Vietnam

[paladin]

What to buy as souvenirs in Vietnam and cheaper than Singapore because they are Made in Vietnam? And even cheaper than China?

1. Coffee
2. nuts , e,g cashew nuts, almond nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts etc
3. silk and silk ties
4. anything that is labour intensive to make or customised for you ie tailoring due to lower salaries. High end dresses. High end hand welted shoes.
5. Oil Paintings ( those rice fields type or family portrait)
6. pottery and ceramics( especially in Hoi An)
7. Dried seafood ( Vietnam is exporter of seafood)
8. fish sauce and condiments
9. harddisks and memory cards ( Samsung manufacture in Vietnam)
10. Farmed pearls

Lastly, not a souvenir, but medicine at pharmacy is cheap and good. Imported Pharmaceuticals goods are not taxed highly and if you ever get a cold in Vietnam, you can buy 3 days worth of sore throat, fever, runny nose, cough medicine for about $10. Ie, you buy how many tablets you need. Our pharmacist salary $6000 a month, their pharmacist salary $600 a month. Recommended to stock up for common illnesses.

 

[paladin]

Maybe labour is cheaper in vietnam? If i wear it when coming back to sg, how the custom know where i bought it?

Yes, this is likely, but only if there is extensive jewellery work needed. You also need to bargain damn hard because you are foreigner.

https://vietnamnet.vn/en/why-is-vietnam-s-gold-price-much-higher-than-the-global-price-2029822.html

Jewelry​

The prices for jewelry are largely determined by the markets, so pure gold, silver and most precious gems won’t be any cheaper. You can save money with the lower cost of labor, though – but do your research before you choose a shop, as some places use foreigners for easy profit.

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/vietnam/articles/whats-cheaper-to-buy-in-vietnam/

 

[daldrome]

Does your revolut withdrawal works with all vn banks?
From my recent vn trip to hanoi n hcmc, i have no issues with private vn banks such as ACB, MB BAnk, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), VP Bank

But even if the atm are from the above mentioned banks, I realised….
1) not all atms work
2) I was still charged atm withdrawal fee at TSN domestic airport around 55K vnd but forgot it was ACB or MB bank.
3) I tried the ATM at TSN international airport arrival hall, located at far right end… didn’t work.
Days later i needed to fly from hcmc to hanoi. I was able to withdraw from ACB and MB bank but there was a cap on the amount per transaction. I remember was 3mil

For other vietnam banks like Vietcombank, BIDV, Agribank, Vietinbank, Sacombank… it either don’t allow me to withdraw or the atm always say the chosen amount is above the withdrawal limit, even thou i chose the lowest possible which was 50K

Just to chip in, I've used both my Wise and Revolut Card at a few ATMs in HCMC. Didn't encounter any difficulties and the ATM with the lowest withdrawal fee that I found was Agribank at 22k.

 

[Henabi]

I always go vietnam buy macadamia nuts and coffee.

 

[kiryu86]

i was in hanoi / sapa / ning binh / halong within 9 days, from 7 jan - 15 jan

weather was only cooling like genting during my stay there, there were days where the temperature suddenly just shoot up to 28C in the afternoon, i was in shorts n tshirt in hanoi most of my time, dun even need any jacket n or long pants long sleeve.

when i was in sapa for 3d2n, the3 days was very sunny, clear sky , no fog, the temperature there between day n night is very big, day time can be 15 - 16C , at night drop 5C . sudden sun set, 8pm onwards, the whole sapa become like freezer box.

in ninh binh, it has slight drizzling, temp was aroun 16C, day tour there following tour guide, so still ok,

halong bay was also the same, not cold nor hot, just nice, i was in a cruise for a night, nothing much to do except for some kayak, drinking night, and fishing.

overall, i would say, if wan top shop or food hunt, vietnam is not the place, thailand is better, if wan to see scenery , vietnam has much more to offer. i really like sapa due to the weather, scenery and less crowded n traffic. and people there are nicer, hanoi pple can be arrogant n rude.

 

[kiryu86]

 

[paladin]

The stairs leading to the buddha at Fansipan very siong for me.

shop hunt and food hunt very subjective, as it depends on your research skills, budget, bargaining skills and taste buds. But if you are talking about hawker food, I don’t see how Vietnam will lose to Thailand. And I say this after visited Bangkok 8-9 times and Vietnam 4 times so I am quite old bird. And so far, each time I visit Vietnam, the experience gets better. Having said that, btw Bangkok and HCM/Hanoi, Bangkok has a lower learning curve. Many shops in BKK are clustered together like chatuchak, platinum mall, pratunam., MBK, etc. Vietnam has shopping streets and squares. Bangkok has food courts. Vietnam has hole in the wall hawkers. So you really need to do research prior to visiting Vietnam.

