Malaysia and Vietnam

Old Oct 11th, 2008, 10:21 AM
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Malaysia and Vietnam

My son who is 21 is doing Semester at Sea with upcoming stops in Panang, Malaysia arriving at 0800 on Oct 22 and departing at 2000 on Oct 26. Can you recommend a place to stay beachside as well as things to see in this time frame?
Following that stop, they will be going to Ho Chi Ming arriving Oct 30 at 0800 and departing Nov 3 at 2000.
Looking for suggestions on what to see and do on these 2 stops as well as fun and interesting places to stay. Budget is a consideration since they are students!
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Old Oct 11th, 2008, 10:27 AM
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zanne. I can't help you on Penang - I just wanted to say - what a fantastic idea this Semester at Sea is! Bravo to you and your son.
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Old Oct 11th, 2008, 10:38 AM
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I'm not impressed with the beaches at Penang, but I'd highly recommend a stay in Georgetown, the historic center of Penang. There is lots to see and do just in Georgetown, as well as the justly famous hawker food. Your son might be interested in my report from a trip a couple of years ago to Penang.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...7&tid=34904681
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Old Oct 11th, 2008, 11:33 AM
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Thanks, I will pass it on.
Yes, dogster, he is lucky and I'm jealous it isn't me doing this!
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Old Oct 11th, 2008, 04:17 PM
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If he is the slightest bit interested in history then the Cu Chi tunnels near Ho Chi Minh are well worth a visit. For more backpackerish places to stay check out http://www.travelfish.org/

Also I enjoyed the Mekong Delta.
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Old Oct 11th, 2008, 05:37 PM
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Hi - so they get five full days in each place - brilliant!

Re Penang - agree with Kathie that the place to stay is Georgetown where there is loads to see and soak up (a guidebook is a good idea). The beaches aren't that great, though a 21 year old might see it differently! I believe they are much nicer on Langkawi which would be a good day trip (there's a ferry).

I can't remember where I stayed in Georgetown but there's no shortage of budget accommo, and arriving at 0800 means a head start over those coming from the mainland. A map, a mental short list, and just go round and look for somewhere.

Re HCMC - agree Mekong Delta is good, and there are some excellent cheap organised trips - though strongly recommend going for more than a day. I went with Delta Adventures - does all the tourist stuff (some of which is disappointing) and there were a few glitches but on the whole good value.

http://www.deltaadventuretours.com/E...spx?IDNHOM=N21

I stayed at the Happy Inn, 40/13 Bui Vien Street and was very, very happy with it ($30 a night a year ago). Seems prices are still the same:

http://happy-inn.net/en/index.php/In...n/Room%20rates

It's in backpackerland - might be a bit laid back and quiet for your son and his mates, but there are loads of other options in the same area.

Cheers.
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Old Oct 12th, 2008, 02:53 AM
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They should be staying on the boat everynight.
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Old Oct 12th, 2008, 03:35 AM
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Bisbee - why?
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Old Oct 12th, 2008, 08:06 PM
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For accommodation in Vietnam he should check out www.vietnamstay.com which I used a couple of years ago. They offer prety reasonably prices on a range of accommodation, and they weren't requesting payment in advance via credit cards.

I simply paid the hotels direct, after I had organised for Vietnamstay to have a driver meet me at the airport on arrival and take me to my chosen accommodation.

I thought they were very reputable. I stayed at the Duxton for $75 a night (that was my splurge) but they have a range of budget accommodation on their website in the budget market (under $30) and the 3 star (3$30-$60).

Personally, I'd have avoided Ho Chi Minh City, however, and gone to Siem Reap in Cambodia. I thought that HCMC was a bit of a dump. Hanoi was by far the nicer. As was Hoi An.

But Siem Reap was the best place in which to hang out and have fun, even if they don't bother with visiting Angkor Wat.....
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Old Oct 12th, 2008, 09:34 PM
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I agree that the beach at Penang isn't fabulous but a 21 year old is unlikely to find Georgetown all that appealing either. The Casuarina Resort in Batu Ferringhi is one of the cheaper beachfront properties and it is located on the main drag close to all the street markets.

If he wants to be near the sand and sea then it would probably be the only reasonable place that he could get for under $100 a night. I am sure there would be many cheap guesthouses in Georgetown but if he wants the beach Batu Ferringhi is his best option.

I think that HCMC is a facinating place but I went over 10 years ago so I cant recommend any places to stay. The trip to the tunnels will be worthwhile and the Mekong delta was a really interesting day trip from memmory. I also loved hiring a Cyclo driver and touring around the city. We found the War museum a real chilling experience and all the street food and atmosphere at night to be fantastic.
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Old Oct 12th, 2008, 09:56 PM
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Forget about the Casuarina, It has apparently closed down for renovation and will be reopened as "Hard Rock Hotel".....There go's the neighbourhood.
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Old Oct 12th, 2008, 10:34 PM
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Author: afterall
Date: 10/12/2008, 07:35 am
Bisbee - why?


This is in regards to their accomodations. If the boat is in port, I would think they would be sleeping on it.
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Old Oct 13th, 2008, 02:46 AM
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But why, Bisbee? Look I know zilch about Semester at Sea but I assume part of the concept is to introduce the students to other cultures - and other cultures means walking the street, taking the buses, eating in local eateries, and yes, staying in local hotels.

