Authentic Saigon

[Butterfly]

here Ho Chi Min again in all his splendor at the Post Office,

[Butterfly]

some random pics,

[Rural Surin]

Nice images, Butters. Times gone by....some things never change and some do. Will always have a place in my soul for Saigon. Not your Saigon, but mine. Cheers!

[masher]

For those thinking of going to Ho Chi Minh City I wanted to see a bit of the 'suburbs' and went down to the Sai Gon river front taking the ferry across to the other side. My first shock was to appreciate that the hundreds of scooters and motors bike in the city have to go somewhere other than just the city. For 500 Dong or so I was on the shuttle ferry but my God it had hundreds of bikes filling the drive-on deck but no cars. Obviously I had to wait to get off the ferry with the two other walk-on passengers as a cavalry of blue smoking bikes charged off the ferry. This place was not meant and frequented for and by tourists. Very few hawkers approached me and no westerners were in sight. Being tall I always stand out in Asia but people are polite and gee, I was as well. I spent an hour 'observing' . I walked down a narrow path between houses to look around when a voice said 'Hello, where are you from'? No sales pitch so I chatted for a while. People choose to live this side because its cheap and is a safe community. People from other parts of Vietnam not necessarily welcome. I went back to the ferry and while on board a mechanic came to me and chatted to practice English. I I then walked further down alongside the river to the Hydrofoil ferry and took the 09.00 trip to Vung Tau, the beacside resort and oil town for then $10. Westerners were segregated onto the front of the enclosed craft so they had better views, commuters were at the back where they could snooze. The trip time is 90 mins, going down the twisting river and its various international shipping docks for every type of ship including cruise ships. For much of the trip the banks were effectively jungle. A worthwhile side trip

[Marmite the Dog]

total waste of money in a third world country, shameful for a communist country

Par for the course in a Commie country.

[porno frank]

Real cool scenic pics of saigon.

[jimmymck]

Friendly or not so much as many people who traveled there told me ?

a bunch of scammers and thieves giving even Thais a good name.

Could not agree more, i travelled North to South could not wait to get out of there. F*cking shite hole.

Food was crap apart from some of the spring rolls, can't get to excited about abit of french bread with some pate in it really. Constant hassle from every angle it seemed at times all Looking at you with glum faces not understanding why you don't want to buy a bookmark for the 1,000 time that hour.

The bit that did my swede in was this, i was with the missus and she is Thai, about 20 times a day people would talk to her in Vietnamese which is fair enough as these Asians all look pretty much the same, but when she said "I'm not Vietnamese i am Thai" they would stand there and have a look of amazement on their face and say "WOW"!!!! "you look so Vietnamese"...then looking at me as if to say "amazing isn't how an Asian looks like another Asian..??"

No shit Shirlock...

Its like a white bloke talking English to another white bloke and he say's i am not English i am German...we don't stand there shouting "WOW" and speechless with this outcome..

All they are doing is teeing you up to fleece you trying to sell you shit.



Nice photo's though..

[buycondojomtien]

Hahaha, not encouraging to travel there...

Anyway, in South east Asia it seems that only Thai and Lao are nice people, and i wonder why the other ones all are axx (except the muslim, we know why :-) )

[Butterfly]

if you are doing business there, I can see how it could be difficult

but the local girls were lovely, very nice, but that was Saigon, as you move to the North, it becomes more Chinese, and therefore shitty

[travelinasia]

My favourite place in vietnam is the Vinpearl resort in Nha Trang .. The "Disneyland" of Southeast Asia .. great place for a family vacation!

[Up2U]

Friendly or not so much as many people who traveled there told me ?

a bunch of scammers and thieves giving even Thais a good name.

Could not agree more, i travelled North to South could not wait to get out of there. F*cking shite hole.

Food was crap apart from some of the spring rolls, can't get to excited about abit of french bread with some pate in it really. Constant hassle from every angle it seemed at times all Looking at you with glum faces not understanding why you don't want to buy a bookmark for the 1,000 time that hour.

The bit that did my swede in was this, i was with the missus and she is Thai, about 20 times a day people would talk to her in Vietnamese which is fair enough as these Asians all look pretty much the same, but when she said "I'm not Vietnamese i am Thai" they would stand there and have a look of amazement on their face and say "WOW"!!!! "you look so Vietnamese"...then looking at me as if to say "amazing isn't how an Asian looks like another Asian..??"

No shit Shirlock...

Its like a white bloke talking English to another white bloke and he say's i am not English i am German...we don't stand there shouting "WOW" and speechless with this outcome..

All they are doing is teeing you up to fleece you trying to sell you shit.



Nice photo's though..

The Viets are a completely different ethnic group to the Lao/Thai/Cambodian lot. There are, as you should know, different ethnic groups in these three countries as well. Some Chinese Han-based, others from the older Thai tribes that were driven out of China by the Han.

