Vietnam first visit report

[fishlocker]

Really cool shot. A pic of you taking a shot of him. Brilliant immagry.

[crocman]

Good thread mate. Haven't made it to Vietnam yet but I am always impressed at how clean the streets in pics always seem to be in comparison to other Asian cities. Did you find this to be the case?

[malcy]

Hi crocman , yes parts of it are clean and some not ,same as anywhere I suppose .I enjoyed it what i saw of it that is ,the only thing that ruined it for me was the incessant horn blowing .Hanoi was very interesting and I recently saw a programme about a place called Ninh binh not far from Hanoi , it looks incredible I really am going to make an effort to see it one day , google it and have a look .

[cdnski12]

You need a Polarizing Filter on your camera lens; or reset the White Balance during the bright, sunny daytime.

[malcy]

What I need is to stop using my phone and get a decent camera .

[ossierob]

My son is heading to Hanoi this week....I will probably go in another month....thanks for the info on the accommodation...we might try it...any pretrip info is good

[barrylad66]

Impressed with Vietnam and will return, probably try and get Hoi An and Halong Bay included next time.

Good thread roamer.i wanted to check out halong bay but the typhoon came in so had to give it a miss, i can highly recommend hoi an though, decent beach and an interesting little town, im toying with the idea of flying with vietnam airlines from vientiane to Vinh ( new route) they are having a promo at the moment $138 return, ive heard the beach is good there to,(Cua Lo) went through vinh years ago but it wasnt much of a place, vietnam ticks all the boxes for me, good food, beer, beaches and the girls are easy on the eye

have to agree with you on hoi an,a great place to while away a few days and the architecture was great

[roamer]

Impressed with Vietnam and will return, probably try and get Hoi An and Halong Bay included next time.

Good thread roamer.i wanted to check out halong bay but the typhoon came in so had to give it a miss, i can highly recommend hoi an though, decent beach and an interesting little town, im toying with the idea of flying with vietnam airlines from vientiane to Vinh ( new route) they are having a promo at the moment $138 return, ive heard the beach is good there to,(Cua Lo) went through vinh years ago but it wasnt much of a place, vietnam ticks all the boxes for me, good food, beer, beaches and the girls are easy on the eye

Thanks BLD, I had been planning to visit Hoi An but a combination of slack planning , enjoying Saigon so much and hearing that it might be raining heavily there made me go to Vang Tau instead.

[roamer]

Arc de Triomphe



















































Entrance to Central Post office, an old but fully functioning large post office

























Inside













































































More pics to follow

[roamer]

Good thread mate. Haven't made it to Vietnam yet but I am always impressed at how clean the streets in pics always seem to be in comparison to other Asian cities. Did you find this to be the case?

Hi crocman, Thanks and sorry have just come back to the thread.

Yes, I thought Saigon was fairly clean, people would throw some rubbish in to the street but it seemed to get cleaned away without too much delay.

That was my impression anyway.

Noticed another poster`s comment about the almost constant horn blowing, that was certainly the case by the taxi drivers.


Overall it is a place I would re visit and maybe even spend more time in.

[katie23]

Nice pics, brings back memories. I'll revisit it later this year.

Is the HSBC building still across the cathedral? Or is it another building now?

What I didn't like about Saigon were the crazy motorcycle drivers (but then that's true for most of Vietnam, I think). My mom & I had a little mishap with a drunk moto driver, good thing we weren't hit much.

[barbaro]

It's hard to know what is true and what is fake in that museum.

Remember the famous tank that broke down the fence in Saigon in 1975?

Even that is fake.

Where the real one is, nobody knows.

Many Hanoians used to tell me that the dead body in the Ho Chi Minh Mauseleam is not even Uncle Ho's body because the body is too tall.

You will never know in Vietnam. Nothing is as it seems.

Believe nothing you hear or read.

[malcy]

It's hard to know what is true and what is fake in that museum.

Remember the famous tank that broke down the fence in Saigon in 1975?

Even that is fake.

Where the real one is, nobody knows.

Many Hanoians used to tell me that the dead body in the Ho Chi Minh Mauseleam is not even Uncle Ho's body because the body is too tall.

You will never know in Vietnam. Nothing is as it seems.

Believe nothing you hear or read.

I must say uncle Ho did look a bit like a waxwork figure ! Someone said they take him to Russia every couple of years to touch up his makeup sounds like bs to me . Enjoyed the experience though very interesting .

[grasshopper]

I lived there for a while and taught/tried to teach English at Viet Uc school a few years back. The girls were much more interested in learning than the boys and very pretty in the main. The males seemed to be taking ugly pills as a mate says.
One of the first shocks I got was when a young girl, about 12-14 yrs old tried to sell us some trinket or another that we had no use for. Offered her money to leave us alone. She drew herself up to her full height (knee high to a grasshopper) and said: "I am not a beggar!" handing us back the money. She had us under the thumb from that time onwards during our stay. We bought all sorts of useless gew gaws from her over the visit. Damn, but she was a clever little thing!

