Hoi An, Vietnam

Advantages: Quaint, cheap tailors, fabulous food
Disadvantages: none

...husband and several items for me including matching shoes for 2 outfits at £2.50 per pair!! I understand there were cheaper tailors but our guide recommended these. Since we have been back I notice on the internet that these tailors seem to be rated quite highly in reviews like Lonely Planet. They were extremely attentive but you do have to get over the embarrassment of being measured and inspected by beautiful sylph like girls - my husband thought it was wonderful and I usually have to do all his clothes shopping as he hates shops!! Website: http://www.yalycouture.com/Index.asp The Red Bridge Cooking School was fun. We had a fascinating boat trip down the river . On the way our motor boat was hailed by a tiny lady with no teeth and a huge grin in a rowing boat. Our driver caught her rope and tried it to our boat. She then proceeded to do her...

catsholiday 17.07.2008 (16.12.2009) · Read review
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Review of Hoi An (Vietnam)

Good Morning Vietnam

Advantages: Breathtaking scenery, variety, lots of culture, great shopping
Disadvantages: Very noicsy, very polluted within city, wreckless driving

...vehicles over take each other ALL the time! NB: People drive on the right hand side in Vietnam but you will see that many drivers drive on whichever side of the road they like, or in the middle. It can be a very scary experience for some, so if you are a nervous traveller, I suggest you either sit in the middle and don?t look in front of you?or sit to the right hand side and stare out of the window. You could close your eyes too (but you might miss out on seeing the stunning houses and local culture and spectacular scenery). But honestly, the traffic and roads are the main negative things that I can think of in Vietnam?but everything else is?WOW! (in a good sense) I just thought I should start you with the disadvantages, as I think my tips will come in handy?so you shouldn?t be TOO shocked?as maybe now you can be a bit more...

Tink27 04.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of General: Vietnam

Triangular Guide

Advantages: Detail, Pictures & Diagrams
Disadvantages: Friends kept stealing it

...reading about places I didn't get to see. ""**North of Delhi**"" This section is only a few pages long and includes information on various towns and cities to the North and a River Tour along the Ganges. Whilst I read this brief section and found it interesting, I didn't need it for any practical purpose as I didn't travel to this area. ""**Agra and area**"" Whilst the most famous tourist attraction in the area is the Taj Mahal and this is covered in a six-page spread including a cut-away diagram and information about the decorative elements used such as the inlaid marble, the guide also has good information about other sites such as Agra Fort, Jami Masjid and outer sights including a couple of tours - I'm sure the driving one would be an experience and a half! Due to a lack of hotel rooms and various security constraints, it...

BristolBud 02.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Eyewitness Travel Guide: Delhi, Agra & Jaipur - Kate Poole

Perfect Rough Guide for Backpackers and Travellers

Advantages: Lots of town and city maps, and site information.
Disadvantages: Bulky for a backpacker, not ideal if you are just staying in Athens.

...I took this book with me with to Greece for three weeks of backpacking, and it returned, sandy and beaten and my faithful companion. As well as giving basic and helpful advice on on the culture and people of Greece, it was also very practical. It offers options for both people on a budget and those with a bit more cash. In my opinion it really brought my trip to Greece alive, as I could not afford to take lots of tours, it provided a lot of information about the historical sites I visited, which was vital as my tour was orientated around sites and museums. If you are only travelling to Athens, then a smaller city guide would be a better option however. Highly recommended for any traveller around Greece....

awarebunny 09.03.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Rough Guide to Greece - The Rough Guide

Another Vietnam

Advantages: weather more temperated than in south
Disadvantages: colder people

...At the end of my presence in Vietnam I could return in Hanoi. In spite of/ its statute of capital this city is less populated that Saigon. CLIMATE Moderate, the north of Vietnam possessed 3 saisons.My trip occured at the end of May. General impressions: magnificent green Rice fields , one can see almost everywhere from the road the fieldsworkers men and women crouched down to plant rice or by pair with the help of big baskets with pendulums drawing water in the channels to send it in the fields of rice. All women carry here the cone and the men the viet green military colonial helmet .Contraste astonishing of the colors with the south dry at this very moment of the year. Poverty is here more important than in the south. Food, and lodging seems cheaper than in Saigon but clothes...

krakakoutas 15.09.2004 · Read review
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Review of Hanoi (Vietnam)

