Tips: 1. Get an extension in your passport - with all the stamps you are going to get, you are probably going to run out of space. 2. Take a LOT of pepto-bismol. It is hard to find and very useful to have a lot of 3. Imodium AD 4. They give you cipro for travelers diarrhea - but I have heard it isn't the best solution. 5. Croatia is great and very up and coming.
I am going to try to sum up our trip to Vietnam. We started in Saigon (Ho Chi Men) and stayed at New World hotel. "Not fantastic, but good. Loud band." (Charlie) There is a purse designed Ipa Nima in the hotel and she has fun stuff. It was a good location, near the market place. We liked the food quite a bit in this town and there are American war sits to visit and the tunnels but we weren't interested. We used the Lonely Planet guide book and really liked it - everyone else was carrying the same book. We liked the walking tour from the book. We could have stayed another day 3 full days would have been good.
We then took a car to Phan Teit and stayed in the Victoria Hotel and we LOVED it here. It is beautiful and relaxing and the hotel is very nice. They have hotels all over the country. Dong Ho restraint.
We then took another car to an airport in a town I can't remember the name of. It would have been good to check this town out, but we didn't have time. Then we were on to Hoi An and there we stayed at the Hoi An River Side Resort and we really like it here. Nice place outside of town with a shuttle to town. $75 a night including breakfast. We could have stayed 4 full days here or more very easily. One 1/2 was spent going to the Red Bridge Cooking School. Here is the quote from a friend who recommended it to me:
"Please pass the information about the Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An to Margot. It was one of the highlights of our trip. If they don't have an itinerary so they can make a reservation on line, make sure she takes along the information so she can do it when they get to Hoi An. Our guide was "Mr. Personality" and it was just a great way to spend half a day and very reasonable besides ($13), including lunch! The cooking school tour will take them to the famous market in Hoi An, but they should make sure they go there anyway because it is fascinating."
We met some other nice young people on the trip. The hotel arranged it for us but they tried to convince us to do there cooking school - don't do it.
Hoi An is also where the tailors are. If you go, find a tailor the 1st day so you can have fittings done.
From Hoi An we flew to Han Hoi. We didn't really like it here. Very smoggy and the people were not that nice. However, some people like it here. We met a couple who rode bikes around and like it. You have to see the water puppet show in town. We also stayed on the edge of town and it would have been better to be walking distance to the red bridge in the center of town and the other attractions. There are a few lavish old world hotels in the city, we had drink at Sofitel (I think) and if it is in your budget, stay there! We stayed at the Hanoi Horrison.
From Hanoi we booked or trip to Ha Long Bay. I am not sure of the outfitter who did it, but it may come to me. It was also inthe guide book, but someone recommended this one to us. We did one night, but like I was telling you, you could do longer trips and kayak. That looked like a lot of fun. The company we booked through also does trips to Sa Pa, even further north were the hill tribes are. This is suppose to be great and if we had a few extra days we would have done this. It is very rural and you have to trek in to get to the villages. Something worth looking into is Sa Pa first, then down to Ha Long Bay with the same outfitter. They will also drive you back to Han Hoi when it is over.
1. Get an extension in your passport - with all the stamps you are going to get, you are probably going to run out of space.
2. Take a LOT of pepto-bismol. It is hard to find and very useful to have a lot of
3. Imodium AD
4. They give you cipro for travelers diarrhea - but I have heard it isn't the best solution.
5. Croatia is great and very up and coming.
I am going to try to sum up our trip to Vietnam. We started in Saigon (Ho Chi Men) and stayed at New World hotel. "Not fantastic, but good. Loud band." (Charlie) There is a purse designed Ipa Nima in the hotel and she has fun stuff. It was a good location, near the market place. We liked the food quite a bit in this town and there are American war sits to visit and the tunnels but we weren't interested. We used the Lonely Planet guide book and really liked it - everyone else was carrying the same book. We liked the walking tour from the book. We could have stayed another day 3 full days would have been good.
We then took a car to Phan Teit and stayed in the Victoria Hotel and we LOVED it here. It is beautiful and relaxing and the hotel is very nice. They have hotels all over the country. Dong Ho restraint.
We then took another car to an airport in a town I can't remember the name of. It would have been good to check this town out, but we didn't have time. Then we were on to Hoi An and there we stayed at the Hoi An River Side Resort and we really like it here. Nice place outside of town with a shuttle to town. $75 a night including breakfast. We could have stayed 4 full days here or more very easily. One 1/2 was spent going to the Red Bridge Cooking School. Here is the quote from a friend who recommended it to me:
"Please pass the information about the Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An to Margot. It was one of the highlights of our trip. If they don't have an itinerary so they can make a reservation on line, make sure she takes along the information so she can do it when they get to Hoi An. Our guide was "Mr. Personality" and it was just a great way to spend half a day and very reasonable besides ($13), including lunch! The cooking school tour will take them to the famous market in Hoi An, but they should make sure they go there anyway because it is fascinating."
We met some other nice young people on the trip. The hotel arranged it for us but they tried to convince us to do there cooking school - don't do it.
Hoi An is also where the tailors are. If you go, find a tailor the 1st day so you can have fittings done.
From Hoi An we flew to Han Hoi. We didn't really like it here. Very smoggy and the people were not that nice. However, some people like it here. We met a couple who rode bikes around and like it. You have to see the water puppet show in town. We also stayed on the edge of town and it would have been better to be walking distance to the red bridge in the center of town and the other attractions. There are a few lavish old world hotels in the city, we had drink at Sofitel (I think) and if it is in your budget, stay there! We stayed at the Hanoi Horrison.
From Hanoi we booked or trip to Ha Long Bay. I am not sure of the outfitter who did it, but it may come to me. It was also inthe guide book, but someone recommended this one to us. We did one night, but like I was telling you, you could do longer trips and kayak. That looked like a lot of fun. The company we booked through also does trips to Sa Pa, even further north were the hill tribes are. This is suppose to be great and if we had a few extra days we would have done this. It is very rural and you have to trek in to get to the villages. Something worth looking into is Sa Pa first, then down to Ha Long Bay with the same outfitter. They will also drive you back to Han Hoi when it is over.