Vietnam

[koala2004]

d1 have many 2 to 3 stars hotel
hcm hotels normally smaller scale, for 3* hotels ...
their rooms normally below 60 rooms for 3 stars ...
most hotels "talk big" on their room size, is their culture my guess

nope. hcm shopping is totally diff from bkk . if u like shopping alot, hcm malls might not suit you

for 3* hotels, budget is normally around 40+ to 50+
most 3* hotels that i have stayed in, their breakfast not nice, like econ rice
some of the better ones that i have shortlisted :

Vien Dong, Lan Lan 1 , Lan Lan 2
Blue Diamond, elios, le duy

Have also stayed at 4* hotels before. their brekafast is much more better
if you willing to stay 100sgd per nite , you can go for them

Just stay at 2 or 3 star (30 to 40 plus), bf no good, just go out eat...so much nice food and drinks out there...actually no point eat in hotel...LOL.

 

[koala2004]

D5 is not far. being there everytime I visit hcm cos of the dim sum
no pickpockets
An Tong market ... something like our chinatown market

You mean An Dong market is it. Btw, there is a Chinatown market, Cho Binh Tay. Take bus 1 from BT bus terminal to end terminal. Uber also can, very cheap there, cheaper than cabs like Mah Linh or Vinasun.

 

[koala2004]

Beach resort go phan thiet/mui ne

Agree takashimaya is the best currently

Taka too atas...don't like...just like vivo.

 

[koala2004]

don't bother ... expensive & limited choices. better buy in SG during sales


for nearest beach resort, you may have to head to Vũng Tàu

if just for street food or dining, beer, coffee or souvenir shopping, D1 (district 1 area around Bến Thành) will be good enough

Vung Tau is nice. But if for really cheap seafood, try Can Gio (monkey island), about 1 hr plus from D1 as Can Gio is under HCMC. Area and Beach not as nice as Vung Tau but seafood is really cheap, fresh and nice. VND20K for 1Kg oysters! Where to find. Cook on spot and serve, go with beer, shiok.

 

[koala2004]

If want to eat , see nice beach and shopping for 5 days which part of Vietnam to go?

Just HCM D1 (2 or 3 days) and Vung Tau beach (2 or 3 days) will do. Pick a hotel near beach. Personally I like Vung Tau over Nha Trang.

 

[koala2004]

REPOST!

Hahaha those fixed are arrange by company. Not that i have a choice though. Anyway cu chi or mekong delta is better? Mekong delta can go without tour? How to go and whole day there? Also with those fixed how much shld i exchange from sgd?

Never been to cu chi, don't feel good in a tunnel...tried Mekong, not bad. Day tour is damn cheap, why not, SGD12 2-way coach include lunch and small boat rides.

 

[dede1217]

Just stay at 2 or 3 star (30 to 40 plus), bf no good, just go out eat...so much nice food and drinks out there...actually no point eat in hotel...LOL.

If i going with my friends and families, they all prefer hotel breakfast
eat already then can go up the room to rest , before heading out

 

[dede1217]

Never been to cu chi, don't feel good in a tunnel...tried Mekong, not bad. Day tour is damn cheap, why not, SGD12 2-way coach include lunch and small boat rides.

Yup, is super cheap.
but the meal not nice, fried fish, vege etc ... but still ok ...
including transport trip, is quite worth actually

take 2 hours Bus, boat, horse ride

 

[audiovideo]

avoid visiting Vung tau durig their school holiday.. jun till aug?
or you will get very rude shock with the locals
another spectacular view at vung tau ... to me .. is the locals will go to the beach in swimming costume straight from their hotel room and vice versa
i.e. lots of swing flesh and bouncing tummy

 

[audiovideo]

If i going with my friends and families, they all prefer hotel breakfast
eat already then can go up the room to rest , before heading out

yes .. I prefer that too
otherwise still have to hunt for place to eat

 

[dede1217]

yes .. I prefer that too
otherwise still have to hunt for place to eat

hi - 5
cox firstly, vietnamese doesnt speak english as much as the thais do ...
even for hotel staff in 4* hotels, sometimes they do not understand what we are talking about. have to get your manager to talk to us ...

secondly, the foods might not suit our taste. In hotel buffet, there is western food, salads, fruits, meat, rice, porridge. However, if you go thereby eat, maybe they can only offer you econ rice or noodles ...

thirdly, the price for hotel room wo breakfast and w breakfast is not much difference. perhaps one person more $5. You can have a buffet of food. Instead of walking under the sun to search for food. Your meal + drink perhaps cost about $2+ or $3+, just to save the $2+ you have to make your friends and families to walk far.

fourthly, hygiene issue. If you are eating street foods or hawker foods. there might be chance that the water that they used to make those food (for example deserts), is not clean. Hence, you might want to take note of that.

 

[finale1]

d1 have many 2 to 3 stars hotel
hcm hotels normally smaller scale, for 3* hotels ...
their rooms normally below 60 rooms for 3 stars ...
most hotels "talk big" on their room size, is their culture my guess

nope. hcm shopping is totally diff from bkk . if u like shopping alot, hcm malls might not suit you

for 3* hotels, budget is normally around 40+ to 50+
most 3* hotels that i have stayed in, their breakfast not nice, like econ rice
some of the better ones that i have shortlisted :

Vien Dong, Lan Lan 1 , Lan Lan 2
Blue Diamond, elios, le duy

Have also stayed at 4* hotels before. their brekafast is much more better
if you willing to stay 100sgd per nite , you can go for them

Bfast is overrated i feel. If you stay near Benh Thanh, every morning u can go to get:
1) Banh Mi hong Hoa (5 mins walks) $2
2) Roadside Beancurd (very unique and nice) $0.60
3) Phuc Long Cofee $2.

