Vietnam car + driver ?

When we visited Myanmar we used a car and a driver to get around,
travelling for 11 days across the country. I was wondering if we could
do the same in Vietnam - get a car and an English-speaking driver in
Hanoi and driving south to Saigon in about 12 days, making a number of
intermediate stops. Has anybody done this and what were the costs ?
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Prague,
Budapest and Portugal

Hi Alfred

We tried in January 98 but gave up.

We tried in many places in Hanoi to find a car and driver to rent to go
slowly to Hué.
Did some negotiatiating here and there, but every time it turned out that
the price rose to triple or more, when we were getting closer not just to be
talking, but to make a binding deal.

For us this was part of a general bad experience in Vietnam, that you could
hardly never make a decent deal with anyone. It's the first and only place
in the world where we've been leaving a vegetable market without beeing able
to buy some cucumber and tomatoes. Their demands was so outrageous, that
it'd be chearper to have our sandwich at a fivestar hotel.

I know of people who've been hiring a car with a driver in the southern part
of the country.

Peter, Denmark

PS: I enjoy your pictures from Cambodia a lot at the moment, we're going in
december. Could you recomend a place in Siem Reap with a pool (guesthouse or
1-3 star-hotel, 20-30$ a double, preferably a place where four could stay
together in large room, bungalow or the like - my boys just wants a pool so
much in between the temples)


"Alfred Molon" skrev i en meddelelse
...
When we visited Myanmar we used a car and a driver to get around,
travelling for 11 days across the country. I was wondering if we could
do the same in Vietnam - get a car and an English-speaking driver in
Hanoi and driving south to Saigon in about 12 days, making a number of
intermediate stops. Has anybody done this and what were the costs ?
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Prague,
Budapest and Portugal

Hi Alfred

We tried in January 98 but gave up.

We tried in many places in Hanoi to find a car and driver to rent to go
slowly to Hué.
Did some negotiatiating here and there, but every time it turned out that
the price rose to triple or more, when we were getting closer not just to be
talking, but to make a binding deal.

For us this was part of a general bad experience in Vietnam, that you could
hardly never make a decent deal with anyone. It's the first and only place
in the world where we've been leaving a vegetable market without beeing able
to buy some cucumber and tomatoes. Their demands was so outrageous, that
it'd be chearper to have our sandwich at a fivestar hotel.

I know of people who've been hiring a car with a driver in the southern part
of the country.

Peter, Denmark

PS: I enjoy your pictures from Cambodia a lot at the moment, we're going in
december. Could you recomend a place in Siem Reap with a pool (guesthouse or
1-3 star-hotel, 20-30$ a double, preferably a place where four could stay
together in large room, bungalow or the like - my boys just wants a pool so
much in between the temples)


"Alfred Molon" skrev i en meddelelse
...
When we visited Myanmar we used a car and a driver to get around,
travelling for 11 days across the country. I was wondering if we could
do the same in Vietnam - get a car and an English-speaking driver in
Hanoi and driving south to Saigon in about 12 days, making a number of
intermediate stops. Has anybody done this and what were the costs ?
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Prague,
Budapest and Portugal

In article , peter lyngse
says...
Hi Alfred

We tried in January 98 but gave up.

We tried in many places in Hanoi to find a car and driver to rent to go
slowly to Hué.
Did some negotiatiating here and there, but every time it turned out that
the price rose to triple or more, when we were getting closer not just to be
talking, but to make a binding deal.

For us this was part of a general bad experience in Vietnam, that you could
hardly never make a decent deal with anyone. It's the first and only place
in the world where we've been leaving a vegetable market without beeing able
to buy some cucumber and tomatoes. Their demands was so outrageous, that
it'd be chearper to have our sandwich at a fivestar hotel.

Oh, my god - you're not the first person reporting this. Makes me wonder
if we shouldn't perhaps skip Vietnam and spend our holiday somewhere
else (for instance in Myanmar where people are so friendly).

PS: I enjoy your pictures from Cambodia a lot at the moment, we're going in
december. Could you recomend a place in Siem Reap with a pool (guesthouse or
1-3 star-hotel, 20-30$ a double, preferably a place where four could stay
together in large room, bungalow or the like - my boys just wants a pool so
much in between the temples)

I wouldn't know, as I can't remember the name of the place where we
stayed in 2000. But it had no pool.
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Prague,
Budapest and Portugal

In article , peter lyngse
says...
Hi Alfred

We tried in January 98 but gave up.

We tried in many places in Hanoi to find a car and driver to rent to go
slowly to Hué.
Did some negotiatiating here and there, but every time it turned out that
the price rose to triple or more, when we were getting closer not just to be
talking, but to make a binding deal.

For us this was part of a general bad experience in Vietnam, that you could
hardly never make a decent deal with anyone. It's the first and only place
in the world where we've been leaving a vegetable market without beeing able
to buy some cucumber and tomatoes. Their demands was so outrageous, that
it'd be chearper to have our sandwich at a fivestar hotel.

Oh, my god - you're not the first person reporting this. Makes me wonder
if we shouldn't perhaps skip Vietnam and spend our holiday somewhere
else (for instance in Myanmar where people are so friendly).