And if OP's son were to stay on board all he could do would be day trips - such a waste of an opportunity imho, cos day trips never give you a real 'feel' for a place. Whizz in and whizz out. I would have thought a 21 year old would relish the sense of getting 'out there'.

He doesn't have to stay on Penang - lots of other possibilities in five days. He doesn't even have to stay in HCMC - but a lot of this is about budget.

If a student has a top price of $100 a night then he's in a different bracket from my concept of a student.

zanne- is your son travelling with any sort of guide books. What do the organisers of S at Sea provide the students with when they go ashore?
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Old Oct 14th, 2008, 02:53 AM
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Not sure why you feel they could only do daytrips if they stay on the boat? I've seen the students when they've been in HCMC with SAS before and they are out wandering around in the evenings as well (if they chose to stay in town). Staying in a local hotel won't teach them much about the local culture. Staying on the boat will allow them to spend their money on other activities. They have multiple choices of activities, including overnight trips in the Delta, 3 day trips to Nha Trang or Cat Tien National Park, Hanoi/Halong Bay and Angkor Wat. The boat will be a nice escape (and a quiet escape) at the end of the dayfrom the madness that is HCMC.
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Old Oct 14th, 2008, 03:03 AM
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Disagree totally absolutely and in spades. Let them go on day tours organised for them and return to the safety of the ship? (Nice and safe and nice and insulating). Look loads of 21 year olds really do get out there and do it all for them selves. Again I say I would have thought that part of the (I assume very expensive rite of passage that the SaS must be) is the expectation that students do have to find their own bed and their own way, otherwise what exactly is the point?
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Old Oct 14th, 2008, 05:56 AM
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I'm with afterall. This guy is 21, for heaven's sake - loads of 18 year old's out there traveling (see any gap year discussion group). What he needs is a guide book in the Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, price range (should be easy to pick up a used one in SEA) or some budget accommodation info from LP's thorntree. With that much time he doesn't need to stay in Saigon - he could do a Delta Adventures trip or head for the beach at Mui Ne or maybe even Nha Trang, although I did find enough to do for three days. (Day trip to the tunnels and the Cao Dai temple - preferred the temple, Cholon district, War Remnants Museum, Reunification Palace...)
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Old Oct 15th, 2008, 12:39 AM
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I suggest you go to their website and learn about what this trip entails. That way you'll have a better understanding about what they are able to/not to do during their long journey. As I said, you see these kids out at night when these ships are in HCMC. They're not stuck on the boat at sundown. Some of the day trips are considered field programs, which have field requirements that make up 20% of the courses that are being taught (I listed some of these field programs in the previous post). Faculty members lead these tours. In the end, the students are basically free to chose whatever they want to do. As for me, I'd rather sleep on the boat with the rest of my friends at the end of the day than in a cheap HCMC hotel. I would think room/board was included since the price of these SAS's are expensive rather than have to pay separately each time you're in a new port?

Anyway, looks like a great experience, but certainly not a cheap one. Day trip prices in VN are 5x higher than you'd get by booking them at SinhCafe.
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Old Oct 15th, 2008, 02:24 AM
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Bisbee,

"As for me, I'd rather sleep on the boat with the rest of my friends at the end of the day than in a cheap HCMC hotel." Really? jeez, I didn't think like that when I was 21 and I certainly don't now (smile!). So I hope there are others on board like Zanne's son who want to experience as much as possible.

Another comment of yours was interesting .. "Day trip prices in VN are 5x higher than you'd get by booking them at SinhCafe."

Fancy that! And doubtess you'd be able to fulfil the 20% course content by covering the same ground under your own steam.

And yet again I disagree that you learn nothing staying at a local hotel. First, you have the opportunity to form a relationship, however limited and transient, with whoever mans/womans the desk. But the big advantage is that you are there in the thick of it. You can sit on your balcony after being out and about and see how late the Vietnamese are out and about. You can watch everyday life unfold on the pavement in front of the house opposite. You can wake up early, get out onto that same balcony, and watch the vendors of this and that on their bikes pedalling up the alley; doing business with the permanent residents. All for $30usd a night and a good comfy bed and nice shower thrown in. As that very clever Mastercard ad says - "priceless".

Talking HCMC here, obviously.
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Old Oct 15th, 2008, 05:37 AM
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"As for me, I'd rather sleep on the boat with the rest of my friends at the end of the day than in a cheap HCMC hotel." But how about staying in the cheap hotel with friends? I got the impression from the OP there would be a group. Personally, I'd have serious cabin fever by that stage of the trip.

Sweeping generalization, I know, but I always thought sleeping on a boat and doing day trips was for the older set.
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Old Oct 15th, 2008, 11:09 PM
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As I said, I'd suggest you visit their website to find out exactly what they are/are not allowed to do. They may very well not have the choice of whether they can stay somewhere else other than the ship if they chose not to venture outside of HCMC. Semester tuition is more than $20K for the cheapest shipboard accomdations, which is the reason behind my original post stating they'd probably be staying on the boat. Sounds like the kids actually enjoy the day trips and spending time on the boat (looks like a college dorm atmosphere). I'm sure all the details are written down in a legal contract that's signed by the student/parent when they pay their final part of the semesters tuition.

And yes, thursdaysd, they are in a group (approximately 700 students).

Anyway, it sounds like a great trip. I didn't have this opportunity, but at least I have the opportunity now to spend a lot of time in SE Asia.

Have a great day! I'm headed out into the thick of it.

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