Old Hippie Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 I am thinking of going to Vietnam on my next trip, so a few questions...exchange rates...where to get money, bring with me or ATM? And, I will need a good cheap hotel in Saigon, something with a tour desk maybe...and some recommendations for local tours to the tunnels etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 You will get over 16000 to one dollar US..they use dual currency with the US dollar so no problems . 7 dollars from airport to main part of HCM. Tunnels is a great day trip ..most hotels have tour desks .. Girls from the bars go for 50 US .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 Forgot ...the bars ask for a fine of 100K VND Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted May 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 I am planning on taking the bus from Phnom Pehn to Saigon. I will need to know where the whores are! and any decent hotels that are reasonably priced. Any ideas what the price for the Cu chi tunnel tour is? and anything else to see there? I am planning on maybe 2-4 full days there. Will fly back to BKK. Thanks again! Oh, how long does it take to get a visa in either BKK or PP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 To get a visa is fast ...use your friendly travel agent ... The tunnels is a day trip at best ..after the tour you can for (1500 THB) fire a clip of an AK 47 Or M16 or any other gun uesed in the Viet Nam war ..if you re into that ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 I am planning on taking the bus from Phnom Pehn to Saigon. I will need to know where the whores are! and any decent hotels that are reasonably priced. Any ideas what the price for the Cu chi tunnel tour is? and anything else to see there? I am planning on maybe 2-4 full days there. Will fly back to BKK. Thanks again! Oh, how long does it take to get a visa in either BKK or PP? HCM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 If you have your back to the "Caravelle " hotel and go right you are in the main bar area...you will hear the gals call out to you on mass....enjoy.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 try Don Khoi area. But anyway, the girls who riding bykes will find you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibblies Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 That's not good advice anymore. I went for a week in December and again for just over a week last month. The only offers I got on a motorbike were from ladyboys (and horrible looking ones at that). Curiously, that was the only time I saw ladyboys anywhere. And there weren't many bike offers full-stop. I'd expected more but it seems it's not the done thing anymore. As Torneyboy says, the main bar area is around Caravelle Hotel. Stand outside, turn right and right again and that's Hai Ba Trung. Another board member coined a description of the bars found there as "Soi 33 crossed with Afterskool". I have to say, the girls are pretty but they're not as friendly as Thai girls. You'll see what I mean when you walk in. You'll get 10-20 lovelies doing anything to lure you in but, as soon as you're in, most will sit down and play with their phones rather than interact. It's very weird. They complain about lack of customers and lack of "luck" yet they don't seem to grasp the fact that playing, joking, smiling or even looking at customers might help them! This kind of goes for Viet girls as a whole, I found. You don't get the same smiles even with normal girls that you'll get with Thais. I'll have to learn Vietnamese, I guess, for that. There are plenty of tours to the Cu Chi Tunnels available from the back packer area. It's only a few dollars ($4?) if you choose to go by coach. I chose a boat trip that was only a few dollars more. I have to say, like the boat trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the scenery got a bit boring after a while and I chose to go back by coach because it was a bit quicker and I had to catch a flight out. It's about 2 hours from Saigon. Definitely worth the trip but, having seen a photo of you, you won't fit in the tunnels! (Joking aside, even though it's been widened for tourists, it's not for the claustrophic. Only me and another guy out of a group of about 10 made it all the way though (there are options to chicken out every 20 metres or so). Btw, our guide talked about the war in propaganda terms that, as an American, you may or may not find amusing. It was obviously officially scripted stuff rather than heartfelt though. Like like a lot of the population, he was only in his early twenties. Still, it was quite amusing to hear things like "Imperialist aggressor" so many times. There's also the War Remnants Museum - near the park and Thai consulate. It's a couple of dollars to get in. Worth an hour if you're interested in that sort of thing. The palace thing that will be familiar to you from photos of the last helicopters leaving isn't worth it imo. Nothing special to see there. A helicopter pad, some rooms where some people met and offered surrender and some ops rooms in the basement that have virtually nothing in them. All pretty dull. I like Saigon though. The only things deterring me from going more often (I'm in Thailand now) are: 1. Having to get a visa before I go. I've always gone for the one-day express service option from a travel agent because I'm too lazy to get up early to go to the embassy myself and also don't want to wait the usual couple of days. It's rather expensive (2800B) 2. Not being able to speak the language. 3. The lack of options and convenience for girls compared to the choice in Thailand. (You know that, officially, a Vietnamese girl can't stay the night in your room, don't you?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooNoi Posted May 12, 2008 Report Share Posted May 12, 2008 OH, Here is a link to a trip report I did a while back. Pretty much still the same info. Enjoy. What Bibblies said about mongering and touring is all 100% correct and spot-on. :thumbup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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