Hey Boon,

Still have to go with Nam.

Nice undeveloped beaches, few foreigners outside of SGN & HAN.

My own little Shangri-La.

SoCal~

You have not seen Beaches until you go to Brazil...

A few subjective comments:

the only countries I have ever been a crime victim in are Brazil and Portugal, but I don't hold it against them. In Rio, avoid the downtown area during the weekend, even in broad daylight (my mistake).

I was only in N. Vietnam, and I did experience mild anti Americanism in the form of aggressive questions about why more Americans don't visit. My hotel there offered dog cooked in three styles, and all I can think was it was a miracle of the human spirit that they didn't want to kill me.

About Costa Rica, I don't see the similarity with Thailand in that place. The biggest city San Jose is basically an overgrown small town and the food is the most bland food you can find.

A few subjective comments:

the only countries I have ever been a crime victim in are Brazil and Portugal, but I don't hold it against them. In Rio, avoid the downtown area during the weekend, even in broad daylight (my mistake).

I was only in N. Vietnam, and I did experience mild anti Americanism in the form of aggressive questions about why more Americans don't visit. My hotel there offered dog cooked in three styles, and all I can think was it was a miracle of the human spirit that they didn't want to kill me.

About Costa Rica, I don't see the similarity with Thailand in that place. The biggest city San Jose is basically an overgrown small town and the food is the most bland food you can find.

The Gent claims to own more platial estates in Costa Rica that's why he mentioned that country.

It's not the place it once was for retired folks. The bloom has gone off the rose so to speak.

Yeah well Vietnam is V.nice but I wouldnt relocate / buy property there. The government are quite erratic in their attitude to foreigners. Only a few years ago they suddenly decided to ban all tourist visas.

Id probably go for Cambodia in a few years, not quite developed enough yet for my liking and still a bit dangerous.

Boon & Udon, Just received this-

Vietnam is beginning to displace Thailand as Asia's hottest travel

destination

NHA TRANG, Vietnam (1 June 2005) -- Vietnam is among the countries

and territories recently named to be one of the safest destinations

for travellers by Aon, the world's second-largest insurance broker,

according to BBC.

Claire Boobbyer, a tourism writer for the Footprint Travel Guides,

has expressed her special love for Vietnam, BBC said, adding that

plenty of travelers are returning to Vietnam to soak in the

spectacular scenery and culture.

The country is on its way to being as much of a destination as

neighboring Thailand, BBC said.

But Boobbyer said Vietnam "is really more interesting."

"The environment captivating and the food is divine. I think it's

the best food in the world. The smells, the sounds, the sights -

it's far more interesting than Thailand," she remarked.

Earlier, the Conde Nast Traveller magazine had devoted an entire

edition to Vietnam entitled "Good afternoon Vietnam". Vietnam is "a

land that has unified not only north and south, but an honored past

and a rich future," the paper said.

Miss Boobbyer agrees, saying that the nation has embraced tourism,

and that navigation of the cities and countryside in English isn't

as challenging as one might expect.

"[Vietnam] has a good background in the service industry… There is

a good range of services for tourists, from high-class hotels to

backpacker's hostels," Boobbyer remarked, stressing that she

was "amazed for what you could get on a budget."

There were nearly 300,000 visitors flocking to Vietnam in March

alone, according to figures on the official tourism website.

In the first three months of 2005, there were nearly 900,000

tourists and scuba diving travelers in the country, a more than 20%

increase from 2004, it also said.

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Brazil?

Just heard that they are building a 6' tall wall from the airport to Rio to protect foreigners en route to Mardi Gras from stray bullets.

2nd choice? Vietnam.

It's called "Carnival" down there and a lot more fun than that sorry excuse in New Orleans!

Actually it's called Carnaval in Brazil (and elsewhere where it's traditionally celebrated). It comes from the Latinesque 'carne vale', more or less 'farewell meat' as it's the last day before Lent.

Carnival is a common misspelling.

CARNAVAL