Three Days in Saigon

[OldConch]

Greetings from the Inland Northwest. We're joining a 10 day hike, bike, and kayak tour from HCMC to Hanoi in early March but will be on our own in HCMC for 3 days prior. Any suggestions on day trips, food, in-city tours, currency, clothing, phone, etc., etc.? On the tour, we'll spend time in Hoi An, Hue, Mai Chau, Halong Bay, and Hanoi. Thanks in advance!

BTW, the week after we booked, we learned that the Donald will be meeting with Kim in Vietnam on the day we arrive. Hopefully it'll be in the north and won't affect our plans.

 

[brett]

Two years ago we spent a month from mid Feb to mid March travelling through
Vietnam. It was wonderful and you are wise to go now because the country is changing rapidly. The people are very friendly.

Day tours are relatively inexpensive when you buy them in county either from tour agents or your hotel. Internet is absolutely everywhere...the best ever. We did not have our cell phones so cannot comment. We did a number of private and organized day tours. I would advise getting hold of a Lonely Planet or some other tour book to review potential tours in various areas. We did custom day trips in Hoi An (beautiful at night with all the lanterns lit ), Hue, and DaLat. We paid about $45 Usd for the private tour, often including a driver. It was easy to join tours in Saigon and Hanoi. We also arranged an overnight home stay tour in the Mekong Delta that was interesting.

The food was wonderful. We had no issue eating the street food since we have done this on several winters in SE Asia. We only ate the local food.

ATMs are another issue. When were were there the max withdrawal was 2M at most and 3M dong at the agriculture bank ATMs.

 

[Peter]

Two years ago we spent a month from mid Feb to mid March travelling through
Vietnam. It was wonderful and you are wise to go now because the country is changing rapidly. The people are very friendly.

We were in Vietnam at the same time as Brett, and would agree with all his comments.

In Saigon, we did a motorbike tour: https://www.itourvn.com/

The one we went on was 'Saigon, the Other Side'. Fascinating. Guides were excellent and the whole thing was very well organized. We were a bit uncertain about hanging on to the backs of motorbikes, but the driver/guides were very careful. It ended up being one of our best experiences of the vacation.

 

[OldConch]

Peter and Brett, thanks for sharing your personal experiences. Based on your comments, I think we'll wait until in-country to book day tours. The street food and motorbike tours sound right up our alley. Brett, I appreciate your comment on rapid change. "Walking" around our AirBnB on Google Earth, I noticed a McDonalds right around the corner. Snow is blowing sideways here today so a trip to the tropics will be quite the change.

 

[braumeister]

"Walking" around our AirBnB on Google Earth, I noticed a McDonalds right around the corner.

Forget about that (if you were even contemplating it)!
As others said, I'm quite certain you will enjoy the local food.

 

[OldConch]

Forget about that (if you were even contemplating it)!
As others said, I'm quite certain you will enjoy the local food.

Thanks for the comment.

Haven't set foot in a McD's since we started Keto last May. As of this morning I'm down 39 pounds and SO is down 25. Don't miss sugar or grains at all and wish we'd done this 20 years ago.

I used this as an example of the rapid change in Viet Nam that Brett mentioned.

We cannot wait to try the street food in the different cities in Viet Nam.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

Was last in Saigon for a few days in 2017.
I'm kind of a fan of Mark Wiens so we tracked down a few of his food recommendations in Saigon. We ate at a few of his recommendations for banh mi, op la, and bun thit nuong which were good. Words of caution: some of the places might be closed, some of the locations were a slight off on google maps, and some are a bit of a trek. If you do take a taxi, which are cheap, make sure it's a Mai Linh or Vinasun.

We also tracked down the Saigon outlet of the famous Hanoi cha ca la vong. It's good but overpriced. If you're heading to Hanoi, you can eat at the original location.

On a previous trip, we tracked down the Lunch Lady, made famous by Anthony Bourdain. It was ok/good enough to make an activity out of it but it's not a must do. Be aware that tag-alongs will also try to place other dishes like goi cuon on your table.

Currency: Some of the ATM's were hit and miss in terms of being able to get cash out of them. There are a few HSBC ATM's around where we had better luck.

Phone: Prepaid sim cards are really cheap. Even though it'll be cheaper in town, we just got a mobifone card at the airport. Found coverage by mobifone very good as I was able to make a google video call to a friend walking back from cat cat village to Sapa on another trip.

 

[JPatrick]

Two years ago we spent a month from mid Feb to mid March travelling through
Vietnam. It was wonderful and you are wise to go now because the country is changing rapidly. The people are very friendly.
.

Curious as to what changes make it important to take the trip soon.

 

[Peter]

Curious as to what changes make it important to take the trip soon.

In brief: the major towns and cities are rapidly 'westernizing'.

 

[OldConch]

Was last in Saigon for a few days in 2017.
I'm kind of a fan of Mark Wiens so we tracked down a few of his food recommendations in Saigon. We ate at a few of his recommendations for banh mi, op la, and bun thit nuong which were good. Words of caution: some of the places might be closed, some of the locations were a slight off on google maps, and some are a bit of a trek. If you do take a taxi, which are cheap, make sure it's a Mai Linh or Vinasun.

