Cambodia or Vietnam? Or both ??

[PragueBlue]

My sister and her fella have just returned from Thailand, which included a few nights on Samui. She said it was a ''dump''!

OP, if you've got time to do both then go for it I'd say.

Both Phuket and Samui aren't what they once were. Thai baht is very strong as well at the moment so value for money is pretty poor.

 

[aka blue jambo]

Wrong uns In Pattaya !!! Surely Not!!!

You can imagine how shocked I was

 

[aka blue jambo]

Both Phuket and Samui aren't what they once were. Thai baht is very strong as well at the moment so value for money is pretty poor.

I know the baht is a killer

 

[feedthegoat27]

Will stay there for a few nights then head to Tao and Phangan

Yeah I think they enjoyed Koh Tao and Phangan, and she did caveat her comments about Samui by adding she might have picked the wrong area to stay (Lamai beach I think it was), she said rough seas and rubbish strewn beaches but again that could be down to the time of year.

It certainly wouldn't put me off visiting the gulf of Thailand! I wanna go everywhere :)

 

[bangkokblueballs]

It was great. I think I went in 2004, so I'm not sure what merit my views have today. Loved Vietnam - found Cambodia to be a bit less interesting and really backward at the time - I was told when we landed that there are no ATMs in Cambodia!

There was one I remember in Siam Riep. Had 2 armoured guards 24 hrs a day. Most you could with draw was about 10 dollars in local currency.

The street markets in PP were a highlight for me.
M16, AK47, Granades and all other military weapons were openly on sale for about 50 dollars, bricks of terrible weed and other illegal drugs were openly on sale. Unfortunately so were young underage girls.

Cambodia was/is a lawless place, enchanting and heartbreaking in equal measure. The border crossing at Poi Pet. To this day is one of the most harrowing sights I have even seen. With all the land mine kids living in raw garbage/sewage begging.

 

[Dubai Blue]

Yeah I think they enjoyed Koh Tao and Phangan, and she did caveat her comments about Samui by adding she might have picked the wrong area to stay (Lamai beach I think it was), she said rough seas and rubbish strewn beaches but again that could be down to the time of year.

It certainly wouldn't put me off visiting the gulf of Thailand! I wanna go everywhere :)

Yeah, Lamai was a shithole 18 years ago when I first went, so I can't imagine it's got any better. Chaweng is also an absolute dump. The nightlife in both used to be good though.

As for the OP's question, if you've got a whole month, I'd spend it travelling up the length of Vietnam from HCMC to Hanoi. You can always take a couple of cheap internal flights to break the journey up a bit. You don't need long in Cambodia, so you can always do a few days there at the end if you've got the time.

 

[ell]

Yeah I think they enjoyed Koh Tao and Phangan, and she did caveat her comments about Samui by adding she might have picked the wrong area to stay (Lamai beach I think it was), she said rough seas and rubbish strewn beaches but again that could be down to the time of year.

It certainly wouldn't put me off visiting the gulf of Thailand! I wanna go everywhere :)

Went to Samui last November (2018) we loved it (stayed in Bophut) but yeah there was tonnes of rubbish washing up on the beach (our hotel cleaned the beach directly in front so it was ok), we wondered whether it was from all the beach parties from Koh Phangnan because its directly facing and when we went to Chaweng the beach was a lot cleaner but the area a lot shitter.

 

[aka blue jambo]

Yeah, Lamai was a shithole 18 years ago when I first went, so I can't imagine it's got any better. Chaweng is also an absolute dump. The nightlife in both used to be good though.

As for the OP's question, if you've got a whole month, I'd spend it travelling up the length of Vietnam from HCMC to Hanoi. You can always take a couple of cheap internal flights to break the journey up a bit. You don't need long in Cambodia, so you can always do a few days there at the end if you've got the time.

Cheers mostly looking for a long beach holiday with a wee bit culture to break up the trip

 

[Dubai Blue]

Cheers mostly looking for a long beach holiday with a wee bit culture to break up the trip

Vietnam's perfect then. Beaches all the way up the coast and tons of history/culture along the way.

 

[Tricky_Trev]

Overall, I preferred Vietnam, but my favourite place was Koh Rong Samloem in Cambodia. Paradise, so tranquil if you want to chill on a beach for a few days. But Vietnam has more to it. I did Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay, Hue, Phong Nha National Park, Hoi An, Mui Ne, Dalat, HCMC, Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc island.