Vietnam

[coolninja02]

you need to take a cab to the nearest cholon market...y you book all the way at chinatown?

you gonna be taking cab uptown and back chinatown...

nolah, i going to school ma.. is they book one

so hows the hotel like?

 

[Cumzilla]

hi again, like to check what are the conditions of those guesthouses and hostels in the backpackers areas compared to the 2-3 stars hotels? if i am gonna book a triple room, are they mostly 1 double bed and 1 extra single bed? would prefer to have a room with 3 single beds cos 3 grown up men going to share the room, dun feel like sleeping with another on same bed leh

 

[Techadd]

nolah, i going to school ma.. is they book one

so hows the hotel like?

hotel is not bad given that its newly renovated and its a favourite with the mainland and taiwanese tourists becuz the hotel staffs can converse in mandarin. the location wise is the not so good point.

 

[Techadd]

hi again, like to check what are the conditions of those guesthouses and hostels in the backpackers areas compared to the 2-3 stars hotels? if i am gonna book a triple room, are they mostly 1 double bed and 1 extra single bed? would prefer to have a room with 3 single beds cos 3 grown up men going to share the room, dun feel like sleeping with another on same bed leh

maybe they have double decker beds in some of those backpacker hostels? i think some of the forumers here actually stayed before in some hostels, you could pm them for recommendations

 

[Techadd]

18 October Elios Hotel is FULL...

 

[neubie]

techadd, you got pm ;p

 

[Techadd]

techadd, you got pm ;p

pmed you back

 

[jokerpoker81]

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.

hi, i read from one of the postings in much earlier pages.....seems tht there are quite a number of rouge drivers in HCM area, and only big companies taxis go by meter properly............can someone advise on the cab companies to look out for? n what are the cab colours?

 

[jokerpoker81]

some pointers taken from the pages of this thread when researching for HCM trip.........



- There are no standard toiletries package provided in 2 star budget hotels.

- Cabs from Airport to City should usually come within 100,000-150,000 range depending on the traffic and the location. it'll come higher if your hotel is located in the chinatown district. You can call cab without extra charges, and go for reputable taxi companies like Vina taxis to avoid rogue taxis.

- Cabbies at the airport has a habit of adding additional costs (airport surcharge??) if you're a foreigner even though they are running by the meter.


- For a cheap and decent spa in the city, Jolly spa along Mac Dinh Chi street is nice.

- Branded sports T-shirts and shirts, shoes, bags, backpacks, messenger bags....some of the shopping stuffs ppl get............or even Dried Lotus Seeds ( found in supermarket or Ben Thanh market with Vietnamese name "Hat sen kho^" ). can get it at Ben Thahn market.

- The night market in benh thanh is not really as big as the one in 3/2 street in hcm...its cheaper in 3/2 street becuz it caters to more locals while ben thanh caters to tourists......3/2 street is the street name, and along this street, there is a small junction which leads to Cao Thang Street where the night markets are operating daily in the evening. you can see the rows of night market stalls just at the start of this cao thang street,

- For nightlife, can visit visit Pham Ngu Lao, cheap beers ( 333 or Saigon beer, Bia Hoi or home brew beer ) around, but most places close 12midnite......Pham Ngu Lao is the backpackers corner in District 1, just 10mins walk away from Ben Thanh market. Many pubs, restaurants and small shops there.

- For ice cream, can try at this place call Bach Dach.



http://hcmc2007.flameforge.com/Blog/Blog.html

a HWZ member's blog of HCMC trip...worth looking at for reference....


http://www.sinhcafevn.com/AboutUs.asp

apparently a reliable local tour operator, even have fake ones imposing them.....it has open bus transfer to Dalat...and only they have a 1 day Cao Dai / Cu Chi Tunnel tour.


Foodie tips i saw in HWZ forum

Benh Thanh Market is closed after 6pm but the surrounding aread outside the market is converted into make shift food outlets and night market.


Pho 24, Pho 2000 franchise outlets......serves beef noodles....

"Budget" French restaurant....Augustin is at 10 Nguyen Thiep, near Dong Quai. Food is not bad. Cost less than S$40 for 2 mains and 2 glasses of wine.

Au Manor De Khai http://www.aumanoirdekhai.com/ expensive French restaurant




Quan An Ngon , 142 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Dist 1

Its located just opposite the Reunification palace. Its like a food court layout but with lots of small stalls with each individual open kitchen, each stalls specialise in different food from different provinces of Vietnam, hence you can find foods here from the North to the South.

Price wise its inexpensive, affordable and clean. however its very popular with the tourists and the locals as well, be prepared to wait in queue during lunch and dinner hours, but at the end of the day, its well worth it. you can have lunch, dinne here for 2-3 days becuz they have so much variety its one of my favourite places..


Seafoods are cheap compared to Singapore of course.

94 Dinh Tien Hoang, District 1 - Soft Crab Specialise Store.

This shop specialise in soft crab meals, from soft crab fried noodles, soup..to depp freid ones. Crabs are fresh as they are all bought in the wee hours of the morning at the market daily. However its not my favourite haunt as everything is about crab..crab..crab.. i stayed away from crabs for two weeks after eating here... xD

There are also several seafood restaurants lcoated near pham ngu lao street

 

[Techadd]

nicely summarised

 

[alex365]

Hi Techadd, where is the location of saigon square? thanks

 

[Techadd]

Hi Techadd, where is the location of saigon square? thanks

er.. its Old Address was 39 Le Duan Street, but they got replaced and is now taken over by a construction and they moved to the back street (just behind the construction area). which is still a walking distance from its original location

 

[alex365]

THANKS Techadd! will like to visit saigon sq in my next trip to HCM...

 

[Techadd]

THANKS Techadd! will like to visit saigon sq in my next trip to HCM...

no problem

 

[Pierre86]

Techadd, what kind of plug does vietnam use? Cause I scare I cannot charge my hp

 

[Techadd]

two pin sockets.. but hotels usually have 3 pins wall sockets for international customers

but getting a travel adaptor is always a good idea

 

[Pierre86]

two pin sockets.. but hotels usually have 3 pins wall sockets for international customers

but getting a travel adaptor is always a good idea

I was thinking to get a international travel adaptor, but does their pin look same as the pin we use in singapore?

 

[Techadd]

I was thinking to get a international travel adaptor, but does their pin look same as the pin we use in singapore?

travel adaptors usually comes equipped with different wall socket pins..3 pins..2 round pins etc..

 

[mywanderlust]

i am thinking of doing a day tour to da lat from ho chi minh
found this on sinh cafe website.
is this a decent deal?
http://www.sinhcafevn.com/Tour_Detail.asp

we are also thinking of going to vung tau for one day tour
anyone here as a tour agency to recommend?

 

[Pierre86]

I will be staying at Dong Khan Hotel, is there any place for me to shop for clothes and wallet at a cheaper price?