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Extract from the Viet Nam Travel Guides:
History weighs heavily on
Vietnam
. For more than a decade, reportage of the war that racked the country portrayed it as a savage netherworld, yet, only twenty-odd years after the war's end, this incredibly resilient nation is beginning to emerge from the shadows.
As the number of tourists finding their way here soars, the word is out that this is a land not of bomb craters and army ordnance, but of shimmering paddy fields and sugar-white beaches, full-tilt cities and venerable pagodas. The speed with which Vietnam's population of 77 million has been able to transcend the recent past comes as a surprise to visitors who are...
read the whole Viet Nam Travel Guides...
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| General : Train grates |
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| If you are wondering what the grates are for on the trains in Viet Nam they are there to prevent people, probably kids, from throwing stones through the open windows. Oh and it used to be possible to travel on the front carriage free as it used to be the one which got the most damaged when it went over land mines - don't think that will be the case now though! |
 Posted by User Not Logged In on 22/04/2004 20:18:08 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
| To Do And See : food joints |
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| Try the local food joints for breakfast rather than western style cafes - the food is excellent and a bargain. |
| Posted by User Not Logged In. on 06/05/2003 17:13:49 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
| To Do And See : Bia Hoi |
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| Drink Bia Hoi (draft beer) at a sidewalk cafe - it's cheap, tasty, and they often sell good local specialty food at decent prices. |
| Posted by User Not Logged In. on 06/05/2003 17:13:25 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
| Culture : Prices |
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| Bargain for everything. Tourist prices are way above the going price. Bargain for hotel rooms, coconuts, cyclo rides, the lot. |
| Posted by User Not Logged In. on 06/05/2003 17:12:45 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
| Dangers : Ask! |
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| Always, always, always ask the price of EVERYTHING. If you don't, a cup of coffee, cyclo ride or souvenir may cost you 10 times the going rate. |
| Posted by User Not Logged In. on 06/05/2003 17:12:13 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
| To Do And See : open jaw ticket |
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| If you are flying into Vietnam, the best way to see the country is to get an open jaw ticket. Fly into Hanoi and work your way down to Ho Chi Minh city, or vice versa. |
| Posted by User Not Logged In. on 06/05/2003 17:11:25 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
| Getting Around : Planning |
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| When planning your journeys, take into account it takes a full day to travel from place to place. Even if it looks like only 100 km away, it may take 10 hours (from experience). |
| Posted by User Not Logged In. on 06/05/2003 17:08:20 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
| Culture : The war |
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| France occupied all of Vietnam by 1884. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH, who took control of the north. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later North Vietnamese forces overran the south. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult as aging Communist Party leaders have only grudgingly initiated reforms necessary for a free market. |
| Posted by User Not Logged In. on 29/03/2003 20:58:28 |
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Travelslang Viet Nam Travel Guides Opinions Tips & Advice
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