Travel tales and tips for shopping in Vietnam by asiahotels.com

Traveller's Tales: Shopping suggestions in Vietnam

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G Vickers	09 March 2001
Stayed at Hoi An Hotel - Hoi An, Vietnam.
Hoi an is a good place for seeing the central parts of Vietnam. Check out the best ways to get to other cities as you can get delays on flights and train although this can sometimes not be seen in advance. there are some really good places to eat and good places to have clothes made try Thu Thao at 32 tran Phu.
N Jacobs	02 March 2001
Stayed at Rex Hotel Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
The location is ideal for shopping and restaurants.
S Lim	02 March 2001
Stayed at Green Park Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Hanoi has its own charm. However due to lack of maintanaince, it is not as charming as it was potrayed. The pace is slower compared to HCMC but once you get used to it, you will enjoy the difference. Not much of a place to shop here but you should enjoy the eateries in Hanoi. They have their own charm compared to the ones in HCMC.
S Lim	28 February 2001
Stayed at Bong Sen Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh has it owns charm. The transportation is easy to obtain and not too expensive. Once you get the hang of it, you will know how to move around. HCMC has a hustle not found in Hanoi. For that same reason, shopping for antiques and relics should be done in HCMC.
D Luketina	25 February 2001
Stayed at De Syloia Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Hanoi was a very pretty place. We mainly worked around the town. The art galleries in the old quarter are very interesting. The only problem with working around is you get hasselled by alot of street sellers and beggers. Taxis are quite cheap. We found that if you travel the same route and have a idea how much it cost you are better off naming the price you want to pay + tip rather then the meter because your journey will be alot shorter and quicker. When you take a tour of any kind make sure you find out if they drop you back at the hotel as we got caught out with one tour. They dropped us at there office at 7.00pm and we had to find a taxi to get home (not easy with a sleepy five year old.)
T Grisenti	15 February 2001
Stayed at Green Park Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
The shopping in Hang Gai Street, silk and linens was fabulous. The Fine Arts Museum was disappointing. Ho Chi Minhs Tomb was interesting and the surrounding gardens were fabulous.
F Ashinhurst	13 February 2001
Stayed at Lucky Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
Excellent trip to Ha Long Bay with Handspan tour. And the price is reasonable. To be recommended. The "Little Hanoi" is excellent for lunch. And the restaurant "Cha Ca La Vong" is to be recommended. Hanoi city is good for shooping and good to walk on foot because one feels safe and the trafic is not as bad as in H.C.M city.
S Mcbride	28 January 2001
Stayed at Rex Hotel Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
Camargue restaurant (French food) is highly recommended. Setting is wonderful-- you sit almost in the open air and it's hard to believe you're in the middle of Saigon. Food & service are very good. Alphana jewelry store, opposite Caravelle Hotel on Dong Khoi, had been recommended as having very unusual designs, but unfortunately it was closed when we were there (end of Tet). Here's what a friend who used to live in Saigon told me to do while there: Food/entertainment: you HAVE to go to Temple Bar - saigon's answer to the China Club. Temple Bar is a little hard to find, behind Sun Wah Tower on Nguyen Hue St, ask for directions. Also worth checking out is where everyone ends up....Underground on Dong Khoi St. Fantastic pizzas (and i hate the things normally, esp. the Thai Chicken one!) Italian food is Globo, however you HAVE to go to Mandarine on Ngo Van Nam and also Hoi An on Le THanh Ton, around the corner. For a laugh, check out the only true irish band in Asia, at Delaney's, the irish pub on Le Thanh Ton. Ex HK expat, Micheal Forsthye runs it and has put together this amazing irish band - consisting of vietnamese playing traditional irish instruments and singing along. Hysterical apparently. Shopping: Also ensure you check out SXS shop on pasteur street, Song on Dong Khoi..and generally Dong Khoi shops are great. Russian market - 2nd floor of it, opposite the Rex also worth a look. For art, head to Hong Hac Gallery, on Vo Van Tan St, district 3. Only decent, non rip off gallery in the country.
N Franke	28 January 2001
Stayed at Palace Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
hotel is centrally located within walking distance to many restaurants, shopping and museums; hotel personnel was helpful arranging day trips and confirming flights; travelled mostly by taxi - drivers were very nice.
L Lauer	26 January 2001
Stayed at Caravelle Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
If you use any of the travel agencies in town, make sure you get in writing exactly what places you will visit. Verbally we were told one thing and in actuality I believe some places were omitted. That aside, the 1, 2, or 3 day trips which many agencies offer are very reasonably priced. Visit the back- packers' area for a great variety of tour organizers and a ton of inexpensive restaurants (See Lonely Planet's Vietnam guidebook for great suggestions) Lotus Cafe and Kim Cafe were our favorites. A word of warning, if you take the Cu Chi tunnel trip combined with the temple trip, we found that we spent an awful lot of time in the van driving. It is probably a function of the lack of infrastructure, but just be warned that it could be a long day. Again, that aside the two places were worth the drive. Ancient Town Restaurant, which I have heard many foreigners sing praises about and was recently visited by former U.S. Pres Bill Clinton, turned out to be a bit overpriced and some of the food was just average in taste. Atmosphere was spectacular, but food/value ratio just didn't quite meet expectations. My friends and I also found that bargaining at the shops was not as fruitful as in other Asian cities. I felt that US$10/meter for silk was a bit outrageous and the store owner thought we were indeed getting a deal. Compared to Thailand and China, I beg to differ with him!!!! If you have clothes made in HCMC, watch out for the quality. Make sure the taxis run their meter versus negotiating a price upfront. We did both and found on average that the metered price was less expensive.

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