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Re: Visiting Vietnam for the First Time. Help, Please? Posted on: Sun, 2 Oct 2005 10:10:57 +0000 (UTC)

Hi Elisabeth,

In November of last year you have posted a similar question regarding
your upcoming trip to Vietnam. Didn't you visit Vietnam last year?

I am also planning to visit Vietnam soon. You can read my thread
concerning shopping in Vietnam and Thailand.

I am also planning to stay in Vietnam for three weeks. I am not new to
international travel and I will travel alone.

>1.) and >2.) As you are living in DC it shouldn't be a problem for you to visit the Vietnamese embassy. If you can show that your trip to Vietnam is for business purposes then you can get a business visa. Otherwise your chances to get a tourist visa is pretty low as Vietnam doesn't like backpackers respectively tourists who visit Vietnam without the help of a travel agency. So if you are not a business woman, then you have to book a flight together with hotel through your travel agency. Thereby you get a visa automatically.

>3.) Yes, you should get shots, vaccines at least 8 weeks before you travel to these exotic places so that your body is prepared. You can get it at your doctor. It costs you a few hundred dollars for all the shots and vaccines.

>4.) Saigon and beaches are the places to be in Vietnam.

>5.) Your travel agency will book a hotel for you.

>6.) Relaxing at the beach, discovering the nature, shopping.

>7.) In clean restaurants.

>8.) Of course. I will not take anything with me except my tooth brush, razor and Shampoo, I will buy all my suits and other clothes in Vietnam. Read my thread about shopping in Vietnam and Thailand.

>9.) I am also planning to make trips at the cheapest possible way. By bus it is the cheapest way.

>10.) Yes, Vietnam is not dangerous at all. In fact, it is safer than travelling through USA.

Let you dog stay at your friends in USA. First of all, you might not be
allowed to bring a dog with you to Vietnam. Secondly, it is very, very
stressfull for a dog, especially for such a "baby", to make such a long
journey. Your dog will not enjoy such a trip and the dog might get
sick. Thirdly, you are not that free anymore when you travel accross
Vietnam if you have your dog with you. Fourthly, Asians do not allow
pets to enter a house/hotel.

I would suggest to book a Last-minute ticket to Bangkok/Thailand as it
is much cheaper and entering Thailand is much easier than Vietnam. You
do not need a visa prior to boarding your plane to Thailand as you get
your visa on arrival at BKK Airport. As the flight from DC to BKK is
pretty long, it is better for you to stay in Bangkok for a few days in
order to recover. Bangkok is a good shopping destination, too. I am
planning to fly to Bangkok at first and then to visit Vietnam. In
Bangkok you can visit a travel agency which books a flight or a bus
tour to Vietnam. The agency will take your passport and forward it to
the Vietnamese embassy. Three days later you get your passport back and
then you can travel to Vietnam. One renowned European travel agency in
Bangkok is
Diethelm Travel (Vietnam), International Business Center, 1A Me Linh
Square, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Tel (84-8) 29-4932, Fax (84-8)
29-4747.
This agency might be expensive, but there are lots of travel agencies
in Bangkok, which means competition and thereby better prices.
So the best way is to fly from DC to Bangkok, see Thailand, book a tour
to Vietnam through a travel agency in Bangkok and thereby get your visa
automatically through the travel agency, stay in Vietnam for up to four
weeks (a Vietnamese visa is for one month and it can be extended to two
weeks and then can be extended two more time for two weeks each).

I am going to book a last-minute flight to Bangkok/Thailand, stay in
Thailand for one week, book my ticket to Vietnam at a travel agency in
Thailand, visit Vietnam ans stay there for three weeks, return to
Bangkok and fly back home.
If you are interested, we could meet us in Bangkok and travel together.

So you want to bet in Vietnam for Tet? You should know some things
about Tet:
-------
Like the Chinese, Vietnamese people are very careful about what they do
on New Year's Day. The events on New Year's Day determine your luck for
the rest of the year. Therefore, everything and everyone you are in
touch with on New Year's Day should symbolize good fortune. Don't visit
people who are in mourning because they are associated with death.
Children should not fight or cry on New Year's Day. Homes are decorated
with Hoa Mai, a yellow blossom that represents spring.
Family members exchange gifts and pay homage to the Kitchen God. They
also visit local temples to pray for prosperity and good health.
During Tet, Vietnamese families plant a New Year's tree called Cay Neu
in front of their homes. A bamboo pole is often used as a Cay Neu. All
the leaves are removed from the tree so that it can be wrapped or
decorated by good luck red paper. Legends have it that the red color
scares off evil spirits. On the seventh (the last) day of Tet, the Cay
Neu is taken down. This is the last ritual of the New Year celebration.
--------

Next year Tet starts on January 29, 2006.
As mentioned above, tet lasts 7 days, that means, February 5, 2006 is
the last Tet day.