We're traveling to Hue, Hanoi, HCM in Vietnam and also to Vientiane and LuangPrabang in Laos in Dec/Jan. Does anyone know of guides in those areas we could contact? We'd like to have someone in each place to spend a day or more with to show us sites of interest.
Which place would be the best for New Year's Eve? We were in HCM 2 years ago, which was wild! I've never seen so many motorbikes in my life (and all of them heading our way)!
Thanks for the help.

We were in Luang Prabang in January and were very happy with our guide Ta.

His contact info is contained in this post

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34949775

We stayed at the Apsara and really liked it - more info and restaurants on our blog:

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/2...ang/index.html

Note that you don't really need a guide in any of those places. Some people like to have a guide for some portion of their time, but it's very easy to do/see things on your own.

Elizabeth~~How great you responded! Your blog so inspired me, I sent it to my husband and our traveling companions to also read! We got together last night and the first thing they commented on was your wonderful, informative blog. We even changed our plans to stay longer in Luang Prabang instead of returning to Thailand.
You seem to have the same sensibilties as we when we travel (and btw, we're Americans who also did not vote for or support the Prez).
Thanks for replying, Elizabeth and Kathie. We're still working on the plans, but that's part of the fun.

A great way to spend a day and see some sites in Hanoi is to get in touch with the "Hanoi Kids". These are college age kids who volunteer to work as your guides. In exchange they get to learn about your country and practice their english. It's a great exchange.

"Hanoi Kids" sounds great! We'll definitely keep this in mind and try to locate them. Thanks!