Well, we’re getting shots today. 😦 I feel like a kid getting immu shots. I hope this ends with a lollipop.
My dad called yesterday, he heard something on the news about problems in S. Thailand; he wasn’t sure the details but wanted us to check it out since we have S. Thailand on our list too. We are checking Travel Advisory daily.
Jim is studying TripAdvisor and we will book hotels this weekend.
We are getting excited!
Filed under Cambodia, Thailand, Trip planning, Vietnam
Customs & Etiquette of Vietnam by Geoffrey Murray. It’s a small book, easy to read.
Well, we read a similar book prior to visiting Thailand. One of the comments was that it is considered rude to point (e.g., at people)…so we didn’t want to point at all, even when we were trying to figure out where we were going. So we ended up sort of pointing with our whole hand, like a bow “ta da” sort of whole hand point. Occasionally, we noticed that some Thai people were pointing with their fingers, so we were totally confused. We continued to play it safe and did the whole hand point…a habit that continues months after we got back home! 🙂 We are trying to be courteous!
Here are some tips from the Vietnam book:
–“Currency is the Viet Nam Dong (VND).” (p. 78) Okay, so according to the Coinmill Currency Converter, $100 USD equals 1950000 VND. I think I will take a print out so I don’t have to keep doing the math!
Image via Wikipedia
–“Tipping is not permitted but in practice it is still widespread.” (p. 78) What?! Are we supposed to not tip? But do it anyway? Or will we offend them if we tip–or if we don’t tip?!
–“If you look wealthy or show that you are an inexperienced international traveller, then the service prices tend to be higher.” (p. 40) Let’s see, I guess we should tatter our backpacks a bit. And I guess I’ll have to leave my suits at home (wink wink).
If you’ve travelled to Vietnam and can give us some good tips on customs, etiquette or even cool places to visit, let us know!
Filed under Vietnam
We loved our trip to Thailand a few years ago, and are eager to explore some neighboring countries that we didn’t get to yet.
So far we’ve booked our round-trip travel to Vietnam, and have applied for our visas. This weekend we will book hotels and flights for once we arrive there. We’re no travel agents, so it takes us a while to figure out the logistics! It’s an adventure trying to figure it out, and checking on Trip Advisor for different ideas on where to go (or not).
From time to time, we can be indecisive where to go or what to eat, so we’ll take advantage of the nifty Poll thingy that comes along with this blog site. 🙂 It will be an interactive way to help us when we get stuck. Let’s give it a try:
And stay tuned, because I am sure I will ask you later if I should dare try the Kopi Luwak?We’re getting excited, and hope you will follow us on our journey!
Filed under Cambodia, Thailand, Trip planning, Vietnam
Gone to Asia! 