So we have some friends that are living in Hong Kong now. What better opportunity to visit a cool place like that when you have tour guides that you know living there already...
I initially thought just Hong Kong for 10 days would be fun, but how often will I actually get to see the rest of that part of the world?
I have been digging around online and found some stories of people that took the train from Hong Kong to Nanning via Gangzhou. That sounds like a nice place. From there we could hop a train or sleeper bus to Vietnam. (It sounds cool, but I have no idea where to go). Eventually I'd like to end up in Thailand and hit Phuket.
Anyone ever done anything like this? We are probably going to do the trip in September.
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SomeGirl to the white courtesy phone...
I spent a month in S. Korea back in 2007. Awesome place to visit. Don't know if I would recommend going there NOW though....
Quote from: Obsessed? on March 31, 2009, 05:31:37 PM
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SomeGirl to the white courtesy phone...
Ooops, here now, thanks. ;D
I've been to Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan, S. Korea (and the DMZ), Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, almost all for work but I managed to make a little time for sight-seeing. Let me know if you have any questions about those countries.
Have fun! [thumbsup]
Quote from: nateqwik on March 31, 2009, 07:01:03 PM
I spent a month in S. Korea back in 2007. Awesome place to visit. Don't know if I would recommend going there NOW though....
Im here now. What sort of drama would make now different from 2007? N Korea? They are just bluffing...no real substance
whats the language barrier like? I'm curious how much I need to know before I attempt to do this. I figured Europe would be too easy for the first big trip.
Check out this deal I found in Vietnam:
http://www.vietnamstay.com/tour/FnE_Bhaya.htm (http://www.vietnamstay.com/tour/FnE_Bhaya.htm)
That would be fun, and looking at the tour's website- its a pretty good discount on the deal.
I found a flight on Air France from Hanoi to Bangkok for only $135 a piece! Not too shabby.
Thailand and Hong Kong are pretty easy to get around with just English. Easier than some parts of Europe. ;)
I spent 3 weeks in Vietnam this last summer. Had a great time. Hanoi was my least favorite city. Very crowded. IMHO the people in the South are much friendlier than those in the North and that cultural difference is often talked about by the Southerners. You can rent 125cc scooters everywhere and they are totally the way to get around and go sightseeing. I generally stay away from guided tours. Thought long and hard about a cruise on Halong Bay and at the end of the day I bailed on it given what other travelers were saying about crowds, trash, and generally everything I don't like about traveling with groups. Flying is really the only way to travel between cities as the bus trips take forever. Passenger train travel really isn't an option, except from Hanoi to Sapa (didn't do). Don't worry about booking flights in advance, though. Airports there are very low key and flights on Vietnam Airlines are quite reasonable if you book in country. Every hotel can book you tickets and we had really good luck just showing up at the airport and jumping on a plane. Had some advance plans and ended up tossing most of those out of the window. Instead we took each day as it came and moved around based on what we were hearing from other travelers and locals. Had no problem finding places to stay, except in Hanoi. I also travel 2 star, so if you want plush digs, you way want to book in advance.
We spent time in Saigon, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Hanoi, and Dalat. Check out our blog - http://20daysinvietnam.blogspot.com/ (http://20daysinvietnam.blogspot.com/). Dalat was my favorite. Very friendly people and lots of great moto day trips to be had. It is also at like 5,000 feet elevation so it was MUCH cooler temp wise than the rest of the places we visited. There is a group in Dalat called Easy Riders that organizes tours by motor cycle. They were very high pressure and kinda sketchy. We hooked up with a local name Hinh with Dalat Adventure Tours and I got my own Honda Rebel like bike (closest thing to a real bike I was able to rent) while there. He totally hooked us up with cheap eats and drinks. Hoi An was also a great town, but a bit more bustling. Lots of good moto day trips out of Hoi An and a great place to get custom shoes or clothes made. Stayed in an incredible hotel there that was super cheap (An Huy Hotel). Wherever you end up, make sure you go to a "fresh beer" joint. Low alcohol locally brewed lager and finger foods. Beer was like $1 a pitcher and everyone in the place will come and toast you. Good times and you meet lots of locals.
Had planned to do a 7-14 day trip by motorcycle in the North, but the GF was too intimidated to spend that much time on a motorcycle. The North is supposed to have some seriously great scenery and riding, but you really have to want to get out there.
If you are patient and humble, language won't be a problem. You will generally find someone that speaks English in every hotel or retail place that cater to tourists. For street food or getting petrol out in the country, pointing and patience will get you what you need. With regards to petrol, if you ride, just about everyone sells it in liter water bottles. We ran out of gas the first time we rented bikes because we kept looking for gas stations - you won't find any. Just look for liter bottles filled with a greenish liquid sitting on the curb or shoulder - that is the gas station.
I'm currently living in South Korea. It's alright.
Hong Kong was amazing, though. I'd highly recommend going there, and spending some time.
Sounds like a cool trip Stu!!