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 Traveller's Tales: Doing business in Vietnam
Take note of the helpful information on business travel near in Vietnam. You may read about their business tips and guides. Find out the local business customs and guide on business travel. Also, you might want to read our
Central Vietnam city guide,
Halong Bay city guide,
Hanoi city guide,
Ho Chi Minh city guide,
Phan Thiet city guide,
and Hoi An city guide.
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| D Wentworth |
05 June 2002 |
Stayed at Metropole Hotel, Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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On my first night in Saigon I got robbed after I accepted a ride from a motorcyclist. Apart from the obvious lesson learned from this experience, I was also careful from then on to carry at least $50 with me and not much more.
The guy who robbed me (who pulled up on another motorcycle) had a gun and didn't seem to have a sense of humour.
I've also heard stories about professional pickpockets frequenting the area around the Metropole.
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| E Shilling |
27 May 2002 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi is a fascinating city - don't be afraid to hire a motorbike (with a driver) and tour the City (I negotiated a price of USD 4 and, as I spent about 5 hours touring one day, I paid my driver USD 20, including a tip. Just as a note for future reference - pay the amount as agreed first and then in increments, provide a tip. If you hand it all over at once (agreed upon payment and tip - i.e., USD 20) - you will probably be asked for more - first provide an incremental tip - say $10, then when asked for more - provide an additional $10. This way, your driver is bound to be happy, as you have honored his request).
I spent the day visiting all the sites (pagodas, museums, shops and galleries) and went from one end of the city to the other - something that can't be efficiently done in a taxi (traffic is too hectic) and wouldn't be feasible on foot. Don't worry - while it may be hard to imagine riding on the back of a motorbike - it's safe and the best way to see the City - you can stop, shop, etc. and your driver will be waiting for you at all times. ,br>
Another tip: Take only the cash you need with you - and prior to arriving, have a STACK of USD 1's, 5's, and 10's -- it makes life much easier for tipping and paying for goods - plus, it avoids receiving piles of Dong - you can pay for everything in USD and some instances, as change you may receive Dong back (as for USD first) - you'll never have to exchange currency - slowly, you'll build-up a pile of Dong. Also, don't show your money to the driver or shop keeper, etc. It's better to not let anyone know how much you have AND quite frankly, I think it's rude - i.e., you have a stack of money and you're paying USD 2 to someone who probably makes less in a month than what you make in a day.
Restaurants - I would recommend both Cafe des Arts and Al Frescos - moderately priced, friendly service and decent food.
Took a day trip to Halong Bay - better than the Bay is the 3-hour coach ride to your destination. The roads are fine - highway system with paved roads - but you will be astounded by the travelers on the road - including bikes, cows, ducks (yes, ducks being led across the highway!), and old Russian-clunker vehicles. And more importantly, the Vietnemese way of life - housing, working fields, hard-working people, etc.
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| U Piyakulkunakorn |
07 February 2002 |
Stayed at Hanoi Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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It is not located on city center, it suit for business rather than traveller.
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| S Cooper |
15 December 2001 |
Stayed at Bong Sen Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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In Vietnam, the standard charge for using travellers cheques and credit cards is 4% so take as much cash as you dare (there are also ATMs in Vietnam). Only take $USD especially to Cambodia (where no-one has heard of the pound or the Euro!).
Cambodia: the time, money and effort to get to Phnom Penh probably isn't worth it unless you enjoy looking at poverty and eating in over-priced western restaurants. The Angkor Wat temple complex is beautiful but unless you have a large amount of energy, time and interest, I would stay in Vietnam instead, (which was also cheaper for tourists than Cambodia). Angkor Wat and the sourrounding temple sites costs $20 a day to enter. Be prepared for coach loads of other tourists. If you do go, I would recommend the Princess Hotel in Phnom Penh.
In Vietnam, lack car hire and public transport outside of the rail system means that organised trips through tour offices in HCM and Hanoi are the only easy way to see places outside of the main cities. This means that little of your tourist dollars reach the local economies so you might want to think about how you travel, where you eat and how you tip. We found that, in Vietnam, eating in local street cafes caused us no health problems and the food was usually excellent.
Don't buy off children selling chewing gum, cigarettes etc as this encourages child labour and exploitation - would you send a four year old girl out into the streets to sell postcards? If you want to help these children then give your money to an appropriate charity.
The '69' Restaurant in Old Quarter in Hanoi was excellent - good food and excellent service. The Panorama restaurant in HCM was outrageously overpriced and not particularly good food: you pay through the nose for the view
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| O De scally |
13 December 2001 |
Stayed at Bong Sen Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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The Bong Sen is situated in the heart of the city which make it ideal for shopping and business and it is at short range of many restaurants and bars. A small but very nice place to entertain friends is the Lang Van karaoke bar. The music is never loud and and the singing is sometimes even good! For the young at heart the Spaceship Discotheque is a must.
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| M Firestone |
20 November 2001 |
Stayed at Green Park Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi was nice. Man they like motorbikes and their horns. One thing to remember is that the departure tax is now 14 US$. Seen a bunch of people scrambling to find cash at the airport.
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| G Montandon |
19 November 2001 |
Stayed at Rex Hotel Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Encountered very few tourists. Beautiful country. People are in general very polite , respectful and clean.
Some policies, such as the fact that tourists very often must pay much more for boat trips and museums, whilst maybe economically justifiable, don't seem to go down too well in encouraging tourism!
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| P Slaney |
23 October 2001 |
Stayed at Guoman Hanoi Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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We flew out of Hanoi's new international terminal on the 23/10/01 and the departure tax is now 14 USD. They will except dong, but as there are no exchange facilities make sure you have enough money. We were 50 cents short which thankfully another traveller lent us as the airport staff were not flexible!
Whilst at the new airport you can admire the bad signage and play 'hunt the toilet'!
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| P Schoonackers |
22 September 2001 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Being in Hanoi on business, the situation of the hotel in the middle of town was convenient. Enough taxis around.
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| M Gethen |
17 April 2001 |
Stayed at New World Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Saigon can be quite overwhelming at first. The onslaught of people in the streets - when you step foot outside the airport - all wanting to both help you and liberate you of the hard currency you're carrying can be daunting. Make sure you clarify with the taxi driver exactly what the fare will be (make sure you have either small denomination USD notes or get some Dong from the Airport currency exchange). If you go for a walk through the streets, be prepared to deal with the traffic, zealous cyclo drivers, merchants and peddlars, beggars and bag snatchers! It's a fantastic place, but don't expect it to be anything like other large Asian cities like Singapore, Hong Kong etc. If you can, spend the time to go and see the beauty that exists outside of Saigon. The beaches up north and the highlands are all worth exploring. My 24 hours in Saigon was an absolutely surreal experience.
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