SE Asia advice

blocparty

Im lucky enough to be heading to Kerala India for my brothers wedding this month and have been planning a bit of a tour, each place is for a particular reason as I have people to meet in each place im going for business but other than one day in each im free to roam so im looking to explore as much as i can. so far the itinery looks like this:

duabi - kuala lumpur 30th october
KL - ho chi minh 4th
ho chi minh - macau 9th
macau - taipei 12th
taipei - LA 17th
la - san fran 27th
san fran - amsterdam 5th december
amsterdam- cork 8th

i know its too much travelling but pretty much all of it is unavoidable at this stage

any advice from people who have been there?

Kotek Besar

Don't take a moto-taxi in Vietnam.

blocparty

yeah i heard that vietnam is bad for people trying to rip you off by over charging

or is it a case of them being dangerous?

Kotek Besar

blocparty wrote: »

yeah i heard that vietnam is bad for people trying to rip you off by over charging

or is it a case of them being dangerous?

Dangerous.

My wife and I went to Vietnam in 2006. We took moto-taxis all the time. Cheap as chips. US$1 or less usually.

This one time we were looking to go to a particular museum. The driver said he'd take us there and back for US$2 each. He would take me and his mate would take my wife.

They rode us some distance and took us to a side street, demanded I give him the US$50 note that he seemingly knew I had in my wallet - he must have been watching me pay for something prior to us taking the motor-taxi.

Anyway, despite our pleas, he and his mate threatened to come to our hotel and slit our throats while we sleep that night unless we gave him the US$50 there and then. So, I gave it to him and off they went.

My wife and I were both upset, both in tears to be perfectly honest. It was a horrible thing. It might seem like US$50 is nothing and in Ireland it isn't. But in Vietnam when you're young back packers and US$1 is lunch for the day, that US$50 note is three weeks food.

When we got back to our hotel we decided to cut our stay in Vietnam short and set off immediately for China, which was excellent.

blocparty

Kotek Besar wrote: »

Dangerous.

My wife and I went to Vietnam in 2006. We took moto-taxis all the time. Cheap as cheaps. US$ or less usually.

This one time we were looking to go to a particular museum. The driver said he'd take us there and back for US$2 each. He would take me and his mate would take my wife.

They rode us some distance and took us to a side street, demanded I give him the US$50 note that he seemingly knew I had in my wallet - he must have been watching me pay for something prior to us taking the motor-taxi.

Anyway, despite our please, he and his mate threatened to come to our hotel and slit our throats while we sleep that night unless we gave him the US$50 there and then. So, I gave it to him and off the went.

My wife and I were both upset, both in tears to be perfectly honest. It was a horrible thing. It might seem like US$50 is nothing and in Ireland it isn't. But in Vietnam when you're young back packers and US$1 is lunch for the day, that US$ note is three weeks food.

When we got back to our hotel we decided to cut our stay in Vietnam short and set off immediately for China, which was excellent.

bloody hell thats a bit intense! im not liking what im hearing from people who have been there about vietnam! seems to be a lot of petty crime going on there with tourists. i mean pick pockets are everywhere but vietnam seems to be a cut a bove and your story shows that.

what city were you in by the way?

Kotek Besar

blocparty wrote: »

bloody hell thats a bit intense! im not liking what im hearing from people who have been there about vietnam! seems to be a lot of petty crime going on there with tourists. i mean pick pockets are everywhere but vietnam seems to be a cut a bove and your story shows that.

what city were you in by the way?

That was Hanoi. Prior to that we were in Ho Chi Minh having crossed in to Vietnam from Cambodia.

All I'd say is, keep your wits about you and don't take a motor-taxi and you'll probably be fine and have a great time.

Don't forget to get travel insurance.

Benny_Cake

Vietnam is probably a bit more prone to crime than Thailand for example,but I wouldn't let it put you off going there, its a wondeful country and safer than most. Staying away from moto drivers is probably not a bad idea anyway,a lot of them seem to double as drug dealers!I loved Vietnam and only wish I could afford to go back.

totallytrees

I'm with you there Benny, wish I could afford to go back.

I didn't find Vietnam dangerous but everyone's experiences will be different. As a backpacker there it is a catch 22 as you mightn't see an ATM for a couple of days while travelling so want to keep your wallet full but then you also risk getting robbed like the poor chap above. If you had left your cash back in the hotel, you risk getting your bags searched there too.. I assume if you are going for business then you won't be staying in any dodgy places so you should be ok OP Enjoy HCMC and try plenty of this stuff, its delicious.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A1nh_x%C3%A8o