hanoi that way. We got the last seats, which were 3rd class, bolt upright, worn almost to the wood frame, right by the toilet. We moved to the cafe car pretty quickly, sat there til they closed it, alternating whose turn it was to buy water so they wouldn't toss us out, and me babbling away in Vietnamese to all the staff, who liked the novelty of the white guy who speaks the language. Closing time, "you go back your seat", I started chatting with them and negotiated for us to pay off the cleaning lady about 100000 dong ($5.50), to convert two of the dining booths into beds for us and let us sleep there all night.
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post #38 of 38
7/8/10 at 2:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Matt View Post
you don't really want to have much to do with the trains here if you can avoid it...other than the Sapa train from Hanoi. ..........

Closing time, "you go back your seat", I started chatting with them and negotiated for us to pay off the cleaning lady about 100000 dong ($5.50), to convert two of the dining booths into beds for us and let us sleep there all night.

Yeah that's what I find amazing about Vietnam. Good or bad, there is always room to negotiatie or find an escape clause. Coming from anal retentive Singapore this used to grate me as the rules and goal posts keep changing but now I'm easy with it and use it to my advantage or at least my missus does whenever whe are there.

Matt, you should write a book. Seriously.
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