 | Ho Chi Minh City Local Customs | Tips 21 - 30 of 113 |  |
Is it OK to call Ho Chi Mihn City, SAIGON…? YES
In fact, most Vietnamese locals prefer the pre 1975 name of “Saigon”…the name Ho Chi Mihn just doesn’t match the city…Saigon is just too zany, loud, independent and free-enterprising…to be named after a communist leader…no matter how loved
Pictured here...Dong Khoi street from the rooftop of the Rex Hotel...Dong Khoi was
known as Tu Do Street (meaning FREEDOM) to the American GIs during the war....it had a glut of bars (enough said)...now it has fancy high end boutiques and souvenir shops Leave a Comment
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The cyclo somehow still survives among the forest of small motorbikes. All it is is a bicycle with a passenger seat attached to the front. I like to imagine that this is a father taking his family for a ride ... They do warn you about protecting your belonging when you ride in one -- but your money etc... shouldn't be in your purse anyway. Leave a Comment
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When in HCMC, you'll quickly notice men, women and children wearing facial protection ESPECIALLY the women. The two main reasons for this is due to the pollution in the air. District Saigon isn't even half as bad as, say, District 11. If you have sensitive lungs, please consider this as an option.
The second reason is none other than beauty itself. 3 months in Vietnam and the sun can take its toll on your once fair skin. If you knew Vietnamese ladies' attitude towards tanned skin, you'll quickly understand that on no account do you ever compliment a Vietnamese woman on how tanned her skin is. Leave a Comment
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Not long after walking around, you'll notice that people will say "you, you, you" to get your attention. It's seems a little rude, but I assure you they're not trying to be. In Vietnamese, women are called em, co, chi, or ba. Men are called anh or ong. All translate to "you" in English, which explains all the 'you'ing. Leave a Comment
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Watch out! The locals, especially the guys, just "do it" anywhere, anyplace. Be prepared to see the sights of guys facing walls and hedges, doing the deed. I had seen one guy doing his deed next to a traffic pole at a busy traffic junction in HCMC, oblivious to the passing human traffic. Leave a Comment
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Be polite, you are afterall visiting a foreign country. A smile goes a long way. Stay calm even though you know you're being ripped off big time....
I've seen acts of anger displayed openly by foreigners on busy public streets. No one benefits from it and the only person who is at fault, through the Vietnamese eyes would be the foreigner. It is their country, let them do as they please. Leave a Comment
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I've noticed at restaurants that waiters stand and wait for you to make your decisions rather than leave you alone for a few minutes. This was a little disconcerting at first. I found it very difficult to make up my mind while someone was standing there staring at me. I've found that politely asking them to come back in a couple minutes helps. Leave a Comment
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If you hear alot of honking while walking the streets of Ho Chi Minh, don't worry, the motorcycle riders aren't mad, they're just making sure you (and everyone else) knows they're there.
Here in the US, we mostly use our horn to express anger and irritating, but in Vietnam, it was clear that they use their horn for a more positive purpose. It's more of a "beep, beep, here I am" than a "hey jerk! out of my way!"
People, taxis, motorcyles, etc. are going in lots of different directions at once at intersections and such so this is how they let their presence be known. Leave a Comment
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Its supposed to fix you! I was ogling and musing about these potions everywhere, until I was told that this is medicinal! - complete with cobras and scorpions!
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Everybody writes about it so here's my version in a Scientific Analysis for those of you who might be engineers or ??
1) don't step out in front of cars trucks or buses
2) have confidence
3) wait for the light if there is one or a "break in the volume of motorbikes if there one
4) begin to walk out into the street with an eye on the motorbike coming at you first ( the closest one to you)
5) watch the front tire of that motorbike, it will go left or right indicating driver will go in front of you or behind you.
6) slightly modulate your steady pace accordingly*
7) repeat steps 5 ,6 with the next motorbike that you have impending conflict with.
*example, the driver turns to aim to go behind you, you can take one step faster and forget him, and worry about the next motorbike.
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