Indochina trip: DIY or tours
Nov 30th, 2009, 08:13 PM
#4
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I think most of us here would say that you do not need a tour and can arrange most things on your own, esp with e-mail and the use of websites for information-gathering. You can hire drivers/guides for the day for particular sights as needed; many people here can recommend both drivers and guides, as can guidebooks. I have never taken an organized tour of more than like 3 hours, but my personal view on tours is that they tend to pack too much into too short a time, only go to the most obvious tourist sights and then spend only a limited amount of time there, and often involve a good bit of time at "handicraft" factories which tend to be one person making cloisonné and five people trying to <i>sell</i> you cloisonné. They may also involve mediocre hotels and restaurants. If you can find a tour that just arranges good deals on air fare, hotels and some local transport, then maybe that is OK. (I would think you would want some choice over the hotels, however.)
Traveling in SE Asia is really very easy. There are few language issues, and they do not involve things like airline travel, airports, or even getting to your hotel from the airport. The level of English in hotels is more than adequate. English signage in museums is generally OK (not great in some cases but very good in others) but a good guidebook or an actual guide can be helpful in that situation. Language issues may involve more local things like finding a restaurant with only an English street address, or ordering in a really local restaurant, but that can be part of the fun. And you will never have a language issue buying something! And finally as there are no safety issues, the one reason you might have to take a tour in other parts of the world does not exist here, IMO.
Traveling in SE Asia is really very easy. There are few language issues, and they do not involve things like airline travel, airports, or even getting to your hotel from the airport. The level of English in hotels is more than adequate. English signage in museums is generally OK (not great in some cases but very good in others) but a good guidebook or an actual guide can be helpful in that situation. Language issues may involve more local things like finding a restaurant with only an English street address, or ordering in a really local restaurant, but that can be part of the fun. And you will never have a language issue buying something! And finally as there are no safety issues, the one reason you might have to take a tour in other parts of the world does not exist here, IMO.
Dec 1st, 2009, 04:28 AM
#5
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Hi,
I believe the term "Indochina" is not politically correct now. It is better to refer to these countries as SE Asian countries.
"Indochina" refers to the colonial days that may be offensive to the locals in the present time.
I believe the term "Indochina" is not politically correct now. It is better to refer to these countries as SE Asian countries.
"Indochina" refers to the colonial days that may be offensive to the locals in the present time.
Dec 2nd, 2009, 06:30 AM
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Indochina is a "touchy" name.
You don't want to risk being insensitive, even to a few locals. Most SE Asian are easy going and are not too uptight on these things but it is better to show sensitivity to their history.
You don't want to risk being insensitive, even to a few locals. Most SE Asian are easy going and are not too uptight on these things but it is better to show sensitivity to their history.
