Vietnam

saigonblack

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Techadd said:
Elios Hotel might just fit your bill, new 3 star hotel, walking distance to ben thanh market & backpackers alley

Just check it looks great, besides it at Pham Ngu Lao Street, very happening place! Any idea how much is the superior rooms? :s13:
 

osirisis

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By the way, can communicate in english over there? any other foreign language they understand? or necessary to speak in viets if Free & Easy?
 

lestervan

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need to know some viet words, around Ben Thanh I think some can speak English. other areas, hard to find ppls that can speak English.

going china town, can speak chinese (cantonese ?) there.
 

saigonblack

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osirisis said:
By the way, can communicate in english over there? any other foreign language they understand? or necessary to speak in viets if Free & Easy?

I go there also pi le pa la anyhow say, somehow the shop assistant and taxi drivers understand :s13:
 

belgarathc

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osirisis said:
By the way, can communicate in english over there? any other foreign language they understand? or necessary to speak in viets if Free & Easy?
IMHO, dont really need ah. Those in the tourist industry know some basic English. Even if they don't understand English, hand signs work well enough to get by. :o
 

Ming1981

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hey marco, ur story is really interesting man.

continue leh. dun keep us in suspense haha
 

shevchenko

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hi all,

I am planning a trip to vietnam in Dec and have some qns... hope someone can help! :)

My flts are booked: reach HCMC sat and rtn Hanoi next Sun.. so total 9 days 8 nites.

Tentative itinerary is:
Day 1: HCMC
Day 2: HCMC
Day 3: HCMC to Hoi An
Day 4: Hoi An to Hue
Day 5: Hue
Day 6: Hue to Hanoi
Day 7: Halong Bay
Day 8: Hanoi
Day 9: Hanoi

Qns:
is my itinerary abit rush?
I am concern abt the tpt betw the cities... train or bus or flt? the bus and train seems to take a long along time .... any suggestions?
or is it better to stick to HCMC and Hanoi only.. then fly betw 2 cities?

thnx!
 

skilled

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why HUE? btw, its flooding b/w the middle regions hor.

theres no car transport b/w hanoi, hue or HCM.
 

chisiang

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saigonblack said:
Thanks! Let me do a search and take a look. :) My original plan was ti stay at a hotel just across the road from Ben Thanh

Get local 2 star hotels good enough liao. Around Ben Thanh and in Ben Thanh Ward got plenty of those. Prices ranging from USD$20~30 a night including local breakfast. Girl friendly some more ke ke ke...

Or you can just walk down towards New World Hotel, there's a street call Le Anh Xuan (pronounced as Lei Ann Soon). That street alone got 4x 2 star hotels (like our hotel 81 with 8~9 storey) + 1x 3 star hotel call Mifuki. I like to stay at Ngoc Ha where the staffs there speaks Mandarin.

And there's also a Singaporean restaurant (D'Coffee Shop - owner call Harry) there if you are not used to their food.
 

chisiang

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skilled said:
forgo bia 555. try hanoi bia.

Nha Trang should costs you ard 50USD to fly there. Try coffee anywhere if you like a richer taste of it. DaNang is flooded, i think. I just came back last week actually. Weather there is very irregular.

Dont let them quote u in USD. and bring USD and change at any goldsmith shops or within the airport itself. Btw, its the new airport. Looks nicer and similar to Shanghai International Airport

bargain 40% off 1st prices. and work slowly up.

You can't get Hanoi beer at a lot of places. Tiger is preferred some how but I still like ba ba ba.

Change your dong at airport using SGD$ can liao. You pay 2 times commission by changing to USD and then to dong.

Keep US$1 for tips. Most street vendors or taxi drivers will not accept notes equal or bigger than VND100,000. I have known taxi driver who will not give you change when VND50,000 is presented even if the fare is only VND15,000.

Ben Thanh is for Ang mo. Prices are crazy. Taxi at Ben Thanh don't go by meter.
 

lestervan

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chisiang said:
Taxi at Ben Thanh don't go by meter.
Is it? its just some freelance taxis or you are cheated by the taxi driver. Definitely many taxis go by meter lor, even at Ben Thanh or anywhere in Vietnam.
 