 

[curiosity_20]

 

[Henabi]

Lolx XD

 

[keithchan]

Amazing pictures!
I'm planning to bring my family and in laws to hanoi as they are interested in beautiful scenery.

Any recommended accommodation for Hanoi and Halong Bay?
I have 3 young kids and all first timers it's gonna quite daunting.
Wondering if 5D4N is sufficient or bit too rushed?

 

[kiryu86]

The stairs leading to the buddha at Fansipan very siong for me.
shop hunt and food hunt very subjective, as it depends on your research skills, budget, bargaining skills and taste buds. But if you are talking about hawker food, I don’t see how Vietnam will lose to Thailand. And I say this after visited Bangkok 8-9 times and Vietnam 4 times so I am quite old bird. And so far, each time I visit Vietnam, the experience gets better. Having said that, btw Bangkok and HCM/Hanoi, Bangkok has a lower learning curve. Many shops in BKK are clustered together like chatuchak, platinum mall, pratunam., MBK, etc. Vietnam has shopping streets and squares. Bangkok has food courts. Vietnam has hole in the wall hawkers. So you really need to do research prior to visiting Vietnam.

i mean thailand food is in general more suitable for many singaporean, maybe because thai food enter sg market much earlier, like my parents, if u tell them green curry, tom yum, mango sticky rice, basil mince rice, they will immediately know what is that.

but if u tell them pho, bahn mi, bahn xiao, buncha, they will scratch head and like what the heck is that? and vietnameses food is not quite suitable for many pple because of all the herbs and plant in the food. i bring my mum go eat pho , she hate it cause inside got all the weird plant n n herb taste.

as for shopping, vietnam has alot of good north face product and they are all original at cheap price, i think they got black market in the factory cause north face are produce in vietnam. main factory is there.

but for general clothing like shorts n tshirt, i feel bkk offer more choice. i got more things to buy there. i always come back with a luggage full of random stuff

for vietnam, my luggage is full of coffee powder only.

but one thing for sure, vietnam stuff is much much more cheaper to tour in, bkk becmoming like sg price year by year

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[kiryu86]

Amazing pictures!
I'm planning to bring my family and in laws to hanoi as they are interested in beautiful scenery.
Any recommended accommodation for Hanoi and Halong Bay?
I have 3 young kids and all first timers it's gonna quite daunting.
Wondering if 5D4N is sufficient or bit too rushed?

i stay 4 different hotel in hanoi, and i like may de ville legend hotel the best. which is my last 2 nights there.

hotel is in good location, and its very clean n new.

as for halong bay, i stay in era cruise. when i reach the terminal in halong bay, the counter there will take all ur luggage n give u a landyard tag to wear, so later the cruise manager will find u around the area.

the cruise itself is not bad, very attentive n welcoming, but inside is not very new , room is veru huge even for the cheapest type.

1 night in halong 3 nights in hanoi is just right

u can apply for day trip to ninh binh from klook, its quite good.

because hanoi after 3 days, got nothing much there liao.

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[paladin]

I subscribed to her channel for a long time ago . The number of people who can understand English is definitely more than the people who can understand Vietnamese, and Youtube revenue is based on number of viewers, so she will not be able to survive as a full time YouTuber if her channel is solely in Vietnamese. Some more I think she put her country as United States so that she can attract ads from US and get paid more in USD for rpm. I dont think Vietnamese companies have the same advertising budgets as US companies to promote on YouTube. Anyway, her videos on Hue etc are very informative. It helps that she is pretty else the number of subscribers would be a third.

 

[paladin]

i mean thailand food is in general more suitable for many singaporean, maybe because thai food enter sg market much earlier, like my parents, if u tell them green curry, tom yum, mango sticky rice, basil mince rice, they will immediately know what is that.

but if u tell them pho, bahn mi, bahn xiao, buncha, they will scratch head and like what the heck is that? and vietnameses food is not quite suitable for many pple because of all the herbs and plant in the food. i bring my mum go eat pho , she hate it cause inside got all the weird plant n n herb taste.

as for shopping, vietnam has alot of good north face product and they are all original at cheap price, i think they got black market in the factory cause north face are produce in vietnam. main factory is there.

but for general clothing like shorts n tshirt, i feel bkk offer more choice. i got more things to buy there. i always come back with a luggage full of random stuff

for vietnam, my luggage is full of coffee powder only.

but one thing for sure, vietnam stuff is much much more cheaper to tour in, bkk becmoming like sg price year by year

Read HWZ Forum Rules!

