A Visitor’s Guide to Saigon Taxis
I wrote this piece a couple of years ago for the Duxton Hotel blog. If anything the taxi situation in the city has gone from bad to worse, so time to tweak & repost it!
A frequent complaint from foreign visitors is of being overcharged, ripped off and generally mistreated by the city’s taxi drivers, particularly those operating at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Indeed, a 2007 survey discovered that the number one reason cited by tourists as to why they would not return to Vietnam was being overcharged by taxi drivers.
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Luxury cruising - The Jayavarman luxury cruise ship
The Jayavarman luxury cruise ship was in port today so I decided on a visit to give it the once over in comparison to the other cruise ships on offer between Saigon and Phnom Penh and beyond. It compares very favourably with the larger RV La Marguerite, which plies the same route and which has 46 cabins compared to the Jayavarman's 26, which includes two state rooms. Named after the great Khmer king of the 12th century, each of its cabin has a balcony, good cabin space, nice sized bathrooms, air-con and all mod cons, except tv's.
Back to Bac Ha
Lao Cai Province has long been famous for the former French hill station of Sapa, renowned for its all-year-round temperate climate, beautiful landscape and colourfully dressed ethic people. But another place that is well worth a visit is the rugged provincial market of Bac Ha, with its vividly garbed H’mong people and sweet smell of corn wine will leave you with more unique, unforgettable experiences.
NEW “War Memorial Trail” discovered in Laos
For those who like would to learn more about the history of Laos, about America’s involvement in the secret war in Laos and see first hand unexploded bombs and craters. This is a half-day trek amongst nature in the forests. It is and interlectual and educational hiking trip only thirty minutes outside Luang Prabang.
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A New Mekong Delta Boat Trip
We’re always looking for new trips to excite even the most jaded Vietnam travel veterans, and with that in mind I headed down to Ben Tre at the weekend to check out a new boat trip itinerary.
As previously discussed, Ben Tre offers a quieter, less developed alternative to the busier waterways of My Tho & Vinh Long, and indeed during the 4+ hours I spent on this trip I didn’t come across another tourist.
A Weekend in Ben Tre
Walk into any tour operator in Saigon & ask for a 1 or 2-day Mekong Delta trip, & chances are they’ll all propose exactly the same itinerary, involving My Tho, Vinh Long, a couple of ersatz ‘tourist villages’ (a term that fills me with horror!), an unsatisfying lunch, and back to Saigon before you’ve even caught your breath.
Progress At A Price
From sleepy, down-at-heel beachfront town to a modern resort destination, Kep is on the move and, hopefully,
in the right direction
Once a playground for the well-heeled citizens of pre-war Cambodia, the seaside resort of Kaep Sur Mer (“Kep”) is experiencing a development boom that will either confirm its place as Cambodia’s premier holiday destination or turn it into a naff holiday camp to be avoided at all costs.
MUMMY, I’M BORED!!!
How many times have you heard that perennial whinge during the school holidays? Yet, as all expat parents will know, there is a natural limit to the number of child-friendly distractions even the most resourceful of us can conjure up in and around our beloved Phnom Penh.
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A Week in Cambodia
Last week I was back in Cambodia to do a couple more channel management/social media seminars in conjunction with e-Hotel Alliance, so I decided to stay on afterwards for a few days to explore some of the more far-flung temples around Siem Reap.
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Kep Crab Market: A Lament
I like Kep. The place is dullsville, but a pleasant dullsville, good for reading books, watching sunsets, riding the area a bit and lazing about the seaside. And of course there is the crab. They build monuments to crabs in Kep, and understandably so. Crab is to Kep what Angkor Wat is to Siem Reap (...or perhaps what the bars are to Phnom Penh.) The post-Bokor tourist industry in Kep is founded on crab-lunch-at-the-seaside. Until recently that was pretty much the only reason tourists came to Kep and is still one of the main reasons.