Sapa, pearl of Vietnam

Advantages: Beautifull landscape
Disadvantages: moisty

...About 380 kilometers in the northwest of Hanoi, you can find a small beautifull and picturesque city located in a pretty valley edged of the mountains of Hoang Tie Sound close to the Chinese border . The place has been discovered by Jesuit missionaries in 1918, Built by the French during the colonial era in Vietnam, there is one century, the city was a shelter during the hot season for the soldiers. Situated here to 1650m altitude the town is surrounded of mountains wich the highest Fansipan culminates to 3143 m. Nicknamed "Alpes Tonkinoises?,the area is covered often of mists and clouds giving a particular unreal atmosphere at this place. During the colonial time a lot of house where built and a church. After the withdrawal of the French, most of these constructions have either been abandoned destroyed...

krakakoutas 17.10.2004 · Read review
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Review of Sapa (Vietnam)

DIY Travel

Advantages: Very Comprehensive
Disadvantages: Quite heavy to carry all day

...student days but I still tend to opt for those aimed at the budget traveller as a source of information. The Lonely Planet range of books falls happily into this segment of he market and along with the Rough Guide series is up they?re as one of the market leaders. This year will see us making two trips to Italy so it is the 6th edition of the Lonely Planet guide to Italy that I have most recently purchased. Contents The guide is very comprehensive indeed running to a total of 868 pages. The opening chapters provide useful background to the destination including sections on the history and culture of the country, the environment and also information on the food and drink. For those planning to explore the whole country there are some useful itineraries that are set out as well as some options if you have a particular interest such as...

atticusuk 03.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Lonely Planet Travel Guides - Lonely Planet

Budget military game for the Nintendo DS - Operation Vietnam

Advantages: A budget price release for the DS
Disadvantages: Poor graphics, sound and gameplay, no multi-player mode

...This review is for the Nintendo DS game, Operation Vietnam, developed by Coycote Console and published by Majesco Games. The game is a military and shooting game. The controls in the game are not logical at all, there is a mix of using the stylus to change units, but the d-pad to change direction and attack. These controls are difficult to handle, and can be frustrating when the troops don?t move or attack where you want them to. There are ten levels in the game to work through, each of course getting harder as you progress. There are also mini levels which you can play if you do well enough in each mission, which is some reason to play through the game again to do better in each level. There are other problems with the logistics of this game. If you?re killed in mid battle, then you have to start again from the beginning of the level...

julwhite 11.07.2009 · Read review
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Review of Operation Vietnam (Nintendo DS)

I'm Vietnam - fly me

Advantages: Outstanding service and fantastic food
Disadvantages: Absolutely none

...I noticed that this airline hasn't yet been reviewed and thought if I was the only Ciao-person who has flown it, I had a duty to write about this fantastic little airline. I flew with them about 18 months ago so please forgive a little rustiness on the detail - I also don't know what it cost for reasons that will be apparent below. I wasn't supposed to be on a Vietnam Airline flight - it was just a lucky mistake. I was on a business trip to Vietnam with two colleagues and we were booked BA from Heathrow to Bangkok with a Thai airlines connection to Ho Chi Minh City. However, sometimes things go wrong in order for something else to go right - and Vietnam Airlines was a happy experience. As an aside, it's worth knowing you CAN'T fly UK to Vietnam direct - normal options are Malaysian Airlines or Air France - I'd recommend Malaysian...

koshkha 18.04.2006 · Read review
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Review of Vietnam Airlines

Excellent Travel Guides

Advantages: Comprehensive, yet very easy to read
Disadvantages: Quite hefty, therefore not ideal pocket book guides

...I have recently borrowed a couple of Rough Guide Travel books to prepare me for visiting Japan and Hong Kong later on this year. I have found both guides to be comprehensive and extremely easy and enjoyable to read. There are Rough Guides available for over 14,000 destinations and all have a similar format, so you can pick one up and navigate your way round very quickly. The guides begin with an introduction to the authors of the book with general information about the destination. Part One of the guides is titled BASICS, and I have found this to be the most interesting and useful section of the book. Some of the topics covered here include Getting There, Visas and Red Tape, Insurance, Health, Info and Maps, Costs, Money and Banks, Getting Around, Accommodation, Eating and Drinking, Shopping etc. This section of the book is...

lucybradly 12.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of General: Rough Guide - The Rough Guide