Vietnam help planning please

bestyman

Hi all,

We have booked Air asia flights to Kuala Lumper, we have 17 days.

We have been trying to decide where to visit is SE Asia and Vietnam looks good. We have already been to Thialand and loved Bangkok but need a change.

I have read that KL is not brilliant fpr food and drink ( alcoholic ), is this true for all of Malaysia? this is putting us off.

We like to eat cheap local food, local drinks, hate touristy places, like bargain prices, beach with snorkelling is good, although bargain hunting we don't mind paying for a decent hotel. We are happy to walk around by day or night so a safe place is a must.

So any suggestions please. Any ideas on where to go in Vietnam? Perhaps a city for a few days then a nice beach resort. Any suggestions on other countries that would suit us?


We fly October to KL, we re happy to arrange air asia/ firefly between resorts. We were thinking of the last couple of days in KL, maybee a week or so in Vietnam and still not sure what to do with the other week?

Thanks in advance

lynzpower

have read that KL is not brilliant fpr food and drink ( alcoholic ), is this true for all of Malaysia? this is putting us off.

Yes, unfortunately so.

We were in malaysia for 14 nights, independently travlling, you sound quite like us, like the real flavour, the "roughing". We have independently travelled in lots of places found Malaysia disappointing & quite unfreindly.

the food however is great. Eating and shopping is prety much the only thing worth doing in malatysia IMO

Drink hard tocome by, you might be lucky and find chinese returaunts will sell you a tiger, bar culture practically non existent outside KL and can be expensive - cocktails were around 8.50 pounds on Penang :eek: . Predominantly muslim too, even on Penang beach we got dirty looks for wearing swinwear outside major tourist hotel. I got lots of dirty looks for the clothing I was wearing ( showing shoulder for example, until on day 2 bought some more tops) and publi disaplys of afection is really looked down on you dont say if you are going wih partner but holding hands is really not OK in our experience. We went to KL, Penang Kelang and Lumut.

We should have crossed the border into Thailand really..Bu we were worried about time, as we hadnt booked flights etc. We were in bed for 11pm most nights,struggling to find anything to do.

Up to you, but I wouldnt go again no matter how cheap the flights were. Interesting if you are into religeous cultures though- Were really not

DaMaNiAc82

I think you're being a little unfair on Malaysia. I spent 3 weeks there and found it a great country to travel. It's got a bit of everything. Taman Negara was amazing as was Malaysian Borneo. The food in Malaysia is incredible though. I had fantastic curries and authentic Chinese food everywhere. Drink didn't really bother me that much as I had ruined my body after 5 weeks in Thailand! Getting to Penang and finding the beer prices were the same as UK and I decided to go without!

I think Malaysia has much more to offer than most countries and enjoyed it a lot more than Thailand. That said I'm heading to Thailand in November/December for a couple of weeks and intend to see a bit of culture rather than 2 straight weeks drinking Sangsom buckets..... just the 5 days this time

But I'll be quite happy to spend a couple of days in KL

markandkate

HI we flew to KL and then flew with Air Asia to Phnom Pehn in Cambodia We travelled by land to Siem Feap and visited the temples of Ankor Wat then back to KL. We loved everything about Cambodia and although there are similarities with Vietnam it is further north and this may affect the weather depending on the time of year when you go

I very much disagree with earlier posts. Kl is a large busy modern city and but at night China town is great the food is fantastic and you can buy drinks if you want there are night clubs and bars.

The beaches in the north of Malaysia rival those in Thailand as they border them in the north. Langakawi in particular is the image of white sand and palm trees and you can snorkel here too on trips to neighbouring islands.

Malaysia has many different weather systems depending on the time of year and you should check when you are going We went in January and the west peninsula coast is very wet but not so the eastern side. We really liked Penang and in the beach areas of the island we never experinced any dissaproval. The main beach area Batu Ferringhi is on the northof the island and although the sea is not really good for swimming there are plenty of water sports etc

There were floods in Borneo and Sarawak in Dcember but I would love to go there and see the orangutangs. the snorkelling and diving here is said to be world class.

Check out the average weather conditions and also the Air Asia destinations.

You should also be aware that Kl is about 75km from the airport so you will need to consider this if you want to visit

bluffer

KL not brilliant for food and drink?? Yikes, who told you that?

You have fusions of asian noodles, curries, spices................

Given that Malaysia is a muslim country then yes it doesnt have a bar culture but do you really need that? But..in KL itself there are lots of expat bars you could go to, lots of little local places to eat in the suburbs. Jalan Petaling in Chinatown will give you all the cheap hotels, shopping, access to the Mass Transit systems, beer and places to eat. Penang is fine as well and never had any problems find my nightly supply of beer and food

The airport is only about 30 min away on the train and if you fly Malaysia you can check in at the train station.

From there, Ho Chi Min or Hanoi are great for a 3/4 day trip and you can easily get to Danang or Hoi An for beaches. But Vietnam is not for everyone, they can be agressive in selling techniques and bag snatchings in the big cities at night are higher than Thailand/Malaysia.