We also tracked down the Saigon outlet of the famous Hanoi cha ca la vong. It's good but overpriced. If you're heading to Hanoi, you can eat at the original location.

On a previous trip, we tracked down the Lunch Lady, made famous by Anthony Bourdain. It was ok/good enough to make an activity out of it but it's not a must do. Be aware that tag-alongs will also try to place other dishes like goi cuon on your table.

Currency: Some of the ATM's were hit and miss in terms of being able to get cash out of them. There are a few HSBC ATM's around where we had better luck.

Phone: Prepaid sim cards are really cheap. Even though it'll be cheaper in town, we just got a mobifone card at the airport. Found coverage by mobifone very good as I was able to make a google video call to a friend walking back from cat cat village to Sapa on another trip.

Great advice. Thanks. I've seen Mark Wiens videos on YouTube but didn't come across his top 25 blog. Great resource for a 1st timer to Saigon. Your points of caution are duly noted.

I've heard that some people prefer Grab to taxis. I downloaded the app and we'll try it out.

Just spent 30 minutes on Mark Wiens blog. Amazing. I love how he describes himself as a "full time travel eater."

 

[Koogie]

Three days in Saigon ? Can't help you.

But I understand One Night In Bangkok will make a hard man crumble... lol

 

[JPatrick]

In brief: the major towns and cities are rapidly 'westernizing'.

OK I got it, it is a bit far to go for a Big Mac.

 

[OldConch]

Three days in Saigon ? Can't help you.

But I understand One Night In Bangkok will make a hard man crumble... lol

humble...Good song. Very funny.

 

[brett]

Two years ago we did a tour out to the tunnels. It was very good. About ten of us in the van. Booked it at an agency near our hotel. $18. USD. Left at nine, back ar 2ish with a stop at a craft store (as per). We found the war museum interesting. Completely different perspective. had my shoes repaired by a repair person on the ‘shoe street’. Best repair ever, lowest price ever.

If you are going to Hanoi and are looking at a Halong Bay. Raise beware of bait and switch. Sell you on one ship then when you get picked up in the AM you are magically on another ship.

HVe fun crossing those wide streets in Saigon and Hanoi especially. Follow how the locals do it otherwise you may never cross the street!

 

[OldConch]

Brett, Reviewing links in my travel folder, I found this old thread. In addition to some great tips on budget travel from you and Nemo2, you mentioned Vietnam several times. Hadn't really considered VN prior to this. Thanks for the spark that led to this trip. I also liked your posts on extended travel. If this trip works out we try a longer trip next year.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/is-12-000-per-year-in-travel-enough-80701.html

 

[brett]

We think Vietnam is changing rapidly. More industry, more tourists.

We have spent the last five out of seven winters in Thailand. This year we really seem to notice the differences in Thailand from just seven years ago. More visitors to the island, more chains, and some folks seem to be busier and more stressed. We have to consider next year when we get home. Vietnam is probably headed the same way.

What attracts us to Thailand and Vietnam is what attracts us to Greece. It is so easy to travel. People are friendly, prices reasonable, good transportion, interesting, easy to reach neighbouring countries And of course lots of fabulous ocean/great beaches. Our type is spontaneous travel is so easy to do hear. With one e caption perhaps...the Lunar New Year.

 

[OldConch]

Trip update - We loved our time in Saigon. Bui Vien Walking Street and Ben Thanh Market were a blast. We did some of the local landmarks, a Mekong Delta trip, and Cu Chi tunnels, but spent most of our time hanging out in the neighborhoods around our Airbnb. As Brett suggested, travel in Vietnam was easy. The people were friendly, the food was out-of-this-world good and fresh, and we felt safe throughout our travels. The traffic in Saigon was INSANE. Scooters, scooters everywhere, honking, driving against traffic, on the sidewalk, carrying multiple passengers, ladders, refrigerators, all without the benefit of traffic signals. Interestingly, we saw not one accident. Someone told us that there were approx. 9 million residents and 7.5 million scooters in the city.

After Saigon, our tour with G Adventures was excellent. It was our first tour. The group of 12 got along well and our travel by bike, boat, train, scooter, car, bus, plane, and foot all went off without a hiccup. We rode through rice paddies, made rice noodles, drank snake wine, and ate dinner at the home of friends of our guide. Our homestay in Mai Chau and night on Halong Bay were highlights of the trip.

This was our first SE Asia experience and we're already in the planning stages for our next most likely longer visit. Thanks for all the suggestions!

 

[Amethyst]

That song went through my head too

Three days in Saigon ? Can't help you.

But I understand One Night In Bangkok will make a hard man crumble... lol

 

[brett]

I want to go back. We will probably combine Vietnam with our Thailand winter trip next year.

OldConch...your comments made me want to return. For us, this area is such a great place to escape winter and explore different countries.