Wild Frontiers

Flight Information

There are no direct flights to Ho Chi Minh City from London. The easiest route is generally via Paris with Air France and takes around 12:30hrs.

Useful Tips

• Take a cyclo rickshaw around Hanoi, cheap and good fun

• Enjoy a Vietnamese water puppet show

• Take ear plugs to the firing range at the Cu Chi Tunnel - AK47s make a hell of a bang!

• Ask for extra Lemon grass in your Vietnamese curry, tastes great.

Recommended Reading

If you want to read up on your destination we recommend a variety of guidebooks such as Odyssey Guides, The Rough Guide and Footprint Guides. All these publications have good general information as well as more specific country information that will help orientate you in the areas you visit.

Good books and maps of Vietnam are available at Stanfords in Covent Garden, London or online at www.stanfords.co.uk

Relevant Reading:
Nayan Chanda's Brother Enemy, provides insight into Cambodia and Vietnam's descent into war, and the role played by China, the former USSR and the USA.

Tragic Mountains: The Hmong, the Americans and the Secret Wars for Laos, 1942-1992, by Jane Hamilton-Merritt, follows the Hmong's successive struggles against the Japanese, the Viet Minh, the Pathet Lao and the North Vietnamese.

Our favourite book on the region, River of Time, by John Swaine is a gripping account of a journalist’s experiences during the regions recent troubled past.

The Quiet American by Graham Greene (1954) is set during the last days of French rule and is probably the most famous Western work of fiction on Vietnam.

When To Go

In general terms the best time to visit Vietnam is the months from October through to March when the weather should be warm without being too stifling.

Packing List

Below is a list of general items you might take with you on a Wild Frontiers trip to Vietnam. With your booking confirmation you will receive a packing list specific to your tour, so please treat this as a general guideline only.

Luggage:
It is best to use a soft bag - rucksack/hold-all/duffel bag - so it can be transported and stored more easily.
On all our trips a small daypack is practical for keeping general items (e.g. camera, books, wallets etc.) at hand when your main pack is out of reach. It is also handy for day trips and excursions.

Clothing:
In general you should bring clothes you feel comfortable with, so as a guide we suggest a packing list like this:
• 4 x Light cotton shirts or T-shirts, short sleeved and long.
• 2/3 pairs of cotton trousers. If preferred, women can wear dresses and skirts
• 2 x Lightweight jumpers or sweatshirts
• Good quality fleece or warm jumper
• Waterproof jacket or poncho
• Warm nightwear
• Change of clothing for the evenings
• Sun hat or cap
• Swim suit or trunks
• Pair of walking shoes/boots (walking)
• Pair of recreational shoes, adventure sandals, trainers or pumps

Equipment:
The following is useful extra equipment for you trip:
• Travel towel, travel soap and toiletries
• Flip flops/sandals for showers
• Torch (LED head-torch keeps your hands free)
• Pair of good quality sunglasses
• Water bottle
• Plug adapter (see ‘Electricity’ section)

Personal First Aid Kit:
While we do carry a large medical kit on all our group tours, we would still advise that you take some of the basics with you. This should include:
• Any prescription medication required (please inform the tour leader at your pre-departure meeting about these)
• Antibacterial dry hand wash
• Painkillers: paracetamol & ibuprofen
• Rehydration salts (Gastrolyte)
• Malaria Tablets (if necessary)
• Travel motion-sickness tablets if required (e.g. natural ginger tablets)
• Diarrhoea remedies
• Antihistamines
• Cold/flu decongestants
• Mosquito Repellent
• Insect bite cream
• Laxatives
• Plasters/Bandage/Steri-Strips/Blister pads
• Sunscreen (30+ factor)
• Moisturiser/after sun cream/lip balm
• Contact lenses and solution if required
• Tweezers
(A kit with most of this in is available at www.nomadtravel.co.uk)

Optional Extras:
• Ear plugs (if sharing a room / camping)
• Alarm clock
• 3-4 plastic carrier bags are very useful for dirty washing, dirty shoes and rubbish
• Binoculars
• Small packs of tissues
• Money belt or secure pouch for money and passport etc.
• Eye patches if light affects your sleep
• Sewing kit/scissors
• Writing materials
• Spare batteries/camera memory cards
• Swiss Army knife
• Calculator (for currency conversion)
NB: If you wear glasses, it is advisable to bring a spare pair since opticians are rare. If you wear contact lenses you may find that climatic changes and dust can create visual irritation, therefore, it is advisable to bring a pair of glasses.