The Viets were occupiers of the northern part of Vietnam, having been another tribe or clan driven out of China, The Cham occupied the South, but various aggressive kings rose and fell, each pushing the Viets further south and giving their conquered foes the namy 'Nguyen', as meaning that they belonged to the royal family (belonged in the sense of being serfs).

In the mountains are still several of the original tribes, living in a more traditional way, but way behind the progress of the lowland areas.

Get to know them, speak a little of the language and the people of the south are friendly. The northerners are a pain, however.

[Up2U]

For those thinking of going to Ho Chi Minh City I wanted to see a bit of the 'suburbs' and went down to the Sai Gon river front taking the ferry across to the other side. My first shock was to appreciate that the hundreds of scooters and motors bike in the city have to go somewhere other than just the city. For 500 Dong or so I was on the shuttle ferry but my God it had hundreds of bikes filling the drive-on deck but no cars. Obviously I had to wait to get off the ferry with the two other walk-on passengers as a cavalry of blue smoking bikes charged off the ferry. This place was not meant and frequented for and by tourists. Very few hawkers approached me and no westerners were in sight. Being tall I always stand out in Asia but people are polite and gee, I was as well. I spent an hour 'observing' . I walked down a narrow path between houses to look around when a voice said 'Hello, where are you from'? No sales pitch so I chatted for a while. People choose to live this side because its cheap and is a safe community. People from other parts of Vietnam not necessarily welcome. I went back to the ferry and while on board a mechanic came to me and chatted to practice English. I I then walked further down alongside the river to the Hydrofoil ferry and took the 09.00 trip to Vung Tau, the beacside resort and oil town for then $10. Westerners were segregated onto the front of the enclosed craft so they had better views, commuters were at the back where they could snooze. The trip time is 90 mins, going down the twisting river and its various international shipping docks for every type of ship including cruise ships. For much of the trip the banks were effectively jungle. A worthwhile side trip

The Westerners are in Districts 2 and 7, mainly. You have bridges across the rivers to reach these, as against the ferry that goes directly across the Sai Gon River. District 2 is an area of two halves, divided by National Highway 1. The northern side is where all the embassy people and rich f**kers live, the southern side is where I and a few thousand Viets live. We have local shops, resto's and banks, the other side has expensive shops, restaurants, bars and international schools.

But there are 40,000 expats in Sai Gon, working in various capacities. And most also use the motorbike (scooter) as the main form of transport. Luckily I have a company car and driver and I would advise any would-be engineer or banker thinking of VN as a working base to do the same. I see an accident just about every day involving scooters - this morning we went past a couple of tangled bikes, a woman holding a baby with a mouth full of blood. The family travels together, babies not old enough to sit being held by their mothers. Sometimes both parents and three kids on a scooter. Really is dangerous to be in control of a vehicle -scooters are at least ten to every 100 metres of road.

[Up2U]

I was looking at going later in the year with my young family. Is it family orientated and how did you get there ? Thanks

Lots of flights from BKK to SGN.

Family place, definitely. If you have young kids, you'll need a light pushchair/stroller. Otherwise the kids are safe if you emphasise that they must not cross a road without you, and watch for scooters on the sidewalks (as in much of Thailand).

I'd recomment a hotel in the middle of District 1 - such as Tan Hai Long 3, on Ho Tung Mau Street. About US$ 50 per night, room for parents and one or two kids.

Check on visas before you go. There is an airport visa avaiable for US$50, but you may do better for family - I don't know. ASEAN citizens are visa-free, for a 21-day visit.

Plenty of places within walking distance, even for little kids, and the hotel I mentioned will fix you up with guided tours if you want.

[Up2U]

Sadly, the Russians have arrived about 3 years ago and started to build money laundering properties like this huge modern tower, completely empty in the middle of Saigon

FYI - The tower is called "Bitexco Financial Tower" and is built by Bitexco - a Vietnamese textile company. The tower is empty because it has just been finished in Dec 2010

By the way, your photos are great!

Bitexco are branching out into a lot of property development - the Mansion development (high-end residential blocks) is another of their investments.

There is a lot of development going on - in a few years the concept of a capital city as laid out by the French will have been messed up by a lot of new office towers sinking slowly into the mud.

But that's progress, folks!!

[Up2U]

The tower is empty because it has just been finished in Dec 2010

what about Vitcom Center ? it has been built for quite a while and it's empty despite the big brand name shops there,

total waste of money in a third world country, shameful for a communist country

It has caught on over the past month or two, not as crowded as Parkson's on the other side of the road, but with a lot of basement eateries it attracts a different clientele. I go to the local stores, rather than these fancy places for most things, but when I want a designer-brand suit, there is nowhere better.

[Otis]

I'm new to this site and I'm really impressed with the quality of photos and messages here.

I've been back to Saigon twice since 1970. Everything in Saigon seems to be changing so fast. Many of the buildings look the same but I just feel older.