Bangkok and Vietnam

anyone been? im going in a few weeks

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread24872.html

I've been to Bangkok. Do you want to know anything about it or you just showing off/making a pie chart?

I'd avoid touristy places and go for Pad Pong Road in Bangkok. It's full of authentic market stalls and traditional entertainment where the dancers utilise all sorts of inanimate objects to create wonderful theatrical entertainments. The gentlemen on the road side will advise you which one's are the best and are very friendly. It's a great place to pick up a genuine watch or trinket too.

Don't go to Vietnam there is nothing to eat except cat's and it's full of unexploded landmine's and mental ex US marine's who've been there since the sixties and will probably kill you. Truth

But you have to do the Khaosan (?) road - in my experience, take this literally. No matter where you ask a taxi/tuk tuk driver to take you, you will inevitably end up in Khaosan road - the 'gateway to south east asia'. Which is full of dicks and ping-pong pimps. If you get the chance, take a trip to the old kingdom of Ayutthaya, just North of Bangkok. Fascinating.

i was thinking of going to vietnam is it that bad?

I've been... went from HCM City to Hanoi by train, stopping off along the way in Nha Trang, Danang, Hoi An... it's good... but wasn't as great as I thought it would be. try to get out to the hill area north of Hanoi. Interesting people, customs, the best part of the trip.

i would like to know everything
whats good and whats not. i heard allot of daytrips are rip offs.

so yes tell. and know im not bragging. id be bragging if i went to japan and came back with a full njs bike. haha

omg vietnam is super amazing!!! it is only my favourite country in the whole wide world... after NZ and UK of course hehe... was there for a month last year... cycling in vietnam is prob the best way to get to know it and the people as lots of locals cycle there, esp in the smaller towns... i have the lonely planet guides for central and south central vietnam in soft copy so if anyone wants em, PM me...

ditto vietnam the most amazing country i have visited. explore.

^ i wouldnt mind those guides please. can i have some suggestions of places to go, things to do?

thanks

I cycled toured from Da Nang down to Saigon in 2007. Coastal road was really well maintained so pretty good for cycling as long as you don't mind buses and trucks rolling by (there's a wide verge for cyclists and scooters). Food was amazing as long as you don't mind noodles for breakfast lunch and dinner and people were friendly - taking a bike is definitely disarming. Of the tourist places, I really liked Hoi An, could take or leave some of the other touristy spots. Beach volleyball on the Qui Nhon was interesting as far as a glimpse at somewhere interesting that wasn't on the regular tourist map.

Photos here, feel free to PM me questions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/run_time/sets/72157600054066548/

^ i wouldnt mind those guides please. can i have some suggestions of places to go, things to do?

thanks

jv: PM-ed ya....

Been to Vietnam 3 times now, can't keep away... think you really see the "real" Vietnam if you head toward Central Vietnam imho… Hanoi (North) and Saigon (South) are the main places to go to if you’ve never been before, but Central is just lovely. Everyone is so friendly and always laughing at everything and anything! How awesome is that! Agree with Gustav - Quy Nhon was nice, super chilled out… as was Hue, and Da Lat is Vietnam like you’ve never seen before! It’s in the highlands so temperature is cool, its really pretty! If you have time, definitely check it out… try to see My Lai too, if you have time…

One of the best things about Vietnam is that everyone rides bicycles (esp in Central Vietnam), so you can rent one everywhere you go…

Make sure you also try:
1 – banh mi: filled baguettes, super yummy
2 – banh xeo: rice pancake thing, haven’t scoured a good one in London yet, so if anyone knows of any, let me know!!!
3 – dragon fruit (they are hot pink on the outside, white on the inside, I had this EVERYDAY when I was there)

Be careful where you eat though, as nearly every one of my meat eating friends had the runs when they were there… I’m vegetarian and was totally fine the whole time I was there (fingers crossed the whole time)…

also big plug for the road side stalls selling sugar cane juice and fresh coconut milk...