PS: I enjoy your pictures from Cambodia a lot at the moment, we're going in
december. Could you recomend a place in Siem Reap with a pool (guesthouse or
1-3 star-hotel, 20-30$ a double, preferably a place where four could stay
together in large room, bungalow or the like - my boys just wants a pool so
much in between the temples)

I wouldn't know, as I can't remember the name of the place where we
stayed in 2000. But it had no pool.
--

Alfred Molon

http://www.molon.de/Galleries.htm - Photos from Myanmar, Brunei,
Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Egypt, Austria, Prague,
Budapest and Portugal

Thomas F. Unke wrote:
Alfred Molon writes:
Oh, my god - you're not the first person reporting this. Makes me
wonder if we shouldn't perhaps skip Vietnam and spend our holiday
somewhere else (for instance in Myanmar where people are so
friendly).

No, don't believe all horror stories. I have heard that too before I
went there. In reality, not that bad. And you will find a *lot* of
very friendly people in Vietnam too. The Vietnamese may be a bit
harder negotiators than in other SE Asian countries. But it is still
cheap there and just keep cool even if you are overcharged a few $
occasionally.

I had almost entirely positive experiences dealing with people in Vietnam.
Like Thomas said, mostly I found them to be extraordinarily friendly.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 32 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu

Thomas F. Unke wrote:
Alfred Molon writes:
Oh, my god - you're not the first person reporting this. Makes me
wonder if we shouldn't perhaps skip Vietnam and spend our holiday
somewhere else (for instance in Myanmar where people are so
friendly).

No, don't believe all horror stories. I have heard that too before I
went there. In reality, not that bad. And you will find a *lot* of
very friendly people in Vietnam too. The Vietnamese may be a bit
harder negotiators than in other SE Asian countries. But it is still
cheap there and just keep cool even if you are overcharged a few $
occasionally.

I had almost entirely positive experiences dealing with people in Vietnam.
Like Thomas said, mostly I found them to be extraordinarily friendly.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos from 32 countries on 5 continents: http://travel.u.nu

Hi Thomas and Alfred

My point is not that the Vietnames are hard negotiators - I had my start of
hard negotiating in Morocco in 72 and has been living from beeing a trade
union negotiator ever since then. So I even find it fun to negotiate.

My point is that it's no fun, not pleasant - too much in Vietnam (but then I
came from Laos in 98, and the contrast was BIG).

It's not pleasant when you all to often realise that after bargaining, the
deal struck is not at deal anyway, and that you're not in a position to do
anything about it!! You're in a non-market-economy, with few suppliers,
dealing with "chinese" merchants ( I know this sounds racist - just trying
to give some explaining pictures in a foreign language ;-)
It means that even if you pay whatever extra that is demanded - you still
don't have a deal.

Off course only a small part of the vietnamese are living from doing
business with tourists, and most vietnamese I've met were indeed very
friendly and pleasant persons. Also many places like Hanoi and Hué are
definately worth going back toa, and If Alfred succeed in finding af car and
a nice driver iy'll be fine - all I'm saying is: the transport,
accomodation etc (the basics of travelling) are hard negotiating and NOT
pleasant - and on the other hand: the "sights" does not compare to those of
many other countries. So I'm not going back to Vietnam the next years.

Peter, Denmark






"Thomas F. Unke" skrev i en meddelelse
...
Alfred Molon writes:

Oh, my god - you're not the first person reporting this. Makes me
wonder if we shouldn't perhaps skip Vietnam and spend our holiday
somewhere else (for instance in Myanmar where people are so
friendly).

No, don't believe all horror stories. I have heard that too before I
went there. In reality, not that bad. And you will find a *lot* of
very friendly people in Vietnam too. The Vietnamese may be a bit
harder negotiators than in other SE Asian countries. But it is still
cheap there and just keep cool even if you are overcharged a few $
occasionally.

Hi Thomas and Alfred

My point is not that the Vietnames are hard negotiators - I had my start of
hard negotiating in Morocco in 72 and has been living from beeing a trade
union negotiator ever since then. So I even find it fun to negotiate.

My point is that it's no fun, not pleasant - too much in Vietnam (but then I
came from Laos in 98, and the contrast was BIG).

It's not pleasant when you all to often realise that after bargaining, the
deal struck is not at deal anyway, and that you're not in a position to do
anything about it!! You're in a non-market-economy, with few suppliers,
dealing with "chinese" merchants ( I know this sounds racist - just trying
to give some explaining pictures in a foreign language ;-)
It means that even if you pay whatever extra that is demanded - you still
don't have a deal.

Off course only a small part of the vietnamese are living from doing
business with tourists, and most vietnamese I've met were indeed very
friendly and pleasant persons. Also many places like Hanoi and Hué are
definately worth going back toa, and If Alfred succeed in finding af car and
a nice driver iy'll be fine - all I'm saying is: the transport,
accomodation etc (the basics of travelling) are hard negotiating and NOT
pleasant - and on the other hand: the "sights" does not compare to those of
many other countries. So I'm not going back to Vietnam the next years.

Peter, Denmark






"Thomas F. Unke" skrev i en meddelelse
...
Alfred Molon writes:

Oh, my god - you're not the first person reporting this. Makes me
wonder if we shouldn't perhaps skip Vietnam and spend our holiday
somewhere else (for instance in Myanmar where people are so
friendly).

No, don't believe all horror stories. I have heard that too before I
went there. In reality, not that bad. And you will find a *lot* of
very friendly people in Vietnam too. The Vietnamese may be a bit
harder negotiators than in other SE Asian countries. But it is still
cheap there and just keep cool even if you are overcharged a few $
occasionally.

"Thomas F. Unke" kirjoitti viestissä
...
Alfred Molon writes:

Besides hiring a driver, the other comfortable option is one of the
tourist busses which move between the major places every day. On long
distances they may even be more comfortable than a car. And in the
cities, there are rickshaws and all other means of transport.

I have seen a rickshaw in Helsinki a few times recently.