viet nam

anne of willmar · Post by **anne of willmar** » Wed Oct 25, 2006 1:21 pm

anyone windsurfed south vietnam???lking at the month of february,will need to get outta here, expand my horizons....

JRN · Post by **JRN** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 6:20 am

A few years back, they held some PWA Formula events in Thailand. Try Windsurfer Mag. website & search back issues. JN

steveb · Post by **steveb** » Thu Oct 26, 2006 8:04 am

A company called Kite adventures does a lot of trips there, you maybe able to pick their brains. I know they go on Kite forum http://www.kiteforum.com so if you posted a question about Vietnam, where to go etc. I'm sure you'd get some response

cp2616 · Post by **cp2616** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 8:52 am

I went to Vietnam September 2005. It was amazing. Kiteboarding wasn't the primary purpose of the trip, so I rented gear from Jibes at Mui Ne.

Mui Ne is easy and cheap to get to from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). $5 and four hours one way if you plan it right. $65 if you have to hire the whole bus to get back to the airport quickly. I wouldn't do a tour as Vietnam is so cheap and easy, I don't know what you would be paying the tour operator for. There is a definite windy season there and it was not September. I got very lucky I was told. I think they said winter was very, very good, so February might be ideal.

I will be back to kiteboard, relax, soak up the sun and culture, enjoy the food and nightlife in Mui Ne as soon as money and time permits.

My pictures from Mui Ne are here. http://www.kiteboardokoboji.com/image/muine/index.htm

Here is the card I picked up at Jibes. Pretty much everyone at Jibes spoke English, so give them a call or email.

Let me know if you have any other questions. casey at kiteboardokoboji.com

johnz · Post by **johnz** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 3:44 pm

Wow. That looks nice.

Casey, what were their rates for stuff - was it decent quality / maintained all right?

Would you bring your own gear or just rent?

That's a long plane ride, but might be fun - I've windsurfed in Thailand before and had a blast!
- z

chanrider · Post by **chanrider** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:06 pm

Here's how I roll... I have to admit the only thing that came to my small mind when Anne mentioned windsurfing in Viet Nam was the surfing scene from the movie "Apocalypse Now"

Good to see there is a thriving scene that exists in reality! Guess I need to get out more... Have fun!!

cp2616 · Post by **cp2616** » Sat Oct 28, 2006 7:04 pm

John,

Good to hear from you. I rode Naish Gear at Jibes and all I remember is it turned like a truck. Reminded me of my '02 SS Fuels. They might have been '02 Naish, but they were in good shape. The board was an old picklefork. The harness sucked and came apart and I had to come in hot abd put the kite down to readjust. Sorry, I don't remember what I paid at all. Probably 500,000 dong or something that meant nothing to me at the time.

If I was going to kiteboard specifically, I would try to bring my own gear if I could.

Anne if you haven’t made up your mind read this!!!
http://www.windsurf-vietnam.com/wind%20speed.htm
Feburary 2006 Mui Ne had 27 of 28 days with wind over 12 knots.

That's better than I've ever done in Padre.

I came to Vietnam from Cambodia, so it was like a futuristic wonder world in comparision. It was similar to Thailand, but not as touristy and cheaper. Bring your drinkin' boots. Beer is the new tea in Vietnam and it's pretty damn good and cheap. They drink for serious there.

I could go on and on. Can't wait to get back.

Casey

anne of willmar · Post by **anne of willmar** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 10:50 pm

casey, is the windsurf gear good, worth the rental rate 200/week, should i bring my own 2.5 sail, the smallest theyhave is 3.7 and i'm only 110 pounds, use my 2.5 and 2.9 at the gorge often....should i spend the night at the airport and take bus to phanthiet in the morning, do you think its safe at the airport???will be staying at full moon hotel...did you see that???maybe you'd phone me at 3202959691 and i could ask you some questions...thanks, anne

cp2616 · Post by **cp2616** » Tue Oct 31, 2006 9:54 am

Anne, I can't comment on the windsurfing gear as I never have windsurfed. I would at least bring my harness and bar. You are going to ask them about the conditions in Feb to see if you should bring your 2.5. I was there in the light wind season.

Everywhere I was in Saigon, including the airport, was probably safer than where I currently live in Chicago. I would not have any worries about sticking to the major areas.

If I was going to do it, I take a cab for less than $5 (VD80000) to Pham Ngu Lao St. in Saigon for the night. Negotiate cab fair before you leave. If there is a meter, MAKE SURE THEY TURN IT ON(famous scam in Asia). Pham Ngu Lao is where all the backpackers hang out. There are great restaurants, bars, and you should be able to stay in a reasonable place for less than VD600,000 a night. The best part is, the tourist bus to Mui Ne leaves right from Pham Ngu Lao and stops right across the street from Jibes when it gets there. No stop in Phan Thiet. You can reserve a bus seat from the ubiquitous tour desk in every hotel in Pham Ngu Lao. In reality, someone will try to sell you a tour before you get to your hotel. They are all selling seats on the same bus. But from Pham Ngu Lao, it is nearly door to door service to Jibes.

I will give you call when I get a chance.

Casey

drknap · Post by **drknap** » Thu Nov 09, 2006 4:54 pm

talk with Kingsley of xtremebigair.com Just got this from him/his website. Nice guy will likely have some info.

http://xtremebigair.com/VietNam/

Kurt

LAKAWA

viet nam

viet nam

Thailand

casey, concerning viet nam, again