Questions about Vietnam Experience

In article , tile says...

you did not mention an excursion in Ha Long bay
I guess that was the best part of my trip
I took a 3days two nights on a junk excursion paid about 230 dollars ( but
you can spend as little as 50 dollars... )

I paid only 17 dollars for a Halong bay trip last December. One day, on
a junk, meal and entry fees included. Was yours a luxury junk?
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

In article , tile says...

alfred.. I did not like Pnohm pehn either.. but that is because I like
monuments.. there is not much in the town to see.

There is the Royal palace compound, a number of temples and lots of
French colonial architecture. Enough to keep you busy for a day or two.

the things I liked most were the markets. then I had a little paranoia as
everybody was warning about criminality
I made a nice boat excursion.. but nothing else..
and the town is more anonimous and expensive than other towns.
do you agree ?? ( and there were no ATM at the time of my visit.. )

Price level seemed not an issue to me. And in December 2006 there were
several ATMs accepting Maestro/Cirrus cards.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

Alfred Molon wrote:
In article , tile says...

you did not mention an excursion in Ha Long bay
I guess that was the best part of my trip
I took a 3days two nights on a junk excursion paid about 230 dollars
( but you can spend as little as 50 dollars... )

I paid only 17 dollars for a Halong bay trip last December. One day,
on a junk, meal and entry fees included. Was yours a luxury junk?

yes aluxury junk for 3 days

Why don't you like Phnom Penh?
--

Alfred Molonhttp://www.molon.de- Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe

Phnom Penh doesn't have anything really spectacular or notable to
offer in terms of sightseeing. The palace is nice but not
extraordinary. There is the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, this is a one
of a kind, as is a visit to one of the Killing Fields. But not
everyone wants to see this.

There are a lot of beggars in this city compared to other similar
sized Asian cities, this mainly due to the past actions by the Khmer
Rouge. I found them more persistent than in other cities.

The crime rate is rather high in this city. Lot's of petty theft.

I just didn't feel like I got the biggest bang for my buck in Phnom
Penh. There are other destinations that I could spend the same amount
of time and money and see more interesting and educational sights. For
most of us, we have a limited amount of time for a vacation, so I try
to make the most of it.

When I was young I traveled around SE Asia as a backpacker, of course
that was 30 years ago. These days I don't like surprises when it comes
to my accommodations, I don't have time to waste running around to
arrange tickets and the like. I know for some people this is the
enjoyment of travel. But I prefer things to be somewhat organized.

Geno

On Sep 1, 3:21 am, "tile" wrote:

yes aluxury junk for 3 days

Which one were you on? Do you remember the name? Did you include the
Kayaking ?

Best regards. Geno

geno.y wrote:
On Sep 1, 3:21 am, "tile" wrote:

yes aluxury junk for 3 days

Which one were you on? Do you remember the name? Did you include the
Kayaking ?

Best regards. Geno

I do not remember the name.. but it belonged to a company that had many
similar ones..
it had a deck where people could rest or sunbathe instead of a roof.
yes. they had two or three kayaks tied to a rope. from time to times people
where using them ( mainly for the excursions to the caves.. )
food was fantastic.. cabins were good and silent..
I think it had only 9 or 10 cabins
we were 14 people on the whole.. with 3 different groups and 3 different
guides.
if you need the address of the company that arranged that I will send it..
or skype contact. it is a good and big company in Hanoi.
the price included pick up rom hotel transfer to halong bay and transfer
back to the hotel.

Are the waters in Halong Bay very calm? Or do the junks rock about
all the time?

"tile" wrote:

geno.y wrote:
On Sep 1, 3:21 am, "tile" wrote:

yes aluxury junk for 3 days

Which one were you on? Do you remember the name? Did you include the
Kayaking ?

Best regards. Geno

I do not remember the name.. but it belonged to a company that had many
similar ones..
it had a deck where people could rest or sunbathe instead of a roof.
yes. they had two or three kayaks tied to a rope. from time to times people
where using them ( mainly for the excursions to the caves.. )
food was fantastic.. cabins were good and silent..
I think it had only 9 or 10 cabins
we were 14 people on the whole.. with 3 different groups and 3 different
guides.
if you need the address of the company that arranged that I will send it..
or skype contact. it is a good and big company in Hanoi.
the price included pick up rom hotel transfer to halong bay and transfer
back to the hotel.

On Sep 1, 10:50 pm, "tile" wrote:
geno.y wrote:
On Sep 1, 3:21 am, "tile" wrote:

yes aluxury junk for 3 days

Which one were you on? Do you remember the name? Did you include the
Kayaking ?

Best regards. Geno

I do not remember the name.. but it belonged to a company that had many
similar ones..
it had a deck where people could rest or sunbathe instead of a roof.
yes. they had two or three kayaks tied to a rope. from time to times people
where using them ( mainly for the excursions to the caves.. )
food was fantastic.. cabins were good and silent..
I think it had only 9 or 10 cabins
we were 14 people on the whole.. with 3 different groups and 3 different
guides.
if you need the address of the company that arranged that I will send it..
or skype contact. it is a good and big company in Hanoi.
the price included pick up rom hotel transfer to halong bay and transfer
back to the hotel.

I've got a friend who is trying to decide between the Huong Hai
(Deluxe) Junk and the Halong Ginger. The Halong Ginger is new so I've
don't have any feedback on it.

Geno

On Sep 2, 12:03 pm, Walt Bilofsky wrote:
Are the waters in Halong Bay very calm? Or do the junks rock about
all the time?


You do travel through some open water, but as the name implies, you
are in a Bay. There are a lot of islands so the waves aren't like
you're in the middle of the ocean. The junk I was on was of a fair
size. We didn't rock around much.

geno

In article , Walt Bilofsky
says...
Are the waters in Halong Bay very calm? Or do the junks rock about
all the time?

They were very calm when I was there last December. But the weather is
often not good, as the sky is frequently overcast and visibility is bad.

You will find exactly the same scenery in the Pha Nga bay in southern
Thailand off Krabi, but with much, much better weather.
--

Alfred Molon
http://www.molon.de - Photos of Asia, Africa and Europe