You might be tempted to buy a few souvenirs here and there, so leave a little room for those extra purchases!!

Hand Luggage:
Although it is very rare that luggage goes missing on flights, it has been known to happen and so it’s a good idea to carry a spare top, toothbrush, wash kit, underwear and any other essentials in your hand luggage so that you can at least freshen up while waiting for your bags to catch you up. If you wear your sturdy shoes/boots it will also reduce weight in your luggage and keep them safe.

Practical Information

Time:
Vietnam is 7hrs ahead of GMT.
A useful website to check the time zone differences is www.worldtimezone.com

Food and Alcohol:
Rice is the foundation for meals, and almost all dishes are cooked with fresh ingredients such as vegetables, freshwater fish, poultry, duck, pork, beef or water buffalo. Limejuice, lemon grass and fresh coriander give the food its characteristic tang, and various fermented fish concoctions are used to salt the food. Hot chillies, garlic, mint, ground peanuts, tamarind juice, ginger and coconut milk are other seasonings.

Electricity:
Those bringing video & digital cameras that require battery chargers should also bring a two-pin, American style adapter. In most hotels you can charge from the mains using a travel adaptor plug, in some areas power will be unreliable so be sure to have spare batteries.

Money:
In Vietnam the unit of currency is the Dong.
To check out the latest exchange rate for the places that you are visiting you can go to www.oanda.com
A few points to help you plan:
• Payments are mainly made in cash.
• Only the few large hotels and banks accept credit cards and Travellers Cheques so they are basically useless.
• It is strongly recommended you travel with US dollars in cash. Sterling can be difficult to change.
• It is useful to bring lots of small denomination notes.

Language & Religion:
In Vietnam, the major language is Vietnamese. English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and German are popular foreign languages. The religions of Vietnam are varied and rarely clear-cut. Although some people call themselves Buddhists, they do likely practice Confucian and Taoist principles, ancestral worship, a little animism, and superstitions as well. Actual beliefs have developed over centuries from a melting pot of many ideas.

The strong influence of Buddhism, resulted in certain characteristics of Vietnamese people such as: gentleness, tolerance, hospitality, generosity, non-violence, compassion and humility. Other religions practiced in Vietnam include Christian, Catholic, and Cao Dai.

Cultural Sensitivity:
At Wild Frontiers we are very aware of the ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures. We realise that taking a group of tourists through such a region can have a negative impact on the lives of those who live there and on all our tours we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive…after all, there are also many good things that the tourist can bring.

To help this process we ask that our clients do not hand out pens or sweets to children. As one sign in Egypt emphatically put it, ‘Please don't make beggars out of our children!' No matter how well intentioned, in our opinion the dolling out of free gifts fosters a ‘beggar mentality' that is ultimately extremely destructive to a society. In addition we do not condone giving out money to beggars or ‘students'.

However, we also realise that we are exceptionally privileged to be travelling in areas where most of the people have far less than us and that the desire to ‘help' can be very powerful. As a result we ask that you refer to your trip dossier for information on the Wild Frontiers Foundation which supports specific projects in the areas where we travel.

Photography:
Please remember, we are guests in the countries through which we travel and we may sometimes inadvertently cause offence by taking photographs without first asking permission.

Also many countries have very strict rules about taking photos of army, police or any official personnel; restrictions apply at borders, bridges and any government building. Please exercise care in this regard as the penalty may be to have your film and/or camera confiscated.