"Ho Chi Minh City 29/3/08 - 3/4/08" Top 5 Page for this destination Ho Chi Minh City by balhannah

Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide: 3,155 reviews and 7,296 photos

nice gardens

HO CHI MINH CITY

The Spring Hotel was to be my base for a few days, a really nice Hotel where I had a very enjoyable stay.
From here, I was close to the Opera house, railway station, Notre Dame cathedral, Reunification Palace, the Saigon river and the Markets. I walked to all of these.

When I caught the motorbike from my Hotel, it only cost 10,000 dong to the markets.

As usual in Vietnam, all of one kind of shops are in the same street, hence, I had quite a time finding the travel agencies. Eventually, asked another Aussie, and they happened to know where they were, and set me on the right track.
They were in the Backpackers area, the other side of the market to me.

I enjoyed walking around the city. I found it safer to cross the street NOT at the traffic lights, as they run the red lights, and quite often it is very congested.
It is really quite easy to cross the road, and I also went for a few motorbike rides.

The city is quite clean, which was a nice change from Hanoi.

There a plenty of eateries also.

fountain

TOURS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE

I was disappointed with the Mekong Delta.

It wasn't the tour company, that was good, and how lovely to have a bus with nice clean windows to take photos out of. I thought that it would have been more rural than what it was....Probably, as I had visited rural Vietnam earlier on this holiday, this was just more of the same scenery.

I was really disappointed with the Floating Markets, these had virtually finished by the time the Tour arrived.

If I had my time again, I would not do a day tour, but stay overnight so I could see the Floating markets, you have to be up very early!

Majestic hotel

The trip to Cao Dai temple and the Cu Chi tunnels was really good.

I was there on a hot day, 35degrees, the tunnels were stifling, and you have to bend over a lot as they are made for the vietnamese. It was interesting, and I felt sorry for our Aussie soldiers because of the terrible way they met their death.

The Temple was amazing, I was very pleased that I did the tour, it was a great day's outing!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Easy to get around and clean
Cons:Annoying sellers again!
In a nutshell:Lots of shops with bargains for the girls!!!

Last visit to Ho Chi Minh City: Mar 2008
Intro Updated Dec 29, 2013
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Reviews (29)

Doggie's going for a ride! - Ho Chi Minh City

Do a drive in the countryside! Favorites (3)

This tip goes for any city in Vietnam, try and go for a tour out in the countryside as this is where you see villages... more travel advice

The press at the start of the process - Ho Chi Minh City

COCONUT CANDY Local Customs (3)

On one of my tours to the Mekong Delta, we were shown the process of making Coconut Candy and given a "FREE SAMPLE" to... more travel advice

RICE PAPER Local Customs (3)

On several tours that I did in Vietnam, I was shown a demonstration of how Rice paper was made. It was quite interesting... more travel advice

Flowers for sale at the Market - Ho Chi Minh City

Ben Thanh Market Shopping (2)

Ben Thanh Market is a large, indoor market worth going to for shopping or just to look. This is a huge market that... more travel advice

Hotels (1)
Excellent Hotel in quiet area
Transportation (2)
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Comments (20)

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King_Golo Oct 22, 2014 at 8:54 AM

Thanks for your interesting tips.
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  balhannah Oct 22, 2014 at 1:14 PM
  
  Thankyou for visiting!
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Regina1965 Dec 30, 2013 at 5:18 AM

A lovely page - I would like to visit Asia and see it for myself.
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  balhannah Dec 31, 2013 at 2:51 AM
  
  Thanks Regina. These pages needed updating badly!
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heydelin Mar 12, 2013 at 4:15 AM

Thanks for sharing this :) I am going to HCMC end of April alone and I am excited! :)
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heydelin Mar 12, 2013 at 4:15 AM

Thanks for sharing this :) I am going to HCMC end of April alone and I am excited! :)
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heydelin Mar 12, 2013 at 4:15 AM

Thanks for sharing this :) I am going to HCMC end of April alone and I am excited! :)
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  heydelin Mar 12, 2013 at 4:31 AM
  
  Sorry for my multiple post haha. Oooh I'm always careful ;)
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  balhannah Mar 12, 2013 at 4:51 AM
  
  No worries!
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wabat Mar 12, 2013 at 1:41 AM

"I was really disappointed with the Floating Markets, these had virtually finished by the time the Tour arrived.

If I had my time again, I would not do a day tour, but stay overnight so I could see the Floating markets, you have to be up very early!"

Exactly and this is why I discourage people from doing daytrips to the Delta. An overnight trip is minimum to do it any justice and to see the floating market while its open,
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Maryimelda May 10, 2010 at 5:12 PM

You certainly have covered everything, Dee. Great pics as usual and really good info as well. No restaurant tips however, any reason for that?
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toonsarah Feb 19, 2010 at 4:31 AM

What a comprehensive page. I was especially interested in the temples and the tunnels. Definitely want to visit Vietnam some time! BTW, I tried snake wine in China - you didn't miss much ;-)
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Greggor58 Dec 21, 2009 at 6:10 PM

I wont be spending much time here at all...but you certainly saw quite alot...nice that you got to the Botanical Gardens..The "Hotel de Ville" grounds look quite nice De...Great pages!Thanks for the tour!!
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Nemorino Dec 20, 2009 at 6:40 AM

I enjoyed reading your tips. My son and I toured the Cao Dai temple in 1995 and found it really fascinating, especially since thirty years before I had been quartered for six months in the home of an elderly Cao Dai couple.