LOS vs Vietnam

[charlesh]

Diverse, unspoilt and inexpensive, Vietnam is luring Australians — be they families, adventurers or cruisers — away from larger Asian destinations.
Move over, Thailand, Vietnam is coming through. Australian visitor numbers to this small but culturally rich country are up almost 130 per cent, according to official figures, and wholesalers are reporting surging demand.
Vietnam has a persuasive combination of cheap prices, cheap airfares, quality hotels and diverse experiences to add to its reputation for having some of the most welcoming people in the world.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travell ... z1M7aM3kDz

Written by a travel agent?? OR has the goose that laid the golden egg flown the pond?

[Spitfire]

......to its reputation for having some of the most welcoming people in the world.

Hmmmmmm................

[Terry]

Having suffered almost 2 years in Delhi, I now find myself in Hanoi for a while and I can assure you that the cost of living is very cheap, compared to other places. Yes there are some fine hotels and serviced apartments are a snip when compared to even Bangkok.

The people are very friendly, the food delicious and all in all it is delightful.

Only one problem

Crossing the road in Hanoi can be a life threatening experience - the motorcycles and cars don't stop for ANYONE.

[Homer]

I've been planning a trip to Vietnam. Some of the comments in the linked article are at odds with what I've read, what friends who have been there say and common sense.

>Vietnam also benefits from being a relatively small country, so travelling from one place to another is easy and inexpensive.

Small in square miles, but long from end to end. It's 1100 km from Saigon to Hanoi by air. Bus and train is much farther than that because the country has a dog leg worse than the 9th hole at Agusta National. Vietnamese sleeper bus horror stories seemingly are blogged by most backpackers who try that. Once. Everyone I've talked to with firsthand experience says the trains are the way to go.

>Vietnam has a persuasive combination of cheap prices, cheap airfares

State owned airline is the only carrier for internal flights. The $ per Mile (B per Km) is high. Scheduling seems intended to force an overnight stay in Hanoi or Saigon after arriving in country and continuing on an internal flight (though this might just be from the Bangkok flights, I haven't looked at other flight origins).

And Yes, I know it's now called Ho Chi Minh City. But I turned 18 while young men were still being drafted, so it's forever Saigon in my mind.

[pharvey]

Vietnam is luring Australians

Oh cr@p.... there goes another Asian country then.....

[charlesh]

Good one pharvey. Let's hope they are all not like Gary Glitter ha, ha.

Don't mention the war!!!!

[Jimbob]

With much Vietnamese migration (boat people) to Australia in the 70s, it is long time since they were viewed as the yellow peril.
Three years ago I was sitting in 24 hr Pho (soup) restaurant wondering how to tackle the do-it-your-self soup. Then up popped this Vietnamese looking girl who said in a broad Aussie accent: Did we want help? Yes please! (She had grown up in Melbourne.)
Many of the pilots on the Air Vietnam long haul are Australian on contract.
The Top Gear trip through vietnam was good marketing on the cheap.
Oh to be back in the Hoi An area-great in March.