Vietnam
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Techadd
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It also depends on what kind of materials are you choosing also for your suit.. you might opt to buy your own materials and bring it to the tailor..
vintheman
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Hi lestervan.. sorry for the late reply..
was planning to hit HCM.. then central vietnam (perhaps Hoian, just to catch the sheltered bridge and the my son remains) any other special places to reccomend within these 6 days?
what about night life? is it happen-ing in hcm?
Techadd
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Hi lestervan.. sorry for the late reply..
was planning to hit HCM.. then central vietnam (perhaps Hoian, just to catch the sheltered bridge and the my son remains) any other special places to reccomend within these 6 days?
what about night life? is it happen-ing in hcm?
not really as happening as cambodia..or other parts of the asia region.. most night spots are closed by 1am and latest 2am... =/
Volenti_Injuria
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with S$500, backpacker style, you should be able to make a round trip of your intended itinery.
With your budget, it would be adviced that you travel by bus - costing USD8 to USD20. one way. Railways would be better but more costly. There are many local tours agents in saigon, please opt for the more well known ones.
cheaper hotels (or i prefer to call them motels) is available from USD25 - USD30 (cleaner ones) where private toilet is standard.
Yes. USD is preferred for hotels and tickets. But dong is also acceptable. (subjected to their conversions rates). If you are unfamiliar with their currency, it would be more advisable to pay in USD as many a times in my experience, the locals will try to overcharge you in dong.
Hope this helps.
With your budget, it would be adviced that you travel by bus - costing USD8 to USD20. one way. Railways would be better but more costly. There are many local tours agents in saigon, please opt for the more well known ones.
cheaper hotels (or i prefer to call them motels) is available from USD25 - USD30 (cleaner ones) where private toilet is standard.
Yes. USD is preferred for hotels and tickets. But dong is also acceptable. (subjected to their conversions rates). If you are unfamiliar with their currency, it would be more advisable to pay in USD as many a times in my experience, the locals will try to overcharge you in dong.
Hope this helps.
Volenti_Injuria
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mekond delta tour for 1 day cost around USD 12 - 15.
U can try checking out vietnam tourist website for more information.
U can try checking out vietnam tourist website for more information.
wuso
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Just spend 1 morning walking through De Tham or Pham Ngu Lao and you can get all the info and brochures. Sit down in one of the multitudes of cafes, drink some Vietnamese coffee, and slowly choose whether to buy their open bus tickets or their day tours or whatever
For Mekong Delta, try to go for at least 2D1N. So that you can see the early morning markets.
For Mekong Delta, try to go for at least 2D1N. So that you can see the early morning markets.
Volenti_Injuria
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go pham gu lao and look for a travel agent called phuong trang.
They offer good information and value for money packages.
They offer good information and value for money packages.
Techadd
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with S$500, backpacker style, you should be able to make a round trip of your intended itinery.
Yes. USD is preferred for hotels and tickets. But dong is also acceptable. (subjected to their conversions rates). If you are unfamiliar with their currency, it would be more advisable to pay in USD as many a times in my experience, the locals will try to overcharge you in dong.
Hope this helps.
well not exactly, buying tickets and hotels can be paid via Dong especially if you are staying back packers style. if you are backpacking, then u should be even more familiase with their local currency since you will be budgetted, in other words, paying USD for stuffs, you will get even more shortchanged... and you dun have to convert to USD to Dong, Sing currency has a pretty good exchange rate for Dong as of now..
wintermute
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My trip report to Vietnam. Just got back from 12 day trip, covering Hanoi -> Hue -> Hoi An -> Da Nang -> HCM
First day, flew from Singapore to HCM, then transferred to a Pacific Airlines flight to Hanoi. This took most of the morning. Picked up at Hanoi airport by the hotel's agent (we stayed with Rising Dragon in the Old Quarter). Spent the rest of the day exploring the Old Quarter - a bit of a culture shock for us with all the motorbikes zooming around. We didn't shop a lot, since we figured to do our shopping elsewhere.
