A friend lives there and I've only heard good things?Originally Posted by DELTAprime
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
A friend lives there and I've only heard good things?
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
It is a less commercial/crowded version of Thailand/Bali. The people are friendlier, the on the ground costs cheaper and (in comparison to Thailand) far far cleaner.
Also you don't get perverts everywhere (at least where we've been) unlike Phuket where I almost killed a man for salivating while imagining undressing my daughter with his eyes right in front of me on a main street.
Visa aside, the cost of the resorts in Vietnam (eg Hyatt/Shangrila) are cheaper than other places, the sand is nice, water is clean/safe and the drinks are stupidly cheap even in the resorts. Only place we've found in-resort drinks cheaper is Cebu (AU$3 cocktails baby!).
I was skeptical going because I wasn't sure how the locals would react given their families went through the hardship of war but I would struggle to find a more friendly group of people in Asia... from in the hotels to the divey hole in the wall restaurants we hunted down on the streets (we like to eat where locals eat) they were always happy and accomodating. They appreciated us visiting and spending our money with them and I'm fine with that.
In the areas we went you did see signs on the previous war... the odd bunker/rubble, awesome awesome old motorbikes reconditioned and the big US army trucks being driven around by locals... in Danang they even have a playground with a US chopper in the middle of it you can sit in!
There are also beautiful local, historical and cultural aspects of Vietnam to see - the Marble Mountains (catacombs of caves atop a small mountain with hidden temples, etc) was stunning for example.
I've not been to HCM but we really want to go back and explore more at some point.
The only down side is the lack of toys and from all accounts the Hasbro factories are hard to get to.
Apologies for taking the thread off topic but I wanted to answer DeltaPrime's curiosity.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
A good post is always welcome anywhere!It is a less commercial/crowded version of Thailand/Bali. The people are friendlier, the on the ground costs cheaper and (in comparison to Thailand) far far cleaner.
Also you don't get perverts everywhere (at least where we've been) unlike Phuket where I almost killed a man for salivating while imagining undressing my daughter with his eyes right in front of me on a main street.
Visa aside, the cost of the resorts in Vietnam (eg Hyatt/Shangrila) are cheaper than other places, the sand is nice, water is clean/safe and the drinks are stupidly cheap even in the resorts. Only place we've found in-resort drinks cheaper is Cebu (AU$3 cocktails baby!).
I was skeptical going because I wasn't sure how the locals would react given their families went through the hardship of war but I would struggle to find a more friendly group of people in Asia... from in the hotels to the divey hole in the wall restaurants we hunted down on the streets (we like to eat where locals eat) they were always happy and accomodating. They appreciated us visiting and spending our money with them and I'm fine with that.
In the areas we went you did see signs on the previous war... the odd bunker/rubble, awesome awesome old motorbikes reconditioned and the big US army trucks being driven around by locals... in Danang they even have a playground with a US chopper in the middle of it you can sit in!
There are also beautiful local, historical and cultural aspects of Vietnam to see - the Marble Mountains (catacombs of caves atop a small mountain with hidden temples, etc) was stunning for example.
I've not been to HCM but we really want to go back and explore more at some point.
The only down side is the lack of toys and from all accounts the Hasbro factories are hard to get to.
Apologies for taking the thread off topic but I wanted to answer DeltaPrime's curiosity.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
That's cool to know, I really know very little about Vietnam. Probably not the type of place I'd visit. I'm more interested in the high tech parts of Asia like Japan and Korea (the south one not the north one), but it sounds good.It is a less commercial/crowded version of Thailand/Bali. The people are friendlier, the on the ground costs cheaper and (in comparison to Thailand) far far cleaner.
Also you don't get perverts everywhere (at least where we've been) unlike Phuket where I almost killed a man for salivating while imagining undressing my daughter with his eyes right in front of me on a main street.
Visa aside, the cost of the resorts in Vietnam (eg Hyatt/Shangrila) are cheaper than other places, the sand is nice, water is clean/safe and the drinks are stupidly cheap even in the resorts. Only place we've found in-resort drinks cheaper is Cebu (AU$3 cocktails baby!).
