Vietnam - 25th anniv trip

[heySkippy]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Anyone done one of the longer river cruises? They often include Cambodia.

We had a river cruise and spent a week on the Tonele Sap and Mekong Rivers in Cambodia and Vietnam last year. We started from Siem Reap in Cambodia and ended in Saigon.

It was an interesting week. Lots of guided tours, too many temples. I enjoyed it a lot more than my wife. We were there mid-February and it was hot.

[lieqiang]

Originally Posted by LVguy

Can anyone elaborate on "Vietnam is great" etc? I Kept hearing about it, something it's the next Thailand as it's growing and things are very affordable there.



Best months to visit? Worst months to visit and should avoid?


So generally pretty safe? I was thinking maybe they look at foreigners/travelers as very rich since things are cheap there and the country's GPD per capita. But no problem it's generally pretty safe? I am thinking about Saigon.

Vietnam is nice to visit and is (was?) very big on the tourist trail. I believe it is very different from Thailand, I see people making this comparison and it doesn't make sense to me I guess maybe because they are both warm places in SE Asia?

Thailand is Buddhist and much of the tourism to the country revolves around the temples and culture related to it, whereas Vietnam's culture (at least related to tourism) is relatively secular. There are a few temples to visit in Vietnam, but nothing like Thailand. You see monks walking around all over Thailand, but not in Vietnam.

The food is completely different. Thai food has influences from many directions so shares a lot more commonality with them, especially Laos. Vietnam has it's own distinct cuisine which is quite delicious but since two countries over there isn't as much overlap, there is a stronger colonial and Chinese influence on Vietnamese food.

Thailand has a lot more varied iconic beaches due to coastal exposure in two directions, but Vietnam has unique limestone formations in the north that make for an amazing experience. Thailand doesn't have anything like that because it's northern hill country is land locked. Thailand has lots of elephants and some large reserves that have wild elephants and tigers, Vietnam doesn't really have anything similar at least accessible to tourism.

If you're going to visit Vietnam you must see both Hanoi and Saigon, they are are so different in vibe and culture. If you have more time you can start considering other locations between them, and there are plenty worthy of a visit. Both countries are relatively safe, with most risk being tourist scams and petty theft.