Sign in with Facebook
86 - 88 Bui Thi Quan St, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Check Rates and Availability
of people enjoy staying here
20 Opinions
Christmas in Saigon
River Ship in Saigon river
Pakito Cafe
Bo Tung Xeo
Hi Vters..
We'll be in HCH from 12 - 16 May 2009...is it enought for us to travel to Ha Long Bay? Any suggestion and tips...!(place to stay..etc..)
Thanks..
Arini
such a short trip for Vietnam.
if you really want to go to Halong Bay, book a flight up to Hanoi on 13 and do Halong Bay on 14 & 15.
15 late afternoon fly back to HCMC.
But i think you should focus on the south rather than to the North. have a mekong delta cruise while you are down in HCMC
if you can arrange to arrive in Hanoi and depart from Hanoi, you could do Halong Bay as well as enjoy the city of Hanoi with its preserved colonial architecture, excellent food, ethnology museum...etc
Wow, 4 days is not really much time to explore Vietnam. I would suggest visiting the Island of Phu Quoc and possibly visiting Dalat if you can wing it. For lodging, there are many places in the backpacker district-pham ngu lao. For sure visit the Ben Thanh market in HCMC.
Hanoi is great and I liked it much more than HCMC, so if you can fly in there instead, you could definitely visit Ha Long Bay.
For your information, Halong bay is located in northern Vietnam which is a long way from Saigon (in the south), so it's quite out of the question making your way there in just 4 days.
Therefore, you'd better off sticking to Saigon: spend 2 days in the city itself (with Saigon hotspots - university students offer free guiding service) and the other 2 in the Mekong delta.
Hope this helps
With only 4 days I would just stick to Saigon. If you really want to see Ha Long Bay then I would suggest you change your plans....forget about Saigon and visit Hanoi instead. Halong is about a 3 hour drive from Hanoi. So you can do something like this:
May 12....arrive Hanoi
May 13....Hanoi
May 14....Halong w/overnight stay on Junk
May 15....Halong, back to Hanoi
May 16....Hanoi, fly home
You can save sometimes by book a flight to Hai Phong then take the bus or grab a cab to Ha Long. You can buy the tour in Ha Long. The airfare from Saigon to Hai Phong is about the same as from Saigon to Ha Noi but you will save almost 2 and a half hours on the boat.
Thanks ALot for the Info..but I guess we'll stick to SAIGON only...
any VTers care to meet up?
see ya!
The best rate for currency exchange from USD$ into VND can usually be obtained by changing money at a Gold shop. You may need to ask someone for the address of the nearest one. Generally the rates here will be slightly better than the rates at other places
Vietnamese seldom use a direct approach in their dealings. To do so indicates a lack of tact or delicacy. Directness is appreciated in the Western world, but not in Vietnam. The Vietnamese do not like to say "no" and will often reply "yes" when the answer should be negative. This problem is further complicated by Americans posing negative questions such as, "It doesn’t look like it will rain today, does it?" The correct answer is often the one given by the Vietnamese--"Yes." We expect to hear "No." Think it out and you will see that the Vietnamese is really correct.
Best advice, don’t ask negative questions.
The custom of handshaking, formerly considered barbaric to the Vietnamese, is now achieving popularity due to the Western influence in the country. Men will generally shake hands and say the equivalent of "how are you" and tip their hats when greeting people.
Women, especially those in the countryside, still shy away from shaking hands, especially with men from their own country. It is best not to offer to shake hands with a woman unless she offers her hand first.
I was informed about the photographer by a friend I met during my visit to HCMC. Apparently, the photographer - Mr Cuong (pronounced Keng) - has a private museum which I do not have the time to visit. Based on his name card, you can see the famous photoes during the war taken by him in the museum and all other things that include the fine Asian & European Art Collection. For direction to the museum, u can contact him personally or visit him at his home at the following address:
64, Dong Du, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
Direction:
On Dong Du street, go towards Sheraton Hotel. Hotel should be on your left hand side. Walk up ahead and next to Sheraton you should be able to see the Mosque. Immediately after the mosque, the first art shop numbered as 64, on the 2nd floor is where Mr Cuong lives. You can ask the sale attendant to call for Mr Cuong.
During my first day in Saigon, i immediately went to Ben thanh Market to go shopping. I really liked those shirts which had "Good Morning Vietnam" or "Saigon" or "Ho Chi Minh" or the vietnamese flag printed on them, i wanted to give them to my guy friends back home. Anyway, one of the stores in Ben Thanh offered me 1 shirt for 160,000 Dong and i immediately declined. So she gave it to me for 50,000 Dong, then I finally bought alot...i thought i got a bargain but not really...
If you want to buy those similar shirts that i bought, you can find them in the side entrance of Ben Thanh market (where all the night market and food places will be located during the evening). It's not a stall similar to those inside of Ben Thanh, instead they have these concrete, white painted walls and white floors as walkways...it's the only place with a flourescent light and with sales ladies that are in uniform...You can buy the shirts at a fixed price of 27,000 Dong... i think that's the lowest price you can get for a quality souveneir shirt that doesnt fade or easily rips :)
Other stuff such as plates, lacquerqare, fans, etc. can also be found here with their fixed price. Lower than those sold on the stalls.
Sponsored Links
Similar to Queen Ann Hotel
Near Queen Ann Hotel
Cheapest in Ho Chi Minh City
Great Hotels for Less
Q: Vanilla pods "May I know where I can buy vanilla pods in Ho Chi Minh City?"
A: "I would try Benh Tanh markets: they seem to have just about everything else there. The fresh produce section is at the back."
Sponsored Links
Latest Ho Chi Minh City hotel reviews
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Check Rates and Availability (from our partners)
