NoGD

[katopp]

I could hardly agree more. Fly over, pay this wonderful country a visit. They have earned it. They have been invaded by anyone from anywhere. China, Cambodia, France, USA ... Still, they have not ended up as a vile and hateful people. The countryside is amazingly beautiful - follow the coastal road from Da Nang to Hue over the Hoi Van Pass - amazingly beautiful.

And, if you play your cards right and don't fall into the trap of package holidays, you easily can afford a guitar or two from Binh from the money you have saved.

To put that into perspective: usually, I take triple digit photos a day. In Saigon I took only very few. There was way too much to see. Saigon is an attack on to all of your senses. Hanoi has a Guitar Street, too, but it ain't half as good as Saigon's. Hanoi is also worth a visit, but compared to Saigon, it's calm...

Really, pay Vietnam a visit. It's worth it. You will not regret going there. I loved the country.

[Idunno]

Married couples who speak the same language and sleep in the same bed have trouble communicating.

 

Language translated into expectations causes all sorts of problems.

I’d recommend someone fly there and buy a couple of instruments off the rack. Guitar, mandolin, ukelele?

 

They will definitely get an amazing deal.

 

Married couples have trouble with a lot of things, primarily dealing with being married, and prefer not to talk much about it much less sleep on it.

 

I have no doubt the rack merchandise is good. It was built with known qualities. Customs are a departure from that and at that point all bets are off.

 

All the stuff on the walls at any GC is decent. It's all cookie-cutter from specs of proven designs; newly embellished. Excepting the high-end cookie cutter stuff, it's good quality and pretty cheap. No reason to ford the Pacific for more of the same at a higher (airfare+) price, unless the spirit of adventure just can't be denied.