bad vietnam backpack trip
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to be frank, so many people in this world visit vietnam.. and even HCM city.. but I think it will appeal to some backpacker too.. it could be just the experience doesn't match your expectation..
and to me, you sound like tourist rather than backpacker... especially the way you comment the river just like the river in kranji..
and to me, you sound like tourist rather than backpacker... especially the way you comment the river just like the river in kranji..
ya, but then the clothes, no offence is like 3rd-worldIf you like to take street candid photography, I find HCM is a good place
But why not just skip HCM and head straight to Hanoi? You still have all the street cadnid shots to get, but the city is infinately nicer, friendlier, more intimate and interesting.If you like to take street candid photography, I find HCM is a good place
Seems that you went on a tour with all the wrong expectations. Complaining here and there. Think you choose the wrong country to visit.
i was planning to go vietnam this year.
dont scare me lei.
really very jialat ah?:dunno:
my friend only complained he came back from the war tunnels, kena the sandflies bite and almost whole arms and legs all got bite marks.
real bad.
but i saw the viet pics from will03, beautiful!
dont scare me lei.
really very jialat ah?:dunno:
my friend only complained he came back from the war tunnels, kena the sandflies bite and almost whole arms and legs all got bite marks.
real bad.
but i saw the viet pics from will03, beautiful!
Went to Danang and found that it the town is bascially a touristy hub.
There's actually really not much things that's really interesting.
But u can make some deciving nice photos...
http://www.photo.net/photodb/slideshow?folder_id=219020
There's actually really not much things that's really interesting.
But u can make some deciving nice photos...
http://www.photo.net/photodb/slideshow?folder_id=219020
While I agree that Saigon isn't exactly the best place to visit, but I think you need to know where you are travelling before you make the trip. Hello??! It's Vietnam and not Vienna that you went to.
I think it is common knowledge that price haggling is very much part and parcel of a shopping experience in South East Asia. If you have been to other SEA countries, you should know that there is always a local and a farang price. From my experience in travelling in Vietnam, I've learnt to bargain hard for everything from tour package to bribing a local police officer.
If rambutans and bananas aren't considered Asian exotic fruits, I really don't know what is. Oranges? Apples? Or grapes? You don't expect to go on a strawberry picking trip in Vietnam, don't you??
Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975 and that is more than 30 years ago. I don't suppose you are expecting the kind of DMZ between the two Koreas.
Comparing the Royal Tombs in Hue with Angkor Wat? Compare the prices too. A day pass to Angkor (does not include transport) cost whopping US$20. Anyway both are very different, so I don't think its right to compare the two.
I suggest that you should read up more about the places you are visiting in the future, or better still, join a package tour with any of the travel agencies back home.
I think it is common knowledge that price haggling is very much part and parcel of a shopping experience in South East Asia. If you have been to other SEA countries, you should know that there is always a local and a farang price. From my experience in travelling in Vietnam, I've learnt to bargain hard for everything from tour package to bribing a local police officer.
If rambutans and bananas aren't considered Asian exotic fruits, I really don't know what is. Oranges? Apples? Or grapes? You don't expect to go on a strawberry picking trip in Vietnam, don't you??
Vietnam War ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975 and that is more than 30 years ago. I don't suppose you are expecting the kind of DMZ between the two Koreas.
Comparing the Royal Tombs in Hue with Angkor Wat? Compare the prices too. A day pass to Angkor (does not include transport) cost whopping US$20. Anyway both are very different, so I don't think its right to compare the two.
I suggest that you should read up more about the places you are visiting in the future, or better still, join a package tour with any of the travel agencies back home.
different people got different expectations. Went to myanmar for work once. From that one trip can see so many different reactions from the group.
One group was buddhist devotees, one was camera crew such as myself there to document their journey.
End of the day, some places we found interesting, the buddhist devotees found were firvolous and to be avoided as they were not "buddhist" enough. Some places we found boring like some garden was worshipped as some holy place. But in the end we all came back in one piece and enjoyed ourselves.
