6 in Vietnam

What to say about Vietnam…  We came here with much excitement and possibly too high expectations.  We have now learned that what makes a place is not so much the sights or the food or whatever – it’s generally the people.  I think that’s why I personally loved Cambodia – there aren’t a lot of sights (particularly in Phnom Penh) but the people are super friendly-even given their history – they always seemed happy.

 Before we went to Cambodia we were warned that the locals basically view you as a walking ATM and while there were plenty of booksellers and beggars etc we didn’t think it was really any different from Thailand in that respect.  Vietnam on the other hand was really where the walking ATM analogy should be used.

The hotels, travel agents, tour guides, book sellers, taxi drivers all wanted more.  “You are rich.. you can afford more.. so you give me more!”  That was the attitude everywhere we went – irrespective of whether the service or whatever we were paying for was up to scratch or overpriced by local standards etc etc.  It got really painful after a while and after our Halong Bay cruise, where we got well and truly sick of it, we were really looking forward to leaving for China.

Saying that though, we did enjoy our time in NhaTrang, Dalat and HoiAn and the Mekong Delta was well worth the trip.

Favourite thing we did:

Paul – Cruise to the floating markets on the Mekong
Amanda – VinPearl Land, Nha Trang
Caitlin – Riding motorbikes on Cat Ba Island, Halong Bay
Georgie – VinPearl
Ashlea – VinPearl
Michael – VinPearl

Favourite Place:

Paul – Dalat
Amanda – NhaTrang
Caitlin – Dalat
Georgie – Dalat
Ashlea – NhaTrang
Michael – NhaTrang

Favourite Food:

Paul - Fried squid in butter at the Rainbow Cafe, Hanoi
 Amanda – Crispy pork at the Kangaroo Cafe, Hanoi
Caitlin – Spaghetti Bolognese at Hot Tuna Cafe, Hue
Georgie – Crispy pork at the Kangaroo Cafe, Hanoi
Ashlea – Tuna sushi at Louisiane Brewhouse, NhaTrang
Michael – Creamy chicken penne at Little Italy, Hanoi

Thing we disliked most:

Paul – Halong Bay junk cruise
Amanda – Halong Bay junk cruise
Caitlin – Halong Bay junk cruise
Georgie – Halong Bay junk cruise
Ashlea – Halong Bay junk cruise
Michael – Halong Bay junk cruise