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Vietnam Summary

From Asia... in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on May 26 '08

Toni & Sam has visited no places in Ho Chi Minh City
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Some Vietnamese food
Some Vietnamese food
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VIETNAM – The summary

Vietnam lasted for about 9 days and what a roller coaster of an experience

Hanoi was probably the worst city I have ever been too, however Hoi An is probably one of the best places I have ever been. I guess it was just the people that make the difference?!

The history of this country is also something that is pretty amazing, they have been dealt a pretty rough hand over the past 50 years with the French providing a nasty time and then the Vietnam (American) war was something the really hurt this country. I am not saying that they don’t have some responsibility to accept in this war but they only people to suffer from this war was the public of Vietnam. What a disaster this war was for everyone involved.

The tour group at out traditional dinner
The tour group at out traditional dinner
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The great thing about this trip though has changed my perspective of Vietnam. It is no longer the country where the Vietnam War occurred, it is now a place of natural beauty, great people and fantastic shopping.

There were some nasty things too, but let me some up the highs and lows…

Taxi Drivers: We did not meet one with an honest bone in his body. We were ripped off by two if them and both those experiences really left a bad taste in our mouths. MONGRELS!

Friendly People: In saying that, the people (apart from the above two taxi drivers) were awesome. They really are the kind of people that don’t have much but will give you what they have. Such as our friends we met in Hoi An that provided us with a couple of great nights and a huge amount of information about their country and city and the hotel manager in Hanoi who was a fun and charming character with a fantastic sense of humor.

One of the fantastic locals
One of the fantastic locals
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Shopping: The shopping in this country and in particular Hoi An was nothing less than remarkable. Toni really made a huge effort to get around the shops and with service and products on offer like this, Why wouldn’t you?

Beer: MMmmmmmmmm Beer! Saigon & 333 just to name a couple, and believe me when I say they were lovely!

Weather: It was hot, very hot! This has its pros and cons, however if we were there and it was cold we would not be very happy so no complaints from me!

So there ya go, Hanoi was sh!t house! Halong Bay was gorgeous, Hue was a beautiful city with plenty of charm and a fantastic structure in the citadel. Hoi An was a very cool sea side town with plenty of shopping with the ability to provide nasty hangovers! Ho Chi Min was neat place with more motorcycles then you could ever imagine. It also had some tourist’s sites that were very eye opening such as the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta.

The bottom line is I love this country and it is somewhere that I will definitely like to come back to, the problem is if I leave it too long it is going to be expensive as there is to much beauty and great people for this place to be kept down.


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