[muddyleopard]

thanks for the report and great photos - takes me back!

[barbaro]

I lived there for a while and taught/tried to teach English at Viet Uc school a few years back. The girls were much more interested in learning than the boys and very pretty in the main. The males seemed to be taking ugly pills as a mate says.
One of the first shocks I got was when a young girl, about 12-14 yrs old tried to sell us some trinket or another that we had no use for. Offered her money to leave us alone. She drew herself up to her full height (knee high to a grasshopper) and said: "I am not a beggar!" handing us back the money. She had us under the thumb from that time onwards during our stay. We bought all sorts of useless gew gaws from her over the visit. Damn, but she was a clever little thing!

Were you in Saigon or Hanoi?

[grasshopper]

Saigon, Barbaro.

I was a millionaire every week. Paid about 4,000,000 dong for about 14 hours per week. Spent it like a millionaire too.

Jeez, but that coffee in the glass cups with the metal handles and a filter on top was strong enough. Had one about 9.00 p.m. one night and tossed and turned till about 5.00 a.m. Never again. Not sure what the pulse rate jumped to but it was fairly thumping.

[MissTraveller]

Nice pixs.. I spent a month in Vietnam, mostly Hanoi, Hoi An (charming little place),and Hue. So much history and things to see. Halong Bay is worth a visit.

Take the train along the coast if you get a chance...a must see.
I never went to HCMC though, maybe next time.

The one thing I didn't like was the crazy traffic, and I almost got killed in Vietnam... scraped three layers of skin off my leg..and could have been worse if the motodop was going faster.

[barbaro]

Saigon, Barbaro.

I was a millionaire every week. Paid about 4,000,000 dong for about 14 hours per week. Spent it like a millionaire too.

Cheers. I lived in Saigon for a few years. I left there 5 years ago, and did 3 years in Hanoi.

Jeez, but that coffee in the glass cups with the metal handles and a filter on top was strong enough. Had one about 9.00 p.m. one night and tossed and turned till about 5.00 a.m. Never again. Not sure what the pulse rate jumped to but it was fairly thumping.

That coffee is usually very strong. Habitual imbibers of that coffee sometimes have stomach problems later in life. It's the "French way" of doing coffee. The slow drip.

I liked that coffee and occasionally had an ice coffee.

I stuck with instant Folgers. It's better for the body. Seriously.

[marjorie]

Looks amazing - I am all fired up to give Vietnam a visit on my next shore leave.

[roamer]

Nice pics, brings back memories. I'll revisit it later this year.

Is the HSBC building still across the cathedral? Or is it another building now?

What I didn't like about Saigon were the crazy motorcycle drivers (but then that's true for most of Vietnam, I think). My mom & I had a little mishap with a drunk moto driver, good thing we weren't hit much.

Hi katie

Yes, the HSBC building is still there, noticed it and had to use a bank so did actually go inside.

[roamer]

Hi

I visited this place, Emperor Jade Pagoda I think, small but OK for a quick visit





















Turtle pond just outside






































Inside





































Keeping the place clean



















Just outside
























Later on, couple of night shots near hotel
































This bar was OK

[roamer]

Setting off for Vang Tau on the hydrofoil ferry























Approaching Vang Tau, I stood on a small platform outside the cabin for most of the trip, just enjoying the journey, took about 90 minutes to do 75 kms.
























Quiet here compared to Saigon, liked the place though, chilled out break




































Stayed at Green Hotel, back beach, not central but nice place, ran about US $ 33 including a decent breakfast buffet, view from balcony.

Thai GF loved the place so made for a happy stay

[katie23]

Thanks for the pics. I think I went to that same pagoda - is it in Da Cau, near Dien Bien Phu street in the 1st district? IIRC, there's a wet market near that area. If that's the place, then my aunt lives near that place.

I've a question re: Vung Tau. How much did the ferry cost, one way, per person? Is a day trip from SGN doable? I'm thinking of recommending it to some colleagues who'll be going to SGN later this year. Aside from the usual city tour, Cu Chi tunnels, is a day trip to Vung Tau worth it? Is the beach free/public or is there an entrance fee? Thanks in advance.

[Boon Mee]

The one thing I didn't like was the crazy traffic, and I almost got killed in Vietnam... scraped three layers of skin off my leg..and could have been worse if the motodop was going faster.

That's what I noticed too when I was in Nha Trang last year. Motocye drivers are a different breed there - more reckless and dangerous.