Did you visit Dong Xuan market for tshirts and shorts? BKK centralised shops at certain places so the learning curve is less steep. I also did not buy much for my first visit to Vietnam, but subsequent ones, I bought more and more. The streets in old quarters have shops that sell a particular type of goods, like all shops sell shoes, all shops sell decorations, all shops sell kitchenware etc, all shops sell clothes and swimwear, you need to know which street sell what to shop well.

nowadays, I just walk in to tailor shop on my first or second day and tailor. My wife, as mentioned, can spend 8-10 mil vnd at any boutique shop.
For Hanoi, the main shopping street for clothes is KIM Ma street.

singapore has Thai construction workers since the 80s, the Beach Road area was Thai enclave and many people visited BKK since young, so singaporeans are more exposed to Thai food etc. Vietnam was communist country and only in the last decade did it open up more, and I see more Vietnamese and Vietnamese restaurants in Singapore now. They also have enclave now in Joo chiat And Geylang. And I think because BKK is so tourist friendly, the prices are increasing while many parts of Vietnam are still unventured by Singaporeans. E.g a lot of people have not heard of Mui Ne, the sand dunes there are marvellous!

 

[kiryu86]

Did you visit Dong Xuan market for tshirts and shorts? BKK centralised shops at certain places so the learning curve is less steep. I also did not buy much for my first visit to Vietnam, but subsequent ones, I bought more and more. The streets in old quarters have shops that sell a particular type of goods, like all shops sell shoes, all shops sell decorations, all shops sell kitchenware etc, all shops sell clothes and swimwear, you need to know these to shop well.
nowadays, I just walk in to tailor shop on my first or second day and tailor. My wife, as mentioned, can spend 8-10 mil vnd at any boutique shop.
For Hanoi, the main shopping street for clothes is KIM Ma street.

yes i did go there, my fiancee bought au dai from there

I bought some souvenir there also, chopstick, coaster

but mostly selling cloth for tailor.


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[keithchan]

i stay 4 different hotel in hanoi, and i like may de ville legend hotel the best. which is my last 2 nights there.

hotel is in good location, and its very clean n new.

as for halong bay, i stay in era cruise. when i reach the terminal in halong bay, the counter there will take all ur luggage n give u a landyard tag to wear, so later the cruise manager will find u around the area.

the cruise itself is not bad, very attentive n welcoming, but inside is not very new , room is veru huge even for the cheapest type.

1 night in halong 3 nights in hanoi is just right

u can apply for day trip to ninh binh from klook, its quite good.

because hanoi after 3 days, got nothing much there liao.

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Thanks for the recommendation on De La Ville, shortlisted it.
Did some read up on Halong Bay and thinking if a day trip by Klook would suffice?
The Era cruise you mentioned looks posh but I find it a tad pricey. Will consider if I wanna stay 1 night.

 

[rrr2015]

i mean thailand food is in general more suitable for many singaporean, maybe because thai food enter sg market much earlier, like my parents, if u tell them green curry, tom yum, mango sticky rice, basil mince rice, they will immediately know what is that.

when travel must open mind for new experiences mah

but if u tell them pho, bahn mi, bahn xiao, buncha, they will scratch head and like what the heck is that? and vietnameses food is not quite suitable for many pple because of all the herbs and plant in the food. i bring my mum go eat pho , she hate it cause inside got all the weird plant n n herb taste.

north Viet pho doesn't taste as heavy as south viet pho or even thai food. u should try pho ga (chicken), aromatic & light. many like baguette, pâté, pastries, pho broth etc have origins from french.

but let's don't compare, i like viet becoz it's different from thai.

 

[keithchan]

when travel must open mind for new experiences mah

north Viet pho doesn't taste as heavy as south viet pho or even thai food. u should try pho ga (chicken), aromatic & light. many like baguette, pâté, pastries, pho broth etc have origins from french.

but let's don't compare, i like viet becoz it's different from thai.

Very aptly put.
As a general feel, viet food is indeed less common in sg (vs Thai)
One of the pre requisites whilst planning for my upcoming virgin foray into VN is also tellin the family to keep an open mind and venture.

If its nice, great. If its not, suck it up and move on to the next new food. Worst case scenario, I bet the fast foods will suffice as last resort to fill the tummies at night.

 

[Squeezer]

Going to hanoi in 2 weeks time.

Is it easy to change money there? Don't want to carry too much vnd around so if money changers are readily
available, will change there on a need to basis.

 

[Henabi]

when travel must open mind for new experiences mah

north Viet pho doesn't taste as heavy as south viet pho or even thai food. u should try pho ga (chicken), aromatic & light. many like baguette, pâté, pastries, pho broth etc have origins from french.

but let's don't compare, i like viet becoz it's different from thai.

Having traveled to many places with family and friends

sad to say, when it comes to places to visit and food, most still prefer to stick to things they are familiar

imo, northern pho is less sweet and less condiments, therefore you can easily taste the real flavour of the broth unlike southern pho