Day 2. Joined a Hanoi city tour for USD28 each, booked through hotel. Covered the Ho Chi Minh museum complex, Museum of Ethnology, and some pagoda. Visiting Ho Chi Minh's tomb is a lot like Mao Zedong's in Beijing. The Musem of Ethnology looks great on the outside, but doesn't have a lot of exhibits. Singapore's own Asian Civilizations Musuem does a better job (imo) with exhibits/artifacts of the Hmong and other minorities. We also attended the water puppet theater - very interesting! Too bad it was all in Vietnamese though. We splurged on dinner at a French restaurant called Green Tangerine near the hotel.
Day 3. We went on a day trip to Halong Bay. The guidebook I've read suggests a minimum of 2D1N, but we didn't have enough time. Anyway, it was a great experience, both the boat ride through the limestone cliffs and the cave we stopped at. Our boat only had 10 people so it wasn't too crowded. Got back to Hanoi around 8pm (not 6pm as was promised), but still on time for our night train to Hue.
Day 4. We had soft sleeper berths on the train to Hue. The experience is quite similar to taking the overnight train from Singapore to KL, i.e. not that great. We saw a "sleeper bus" later on in our journey and thought it was a much more comfortable way to travel. Arrived at Hue around 11 am, and immediately made our way to Orchid Hotel. I must say, the service standard of this budget hotel is fantastic. That day in Hue was very hot though, so we ended up resting in our room for most of the day. Just went out to Mandarin Cafe to book the next day's tour, then also took a brief stroll along the Perfume River.
Day 5. Joined a tour covering 3 emperors' tombs, the Citadel, and Perfume River boat ride. If you've been to Beijing, you'll have an eerie sense of familiarity. The Vietnamese emperors' tombs are not unlike the Ming tombs and the Citadel is not unlike the Imperial Palace/Forbidden City. The Vietnamese sites though are in beautiful natural settings - they make great use of lakes, ponds, and moats.
Day 6. Early in the morning, took a tour bus to Hoi An. The bus stops at Lang Co, a beach somewhere north of Da Nang. We saw beatiful clean beaches, but didn't have time for more than a few photos. The next stop was at the Marble Mountains. There's not actually a lot to see here, other than souvenir sellers. We reached Hoi An in the early afternoon and immediately made our way to the Ha An hotel, which turned out to be another great budget hotel. Hoi An really looks ancient - dirts roads, old houses - but it's chockful of tourists and tailoring shops. Had a relaxed first day just looking around. Also booked My Son tour through Sinh Cafe.
Day 7. Half day tour of the My Son ruins. It was pretty awesome to stand under the ruined monuments and imagine the weight of history. Unfortunately that day a whole bunch of Vietnamese school children were having a field trip, so it was quite crowded and noisy. We did manage some quality time when the students took a break for lunch. Not a lot of ruins left though, no thanks to the American war. Got back early afternoon and went shopping in earnest.
Day 8. Continued the shopping spree in Hoi An. The Hoi An tailors are pretty amazing - they can copy stuff off fashion magazines, and produce dresses/shirts within hours. My wife and I had not planned to do much shopping, but ended up with 8 new dresses, 2 shirts, 1 suit, and shoes for the both of us. Custom made stuff is great, especially shoes. Ever notice that our left foot and right foot are not the same size?
Day 9. Took early morning tour bus to Da Nang. Our bus turned out to be a "sleeper" - with sleeping berths instead of seats. Very comfortable! But unfortunately we only rode it for an hour until Da Nang. Most others were going on to Hue, or further north. At Da Nang, we went to the Cham Musuem, which filled in the gaps of My Son. After which, we headed to My Khe Beach Hotel. The beach there is fantastic, but the hotel is pretty terrible.
Day 10. Left early in the morning for Da Nang airport. Took flight to HCM from there. Picked up at airport by hotel's agent. Went on to the Bich Duyen hotel, a budget operation off an alley in Pham Ngu Lao. The rooms are tiny but clean and tastefully decorated. Took a quick explore of the Ben Thanh market. Also had our first taste of southern pho at Pho 2000. The Hanoi version seemed to be clearer and used less seasoning.