I was skeptical going because I wasn't sure how the locals would react given their families went through the hardship of war but I would struggle to find a more friendly group of people in Asia... from in the hotels to the divey hole in the wall restaurants we hunted down on the streets (we like to eat where locals eat) they were always happy and accomodating. They appreciated us visiting and spending our money with them and I'm fine with that.
In the areas we went you did see signs on the previous war... the odd bunker/rubble, awesome awesome old motorbikes reconditioned and the big US army trucks being driven around by locals... in Danang they even have a playground with a US chopper in the middle of it you can sit in!
There are also beautiful local, historical and cultural aspects of Vietnam to see - the Marble Mountains (catacombs of caves atop a small mountain with hidden temples, etc) was stunning for example.
I've not been to HCM but we really want to go back and explore more at some point.
The only down side is the lack of toys and from all accounts the Hasbro factories are hard to get to.
Apologies for taking the thread off topic but I wanted to answer DeltaPrime's curiosity.
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
Japan ain't as high-tech as you'd imagineBut maybe not a good idea to base idea/opinion of a country on a videogame
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
South Korea is one of the worst countries I have visited. Japan one of the best.
I can't wait to visit Vietnam one day, heard nothing but good things from family and friends who have been/lived there.
I still function.....................while killing threads. ;-)
Rank 6 - Dedicated Member
What put you off about South Korea? Just curious, haven't been, heard good things, etc.
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Japan is awesome and a must visit country. It's one of my favourite places to go in Asia and like Hong Kong it is Transformer heaven.
South Korea is fun but it isn't as tech and fast paced as Japan or Hong Kong. It is also one of the most regimented and consumer patriotic countries I've been to... try being the only people in an area with an iPhone because everyone has a Samsung, or only seeing Korean brand cars in one of 3 colours - white, grey or black. South Korea is also heavily influenced by the US so lots of US chain restaurants everywhere and streets full of beauty products which I find a little strange. I've never found any Transformers in Korea, although admittedly the last few trips we've been too busy to find any shopping malls.
On the plus side we've had some amazing ski trips there as it is a cheap place to ski (quality of slopes on par with Perisher but nowhere near as good as japan/US) and the people, while not super friendly are always curious (my daughter in particular draws a crowd for her alleged "perfect eyes" whatever that means). The local food is fabulous although if you ever go to Eastwood in Sydney you can find a pretty close match in terms of flavour and quality.
I like going to Korea but I find it a little harder to navigate than Japan in terms of language/culture. I love seeing all the fighter jets and stuff buzzing around. Bear in mind South Korea, like Vietnam, also had a major conflict as well and Seoul is rather close to the border with North Korea. They're technically still at war but have an "agreement" so it does have some risk associated with travelling there.
When it come to travelling, especially in Asia, I think you have to have an open mind.
I have been to countries I never would have imagined over the last few years and constantly been surprised by how different they are to how I envisaged.
I've been to places I didn't even think would be touristy - Taiwan comes to mind - and had an absolutely amazing experience.
What was that Aussie slogan... You'll never never know if you never never go!
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
Similar to what Bladestorm has said for the negatives, also my wife and I found the people to be grumpy and rude. There were pockets of friendliness, the infrastructure being put in place was quite amazing given the mountainous terrain of the country.
I never walk away from a place and say I never wish I went there, so I am glad I went but would never intentionally go back.
Each to their own though and I'm sure there are many people who love going there, I am not a snow person so we didn't go there for that, most of our time was spent in the South, which was a lot different to Seoul where we also stayed but in Gangnam where it's Merc, BMW, Audi etc. central so not a true representation of the city.
I still function.....................while killing threads. ;-)
Rank 8 - Deluxe Member
To play devil's advocate, the flipside of this is what we have in Australia where there is arguably a lack of consumer patriotism which has caused a lot of Australian business to either go belly up or become foreign owned. This is something which has frustrated the likes of people like Dick Smith who's campaigned for a long time to try and keep more jobs in Australia. So I can see the rationale behind having consumer patriotism, but yeah, the downside to that is a lack of visible brand diversity.
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