Ming1981

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I will be going hcmh too this dec.

Looking throught the sinh cafe mekong delta tours. Anyone can recommend which of the mekong tours to go for? I prefer not to stay overnight if it is not really anymore interesting than the day trip.
 

eez_enegue

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shevchenko said:
hi all,

I am planning a trip to vietnam in Dec and have some qns... hope someone can help! :)

My flts are booked: reach HCMC sat and rtn Hanoi next Sun.. so total 9 days 8 nites.

Tentative itinerary is:
Day 1: HCMC
Day 2: HCMC
Day 3: HCMC to Hoi AnDont forget to set time aside to do some nice tailored clothes. You wont regret it!!
Day 4: Hoi An to Hue
Day 5: Hue
take a overnite train. Save one nite of accommodation. rem to get the sleeper class.
Day 6: Hue to Hanoi Hue no need so many days. Jus take the evening train to hanoi on ur 2nd day at hue aka 5th day.
Day 7: Halong Bay
Day 8: HanoiRem to pack some warm clothes. It can get pretty chilly in dec.
Day 9: Hanoi

Qns:
is my itinerary abit rush?ok, just nice

I am concern abt the tpt betw the cities... train or bus or flt? the bus and train seems to take a long along time .... any suggestions?HCM to Hue can take flight. Hue to Hoi An take bus. Then travel back to Hue to take train to hanoi

or is it better to stick to HCMC and Hanoi only.. then fly betw 2 cities?
Slowly take ur time t explore Hue and Hoi An. But must be prepared to see rainy days in these 2 places. In Hoi an can rent bicycles and slowly explore this charming little town.

thnx!


Hope it helps!! :D
 

chisiang

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lestervan said:
Is it? its just some freelance taxis or you are cheated by the taxi driver. Definitely many taxis go by meter lor, even at Ben Thanh or anywhere in Vietnam.

if you're not local they will usually want a fix rate. you will need to walk out of Ben Thanh to grab a vinasun or saigon taxi which will go by the meter.

Even so, some freelance taxi's meter are a complete ripped-off! They are usually out at night. A trip from Nguyen Dinh Chieu's Window Cafe to Ben Thanh ward cost be VND50,000 the last time. My office is near NDC window cafe and every time it cost no more than VND15,000. :s27:
 

lestervan

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chisiang said:
if you're not local they will usually want a fix rate. you will need to walk out of Ben Thanh to grab a vinasun or saigon taxi which will go by the meter.

Even so, some freelance taxi's meter are a complete ripped-off! They are usually out at night. A trip from Nguyen Dinh Chieu's Window Cafe to Ben Thanh ward cost be VND50,000 the last time. My office is near NDC window cafe and every time it cost no more than VND15,000. :s27:
I think its the bad taxi drivers. When they know foreigners, they make money! Dun let them do that, just tell them you wanna go by meter or u dun need to go, many taxis lah. Also you can even call a taxi, theres no additional charge like in Singapore. Its very fast, like 5 mins a called taxi will come.

Even at night, there are many taxis also, calling taxi at night also no additional charge. Also price is fixed at anytime, not like in singapore got different prices some time.

Dun be ripped off loh! Dun be scared when the taxi driver said foreigners must go by fixed price. Just ignore and find other taxi.
 

chisiang

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lestervan said:
I think its the bad taxi drivers. When they know foreigners, they make money! Dun let them do that, just tell them you wanna go by meter or u dun need to go, many taxis lah. Also you can even call a taxi, theres no additional charge like in Singapore. Its very fast, like 5 mins a called taxi will come.

Even at night, there are many taxis also, calling taxi at night also no additional charge. Also price is fixed at anytime, not like in singapore got different prices some time.

Dun be ripped off loh! Dun be scared when the taxi driver said foreigners must go by fixed price. Just ignore and find other taxi.

bro, you must be joking to talk to the taxi driver :s13:

They don't even understand "stop here"... I only know little vietnamese like Xin chào, Cảm ơn, and most important...

một hai ba YO!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
 
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