Anybody heading down to Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh city end March?

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Just checking!

[artese]

will be there early March. what are your plans?

[chisiang]

may be there for work

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Originally Posted by artese will be there early March. what are your plans?

Erm.. will be there w 2 others end March to early April.. will be travelling fr HCMC to Hanoi and back to SG.

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Originally Posted by chisiang may be there for work

Hah! Do you head there for work often?

[artese]

Originally Posted by lazyeyedpsycho Erm.. will be there w 2 others end March to early April.. will be travelling fr HCMC to Hanoi and back to SG.

...i'm taking the same route too but not sure if I want to move from Hue to Ha Noi by bus, train or air. Any suggestions?

[chisiang]

Originally Posted by lazyeyedpsycho Hah! Do you head there for work often?

yeah. quite often. Was there once every month in 07.

[harnamsc]

Originally Posted by lazyeyedpsycho Erm.. will be there w 2 others end March to early April.. will be travelling fr HCMC to Hanoi and back to SG.

Heya, you're looking for travel kakis cum assistant photographers? How long do you intend to stay in Hanoi and what is the expected budget per traveller?

[stonedx]

try jetstar website for pretty affortable price. it save you tons of time. train can be quite uncomfy for long journey and the price for airfares are probably 20-30 more?
=)
hope this helps

[astroboy]

i shld be there around early march, starting from hcmc and travelling by sinh cafe bus all the way up to hanoi and flying back from there.

Will stop at places like dalat, phan thiet, mui ne, hue, hoi an, hanoi, sapa etc. Travel assignment. Anyone wants to catch up with me at any part of the journey, do let me know.

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Originally Posted by artese ...i'm taking the same route too but not sure if I want to move from Hue to Ha Noi by bus, train or air. Any suggestions?

I'm thinking either taking an internal flight(Jetstar) or via train. Flying would be a faster option but of course cost more. Personally I'm leaning towards taking a train. Heard the ride is pretty scenic but time might not be on our side.

Originally Posted by chisiang yeah. quite often. Was there once every month in 07.

Woah! That's a mini holiday every single month of the year. What's your take on the abv?

Originally Posted by harnamsc Heya, you're looking for travel kakis cum assistant photographers? How long do you intend to stay in Hanoi and what is the expected budget per traveller?

A rendezvous would be nice! Hah! Itinerary not confirmed yet at the moment and we spend what we can afford.

Originally Posted by stonedx try jetstar website for pretty affortable price. it save you tons of time. train can be quite uncomfy for long journey and the price for airfares are probably 20-30 more? =) hope this helps

Agree! Couldn't resist the possiblity of a long train ride tho.

Originally Posted by astroboy i shld be there around early march, starting from hcmc and travelling by sinh cafe bus all the way up to hanoi and flying back from there. Will stop at places like dalat, phan thiet, mui ne, hue, hoi an, hanoi, sapa etc. Travel assignment. Anyone wants to catch up with me at any part of the journey, do let me know.

How long will you be there?

[harnamsc]

Well I've been on a train for 16 hours from Melbourne to Sydney, it was non-stop so had no chance to stretch my legs. If the train is a much shorter journey or if it has stops along the way, then it would be viable?

And how long will the trip be btw? One week? 4 days? etc?

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Originally Posted by harnamsc Well I've been on a train for 16 hours from Melbourne to Sydney, it was non-stop so had no chance to stretch my legs. If the train is a much shorter journey or if it has stops along the way, then it would be viable? And how long will the trip be btw? One week? 4 days? etc?

From my brief research the situation is quite on the contrary. Trains in Vietnam make frequent stops therefore the long travelling time required. Heard there are 'express' trains tho.

Trip will be slightly over a week.

[harnamsc]

Oh ya, think I should mention. My main aim is to visit Halong Bay in Vietnam, rent a boat and visit the various islands and caves there. I.e. My intention is as much backpacking and exploring as it is photography?

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Originally Posted by harnamsc Oh ya, think I should mention. My main aim is to visit Halong Bay in Vietnam, rent a boat and visit the various islands and caves there. I.e. My intention is as much backpacking and exploring as it is photography?

Likewise harnamsc. Do you have an itinerary in mind? If you do, I can run it tru my group and see what we can come up with something.

[astroboy]

It's quite expensive to rent a boat on your own...unless u have a big group to share the costs. And more often than not, the weather is not very conducive.

Anyway, u can check the weather when in Hanoi. Also, a lot of folks get conned buying the tour packages frm hotel counters in Hanoi. So be careful.

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Originally Posted by astroboy It's quite expensive to rent a boat on your own...unless u have a big group to share the costs. And more often than not, the weather is not very conducive. Anyway, u can check the weather when in Hanoi. Also, a lot of folks get conned buying the tour packages frm hotel counters in Hanoi. So be careful.

Thanks for the advice! Strangely I was told to make arrangements w the hotel for tours. Apparently the likelihood of being ripped off is greater if you deal direct w the boat owners.

[KNIGHT ONG]

I am also interest to visit Halong Bay one day, what is the most reasonable cost to be there? Do we have to join tour group or the hotel can make arrangement for us? Can we go to the bay and buy the ticket on the spot?

[redstone]

Originally Posted by lazyeyedpsycho Thanks for the advice! Strangely I was told to make arrangements w the hotel for tours. Apparently the likelihood of being ripped off is greater if you deal direct w the boat owners.

Penang!!!!

[lazyeyedpsycho]

Originally Posted by redstone Penang!!!!

Finish what's on ya plate first then we'll talk abt that!