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Books : Vietnam (Lonely Planet Country Guide)
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Rating: 
- useful, but not essential
Anyone heading to Vietnam should consider buying this book- lonely planet always do the job when it comes to providing basic information. However, I found that while I used the maps non-stop and found the sections on local and national history interesting and informative, I only used the sections on food, accommodation and excursions as indicators of average prices. Sadly, the places in the book were often overrun (and therefore overpriced) as a consequence of inclusion, and better deals could ususlly be found independantly. Another problem with the book is that I found much of the information to be out of date- Vietnam is a country in transition to the extent that it would be difficult for any guidebook to keep up with it.
Therefore while this book is definately useful, I don't think it's indispensible- providing you buy a map in each new town you go to, you could get by comfortably in Vietnam without it.
Rating:
- Don't leave home without it!
For those of you who are planning to make your way across Indochina, it's worth shelling out a bit of extra cash to buy this book (instead of getting one of those "Vietnam-Cambodia-Laos" jobs..). Full of useful information and planning tips, the book also is written in a very chatty style which makes it enjoyable reading. The section on beaches was particularly helpful. The only thing I would like to see more of is colour photos instead of those black-and-white sketches!
- useful, but not essentialAnyone heading to Vietnam should consider buying this book- lonely planet always do the job when it comes to providing basic information. However, I found that while I used the maps non-stop and found the sections on local and national history interesting and informative, I only used the sections on food, accommodation and excursions as indicators of average prices. Sadly, the places in the book were often overrun (and therefore overpriced) as a consequence of inclusion, and better deals could ususlly be found independantly. Another problem with the book is that I found much of the information to be out of date- Vietnam is a country in transition to the extent that it would be difficult for any guidebook to keep up with it.
Therefore while this book is definately useful, I don't think it's indispensible- providing you buy a map in each new town you go to, you could get by comfortably in Vietnam without it.
Rating:
- Don't leave home without it!For those of you who are planning to make your way across Indochina, it's worth shelling out a bit of extra cash to buy this book (instead of getting one of those "Vietnam-Cambodia-Laos" jobs..). Full of useful information and planning tips, the book also is written in a very chatty style which makes it enjoyable reading. The section on beaches was particularly helpful. The only thing I would like to see more of is colour photos instead of those black-and-white sketches!