Can anyone give me general info on their experiences traveling in Viet Nam (ease of travel, friendliness of people, best cities to visit, etc.)

<BR>Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is still the Paris of the East. Very <BR>friendly people. Equatorial Hotel is very posh and elegant <BR>for very little money. Great side trips down river from Saigon. Amerians are welcomed!

<BR>Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) is <BR>still the Paris of the East. Very <BR>friendly people. Equatorial <BR>Hotel is very posh and elegant <BR>for very little money. Great <BR>side trips down river from <BR>Saigon. Americans are welcomed!

My sister and her husband visited VN 4 months ago and they liked it very much. For travelling around VN they used a bus service that runs from North to South VN because this gave them maximum flexibility in where and how long they want to stay at a place. The bus makes scheduled stop to drop off and pick up passengers at various points along the route. You can ask the bus guide for recommendations of hotels and restaurants at various stops. As far as the best cities to visit it depends on what you're looking for. Visit Saigon to experience the fast paced living of a city that never sleeps (plenty of nightlife - nightclubs, bars, driving a motorcycle around if you're adventurous). Generally restaurants are cheap and there are some that have a wonderful seafood buffet at a reasonable price. Don't forget to try the specialty dishes such as Pho? (beef noodle soup ( average price around $1.00), Bo` Vie^n (meatballs w/ broth), Che` (a type of dessert). <BR> <BR>Stop in Nha Trang on your way up north to relax on the beach. Here you can get a massage and order your seafood lunch without ever having to step off the beach. Hue is the city where the VN royalties lived so there are many historical artifacts there. The food in this region is spicy so if somebody says a dish is spicy he really means it (try bun' bo` Hue - Hue's version of beef noodle). <BR>Ha Noi in the north is quieter compared to Saigon` but it still retains the impression of French influence in the layout of its city streets and building architecture. My sister said she went to some really good French restaurants there and the gelatto is to die for. <BR>Based on her experience and friends who have gone there to visit, you probably won't get too hassled by some of the more agressive street vendors who hang out at the tourist spots and you won't have to ummm ...tip the custom officer when you enter VN via Saigon if you're a foreigner.

I spent a month in Vietnam last summer. Go if you are interested in seeing traditional asian culture or if you are interested in the war stuff. Do not go if you are trying to find great beaches or spectacular scenery. <BR> <BR>Regarding your specific questions on ease of travel and what cities to visit: There is a standard tourist route than almost everyone takes. It includes Saigon, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue. You can buy an open ticket for something ridiculous like $25 and travel between those cities whenever you want on buses or minibuses. It could not be any easier to make arrangements to get from any of these cities to another. However, I would not say that the buses are particularly comfortable--or reliable (I experienced several breakdowns). <BR> <BR>I would imagine it would be pretty difficult to go anywhere off the standard tourist route. <BR> <BR>Re: friendliness of people: they seem to be like any other people--some are friendly some aren't. In any event, I would note that I found language to be a huge barrier. I don't really know anything about it, but I imagine that their pronunciation system is very different than ours. I noticed that many people who could not understand spoken English, could understand it in writing. And my efforts to sound out Vietnamese words according to how I thought they should be pronounced were completely useless. <BR> <BR> <BR>

I found the post by Tamsen to be one of the most uninformed I've seen on many different boards. The only thing he was right about is the tour buses. <BR> It is very easy to get off the standard tours route. Although there is a reason why there is a standard route. The places are generally great to visit. If you want to go someplace unique just go to a tour cafe and tell them what you want. They will customize a tour for you or rent you car,driver and guide and you can make up as you go. <BR> There are lots of beatiful beaches in Viet Nam and some of the scenery to die for. The whole Mekong Delta region is a photographers paradise. <BR> Tamsen might have a different impression of the friendliness of the people had he made any effort at all to understand the language. The language bares no resemblence to ours in the pronouncing of words. There language is tonal and one three letter word can have six different meanings depending on the way you say the word. Rising tone,falling tone, broken tone, mid tone,etc. <BR> Communication has never been a problem for most people. Take a phrase book and let them read the phrase. Mostly you will find someone who speaks english. Learning just a few words of Vietnamese will go a long way towards making your experience more enjoyable. <BR> <BR>Larry