Vietnam forum

Hi Catba,

Regarding the reliability of the company, most of the comments i've seen on forums are positive in that regard. And they don't seem to be tout-ed replies.

Have you had any personal experience with Vega/Fansipan? I understand that there are a whole bunch of fake Fansipan companies, just like Sinhcafe. Would that be the main reason for the bad reputation?

Yes, i agree with your advise on getting to know the guide better before commiting to the tour. I guess in the end it boils down to the reputation of the tour agency.

How did you do it the last time you went to Ha Giang? Solo by moto? From what i know, if we want to venture further than Ha Giang town, we require permits and a guide. So that rules out renting a car and driver.

Appreciate you advice on arranging tour only after arrival. My only concern is the delays which may occur if we book there and then. From your experience, how long in advance do i need to book the tour? We're going in early June.

thanks

Posted from within Vietnam.

Sorry about the delay - I've been out of InterNet reach.

What I suggest is that you contact a number of agencies to see if they do tours before settling on one.

Quite honestly, if you can handle motorcycles, you might have more fun and get further. The roads are frequently single car width and the bridges are frequently good for motorcycles with significant diversions for larger vehicles. I don't drive motorcycles but cycling was fun although tiring.

Your proposed trip is quite lengthy for the time indicated, guided or not, on roads that vary from two-lane arterial through single lane with passing spots so you can count on a lot of travel at around 30 MPH/50KPH!

Your trip involves the following distances: Ha Noi/Bac Kan = 160Km; Bac Kan/Ba Be = 70Km; Ba Be/Bac Me = 90Km; Bac Me/Ha Giang = 47Km; Ha Giang/Ha Noi = 280Km for a trip total of around 800Km!

There is none too much in the way of travel in this part of the world but you could search LP for the following posters:

vuh, JakartaBoy, dammonk, AndyH73, ngythanh, Aristotle. These characters have all posted reports that will provide information.

I haven't searched the LP web site as their search function isn't the greatest and these reports were from an earlier version of their web site. All my information is from a massive corporate database.

There is also a dearth of good maps. I have detailed road and topical maps - I am able to send you copies of the road maps (the topicals are less than a year old and are copyrighted). If you send your e-mail address to < FungPee Inbox.lv > I will be happy to send copies of the road maps to you.

Where permits are required (I have residence status) there is often a requirement for a **local** guide. Whether this is to generate income for locals and kickback for the cops, I'm not sure. My status allows me better access to the border regions than visitors so I didn't get to involved in the internal permit business. Suffice it to say it involves visits to police stations and the guide.

Hope this helps.