Take a Motorbike to Save Loot and Get There Fast
by neurochic
Unfortunately one of the best modes of transportation that I discovered late in my trip was hiring people to transport you on the back of their motorbikes. Not only do you get to your destination a lot quicker than a taxi since the driver can weave in and out of traffic, but its far less too. Also its a heck of a lot of fun to feel the wind blow through your hair while zooming down the street on the back of one of these machines. If you wear contacts though, I advise not to take this mode of transportation because you do get a lot of dust in your eyes while traveling, unless you wear sunglasses.
Explosion on Christmas Eve
by Nemorino
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On December 24, 1964, we did a very unusual thing and traveled by car from Tân Ba to Saigon, a distance of about thirty kilometers.
The driver of the car was an American civilian who sometimes lived with us in the house at Tan Ba. He was an employee of USOM, the United States Operations Mission, which as far as I know was some sort of aid and development organization.
He drove like a madman because like the rest of us he was terrified about driving those thirty kilometers on an unsecured Vietnamese road. In retrospect I think it was probably one of the safest roads in the country, but that was not our opinion at the time.
We stayed at the Tan Loc Hotel, which I later described as "the second sorriest hotel in Saigon," though I don't remember exactly what was wrong with it. In any case it was so shoddy and run-down that I was confident it would never be a target for any kind of terrorist attack.
After checking in at the Tan Loc I went over to the PX (the Post Exchange, in the city center), where I did some shopping and had a chat with an American major whom I had briefly worked for in Hon Quan a few months earlier. This major evidently stayed around in front of the PX a few minutes longer than I did, because he was slightly injured by flying glass when the Brinks Hotel blew up.
The Brinks Hotel was being used as an American officers' billet. At 5:55 p.m. on December 24, 1964, a truckload of explosives blew up in the garage area underneath the hotel. Two Americans were killed and at least fifty Americans were injured, including the major I had just been talking to. Also a number of Vietnamese and Australians were injured, and some small buildings at the rear of the Brinks Hotel were completely destroyed by the force of the blast.
Note from 46 years later: The site of the former Brinks Hotel is now the location of the five-star Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel, which is reputed to be the best and most expensive hotel in Ho Chi Minh City. On the front lawn of the Park Hyatt there is now a plaque commemorating the car bombing of Christmas Eve 1964 at what was then the Brinks Hotel.
www.vietnamwar.net/BrinksHotel
Take a taxi instead!
by TravelChick67
While going around HCMC, you'll notice many people wearing long gloves and/or handkerchiefs to protect their faces (and breathing) from the strong fumes in traffic.
Taking a motorcycle taxi is very common for locals in Saigon but I prefer the taxi! Give me comfort and air conditioning any time.
And the taxis are so cheap ($1.25 per fare on average) that there really isn't any reason to do otherwise unless you like sucking fumes!
Saigon Water Park
by Blatherwick
Saigon Water Park is just a great place to visit. The hotter it is the more refreshing this place is. The water park was built with the aid of an Australian company so the standards are just like in the west.
The entrance fee is 60.000 Dong. There are around 30 water slides, a wave pool, a children's wading pool, guarded lockers to put your stuff in, and food available in stalls
The first time I went there was on a weekday and there were less than 10 people in the park for most of the day. The last time I was in Vietnam the park was not open on weekdays. Weekends are a different story as everybody comes then. Just let yourself go and have fun and act like a kid again.
My Tho
by keeweechic
My Tho is a Mekong delta town famous for its fruit orchards. It is some 70 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City. Until into the 17th century, My Tho was a town of the Khmer (Cambodians).
There is a Cao Dai temple there. If you do a tour to the Mekong Delta, you will go through My Tho. I think it's pronounced 'Me Tho'. You pass through some wonderful countryside down in this region.
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Oil Station in Saigon
Crazy Motorbike Drivers
Saigon by night
The priests of Buddhism symbol (yellow)