My bitch isnt Asian but she certainly bangs kok.

My bitch isnt Asian but she certainly bangs kok.

My lady IS Asian, and has never seen, and I doubt will ever see The Big Lebowski.

Such blokeish humour somehow travels a much shorter distance than one might believe.

I shudder when I imagine it, but I think there's probably a long line of similarly sourced comments to follow.

Should certainly be interesting though[t].

anyone been? im going in a few weeks

Don't take your bike they have the biggest kill rate in the world for motorbikes and cyclists

is june a shit time to go to 'nam weather wise?

Yes is the quick answer to that question, unless you like rain.

also big plug for the road side stalls selling sugar cane juice and fresh coconut milk...

mmmm sugar cane juice is fantastic- and so cheap in Asia! :)

Going to Vietnam next month hopefully, flying into Saigon, train to Hoi An, then flight to Phu Quoc. Already had loads of reccos, but if anyone's got any, let me know.

It's a long ol' way from Saigon to Hoi An, if you're not too bothered about travel method, definitely fly from Saigon to Da Nang, and it's a 30-40 min cab ride to Hoi An. Cheapest flights with Vietnam Air will be under £35.

I only spent 2 hours in Saigon so can't comment about what to do there, but in Hoi An, there's a place called Hoi An Motorbike adventures that I can totally recommend. I know you blat about on a scooter around London so have a look at their website and definitely go for it!! Plenty of different types of bikes to choose from, I rode the fully authentic 2 stroke Minsk, but I'd probably choose the semi-auto 4 stroke converted Minsk if I was to go back - kickstart was a faff.

Standard tourist shit that is pretty fun around there is walking up Marble Mountain. Don't go on a tour though, just rent a scooter for about $10/day and ride there yourself. It's about a 25 minute scooter ride from Hoi An, just past half way to Da Nang. If you're feeling adventurous, keep going up the coast to Da Nang and ride to the very top of Monkey Mountain, it's a very steep ride at times, 20+% gradient, but the view at the top is worth it. Try and do it on a day when it's not cloudy as you end up descending through cloud which is one of the sketchiest things I've done in my life. Keep your eyes open for wild monkeys too, they are really inquisitive.

I've got tonnes of shit written in my holiday diary so I'll add some more things tonight, but this is what I can remember from my holiday in Sep 2013.

Cheers bra, is it lairy riding a scoot over there? Do they let you ride with a pillion even without a full UK license?

LOL, license.... Nobody gives a fuck. We rented scooters from each of our Hostel receptionists, who didn't give a shit what we did with them as long as we brought them back in one piece. Hot tip: The coast from Hoi An to Da Nang is one long beach, great for burning along on a scooter. The motorbike tour place was a bit more formal with helmets and gloves and recommending we wore jeans and jackets, but they didn't ask to see a license. They wanted to not give me a manual bike because I told them I didn't have a bike license, but I said I'd ridden one many times, and so we went for a 30 second check ride and they said, yep, no problem!

Saigon looked fucking mental, but I didn't have a go. Hanoi was OK, but the old quarter was the equivalent of 10 abreast riding down Shaftesbury Avenue. Peds and motos everywhere. Everywhere else was fine, can get a bit lairy downtown where shops and things are, but just keep your wits about you and it'll be fine. It's a bit like riding on a forum ride. Might has right, and people will move around you. Don't wait for a gap, make a gap. I've driven and ridden in Pakistan when I was a kid so it's ingrained in me.

The bits of Hoi An that you want to see most are blocked off from car and motos so rent a cycle and bop about on that around there, but if you've got time to go further afield to Da Nang and to the mountains I recommended, then you'll want a scooter.

There's two main beaches there, if you have time, go to both, but the one I went to which I'll remember the name when I look in the diary tonight is much quieter. It also has a sweet beachside bar/restaurant which have their own sheltered sun beds so you can drink and eat on the beach without getting whipped by the wind.