Maybe the TS didnt do research but I dont think we should be so quick to put him down. You are not there and you wont know who he feels. And I dont think he is wrong to feel the way he is feeling if he felt that he was being shortchanged. I always believe that yes as Tourists we do get chopped by the locals but there is a limit to how bad it goes. When you start paying premium prices, things are really not right. Just like how in BKK at Khao San, a lady tried to sell me a pair of shorts for USD 50. Claims that very good material.... the shorts is the exact type you buy in Chinatown for SGD 20.
One group was buddhist devotees, one was camera crew such as myself there to document their journey.
End of the day, some places we found interesting, the buddhist devotees found were firvolous and to be avoided as they were not "buddhist" enough. Some places we found boring like some garden was worshipped as some holy place. But in the end we all came back in one piece and enjoyed ourselves.
Maybe the TS didnt do research but I dont think we should be so quick to put him down. You are not there and you wont know who he feels. And I dont think he is wrong to feel the way he is feeling if he felt that he was being shortchanged. I always believe that yes as Tourists we do get chopped by the locals but there is a limit to how bad it goes. When you start paying premium prices, things are really not right. Just like how in BKK at Khao San, a lady tried to sell me a pair of shorts for USD 50. Claims that very good material.... the shorts is the exact type you buy in Chinatown for SGD 20.
I know what vietnam is like before i went. I did my homework. FYI i did a short community project in vietnam a few years back but didn't travel back then. The pple in the villages are nice...
I just dun like the place after the experience with the tourism scene there.
As centuaryegg had pointed out, as tourist, u are of course subjected to carrot chopping, but they really went overboard, even worse than china and turkey. ( at least they attempt to deliver some quality). This is what happens when commercialism moves much faster than socialization.
My whole point of posting is to warn would be travellers to vietnam, especially from an asian point of view. Some ang mos might find vietnam charming cos it's rather backward, ( though i meet my fair share of cacuasian backpacker in hostel who agreed otherwise, they all said india is much better).
I just dun like the place after the experience with the tourism scene there.
As centuaryegg had pointed out, as tourist, u are of course subjected to carrot chopping, but they really went overboard, even worse than china and turkey. ( at least they attempt to deliver some quality). This is what happens when commercialism moves much faster than socialization.
My whole point of posting is to warn would be travellers to vietnam, especially from an asian point of view. Some ang mos might find vietnam charming cos it's rather backward, ( though i meet my fair share of cacuasian backpacker in hostel who agreed otherwise, they all said india is much better).
hi guys, sometimes we really have to be more humble.. like visiting a place, we don't care about the unique of the place, and the history behind it, or the local culture.. then we blah blah say so messy place, dirty, people wearing funny..mekong river like kranji river, or we also got that in singapore, singapore also can buy that, singapore buy it cheaper ler, why no shopping mall?
let's be more humble and don't be a frog in the well.. if those place doesn't what you expect it may just not your cup of tea, it is amusing that you use your 'singapore view' to view the rest of the world..
let's be more humble and don't be a frog in the well.. if those place doesn't what you expect it may just not your cup of tea, it is amusing that you use your 'singapore view' to view the rest of the world..
India is much better? In terms of carrot chopping?
Try it and tell me abt it......
Vietnam is very mild......trust me.......
I totally agree with what LENS said.
Frankly if you dont find HCM appealing, then I think there are so many other countries in the world that will not appeal to you. I believe that if one has the right mindset about visiting any country, one will enjoy oneself .... even in Angkor Wat, there are visitors who will find it especailly boring ..... just lots of stones.:think:
It would be unwise to ask those ppl who are not culturally/historically/etc inclined to visit such countries and expect them to enjoy .... i think they would be happier with factory warehouse sales in HK, kara ok lounges in China, etc...
As for carrot chopping, it is personal. Though I am never in favour of giving to beggers, poor children on the streets/tourist areas, etc... I think we should not complain too much as the money involved is not that much in our std of living .... extra a few USD for beer, etc... the money will actually go to their poor families eventually. Ever heard of paying extorbitant amt in HK bar, Tokyo, Taipei, developed countries?.... those are syndicated backmailing :sweat:
For me, I normally give local guide the money to buy the drinks/food for all of us, and the guide appreciated the treats as well.
