Vietnam

[erwinjansen]

nakapunta na ako sa vietnam, HCMC, masasabi ko ***, mas mainit doon kesa ** sa pinas

[SiOMs]

well, ok na yan kung HCMC lang pupuntahan mo. included na din 3d/2n *** cu chi tunnel....pero kung gawin niyong 4d/3n, i recommend that you stay one day at NA TRANG CITY.....ganda ng beach din nila kahit pano. try to picture roxas blvd. and manila bay. kaibahan lang sa na trang, mas konti buildings, tapos white sand ang beach, at color blue ang dagat wala ganoh green algae di tulad ng boracay!

Thanks dalepatrick!

[monsterboy]

Has anybody been to Hue? Gaano katagal yun from Saigon by public transport?

[khriseeee]

Hi!

I'll be going on business trip to Hanoi late in January and was wondering if you guys could recommend the places and sights to see in Hanoi. I've read about the Old French Quarters and the Water Puppet Show, Are there any other places to visit?

Also, which of the 3 hotels would you recommend in terms of how accessible it is to the city center, malls, dining areas, etc.

- Horison Hanoi
- Sheraton Hanoi
-Sofitel

[alyssafox]

in Ho Chi Minc City, Vietnam now!
grabehh ang init nga dito
halos lahat ng vietnamese my sobrero
ang dami ngang motorbikes at scooter..nakakaloka!!!

[lyra]

hi, any idea what's the visa requirement for philippine passport holders? will be going to vietnam this june/july.

thanks!

[monsterboy]

No visa needed Hooray!

[smilehigh]

Anybody been to Ha Long Bay? Suggestions naman.. Thanks

[Invictus]

No visa needed Hooray!

Totoo? I thought meron.

[got_hid]

dumaan lang kami here e.. nag cruise kami sa starcruise then one day stop sa HCMC. parang pinas sha in a way... dun lang kami sa market pumunta e.. prang tiangge. then kumain sa vietnamese resto.. pho bac ata name nung resto... free wifi pa hehehe

[alyssafox]

yes no need to get a Visa to go to Vietnam
social visit of 21 days are given to Philippine passport holders
ive stayed for 1 week in Ho Chi Minh City(Saigon).
parang Philippines din sya pero wala pa masyadong malls and buildings. mas malinis ang Vietnam kaysa sa atin.
tsaka bihira ang pulubi sa kanila.
di nila masyado ginugulo ang mga tourist, di tulad sa atin na kapag may nakitang tourist hinahabol ng mga pulubi at todo hingi ng limos, kapag di nagbigay minumura nila yung tourist.
mababait ang mga Vietnamese at hardworking people.
sobrang daming motorbikes at scooter.
in a few years mas maunlad na sila sa atin

by the way nice places to visit there are Na Thrang Beach, Phouc Island, Mekong River cruise, Halong Bay

have fun!!!

[candycane]

worth it ba mag mekong river cruise?

[ftwcp955]

Been to Danang I like the marbles.

[doolfreak_bige]

I've been in HCMC, (Saigon) Vietnam since January 2007.

