| B Bouvier |
23 October 2004 |
Stayed at Oscar Saigon Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
|
I was only in Ho Chi Minh one night, but walked to Notre Dame Cathedral, the War History Museum, People's Committee Hall, City Opera House, and the Saigon River in a very short period of time. Very Helpful Booking agent got me a ticket to my destination, Hue, very inexpensively.
|
| S Wong |
13 October 2004 |
Stayed at Que Huong - Liberty 3 - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
|
Try to use Vietnam Dong as much as possible when paying for cyclo rides or shopping at markets. If you use USD, you end up paying a little more. Beef noodle soup is the best at Pho Hoa restaurant, Pasteur Street.
|
| J Lee |
04 October 2004 |
Stayed at International Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
|
We went to cao-dai, cu-ci tunnel, vinh-long, cai-be. Very worth it. Food in Vietnam is a bit trying after 3 days. There is not much variety. They should try various ways of serving this very nice Pho (rice noodles) and not just with beef and its related innards. Out of all the taxis, only 1 taxi took us on a long long route and we had to pay about 9000dong more than normal, other taxis were honest. English language spoken by taxi driver is almost non existent but they all are literates and can read street names instructions.
|
| C Usher-clark |
02 September 2004 |
Stayed at Rex Hotel Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
|
We had two nights in Ho Chi Minh and I wish that we had been able to stay longer, but our whistle stop 3 week tour of Cambodia/Vietnam did not allow. Cu Chi are worth the effort (1/2 day tour about $20-25 for "non-backpacker budget" group tour depending whether entrance fee of $4 included or not) but watch which tunnels you go to. There are actually two sets of tunnels open to visitors - the Ben Dinh tunnels were actually used during the war, though they have been slightly widened and cleaned up since; the Ben Duoc tunnels are "reconstructions" built for tourism.
If you want to do the Mekong Delta you need to do at least a two day trip to get any real value out of it as it is quite a journey to get to the heart of it from HCMC. September 2 annually is National Day (when we were in HCMC) and was an amazing experience - it is the day that Vietnam declared its independence from the Japanese and French in 1945 and the city was covered in flags. It was a real family/party atmosphere.
Ate in Lemongrass (Vietnamese)/La Fourchette (traditional French) and the Mandarin (Chinese) - all in the Lonely Planet and all very good - but the Mandarin is noticeably more expensive and a little out of the way. Skip the water puppets here and see them in Hanoi.
|
| C Chen |
28 August 2004 |
Stayed at Majestic Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
|
Near New World hotel, there is a backpackers' villa. Pubs there sell great cheap-eats. Internet service is provided in some small hotels at a rate of 100dong/min. near majestic hotel, dong khoi street is a good spot for surfing the net and for having some bites.
|
| P Gajda |
25 August 2004 |
Stayed at Huong Giang Hotel - Hue, Vietnam.
|
Hue is a wonderful destination in Vietnam. Highly recommended to spend 2 full days: one day sightseeing in/around Hue. Second day rent a boat for a cruise / sightseeing up the Perfume river.
|
| P Carr |
17 August 2004 |
Stayed at Palace Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
|
Saigon is an excellent place to start a holiday in Vietnam. Travelling on open tour buses was a new experience seeing some wonderful scenery and meeting local and overseas travellers. Hoi An, Dalat and Mui Ne
where outstanding places to visit.
Can recommend shopping at Saigon Tourist Plaza in Ho Chi Minh.
Will certainly be visiting Vietnam again next year.
|
| J Cleator |
10 August 2004 |
Stayed at New World Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
|
We went to Saigo, Hoi An and Hanoi. Hoi An was a graceful old town that made you feel like you had been transported back a few hundred years. We stayed in this old Chinese Trading house that had been converted into a hotel right in the middle of the old town. Michael Caine stayed there while filming the Quiet American. Beautiful rooms at the front of the hotel furnished with antiques and with a lovely balcony looking out onto the street. The staff were very friendly and helpful.
|
| C Chubb |
03 August 2004 |
Stayed at Yasaka Saigon Nhatrang Hotel - Nha Trang, Vietnam.
|
Nha Trang is a lively resort town with many travellers hotels and bars. A good place to stop for a bit a beach time.
The hot springs, boat trips in the bay and lazing on the beach are all recommended.
It is worth noting that the new airport is 35 minutes drive from town and will cost around $10US for a taxi.
|
| T Lambert |
25 July 2004 |
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
|
The hotel staff recommended both the Army Museum and Ethnology Museums which were both excellent. We walked all around the old town and the French part of town easily. Good sidewalks and not crowded at all. Circumnavigating the traffic gets a bit hairy but as long as you walk through the traffic in a predictable manner, i.e. no jerky stops and starts or running then the traffic just "flows" around you. Take tea tree oil or nit/head lice spray as we encountered a large number of shops where shopkeepers were searching each others heads for the critters. One of our children brought back nits in her hair which we have been trying to eradicate for the last month!!!
|
Traveller's Tales: Places to go and see in Vietnam
