Withdraw Cash in ATM's!
by machomikemd
they have international ATM's here is Sai Gon so there is no need to bring large amount of cash or exchange you dollars! PLUS consortium is more numerous here than CIRRUS/MAESTRO and Discovery is nonexistent here so better look if you ATM Card is international by looking at the logo of PLUS and CIRRUS/MAESTRO and if you have it, VIOLA! more money to shop and they only charge you 20,000 VND (1.20 USD) per transaction whatever the amount you are withrawing (cheaper than the $ 3 to 5 doller per transaction in the States!) the Maximum amount you can withdraw is 5,000,000 VND! ($ 325)
Small parks and garden
by yuet29
Although is a busy city witha lot of motorbikes, the atmosphere in HCMC during evening can be very relax.
There are lots of small gardens and small parks in HCMC. Every evening, after work perhaps, you can see a lot of people.. old and young gather in these park to exercise.
The Cong Vien Van Hoe park near the reunification palace has some facilities for exercises and for kids. There is a small park near Pham Ngu Lao also. But beware, these parks are where the fraud find their targets.
Saigon's Circus of Motor and Motorless Bikes
by dlytle
I know I have said it before but - you just will not believe the incredible sight of the swarms and swarms of motorbikes and bicycles wheeling and dodging through Saigon’s streets. I was told that the motorbike craze is one of the leading indicators of the economic revolution sweeping through Vietnam. This economic revolution has rejuvenated what use to be a sleepy, drab, and backward State-run city, into a bustling, colorful free-market society.
The million’s of motorbikes in Vietnam make up 94 percent of the vehicles on the road and that is the highest percentage in Asia. Saigon, I am told, has about two million motorbikes in use every day. And, I am sure, that is not counting the bicycles being pedaled along.
It seemed to me that at night most of Saigon’s youth dressed up, got onto their bikes, and started racing and swerving in swarms all around the city. I saw girls in party dresses and guys in their go-to-church best clothes passing and being passed by whole families that are on a single scooter. Guys in baggy denims shared the road with grey-haired couples out for what in Vietnam seems to pass for an evening stroll. And the whole mass was many bikes across in each lane. Looking down the street I could see headlights one-way and taillights the other for block after block after block. The whole procession of Saigon-ese society roars around and around making Saigon's streets a constant circus of swirling movement.
Smogged Out
by Aidy_p
If you intend to do lots of walking within the city, do bring along a face mask or a small towel to protect yourself from the motocycle fumes. You can also buy a nice mask off the shelf of any decent shopping mall at about US$2-3. Not sure if my life has been shortened because of my many walks, but I had an uncomfortably dry cough that only lasted the span of time I was in Saigon. Nuff said.
David vs Goliath
by Aidy_p
A derelict shell of a M-41 American tank lays solemnly in the midst of Cu Chi jungle. I tapped on the metal of the tank and you'd know that with toughness, it was made to protect the personnel that were within. But with a small weapon like the Rocket Propelled Gun (RPG) used by the Viet Cong, the tank was totally vulnerable.
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Man Selling Balloons outside the Mall
Christmans in Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
Traffic in Saigon
The Park outside the Palace
