Posted on 03/14/2018 8:16:30 PM PDT by cba123
As winter's cold grip loosens on Hanoi, the city has been named one of the ideal travel destinations for March by American-based Business Insider.
(please see the link, for the full article)
(Excerpt) Read more at en.vietnamplus.vn ...
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"Last year, Time ranked Hanoi at No.1 on its list of Best International Destinations in terms of value for money.
In early 2017, Britain’s Daily Telegraph listed Hanoi as one of the top 10 cities for street food.
TripAdvisor, the world's popular travel guide and review website, also named Vietnam’s capital in the top 10 destinations for 2017, as voted for by its users.-VNA "
In a world that should be, the city would still be Saigon. Thank SOB LBJ, who quit the war, for giving America the FU from the grave.
Its a charming city filled with French colonial architecture, breathtaking lakes and lots of cafes for foodies.
Like China, Vietnam has become a hot tourist destination for Westerners.
Hanoi has always been Hanoi. Saigon is now Ho Chi Minh City.
It’s been a very long time, since there was a war here.
It’s a nice country. Not what you would expect, at least not what I was expecting. Not at all.
It is not Thailand. It is not Cambodia. But it is a very intriguing place.
Maybe it is because I rode a motorcycle for a long time in the US, maybe that is one of the reasons I am just smitten with this place. That said, I do not recommend anyone drive here. I do not recommend it. At all. I drove a motorcycle for about 15,000 miles in Los Angeles, and still was not in the LEAST BIT ready for traffic here. It is sort of completely without rules. Always. From every direction. In every single way you can imagine, then about 10 more you never even thought about. People are (extremely) crowded together, and there is ZERO personal responsibility, so one must always, always, always be on guard.
Do not drive here. Don’t do it.
That said, somehow, there are not many accidents. Not sure why that is. Keep in mind, pretty much everyone driving here, all knows how to drive here.
But I am very much fascinated. Not at all what I had expected.
That said, one must always keep their wits about them, otherwise you’ll lose something. Cameras, cell phones can vanish like that.
But there is almost ZERO violent crime.
I understand there are a passel of people on FR who have very strong opinions about Vietnam. Some very strong opinions.
Just know that was a very long time ago.
People here are somehow, very special.
We had some friends visit VN not long ago and they hated it. Dire poverty, basic sanitation, feral dogs everywhere. They aren’t going back.
Other friends have loved it, but they are more adventurous.
Besides the whole war issue, I would never go to any communist country simply because you really have no rights at all. While it was very sad to see that American student killed over in North Korea for stealing a poster, I was very surprised that any American could be stupid enough to visit RED CHINA as a tourist - never mind North Korea. You lose some of your legal protections any time you leave the US, but you lose far more in any communist country than you would in a civilized Western country.
That also must impact trade deals for these places; when the government is the ultimate authority in all things, the de facto owner of everything, you understand why the people send money out when possible and foreign companies, while happy to do business with totalitarian regimes, will never again invest in them as they would in countries with some semblance of due process, private property protections, etc..
I would prefer Dalat
Feral dogs?
Really?
I have just been in Ho Chi Minh City, I do not really go to other places. I really might be missing out on what is happening elsewhere, but this place is very intriguing.
Now granted it is not a mainstream travel destination by the standards of some, but it is also not the place I was fearing it was, when I first came here.
The only think I think you really need to think about (well two things really) is to NOT show you have money. Ever. Everyone will assume you do. Hide it, hide your phone, and anything like jewelry. And keep it hidden.
Also never lose your temper. Same as most countries in the region.
You won’t solve ANYTHING getting angry. Ever.
Don’t lose your temper.
Otherwise enjoy yourself. You will either love it, or hate it, I suppose.
It depends.
The mistake was engaging in war. If Washington had never engaged in the ( illegal ) war ; Vietnam would be 20 years further along its capitalist development.
think about it
I worked in communist China for 7 months fall ‘76 to spring ‘78 in three extremely remote locations. I tell you, it is very disconcerting when they take away your passport. Getting arrested by the Red Guard was another worrisome experience. But it was the experience of a lifetime. At the time, there had only been 10,000 westerners in all of China since it was closed off after the 1949 communist revolution. I arrived two weeks after Mao had died and there was huge turmoil in the government.
Thank you for sharing! Some Russian friends of mine who went on vacation to Vietnam came back with lovely photos. I think certain cities there are hotspots now and have signs, menus,and things translated into Russian if I’m not mistaken.
Angelina Jolie’s love for neighboring Cambodia is palpable in her film “First They Killed My Father.”
In terms of Asia, I’ve only ever been to South Korea - including the DMZ. I believe the next place I want to visit would be some place in the Middle East...or North Africa...
Not saying the war was sound policy by any means, but don’t care for the Soviet flavor of your take.
What an incredible experience!!!
Maybe DJT could name McLame as special ambassador to Hanoi...
It was amazing. At the time, all I saw was my life dripping away. It’s one of those things that looks a lot better from some years away.
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