Day 11. Took half day tour of Cu Chi tunnels. Back at HCM, went exploring at the Dong Khoi / Saigon river area. Prices there seem terribly expensive. Met with a Vietnamese pal for dinner at a local place serving great Central Vietnamese food (fairly cheap too).
Day 12. Went to Co-op supermarket near Pham Ngu Lao. This is the best place to get stuff like coffee and green bean cake. At Benh Thanh you could perhaps bargain down to similar prices, but it would take a lot of effort. Went to Ben Thanh again for some other souvenirs. Got caught in the rain and took a cab back, but got ripped off by cab driver After that, no mood left so headed to airport early for flight back to Singapore.
In general, the trip was great but the last incident with cab driver left a bad taste in the mouth. I wasn't alert enough really - I should have noticed that the cab didn't have one of those big company names, or that the meter was jumping like crazy. To make a long story short, he tried to charge 350,000 dong (abt 32 SGD) from Ben Thanh to Pham Ngu Lao - which is about 15 min walk. He locked the door and refused to let us out until we paid. In the end we settled at 150,000 dong. I got his cab number (52V-3764) and planned to report him, but according to the hotel staff the amount was too small for the police to bother with.
So to other HCM visitors, be wary of rogue cab drivers. Actually those in the tourist trade there think nothing of quoting a price 2x-3x the norm for tourists, but this is the first instance of a blatant rip off that I encountered while in Vietnam. Be careful, but you can find many enjoyable things in Vietnam.
First day, flew from Singapore to HCM, then transferred to a Pacific Airlines flight to Hanoi. This took most of the morning. Picked up at Hanoi airport by the hotel's agent (we stayed with Rising Dragon in the Old Quarter). Spent the rest of the day exploring the Old Quarter - a bit of a culture shock for us with all the motorbikes zooming around. We didn't shop a lot, since we figured to do our shopping elsewhere.
Day 2. Joined a Hanoi city tour for USD28 each, booked through hotel. Covered the Ho Chi Minh museum complex, Museum of Ethnology, and some pagoda. Visiting Ho Chi Minh's tomb is a lot like Mao Zedong's in Beijing. The Musem of Ethnology looks great on the outside, but doesn't have a lot of exhibits. Singapore's own Asian Civilizations Musuem does a better job (imo) with exhibits/artifacts of the Hmong and other minorities. We also attended the water puppet theater - very interesting! Too bad it was all in Vietnamese though. We splurged on dinner at a French restaurant called Green Tangerine near the hotel.
Day 3. We went on a day trip to Halong Bay. The guidebook I've read suggests a minimum of 2D1N, but we didn't have enough time. Anyway, it was a great experience, both the boat ride through the limestone cliffs and the cave we stopped at. Our boat only had 10 people so it wasn't too crowded. Got back to Hanoi around 8pm (not 6pm as was promised), but still on time for our night train to Hue.
Day 4. We had soft sleeper berths on the train to Hue. The experience is quite similar to taking the overnight train from Singapore to KL, i.e. not that great. We saw a "sleeper bus" later on in our journey and thought it was a much more comfortable way to travel. Arrived at Hue around 11 am, and immediately made our way to Orchid Hotel. I must say, the service standard of this budget hotel is fantastic. That day in Hue was very hot though, so we ended up resting in our room for most of the day. Just went out to Mandarin Cafe to book the next day's tour, then also took a brief stroll along the Perfume River.
Day 5. Joined a tour covering 3 emperors' tombs, the Citadel, and Perfume River boat ride. If you've been to Beijing, you'll have an eerie sense of familiarity. The Vietnamese emperors' tombs are not unlike the Ming tombs and the Citadel is not unlike the Imperial Palace/Forbidden City. The Vietnamese sites though are in beautiful natural settings - they make great use of lakes, ponds, and moats.
