BCdave

We had some fun trying to take pictures of what Vietnamese can carry on a 125cc scooters. I'd say 70% of Vietnam gets around on scooters; rain or shine; ponchos over handle bars in downpours. It is difficult to get good scooter photos when you're on the go with a cameras turned off in your pocket; many times by the time the camera was out and powered on, the scooter was gone. We were amazed by what we saw carried on a scooter; so here's some pics of the best we could get; but sorry we didn't get a photo the guy wobbling along carrying a full sized fridge on the back of his scooter; or the 2 guys delivering a 4X8' sign on a scooter in Saigon traffic; live ducks in bags; or live hogs ... read more

working on this one ... Art Fancy Hotel - Great little "boutique" hotel with attentive helpful staff; rooms are smallish but nicely appointed and clean in west side of the old quarter Old Quarter Hanoi - busy with scooters and the occasional aggressive street vendor; lots of shops side by side and canton style alleys just 4' wide in places. Beer corner in the Old Quarter - after dark a vibrant place to sit on small stools and sip good cold lager; we sampled 2 places across the street from on another on separate nights; beer is good quality; and food is also decent quality; despite sitting on the street Canton Alleys Hanoi - We ran across these in several places; if they were in better condition they would be a fun maze to find you ... read more

We booked a 5 day cycling tour across the Mekong Delta thinking it wouldn't be too challenging being relatively flat and a short-ish duration; originally there was talk of a 9 day Mountain ride (yipes) or an 11 day Mekong to Angkor Wat cycle (double yipes). My spouse and I both did some cycling fitness training for this and although not a strenuous pace or terrain it was challenging enough with jet lag; change in food and the heat and humidity and my bicycle sore butt. We were picked up at our hotel in Saigon by the cycling glide with a van for 2 couples; cycling guide, van driver, luggage and bicycles and driven into the Mekong countryside; relieved to be out City and Saigon traffic, to a rural 2 lane paved road; fitted the bikes ... read more

Flying Air China, we landed just after midnight on 09 No 15 after 21 hrs in transit Vancouver to Beijing (Peking) Beijing to HCMC (Saigon). In our transfer through Beijing Airport; we found the Beijing International Airport did not turn on the heat until Mid November; considering Beijing just had snow the day before the airport was freezing cold; passengers were huddled together trying to keep warm; and airport staff had on full length wool coats perhaps this is a policy to conserve energy and keep pollution to a minimum ( ...!~?). We were prepared for the Vietnam heat and humidity not Beijing airports freezing temperatures ... we quickly donned all fleece sweaters and vests and light raincoats in an effort to keep warm and kept walking for 4 hrs on our layover. Looking out the ... read more

I was convinced to go to Vietnam on a three week trip including cycling on the Mekong Delta for 5 days and 3 day boat tour in Halobg Bay; with some trepidation. Recently we have been busily squaring away last minute work commitments, and I'v been away winterizing the P&B coach house still under construction last weekend; draining water tanks and turning off the electricity while watching the first snow of the winter season in the Cariboo, on the Fraser Plateau, thinking how on earth am I going to be cycling in 35C humid Vietnam?. I've heard great some accounts of friendly people, great food and scenery. A group of 4 of us have come up with a diverse, not too rushed itinerary; HCMC; MoiNe Beach acclimatization 3 nights, cycling on the Mekong Delta 5days, HCMC, ... read more