Mangled03gmc

iTrader: (95)

Great picks Bill.. I am sure you have seen some of these..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAQkn6u4RtM

trever1t

iTrader: (14)

lol, while I have seen some real beautiful women here I have not seen a single prostitute like portrayed in the movies. Girls don't dress like that here either, not that I've seen.

The women in Vietnam are VERY conservative. Public displays of skin or affection DO NOT occur here and are considered taboo. Maybe District 1, where are the tourist are, is where those girls hang out but in the majority of the city and certainly Vietnam, this does not occur.

There are so many misconceptions about this country. I had no idea what to expect. It is warm and friendly. People are friendly everywhere I go. I am not looked at like an oddity when I am the only white guy within view and at least 2x the size of a regular citizen although there are some big kids around now that there’s food for everyone..

Pro:

People are wonderful, friendly, receptive and happy. I have not seen an angry person yet, I think it has to do with the traffic, you just learn to deal with things better....acceptance.

Prices are dirt cheap. Everything is bartered. We bought 2 hand sewn dresses for the wife, $12 each. Beautiful! We bought a "canvas" sport bag for travel, $4. If you know how to bargain (wife is pro) then you can really find good deals everywhere.

Food is excellent! I don't know if you ever tried Viet food but it's healthy and flavorful. Yes they will eat things you might not like but most is very palatable to the American appetite. I love it.

Diverse landscapes, Mountains, valleys, beaches, you name it, all within driving range from each other.

Other than in district 1 I have not been harassed by anyone, no one has bugged me to buy anything and or made me feel uncomfortable about my security. I feel safer here than I do in San Jose, for sure.
(The touristy areas there are many children and elderly trying to sell post cards and what not)

Cons:

Advertisements, glowing, flashing, blinking, huge building covering adverts. They are everywhere and on everything. Bicycles have signs. It's a flood of un-controlled commercial advertising. They allow it because the people get a fee in return for the space but it is a little unsightly except at night, then the glowing red, green, blues lights do look a little pretty

Construction. Everywhere is construction. All over this country. I have never seen so much rebuilding in my life and I went through a Katrina type hurricane disaster in ’89. New roads, hotels and homes are going up all over every area of Vietnam that I have visited. I imagine in 5 years Vietnam will be the premier tourist attraction for Westerners world wide. There’s no way you can top the sincere service given here.

trever1t

iTrader: (14)

meangreenburban

Love the pictures you're posting man sounds like you're having a great time! I'm actually from Singapore, and if you ever get the chance, that's another awesome place to visit. My family and I actually just made a trip back last summer to see family and friends, it was a blast

trever1t

iTrader: (14)

I have heard Singapore is a wonderful place to see as well. We are talking of going there on our next visit to this side of the world

1LOW4X4

iTrader: (2)

BAD *** PICS-love the cannons

trever1t

iTrader: (14)

In Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Spent the last couple days in Siem Reip exploring Ankgor Way and other parts of the old Angkor temple complex. Took ~550 shots including a trip into the Mekong Delta and a boat ride into the where the Cambodian "boat people" live. Absolutely awesome experience, unfortunately I lost 250 shots during transfer to my laptop, an irreversible error on my part Nothing I can do about it, it's done.

SO we're in Phnom Penh and headed out to do some more exploring of the temples here.

Later!

wkdivr

iTrader: (8)

Sounds like you're having an interesting trip, Bill. I plan on getting back to SE Asia one of these days. Just got settled in here in Bucharest, and they tell me I am going to Malta to help out on that embassy job for a few weeks. I'll try tp post some pics from there.

trever1t

iTrader: (14)

Back in Vietnam, must say I'm happy to be out of Cambodia. It was very pretty and in some ways a bit more interesting with ancient ruins and an older feel but it's nice to be back in civilization

I bought some pretty cool items in Phnom Penh but I'll wait till I get back to the States before broadcasting Wife got a couple of (knock-off) Designer purses. Man can she bargain, she beat these market people down and down, ruthless!

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trever1t

iTrader: (14)

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