Always enjoy when you are oversea and not look for things to complain .... :nono:
It would be unwise to ask those ppl who are not culturally/historically/etc inclined to visit such countries and expect them to enjoy .... i think they would be happier with factory warehouse sales in HK, kara ok lounges in China, etc...
As for carrot chopping, it is personal. Though I am never in favour of giving to beggers, poor children on the streets/tourist areas, etc... I think we should not complain too much as the money involved is not that much in our std of living .... extra a few USD for beer, etc... the money will actually go to their poor families eventually. Ever heard of paying extorbitant amt in HK bar, Tokyo, Taipei, developed countries?.... those are syndicated backmailing :sweat:
For me, I normally give local guide the money to buy the drinks/food for all of us, and the guide appreciated the treats as well.
Always enjoy when you are oversea and not look for things to complain .... :nono:
regarding the carrot chopping issue, 'tourists' are the cause too. it is the tourist attitude that buy a lot since it is cheap or just buy buy and the greed have really left the impact on locals, and the locals just learnt to let go their greed as part of their human nature..then up the price, kids ask for $ or candy..
If you have asked experienced travellers, or.. civilised-mind travellers, they will tell you as a traveller, your responsibility is to be low profiled, and trying to leave least impact on the local life.. the way we keep buying things (very cheap ler), eating with lots of cheap food (very cheap also),
as a 'photographer', which most of us are, using Big DSLR to take pic on others like they are not humans.. have really transformed the place.. people used to use 'rangefinder' or small camera as 'street photography'..it is actually an act to respect locals and not to be too attention seeker, but now nobody think in that way, Big DSLR and with all kind of attention seeking professional photographer pose...
it can't be avoided when travellers left impact on locals..but it is quite sad that we always leave bad impacts other than good impacts..
I once did a trek to a small volcano in philippines, when we got down, we saw like 100 taiwanese, everyone of them was taking horse ride up to the volcano, most are youngsters, wearing flashy like going to party.. then we realise this is the income of those local guys who keep asking us to pay for the horse ride and bring us up, they follow us and bargain with us, but we turned down..
I have no answer for all these incidents..we all were ignorant especially when we got in a new place.. it takes time for us to learn.. but being less ignorant can be something we have learnt at home.. please do your part, next time u want to do a street photography..be less attention seeking.. not giving anything even a candy..
If you have asked experienced travellers, or.. civilised-mind travellers, they will tell you as a traveller, your responsibility is to be low profiled, and trying to leave least impact on the local life.. the way we keep buying things (very cheap ler), eating with lots of cheap food (very cheap also),
as a 'photographer', which most of us are, using Big DSLR to take pic on others like they are not humans.. have really transformed the place.. people used to use 'rangefinder' or small camera as 'street photography'..it is actually an act to respect locals and not to be too attention seeker, but now nobody think in that way, Big DSLR and with all kind of attention seeking professional photographer pose...
it can't be avoided when travellers left impact on locals..but it is quite sad that we always leave bad impacts other than good impacts..
I once did a trek to a small volcano in philippines, when we got down, we saw like 100 taiwanese, everyone of them was taking horse ride up to the volcano, most are youngsters, wearing flashy like going to party.. then we realise this is the income of those local guys who keep asking us to pay for the horse ride and bring us up, they follow us and bargain with us, but we turned down..
I have no answer for all these incidents..we all were ignorant especially when we got in a new place.. it takes time for us to learn.. but being less ignorant can be something we have learnt at home.. please do your part, next time u want to do a street photography..be less attention seeking.. not giving anything even a candy..
Real hardcore travellers/explorers/photographers dont subscribe to "pitying" those poor children, etc... they actually, like you said, submerged into the local scene, eating, sleeping, etc.... like those local.
I dont entertain such requests either, like giving money to take their photos (i rather dont take if they asked for anything back) but when you are with a group of uncles, aunties, modern tourists, etc... they can really make you feel like you are a heartless, selfish, inconsiderate person, if you know what i mean ....:dunno:
So much so that if you ask some guides, and they will tell you that Singaporeans are a stingy lot compared to the Taiwanese, Japanese, etc.... :sweatsm:
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