Vietnam during CNY 2008-wanna join/

[Chandima]

Hi,

I plan to visit Vietnam during CNY. Hope to fly to Ho Chi Minh on 2nd of Feb & return on the 10th of Feb from Hanoi.As of today airfare is around 240 SGD inclusive of taxes.3 days of leave needed for this.

hope to fly on 2nd of Feb(sat)morning to Ho Chi Minh & fly back on the 10th(sun) from Hanoi.

Budget is not estimated yet but I assume it can be lesser if we plan ahead-probably it will be in the region of 1000+
As it is going to be a festive season-TET festival(cimilar to CNY i guess)-its much better to plan/book ahead.

If you are intersted in joining please mail me chandimawele@hotmail.com & pass the message to anybody who may be interested in going.
Thanks.
-chandima

Would apreciate if someone who has been to Vietnam can suggest on places to go and also if its advisable to travel during CNY period(no services available,etc?)

 

[chisiang]

Vietnam also celebrates CNY so you can expect a lot os shops not open. HCM got nothing much except city life, MOTORCYCLES (there's no pedestrain!). There's also a lot of street vendors wearing non la (point hat) in the HCM. Can also shoot chio chio high school girls in traditional white Au Dai ;p

You can try picking up a day tour from your hotel to river market and some war relics, Cu chi tunnel, heard Ha Long Bay is good but haven't try.

Can try the war museum got some Heuy copters a F-5E, anti-aircraft guns, AK-47...etc. The museum is quite popular with wedding photo session though.

Central Vietnam has got beautiful mountains and waterfalls according to my Viet staffs and also beautiful sandy beaches.

Just be careful when walking alone with your camera in deserted lanes because for eg a Nikon D200 is the equivalent of a normal laborer's 2 years salary :bigeyes: so by snatching your camera they probably don't have to work for 1 year :sweat: So if they can bag a D2X or a Mark III with some lenses thrown in that will easily mean they don't have to work for 5 years or more! (Although day light robbery in big cities is rare but we must remain vigilant)

Walking alone in the streets will sometimes attract kids begging for money. Some are from pickpocket syndicates so be careful as well.

I would suggest that you buy some sort of insurance for equipment or if you get ill.

I think you should join a tour group to recee first before venturing because language is a big problem in Vietnam. You will have problem just buying a cup of tea or asking for directions.

Or you can ask if any1 here works in Vietnam and you can meetup and go together (preferrably with a local as translator and guide)

 

[htthach]

i'll be going back to VN durting that time too
i'll fly back to hochiminh city on 2 of feb using tiger air.

 

[tqviet0327]

for that 1 week, I suggest you spend more time in Ha Noi since there are more sites to visit. Maybe 3 days in HCM city and 4 days in Ha Noi.

If you ask other clubsnapers, most of them who have been to VN would say so too. In HN, you can visit Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, the best museum in Vietnam and a favourite place for wedding photo taking (I were there just 3hrs and I saw 4 couples taking wedding photo). Other places you can find in Lonely Planet (I forgot the English name for those places ), but I think you'll find HN is rich and 4days is not much.

During your stay in HN, you can look for tour to go to Bat Trang (a town that is famous for ceramic) and Ha Dong (a town famous for textile and fabric), both have great quality product and great price also. For us, local, most of the stuff would cost about 10SGD, which is just about 1/3 or 1/5 in Singapore. For you they would cost higher, not sure the exact amount, but should still be very reasonable. The two places can be visited within 1 day, and 1 day is enough.

For HCMC, as Chisiang said, you can visit Cu Chi Tunnel and the museum. The city can be covered in 2days.

and, yah, be careful too. New Year period is "business" period and it is best if you have some local or someone in VN to help you communicate and bargain.

 

[askpaul]

i was in Vietnam for a month, 3week Hanoi, 1week HCM city.

i suggest u go Hanoi...

HCM city nothing much to shoot.

Hanoi has more scenery and the buildings are less modern compared to HCM.
HCM buildings are similar to those in Malaysia.