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 Vietnam travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Vietnam.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Central Vietnam city guide,
Halong Bay city guide,
Hanoi city guide,
Ho Chi Minh city guide,
and Phan Thiet city guide.
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| S Chee |
10 April 2005 |
Stayed at Bong Sen Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Buy a taxi coupon from the airport, hotels all charge too much...more than double. USD4-5 will get you into the heart of town while the hotels charge anything from USD12-22 for pick up service. Taxis are generally reliable but make sure they use the meter. Vietnamese food, especially the noodles (pho) are great and there are now chains eg Pho24 just around the corner from this hotel, that offer good fare at prices slightly above local stores but they are clean and hygienic.
The highlight was a local restaurant within about 300m of the Reunification Palace that served fabulous local food at very reasonable prices. It is a restaurant housed in an old bungalow with seating both inside and al fresco with about 20 stalls lining the sides. Ask the hotel staff about the LOCAL restaurants for local fare and they will helpfully recommend them. We only took a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels which are well worth a visit. The firing range with charges of USD 1 per bullet is cheap compared to Phuket in Thailand which charges USD2 per bullet.The Russian Market at Saigon Sq and the BinTanh Market are worth exploring. There are bargains to be had for clothing, back packs and practically everything else. Good quality coffee can be bought at the latter. Be VERY careful when crossing roads, the motorbikes are everywhere and they don't necessary obey traffic lights!!
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| A King |
08 April 2005 |
Stayed at Ana Mandara Resort - Nha Trang, Vietnam.
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Nha Trang is a lovely place. Spend the day on the beach then head into town in the evening. All the restaurants and bars are on the road one back from the beach road. We enjoyed the BBQ restaurant Canh Lac most - it's at the North end of town by the river. A full meal for two came to something like $10.
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| B Londergan |
07 April 2005 |
Stayed at Dong An Beach Hotel - Hoi An, Vietnam.
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Definitely rent a bike ($1/day) so you can bike into town -- that way you're not tied to a shuttle schedule or paying for motorcycle rides every two minutes. Great internet places along the road into town. The Safari (?) restaurant just down the road is great -- owned by a Vietnamese woman and her California husband, and there's also a crab place right on the water that's meant to be lovely, although we didn't go there. On the road to town, the Gado restaurant is good. Buy as much stuff as you can -- specially lanterns, art work, ties, silk, etc. -- you'll love it when you get home and it only seems heavy now! Check out all the calisthentics on the beach at dawn -- it's really adorable.
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| M Daly (extension) |
05 April 2005 |
Stayed at Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Bin Thanh market is terrific for shopping - get there on a za um (motorbike) - fun and cheap. Visit the Mekong Delta and see Eco-tourism in action; visit the tunnels at Cu Chi for a dose of claustrophobia! Local people are warm, friendly and welcoming - enjoy!
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| R Isaksen |
04 April 2005 |
Stayed at Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Saigon is a vibrant city, and Vietnam counrtyside is beautiful and interesting. It's a place to visit before it becomes too "touristy". Lots of people watching. Streets are safe, and fun to walk. Prices, even in the big hotels are still below average. Ann's Tours was exceptional. My wife is in a wheelchair, they arranged tours even on the Mekong Delta small boats and the Cu chi tunnels, having extra help along the way. The guide and driver were very helpful.
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| J Steuernagel |
03 April 2005 |
Stayed at Kimdo Royal City Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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The Sihn Cafe located in the backpack section of District 1 offers many day trips to the Mekong Delta, Chu Chi Tunnel and transfers to Cambodia. The prices are rock bottom, $7 to 15 USD. In that same area, stop by Go2 for a fresh pizza and a cold 50 cent beer. If you're backpacking, upgrade for the latest North Face or Low Alpine model pack, $15 for a 60-80 liter bag! By Dong Khoi Street there are a lot of quaint, trendy places to pick up sandwiches for lunch, coffe or fruit smoothy. Try Juice or Cafe Java. If you have time, go north on Hwy 1 to Mui Ne. There are many quality beach resorts. We stayed at Coco Beach and were very impressed. Enjoy Vietnam!
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| L Lawson |
02 April 2005 |
Stayed at Bong Sen Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Just down the street from the hotel is Juice, a multi-level restaurant. Okay, its emphasis is not authentic Vietnamese cuisine, but it has an abundance of not-to-be missed smoothies (non-dairy and otherwise) and other fruit drinks. Equally delicious are the offerings on the sandwich, salad, pizza, and dessert menu; plus they offer a page of specials that change monthly.
A good tour is a day tour of the Mekong River delta; we booked through a reputable company in the backpackers' district. I think the name was Ban Thranh.
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| M Gerard (2nd call) |
30 March 2005 |
Stayed at Kimdo Royal City Hotel - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.
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Stayed at the Kimdo Hotel and it is literally next door to the TAX dept store. Not only did we use the supermarket for food, actually bought T-shirts, ao dai's, robes,etc in the supermarket.!!! There is a fountain in front of the Opera and we would go there in the evening...when families were there with their children! Great fun. Our most memorable day was the one when we went to DAM SEN PARK, District 11..we took a taxi and spent a Sunday with all the locals! We were the only caucasians there. We got stared at, bowed to, asked to be in photos with them,etc. For one whole day, there was not a vendor in sight who wanted us to buy anything! Another great place to mingle with the locals: Quan An Ngon restaurant at 138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia...decent food and VERY few tourists. Had lunch one day at Vietnam House and I'd highly recommend it too. Our biggest disappointment in all of Vietnam was our 2 day Mekong delta trip. We signed on with Delta Adventures (highly recommended from Lonely Planet AND people we met along the way). Do not think they stuck to the itinerary. It was a very lackluster two days. Forgot to mention that although it IS a long day, thought the Cao Dai Temple was VERY impressive and worthwhile.
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| A Sternenberg |
27 March 2005 |
Stayed at Hoi An Pacific Hotel - Hoi An, Vietnam.
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Do not lose your time going to MY SON Cham site, except if you are mad of history and archeology! Angkor is not so far and a really more interesting natural site for non initiated people! Walking around in Hoi Han is far more pleasant!
I really recommend you to come for the festival taking place in Hoi Han every year in March or April (depend on the year), many people, many lights in the night... Hoi Han city becomes beautiful!
Enjoy!
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| O Patrick |
27 March 2005 |
Stayed at Hilton Hanoi Opera Hotel - Hanoi, Vietnam.
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Hanoi is fantastic I think it is what most people would say Asian cities were 30 years ago. It is not overdeveloped it has beautiful areas and the people have generally not been affected by the onslaught of westerners and tourism. I strongly recommend the tour guide agency "I love Vietnam" located on Buoi St. Ha noi, It has a cafe at street level (great food) and agency upstairs, it is owned by vietnamese & europeon partner with a view to social and ecological tourism. You must make the trip to The Perfume Pagoda, Do not go on a weekend it is very busy. The food tour of Ha noi is also a great way to gain understanding of the culture. We will be returning in 6 months to undertake a longer tour to the mountains and central vietnam with "I love Vietnam" travel agency.
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