Day 6. Early in the morning, took a tour bus to Hoi An. The bus stops at Lang Co, a beach somewhere north of Da Nang. We saw beatiful clean beaches, but didn't have time for more than a few photos. The next stop was at the Marble Mountains. There's not actually a lot to see here, other than souvenir sellers. We reached Hoi An in the early afternoon and immediately made our way to the Ha An hotel, which turned out to be another great budget hotel. Hoi An really looks ancient - dirts roads, old houses - but it's chockful of tourists and tailoring shops. Had a relaxed first day just looking around. Also booked My Son tour through Sinh Cafe.
Day 7. Half day tour of the My Son ruins. It was pretty awesome to stand under the ruined monuments and imagine the weight of history. Unfortunately that day a whole bunch of Vietnamese school children were having a field trip, so it was quite crowded and noisy. We did manage some quality time when the students took a break for lunch. Not a lot of ruins left though, no thanks to the American war. Got back early afternoon and went shopping in earnest.
Day 8. Continued the shopping spree in Hoi An. The Hoi An tailors are pretty amazing - they can copy stuff off fashion magazines, and produce dresses/shirts within hours. My wife and I had not planned to do much shopping, but ended up with 8 new dresses, 2 shirts, 1 suit, and shoes for the both of us. Custom made stuff is great, especially shoes. Ever notice that our left foot and right foot are not the same size?
Day 9. Took early morning tour bus to Da Nang. Our bus turned out to be a "sleeper" - with sleeping berths instead of seats. Very comfortable! But unfortunately we only rode it for an hour until Da Nang. Most others were going on to Hue, or further north. At Da Nang, we went to the Cham Musuem, which filled in the gaps of My Son. After which, we headed to My Khe Beach Hotel. The beach there is fantastic, but the hotel is pretty terrible.
Day 10. Left early in the morning for Da Nang airport. Took flight to HCM from there. Picked up at airport by hotel's agent. Went on to the Bich Duyen hotel, a budget operation off an alley in Pham Ngu Lao. The rooms are tiny but clean and tastefully decorated. Took a quick explore of the Ben Thanh market. Also had our first taste of southern pho at Pho 2000. The Hanoi version seemed to be clearer and used less seasoning.
Day 11. Took half day tour of Cu Chi tunnels. Back at HCM, went exploring at the Dong Khoi / Saigon river area. Prices there seem terribly expensive. Met with a Vietnamese pal for dinner at a local place serving great Central Vietnamese food (fairly cheap too).
Day 12. Went to Co-op supermarket near Pham Ngu Lao. This is the best place to get stuff like coffee and green bean cake. At Benh Thanh you could perhaps bargain down to similar prices, but it would take a lot of effort. Went to Ben Thanh again for some other souvenirs. Got caught in the rain and took a cab back, but got ripped off by cab driver
After that, no mood left so headed to airport early for flight back to Singapore.In general, the trip was great but the last incident with cab driver left a bad taste in the mouth. I wasn't alert enough really - I should have noticed that the cab didn't have one of those big company names, or that the meter was jumping like crazy. To make a long story short, he tried to charge 350,000 dong (abt 32 SGD) from Ben Thanh to Pham Ngu Lao - which is about 15 min walk. He locked the door and refused to let us out until we paid. In the end we settled at 150,000 dong. I got his cab number (52V-3764) and planned to report him, but according to the hotel staff the amount was too small for the police to bother with.
So to other HCM visitors, be wary of rogue cab drivers. Actually those in the tourist trade there think nothing of quoting a price 2x-3x the norm for tourists, but this is the first instance of a blatant rip off that I encountered while in Vietnam. Be careful, but you can find many enjoyable things in Vietnam.
wintermute
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SGD is ok for HCM or Hanoi, but I had trouble finding a good exchange rate elsewhere, especially in Hoi An. So if going to Hoi An, I would recommend bringing some USD.
