Must go places in Vietnam

[ShiNn]

Will be going Vietnam in June. Any must go places to recommend?

Will be bringing my 7D, 17-40 and 70-200.

[CanonHowitzer]

You should find photographic spots in most all of the country.
The people and their daily activities are interesting.

Check out river areas and local boat traffic.
Get out in the countryside.

Good luck.
:)

[kinghong1970]

HCM city is very nice... forget the name of the hotel but there's a very nice old french style hotel that looks very nice...

Phan Tiet is a nice quiet seaside resort town with a nice golf course...

Da Nang is absolutely spectacular... stay at the Furama resort...

there's a lot more interesting places in vietnam... but i've only been to places that are near my garment factories...

local fruit markets are interesting...

eat mangosteen... amazing fruit... very sweet... the fruit looks like a hard and fat plum but harder than a apple.. inside is about 5-6 cloves of garlic shaped fruit that you eat... OMG!

there's a great restaurant in HCM city that is known for their Pho... best i've ever had

US embassy bldg from the vietnam war era still stands in HCM city...

high school girls wearing the traditional white aodais are very beautiful to take pics of...

while the central location of major cities are somewhat modernized, the outskirts have some real old feeling about them...

oh, and take a pic of a family of 5~6 riding on a small moped...

enjoy!
watch out for the ice...
carry bottled water from hotel ONLY...
oh, and don't take the ice, unless from reliable areas...

gaviscon, tums, and the usual should be taken...

oh, in june... it's hot, it's humid, and keep a poncho ready... when it pours, it POURS... and sometimes so hard, you get wet from the splashes on the ground...

[nathan96]

I'm going later this year for 3 weeks in December. So I've subscribed to this tread.

[Chronoknight]

Where exactly in Vietnam are you going?

And yes, as Kinghong said, don't drink the tap water, don't get ice with your drinks. And watch out for sudden downpours!

[petie]

" 'nam " is an amazing country, in the Cities get up early to see markets on every street corner, and stand at a busy junction you will see enough odd things being carried on the back of bikes before u even get a chance to cross!
get out into the highlands though. Sapa is great, get a motorbike and explore the surrounds too the people getting on with their lives is enough to make a great picture. Ha Long Bay is a must, not many laces like that in the world!

[hooookup]

You have to go to Vung Tau. GORGEOUS!

[ShiNn]

i will be going to sapa, halong bay, nha phrong beach, hanoi and HCM. its another 2 more weeks. cant wait. i have prepared my camera gears nicely and its perfect for the trip. below will be my list. please do give some comments to what i have missed out.

EOS 7D
17-40mm f/4L USM
70-200mm f/4L USM
Speedlite 430 EX II
Batteries x3
CF Cards 8Gb x 4

[kinghong1970]

you're missing something to protect your gear from rain... when it rains... it really rains...

so much that the splatter gets you wet despite the umbrella...

[duongng]

first thing you have to worry about is vietnam is a very high humidity country . second - prepare for unexpected rain
interesting placed should available everywhere , but check these thing out :
- pagoda - a.k.a chùa
- sapa's church ( the biggest one )
- Matre Dame Church ( nhà thờ Đức Bà ) in HCM city
- president palace ( dinh thống nhất ) in HCM city
- ho chi minh's fake tomb ( lăng bác ) in Hanoi ( lol i'm not an anti-commie but the real one is in Hatay , the K9 hill , not Hanoi )
- war museum - for example the people's army museum or the air defense museum - bảo tàng quân đội nhân dân / bảo tàng phòng không không quân
- one leg pagoda ( chùa một cột )
- west lake ( hồ tây )
one more things that be aware of eating disease such as diarhoea , stomachache , fever , etc if this is the first time you go there. get some anti-diarhoea medicine ( berberin chlorine , for example ) . Also , bring a vietnamese friend with you could saves you a lot of money ( for example , when shopkeeper saw you as an foreigner - they charge you at ten times more expensive than a locals ) . Plus , there are little or no street directions in large cities like hanoi or saigon , so be aware about getting lost on the street
hope this will help

[Tigerkn]

Can Tho, Hoi An and Nha Trang