Travel & Holidays Vietnam here I come

So I'm travelling to Vietnam first week of September for 4 days and quite excited as its my first time there - I'm going to be staying at the Intercontinental hotel and have limited time so want to get the most out of the time I have.

At this stage I'm "things to do list" is pretty tragic:

1. Try Pho

Does anyone have any recommendations?

 

Pho there is the same as here.

But what isn't are those those pork rolls they sell at the bakery. The ones they sell there are a little different and worth trying.

 

Try bia hoi, locally made beer made fresh each night, more in the north but can be found in most parts. Awesome sitting on the street at night chugging a few with the locals.

 

Where are you going?

Choice Aggregation held a broker conference in HCMC last year - it was a lot of fun.

Bun cha gio is what you want to eat - I love that stuff. It's become my Friday ritual to grab a bowl of it from the local Vietnamese place.

Cheers

Jamie

 

Try a scorpion on a stick

 

These are commonly know as 'scorpsicles'. If the vendor gives you a strange look after you ask for one, like 'What the hell is a scorpsicle?' don't worry about it, just shout 'I WOULD LIKE A SCORPSICLE' really loudly and really slowly. Preferably with an American accent. They'll understand the second time, for sure.

 

yeah id be hurting the banh mi. just follow your nose and eyes, ask locals for tips, avoid the foreign filled joints at all times.

international rules for travelling

 

Which city? HCMC or Hanoi? (Or somewhere else?) If you are going to Hanoi spend a day at Halong Bay - it's very pretty!

 

most of my friends havent had any problems eating off the street in vietnam, thailand or malaysia. it's indo that seems to get people, in particular bali.

if something is hot youre generally fine, obviously this isnt the case with banh mi but if a place has enough turnover the stuff should be ok

going to SEA and not eating off the street would be a sin imo

 

If you're going to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), go check out the food stalls in Ben Thanh Market. Pretty good tasting.

Also, Pho Ga (chicken) is more popular over there and taste better than Pho Bo (Beef).

As for crossing the road, its not that bad. Just walk at normal place, stop in the middle of road, and the motorcycles will avoid you. That said, cars won't, so stay out of the way of cars
Tip: Cross when other people cross and you'll be fine.

Seeing its not until September, get a CitibankPlus card if you don't already have one. There are several Citibank ATM's around (one at Saigon airport). Last month when i went there I used the Citibank ATM, the rate I got was better than the rate shown on XE.com. I made of a profit of 49 cents! Score!

Taxi's are dirt cheap, but don't get suckered by the dodgy ones waiting at the airport. Look for MaiLinh or VinaSun taxis (if you're in Saigon). When we landed in Saigon, this guy approaches us and flashes his taxi card telling us he's a Vinasun driver. I asked him where his taxi was, he said in the parking lot, so i knew he dodge. Still I played along, i asked him how much to District 1, he said $60 USD, I said I'm going to Ben Thanh, he said ohh ok $25 USD. Real cost was $150k Dong or $9 AUD. Me and my wife played it safe and prepaid a private car @ $220,000 dong instead ($13 AUD) because we didn't want to start our trip on a bad experience.

 

Also, we didn't end up booking tours with these people (we had a 18 month old with us), but they are rated quite highly on tripadvisor.

We did speak to the guy on the phone and he quite helpful and spoke very good english.

https://xotours.vn/

 

When I was in Saigon highlights were ... Apocalypse Now bar (late), American War Crimes museum, grilled snake at a restaurant, multi day tour of Mekong delta.

 

Shahin, we'll send you an email with our recommendations. Remind me next week if we still haven't done so.

 

Talking about taxi trips... I went back to the airport on the back of a guys motorbike. What about luggage I hear you ask? No worries. He transported my large suitcase in the gap front of him between his body and the handlebars. He could hardly see over it... but overloading motorbikes is not uncommon in Vietnam. 5 person families would often travel on 1 bike... anyway, my airport transport was very cheap...

 

Yep staying @ HCMC. Not keen on testing out my stomach with Scorpins and what not.

More interested in checking out some historical and architectural sites.

The American War Crimes museum sounds good so will check it out.

 

Go visit Cuchi tunnels... war is so sad...

 

I heard about the tunnels but forgot what they were called - will check it out.