Things usually are cheaper in dong - if they quote a price in USD, most places will just multiply by 16000 which is a little cheaper. But some places will use the correct rate (16100) and once I had a guy round up - 16 USD became 260,000 instead of 256,000.
studmufn
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i'm leaving for vietnam this friday..
meeting some friends in HCM then travelling up towards hanoi. will cover na trang, hoi an, ha long bay in between.
from what i gather i should bring a mixture of USD and sing dollars? in what proportions, half-half?
and i would like to tailor a suit in hoi an.. anyone can give tips? i heard that the good tailors are booked in advance and i'm not sure how long i'll be there for.. how long would it take to make a suit (not a rushed job), how much should it cost, and any recommendations for tailor?
thanks a lot!
meeting some friends in HCM then travelling up towards hanoi. will cover na trang, hoi an, ha long bay in between.
from what i gather i should bring a mixture of USD and sing dollars? in what proportions, half-half?
and i would like to tailor a suit in hoi an.. anyone can give tips? i heard that the good tailors are booked in advance and i'm not sure how long i'll be there for.. how long would it take to make a suit (not a rushed job), how much should it cost, and any recommendations for tailor?
thanks a lot!
wintermute
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Don't really need to bring a lot of USD. When you're passing by HCM just make sure to change the SGD you need to Vietnam dong. In Hoi An for example, the SGD exchange rate is quite low. If you don't have time to change money then bringing USD is better.
You can also use credit cards but most places will have a 3%-4% service fee.
Hoi An is full of tailor shops. Don't worry about booking in advance. Most places finish their work by next day. The exception maybe is Yaly Couture, which is somewhat more expensive but has a very good reputation (your hotel will probably recommend this shop). They get a lot of business.
There are plenty of other shops though. But do note that a lot of shops don't in fact do their own tailoring. Instead it seems that they send the work out to contract tailors. Shops away from the center tend to be a little cheaper because they don't get a lot of customers.
A good quality suit should be in the 50-55 USD range. At Yaly, I was quoted 80 USD I think.
I do suggest getting shoes custom made. In fact, in hindsight I would have traded my suit (which I won't wear much) for 2 more pairs of shoes. I got my shoes made at a small shop somewhat east of the market, about opposite the Teochew assembly hall.
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Volenti_Injuria
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In HCM, most back hotels charge in USD. Out of HCM, they charge in dong.
SGD is not that as welcome as USD for cities out of HCM and the exchange is bad.
I would recommend a mixture of USD and SGD(to be exchanged in HCM).
Tourist locations usually charge in USD and the more localized attractions charge in dong.
What i am saying is that if the place charge you in USD and prefer to pay in dong, they will most probably charge the exchange in foreigner exchange rate and not the commonly agreed rate for local vietnamese.
I do agree that there is much loss and redundacy in changing SGD to USD and to dong.
SGD is not that as welcome as USD for cities out of HCM and the exchange is bad.
I would recommend a mixture of USD and SGD(to be exchanged in HCM).
Tourist locations usually charge in USD and the more localized attractions charge in dong.
What i am saying is that if the place charge you in USD and prefer to pay in dong, they will most probably charge the exchange in foreigner exchange rate and not the commonly agreed rate for local vietnamese.
I do agree that there is much loss and redundacy in changing SGD to USD and to dong.
huaphong2004
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If plan to visit Ho Chi Minh city I can show you around and give some advise and assistance if possible.I am a Singaporean living in Ho Chi Minh City for several years and my wife is a local viet-chinese.In ho chi minh city's district 1 is like singapore orchard road.Try the inner district of Ho Chi Minh City, things are much cheaper there inclding hotels.
huaphong2004
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If plan to visit Ho Chi Minh city I can show you around and give some advise and assistance if possible.I am a Singaporean living in Ho Chi Minh City for several years and my wife is a local viet-chinese.In ho chi minh city's district 1 is like singapore orchard road.Try the inner district of Ho Chi Minh City, things are much cheaper there inclding hotels.Can contact me via my mail: willwtw@yahoo.com
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