Advice for Vietnam

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by the-rasta-masta

One of my favorite memories was meeting a local who invited us to drink beers with his friends. We sat on those little chairs until wee hours, they had beer in milk jugs and a giant chunk of ice in the middle of the table that we would chip off into our beers. They brought out guitars and were singing song about Ho Chi Minh and telling us how great he was.

The next day this local invited us to his family home for dinner. We sat on the floor of the kitchen and pulled meat off a fried fish. We saw an empty bottle of Johnny Walker Black that the family had displayed almost like a trophy on a shelf, so the next day the guys I was travelling with and I chipped in and bought them a full bottle. They were ecstatic, it was like their greatest treasure and bragging rights for their friends that they had a bottle of good scotch.

IIRC, cognac is even more popular there due to the French influence. Something like Martell, Courvoisier or Hennessy VSOP would also be well accepted.

[activeStick]

I know you're going to VN and you didn't mention HK, BUT I have a family member, who I am close with, that owns a custom tailored suit business in HK, right in Wanchai. If you are going to be there, let me know and I'll share details with you. All 12 of my suits are from there, along with 20+ custom tailored dress shirts (a must! Once you put on a custom tailored dress shirt, you're never going to want to wear an off-the-rack dress shirt again as the fit and thus look can't compare). Also, once he's measured you, you can get in touch with him any time without being in HK and work through new orders (assuming you stay at around the same weight).

[Bunk]

I would do 2-3 days in Ho Chi Minh, 3-4 days in Mui Ne (incredible beaches) an hour or two from the city, then Hoi An for 2-3 days (you can find tailors there, but didn’t find the quality that good tbh, then Da Nang and Hue (old imperial capital) for about a week total. Hanoi is fun for 2-3 days. Then I’d finish of in Ha Long Bay. Do a sleeper boat for 2-3 nights .

[WinnipegFan]

Just spent last Christmas break there. I recommend getting out of Hanoi as fast as possible. It’s a dump, get to Cat Ba and do the Ha Long Bay cruise. It’s wonderful. Da Nang is a great beach town but Hoi An is waaaay better and a great spot for tailors. The walking street there is a must see. Marble mountain is also very cool. Never did Ho Chi Ming as I was told it wasn’t worth it. People were great but be ready to haggle. Like a lot. You can get anything at a shop for about 1/3 to 1/2 the starting price. Just start walking away and watch the price drop.

[bluejays]

Originally Posted by activeStick

I know you're going to VN and you didn't mention HK, BUT I have a family member, who I am close with, that owns a custom tailored suit business in HK, right in Wanchai. If you are going to be there, let me know and I'll share details with you. All 12 of my suits are from there, along with 20+ custom tailored dress shirts (a must! Once you put on a custom tailored dress shirt, you're never going to want to wear an off-the-rack dress shirt again as the fit and thus look can't compare). Also, once he's measured you, you can get in touch with him any time without being in HK and work through new orders (assuming you stay at around the same weight).

Oh man would I like to take a detour now. Probably can't but totally appreciate the offer!

[FlamesAddiction]

I've never been to Vietnam, but I know a couple of people who spent extended time there. They both speak really highly of it and had some really interesting stories, most good and a couple that I wouldn't say were bad, but kind of crazy.

I've been doing some Google tourism since this thread was started and man it looks like a crazy beautiful place, at least the areas that are promoted. I always heard stories about the beaches and they look amazing. I doubt I will ever make it that way, but some of the landscapes look like the stuff of fantasy novels.

[icarus]

Well this is pretty sad, and seems like a super freak accident as when I cruised in Ha Long Bay it was very calm seas...

Dozens dead after tourist boat capsizes in Vietnam
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ypd6vr4e7o

EDIT: To the OP, FWIW the company I used was this one and the boat was high quality and seemed safe with a good crew. https://nostalgiacruises.com/

[Johnny199r]

Ha Giang Loop was the best tourist experience I’ve ever had (I’ve been to 6 continents). The scenery is unbelievable.

Ho Chi Minh City sucks, Hanoi is more interesting. However I wouldn’t spend too much time in either.

[Fuzz]

We did the Orchid. It was great value.


https://www.orchidcruises.com/ship/orchid-classic/


The tender boat for it had an all pine interior. I noticed it was full of blue streaks, a key feature of pine beetle damaged wood. So it was probably Canadian.

[Fuzz]

Wow, that tourist boat that flipped was just launched this year. Design flaw?