If you go to Cambodia then you have to go to Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, the problem is though to get to a beach means Sihanouvkville ( or Snooky ) and really unless you want a 14 hour + minbus journey then you split up the journey with a stop in PP. Now this bit depends on budget. You can fly from Siem Riep to PP and then get a bus or taxi down in one day. Or you can get a bus to PP about 6 hours, stay once night and then get a scheduled bus down in about 4 hours. ( you coull do this in a day but like a direct bus its a loooong day if slightly more comfortable.

For Cambo info see http://www.canbypublications.com/cambodia/cambodiahome.htm and for Cambo and Vietnam info see http://www.talesofasia.com/

bestyman

Thanks for all the replies. Copious quantitys of cheap alcohol are a must , preferably drank with the locals. It seems for that reason Malaysia may not be ideal for us.

So far looking at Hoi an in Vietnam, nice hotels for £18 a night looks good, has anyone been there or nearby ? Anyone been to Cat ba?

Leanne1812

Hi,

I too disagree with what's been said about Malaysia. The food is amazing and there are plenty of places where you can get booze. In hotels it's expensive same as most places but beer is relatively cheap, wine is more expensive. The food is fantastic, you can get anything from McDonalds to 5* feasts.

My sister lives in KL and hubby & I are off for 3 weeks in october too. We're having 4 days at my sis, 3 days Ho Chi Minh(Saigon), 3 days Bangkok and finishing with a relaxing 8 days in Phuket.

It's our 1st visit to Vietnam but iv'e been researching on tripadvisor and my sis has been so we know what we want to see and do. I would like to see Hanoi and Cambodia too but that will need to wait till our next trip.

The thing about Asia is it's so diverse in every way. You can dine in a 5* hotel for the cost of a main course here or eat great food at the hawkers stalls for a quid. There's loads to see and do. We just love it and can't imagine anywhere else coming close to the thrill that we experience in Asia. We've had breaks in Europe & the states and it just falls short for us now, we have been well and truly spoiled!

Go for it, you'll have a ball.:beer:

Leanne

P.S. We're staying in great hotels for 14 nights, all flights( Emirates & Air Asia), insurance & visa for Vietnam and it's worked out at £1900 total. I'm thrilled that we're doing so much travelling for that cost!

DaMaNiAc82

The weather is going to be very temperamental at that time of year in Vietnam. It's getting towards the end of monsoon season so you could see a couple of days wiped out by torrential rain.

Air Asia fly to Hanoi and Saigon. Out of the 2, and considering the time of year, I'd go for Hanoi and take in trips to Halong Bay and maybe Sapa. With only a week getting to the central region (Hue, Hoi an) might be too far as it would take 12 hours+ by bus/train.

You can't get cheaper than drinking Bia Hoi (draught beer) on the streets of Vietnam. Costs about 6p a cup and you sit on the side of the street on primary school style tiny plastic chairs

mystic_trev

bestyman wrote: »

So far looking at Hoi an in Vietnam, nice hotels for £18 a night looks good, has anyone been there or nearby ? Anyone been to Cat ba?

Hoian is pleasant - go and have a look at the Fuc!ien Pagoda - yes it really is called that! There are loads of great places to see in Vietnam, and places like Halong are a must.It really depends on how long you have to spend, try looking at some of the Travel forums like Virtualtourist.com. The food in Vietnam is some of the best in SE Asia - and cheap. As for Malaysia, I really liked it and never had a problem finding a drink, even out in the sticks!

Pee

I loved Vietnam - and KL was a let down afterwards, but to be fair, I think anywhere would be.

Vietnam is cheap and the people are lovely. I'd suggest hanoi, October is probably the best time of year to go there. I found it a little hot. Halong bay is fantastic - you cruise around through the most amazing scenery on little eight berth boats with food provided and can do a shortish trek through what feels like a proper jungle on an island, swim or paddle off in a canoe. My favourite place on earth.

Sapa is a hill town, with terraced rice fields and a great waterfall. Lovely place and a nice cooler climate! You can get the night train there from Hanoi in four berth compartments.

Hanoi is lovely, very busy and crossign the road nearly gave me a nervous breakdown - you just walk across at a steady speed and the bikes will avoid you, but it's very hard to belive this and you keep trying to step backwards which will cause an accident!!! Le Pub, which I think is on Hang Be is a great place to hang out and get info regarding halong bay tours etc.

I haven't been to Hue or Hoi an. Think It's Hoi an where you can get clothes made up in about 24 hours - so take a favourite pair of trousers and come home with four.

Koto - the charity restaurant for street children - a forerunner to Jamie Oliver's fifteen and Bobby Chinn's are also highlights of Hanoi, as are the Xe Om motorbike taxis.

gemma_8_1

bestyman wrote: »

Thanks for all the replies. Copious quantitys of cheap alcohol are a must , preferably drank with the locals. It seems for that reason Malaysia may not be ideal for us.

So far looking at Hoi an in Vietnam, nice hotels for £18 a night looks good, has anyone been there or nearby ? Anyone been to Cat ba?

Hi, I was just wondering where you found the hotels? Im looking at doing something similar in November.