Summary of Vietnam
Better late than never. Thought we might give you our summary of Vietnam now. Starting from the north, Hanoi isn't really interesting or fun at all. It may be if you're really interested and into culture, but if you're not, skip Hanoi. None of very few bars had open after midnight, few people speaks English and it's rather expensive (to be in south-east asia). Also, about the locals, not only don't they speak English, they're not very nice either. You're more likely to get ripped off or scammed here rather than in southern Vietnam. Everyone on the street will try. We made it a rule not to listen to what anyone on the street had to say or sell us. The traffic here is really crazy too. Actually that goes for whole Vietnam. There are millions of motorbikes/scooters/mopeds here. That is the main transportation vehicle in Vietnam. Cars are freakishly expensive. The only reason to come to Hanoi (or the only reason to come back for us) would be to go to the places around Hanoi. Halong Bay, in which we stayed for 5 nights with beautiful beaches and Sapa, an native Vietnamese city with beatiful scenery, we were told, since we did't go there. But we would if we'd come back.
Busy streets in Hanoi.
Our beach on Cat Ba, Halong Bay.
Beatiful scenery on Cat Ba.
To the central coast then. We had an Open Bus Tour ticket, works great! We went to Hue, Danang and Hoi An on the central coast. If you're not into culture or history, skip the first two. Hue was the city with the old citadel. Nice city actually, lots of history. We liked it, but wouldn't go back. You shouldn't bother go to Danang either. Boring city! Nothing to see, nightlife is medioker and people aren't that nice. Hoi An is the place to be in the central coast. This is where we met up with Nick & Trent and ended up staying for week. A small town, very pittoresque. The city centre is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Hoi An is also famous for it's tailors. We had each a suit and two shirts made. Paid $50 for that. Girls we met had shoes, skirts and especialy dresses made. Really cheap of course.Hoi An has also got two very nice beaches and nightlifes is good too. Locals are nicer, but you still have to watch out for scams, though less frequent than in Hanoi. We enjoyed Hoi An a lot and it's easy to go there thinking you're only staying for a night or to and ending up staying fo a week...just as we did.
American Blades.
The good life in Hoi An. Aah.
Crazy Buffalo Bar in Saigon, one of the bars in the backpacker area.
Our next stop after that was Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as the offical name is. We skipped the beach capital Nha Trang, since it was flooded. But would be fun to go there another time though. Saigon was so different from Hanoi! We felt it right away. Saigon is vibrant and really has a pulse. Hanoi had neither. People are so much nicer in Saigon too. There aren't that many things to see in the city, but just being there was good enough for us. And the nightlife is great too. There are still thousands of motos, you still have to watch out for sneaky vietnamese people (we had a really expensive taxi in Saigon), many are still not that good in english or very nice to you - but everything is so much better in Saigon compared to Hanoi.
If you would compare Vietnam to say, China's well-structured organization of the country, Vietnam is like the Wild Wild West. Everything has a chaotic feel to it. Stuff like lack of traffic rules, no reciepts when paying or taxis without rules for how the taximeter works. Since the "free" Vietnam is only 19 years old, the capitalism is really just getting started. Before that it was strict communism. Now when locals are allowed to buy and own stuff, everyone is trying to make it for themselves. Everything has its price. Vendors are everywhere, and even their kids sell stuff. 4-year-olds sell cigarettes, sunglasses & books. It's just wrong. And most of the 4-year-olds speak better english than the average Vietnamese adult. Crazy.
To conclude, we loved Vietnam! People can be very dodgy, but just watch out and be very suspicious to everything and you'll be fine. We met lots of nice people too (especially in southern Vietnam). The country is so beautiful and has plenty of amazing beaches. We both would love to go back one day.
/C & M
Busy streets in Hanoi.
Our beach on Cat Ba, Halong Bay.
Beatiful scenery on Cat Ba.
To the central coast then. We had an Open Bus Tour ticket, works great! We went to Hue, Danang and Hoi An on the central coast. If you're not into culture or history, skip the first two. Hue was the city with the old citadel. Nice city actually, lots of history. We liked it, but wouldn't go back. You shouldn't bother go to Danang either. Boring city! Nothing to see, nightlife is medioker and people aren't that nice. Hoi An is the place to be in the central coast. This is where we met up with Nick & Trent and ended up staying for week. A small town, very pittoresque. The city centre is on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Hoi An is also famous for it's tailors. We had each a suit and two shirts made. Paid $50 for that. Girls we met had shoes, skirts and especialy dresses made. Really cheap of course.Hoi An has also got two very nice beaches and nightlifes is good too. Locals are nicer, but you still have to watch out for scams, though less frequent than in Hanoi. We enjoyed Hoi An a lot and it's easy to go there thinking you're only staying for a night or to and ending up staying fo a week...just as we did.
American Blades.
The good life in Hoi An. Aah.
Crazy Buffalo Bar in Saigon, one of the bars in the backpacker area.
Our next stop after that was Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as the offical name is. We skipped the beach capital Nha Trang, since it was flooded. But would be fun to go there another time though. Saigon was so different from Hanoi! We felt it right away. Saigon is vibrant and really has a pulse. Hanoi had neither. People are so much nicer in Saigon too. There aren't that many things to see in the city, but just being there was good enough for us. And the nightlife is great too. There are still thousands of motos, you still have to watch out for sneaky vietnamese people (we had a really expensive taxi in Saigon), many are still not that good in english or very nice to you - but everything is so much better in Saigon compared to Hanoi.
If you would compare Vietnam to say, China's well-structured organization of the country, Vietnam is like the Wild Wild West. Everything has a chaotic feel to it. Stuff like lack of traffic rules, no reciepts when paying or taxis without rules for how the taximeter works. Since the "free" Vietnam is only 19 years old, the capitalism is really just getting started. Before that it was strict communism. Now when locals are allowed to buy and own stuff, everyone is trying to make it for themselves. Everything has its price. Vendors are everywhere, and even their kids sell stuff. 4-year-olds sell cigarettes, sunglasses & books. It's just wrong. And most of the 4-year-olds speak better english than the average Vietnamese adult. Crazy.
To conclude, we loved Vietnam! People can be very dodgy, but just watch out and be very suspicious to everything and you'll be fine. We met lots of nice people too (especially in southern Vietnam). The country is so beautiful and has plenty of amazing beaches. We both would love to go back one day.
/C & M
Kommentarer
Postat av: Liz
Vietnam verkar helt underbart vackert, speciellt den lilla ön ni bodde på i början. Skulle gärna vilja åka dit med dig Christopher!
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