$5 eat until full and yummy.

 

[finale1]

D5 is not far. being there everytime I visit hcm cos of the dim sum
no pickpockets
An Tong market ... something like our chinatown market

D1 to D5 cab will cost 90-100k VND. Grab maybe 60-70k VND.
D5 shopping mostly China goods @ AnDong plaza/dried food stuff at Cholon Mkt.
Only attraction is dimsum.

 

[finale1]

hi - 5
cox firstly, vietnamese doesnt speak english as much as the thais do ...
even for hotel staff in 4* hotels, sometimes they do not understand what we are talking about. have to get your manager to talk to us ...

secondly, the foods might not suit our taste. In hotel buffet, there is western food, salads, fruits, meat, rice, porridge. However, if you go thereby eat, maybe they can only offer you econ rice or noodles ...

thirdly, the price for hotel room wo breakfast and w breakfast is not much difference. perhaps one person more $5. You can have a buffet of food. Instead of walking under the sun to search for food. Your meal + drink perhaps cost about $2+ or $3+, just to save the $2+ you have to make your friends and families to walk far.

fourthly, hygiene issue. If you are eating street foods or hawker foods. there might be chance that the water that they used to make those food (for example deserts), is not clean. Hence, you might want to take note of that.

1) All hotel receps speak english. Dont really need a manager to talk to you. D1 HCMC is highly commercial and competitive.

2) yes agree that hotel food has western breakfast. But not all 3 stars hotels offer the same spread. If u guys want good breakfast, stay in Blue Diamond. They have one of the best bfasts for 3 star hotels. Other 3 star hotels serve decently acceptable food only. For those 2 star hotels, forget abt their breakfast. The breakfast they serve sometimes spoil your mood for the whole day.

 

[Baggio10]

what are the more famous eateries around D1?

 

[dede1217]

1) All hotel receps speak english. Dont really need a manager to talk to you. D1 HCMC is highly commercial and competitive.

2) yes agree that hotel food has western breakfast. But not all 3 stars hotels offer the same spread. If u guys want good breakfast, stay in Blue Diamond. They have one of the best bfasts for 3 star hotels. Other 3 star hotels serve decently acceptable food only. For those 2 star hotels, forget abt their breakfast. The breakfast they serve sometimes spoil your mood for the whole day.

agree , blue diamond was in one of my shortlisted hotels too.
Others that i have shortlisted, le duy, vien dong, elios, lan lan 1 , lan lan 2
Would be good for those who want to have a better breakfast buffet spread
look at their tripadvisor images, those that people takes ...

 

[dede1217]

Bfast is overrated i feel. If you stay near Benh Thanh, every morning u can go to get:
1) Banh Mi hong Hoa (5 mins walks) $2
2) Roadside Beancurd (very unique and nice) $0.60
3) Phuc Long Cofee $2.

$5 eat until full and yummy.

Parents and their friends want to sit down comfortably and dine in ...
more choices is good for them ...
have to see who you are traveling with...

 

[finale1]

agree , blue diamond was in one of my shortlisted hotels too.
Others that i have shortlisted, le duy, vien dong, elios, lan lan 1 , lan lan 2
Would be good for those who want to have a better breakfast buffet spread
look at their tripadvisor images, those that people takes ...

stayed in lan lan 2 before. its a relatively new hotel and very clean rooms.
One tip for u guys... book using expedia and try to find a discount code that gives 10%.

usually discount codes for credit cards like OCBC10HOL, AMEXSG10 etc etc works even if u are not paying with that particular type of card.

 

[finale1]

what are the more famous eateries around D1?

1) Pho shop along Truong Dinh street, opposite Xavier hotel and diagonal to Baskin Robbins. One of the best and tastiest meatball noodles i tried here. Just look out for a blue store with lots of vietnamese locals in it.

2) Mi Cat, 62 Truong Dinh Street, Benh Thanh D1. This shop very crowded with locals and they sell pigs liver, pork noodle. its abt 50k vnd for a bowl and super tasty. Its located right next to Marakuma Udon.

3) Pizza4P near Benh Thanh Mkt (they have 2 more locations in D1). This is the bestest of the best pizza places in Saigon and possibly Vietnam. Homemade cheese and servings of the cheese is super generous. The pizza here is woodfired and better than those u get in 5 star hotels.

 

[dede1217]

stayed in lan lan 2 before. its a relatively new hotel and very clean rooms.
One tip for u guys... book using expedia and try to find a discount code that gives 10%.

usually discount codes for credit cards like OCBC10HOL, AMEXSG10 etc etc works even if u are not paying with that particular type of card.

OCBC10HOL, requires minimum 2 nites stay
discount code only works for most hotel, international chains or some other hotels not included Discount is 10% before taxes ...
Eventually the discount is about 8.6% off your total room rates ...