- Great food- healthy...lots of greens. I think it's because of the war they went through...lahat ng color green, kinakain. Yung gulay na pinakakain lang natin sa baboy sa Pinas, dito kinakain namin. I don't mean it in a bad way, but bow ako sa kanila the way they prepare their food....lots of veggies every meal, together with fish...and then their noodles (pho) are good. If you're adventurous enough, it's better to eat pho in the side streets, like carinderias in Manila. Pho 24 is not as good. It's overrated, at least for me.
- Motorcycles are crazy!!! It's madness....it's totally insane. The rush hour traffic is composed of an island of motorcycles. It's terrible!! Ingat lang sa pagtawid dahil mahilig mag cut ang mga motorcycles and they don't give you any warning at all, so kung nabundol ka ng motor, sorry ka na lang.
- I do not really enjoy shopping much here in Saigon....in a way, some stores are mala-Pinas...but places to go to: Cholon (Chinatown), Bin Tay Market, Ben Thanh Market (this is haven for the tourists, lots of cheap goods, knock-offs, branded overruns, you name it, you have it), Lucky Star (Russian market). For upper class shopping, go to District 1, in Dong Khoi Street (where Parkson and other high end local boutiques are located- you can have your ao dai- their national costume custom made from there). Or go to Hai Ba Trung St (shopping haven din dun). Diamond Plaza is a good place to go as well.
- For cheap overruns and knock offs, you can go to Saigon Square. Lots of good stuff there....hard to find dvds meron dun....knock offs yun, of course.
- There's a new series of shops in Dong Khoi St. Opera View Boutiques....meron nang LV dun....newly opened lang and right in front of LV, there's Gucci already, D&G, etc. Not sure if they're cheaper than Manila branches, though.
- Famous bakery in Saigon is the Brodard Bakery in Dong Khoi, it's located inside the side street where Gloria Jean's coffee is. Good pastries. Another mass market bakery for you to try is Duc Phat....they have really, really good Banh Mi---it's like a foot-long Subway sandwich, and only for 18php. Cool. Desserts here in Vietnam, even the cakes are generally not as sweet as what we have and they're almost always fruit based. The cheesecakes in Vietnam are to die for.
- For coffee, it's good to try Highlands Coffee..It's their local version of Starbucks and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in one. They have a good ambience (outdoor and indoor cafe) and nice selection of teas and coffees.
- Vietnam (Saigon) has a great selection of premium coffees. Coffees here are drank like water. So yung mga mahilig sa coffee, masaya kayo dito. Pero beware, their coffees here are generally strong (as in!)
- Language barrier is prevalent. It's difficult to communicate, esp. with the taxi drivers and the people on the street. 80% of the time, hindi talaga marunong mag English. Yung landlady ko nga eh...hirap na hirap ako....

Anyway, sorry kung medyo magulo ang Saigon 'insights' ko. Pag may tanong kayo, I'll gladly answer...hehehe.

Enjoy!

[Invictus]

doolfreak_bige, thanks so much!

I'll be going to HCMC this August, nae-excite ako!

I heard nga that North Face backpacks are cheaper there--how much are they? Saan makakabili nung bags?

[doolfreak_bige]

Hmmm...some people say na marami raw sa Saigon Square na Kipling and North Face bags...pero careful bec. maraming knock offs din. Merong iba mukhang legit naman....maybe around 600 bucks yung mga large backpacks na Kipling, but as i said, i have totally no idea kung legit ba or knock offs bec. i hear that it's really hard to tell

[blue_jay_el]

Meron din ba sa Hanoi na mapagbibilhan ng Orig na Northface bags?

[heymikey]

I really liked Vietnam. I expected to hate it since I was pissed off by being charged HKD1000 for a 14-day Vietnamese visa (some people got a 30-day visa for under USD50). I really like Hanoi with its old French colonial architecture. If you are in Hanoi, make sure you watch the water puppet show. It's really cheap (only VND20,000) and it's totally worth the money. Halong Bay was breathtaking (see other thread) and the Citadel and royal tombs at Hue were spectacular. Saigon was awesome as well and the day trip to the Cao Dai temple and Cu Chi tunnels were nice. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to visit Sapa, Nha Thrang, Dalat, or even the Mekong Delta.

[heymikey]

Has anybody been to Hue? Gaano katagal yun from Saigon by public transport?

You may want to consider flying with Vietnam Airlines. I flew from Hue to Saigon for about USD70 (business class). They didn't have any economy seats available since I booked only 1 day before the flight. You should visit Seat 61 since they have a timetable for the selected route. It is more than 20 hours though by train.

[waterwell]

Hmmm...some people say na marami raw sa Saigon Square na Kipling and North Face bags...pero careful bec. maraming knock offs din. Merong iba mukhang legit naman....maybe around 600 bucks yung mga large backpacks na Kipling, but as i said, i have totally no idea kung legit ba or knock offs bec. i hear that it's really hard to tell

i have 2 northface bags bought from russian market, and based sa nakita kong "northface" bags in bangkok and phuket, overruns yung nasa russian square. if you check carerfully, may mga small defects sila, but still, original items. kung may pupunta ng saigon, mag-hoard na kayo ng northface bags, especially yung mga waterproof!