http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30382 Calls to most countries cost an incredible 1,500 dong a minute (compared with about 5,000 from Vietnamese SIM cards and 20,000 from travel agencies), and to ring the US or Canada it's even cheaper.
Be warned though, the owner doesn't keep too strictly to the advertised 8am-10pm opening hours. I was caught out as early as 6.30pm as he'd obviously decided to knock off early.
But if you catch it open, you'll be able to natter to your heart's content without your call costing the earth.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/30382 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21411
The name Reunification Express is about as dated as the train itself, as most people in this vibrant country are younger than the unified state. Only the 'express' bit remains purely a longer term ambition with a possible Shinkansen style train designed by Japanese rail engineers.

Right from the experience of trying to buy a ticket as a foreigner to the moment you get off, this is a true journey. You'll be bombarded by sellers, so won't be short of food or drink, but you might like to take a few blue cheese baguettes and a bottle of wine from a stall in Hanoi if you think you'll tire of rice, beer and fruit.

Buy the soft sleeper for overnights for some comfort, and expect to share with a local or soldier if you are less than four. Let life unfold at a leisurely pace for a day or two, and avoid the typical, could be anywhere airport frustrations.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21411 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18500
Fares for domestic flights are fixed and determined by distance, although there are some discount fares for advance purchase (with restrictions), late night flights, and student and senior fares. Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airlines both offer similar levels of quality and safety, with Pacific Airlines offering slightly cheaper fares.

Neither Vietnam Airlines nor Pacific Airlines currently offer e-ticketing or online booking, although Vietnam Airlines has announced plans to start e-ticketing in early 2007.

A few tips for booking internal flights - book flights only once you are in Vietnam for cheaper prices, book online with Vietnam Airlines website, or their agents for savings.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/18500 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17389
Recommended dishes: Nem Cá, or famous Highway 4 spring rolls with fried catfish and wasabi soy dipping sauce. But tell them to go light on the mayo inside the rolls.

Grilled chicken with lemon leaves (Gà Nương Lá Chanh) and the Bò Xào Dưa Chua (beef sautéed with local pickled mustard greens—translated as sauerkraut but it’s quite different).

A unique and wonderfully textured green that’s only available seasonally is Hoa Thien Lý Xào (sautéed Thien Ly vegetable/flower).

For seafood, try the soft shell crab roasted with Tamarind or Salt (Cua Dong Rang Me/Muoi) and Ca Kho To (fish simmered in clay pot). Also good: Green mango (Xoài Xanh) marinated with salt and chili; and for the pork lover—Thịt Kho Tộ (pork carmelized in clay pot with coconut—tourist places tend to use lean sliced pork, while more traditional places like Hwy 4 will use pork belly). Try the sampler set of their Son Tinh liquor.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/17389 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14474 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14474 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11621 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/11621 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5762 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5762 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2509
It costs around 1,500 dong a glass (about 7 pence) and you end up drinking with all sorts of colourful locals.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/2509