Saigon HMC some observations on the city and costs

[Mousehound]

The following are some personal observations following extensive research into Saigon and a recent visit.

 

On Travel arrangements:

visas are required for many, but not all Nationalities.  Check it out as things change rapidly.  If you need a visa then you can apply online for a visa in advance through one of the agencies.  This system seems to work.  You pre apply and download your application online.  At Saigon airport you do to the specified desk (it is well signposted) and hand in documents and await your turn to be called.  if things are busy this can take quite a long time.  I chose to get my visa overseas, it was easy to get but cost an extra $20 and required two trips to the Embassy.  But this suited me fine and meant no hold ups at the Saigon end.  The Visa cost me $70US. There is no disembarkation card to fill in.  Saigon airport is quite small - think Don Muang.  The exchange places are not too bad a rate but I already had the 140 - 180 Dong required for a cab to Distict1. The best rates of exchange were to be found at the jewellers that abound in District 1, but I got a good rate from my hotel, amazingly.

On exiting the airport there are plenty of cabs but ensure you only take a Vinasun or MaiLinh.  They will always put the meter on - it does not come on for the first twenty meters or so - and they often have a tablet with maps showing your progress.  There is an additional 10k for the airport charge which needs to go on top of the meter reading.  Money is spoken of in terms of thousands so 10 (muay) means 10k for example.  I usually gave the cab driver up to 10k depending on length of travel, time of night and whether I liked them or not, but many would not accept anything over the meter amount.  I also left a hat and, stupidly, my camera bag in taxis.  Both found their way back to the hotel.

The natives are generally very friendly.  They do not speak as much English as Thai and especially off the tourist track you can find communication a struggle.  I learned enough Vietnamese to get about and buy things etc before I arrived and found it helped a lot.

In downtown Saigon the streets are wide, generally well paved and the shops and eateries etc expensive.  Happy hour at The Rex's five o'clock follies (a nice once off treat for me) cost $20 for a drink but with a great view of the city and a complimentary beer chaser to my huge cocktail.

Saigon is a rapidly developing city but does not compare to BKK for size or facilities.  On the other hand it has a nice feel to it.  The French buildings and café heritage as well as boulevards and pastry shops give it a nice feel.  Off the main drag the side walks become rapidly a minefield and scooters clutter and impede progress.  Much like Thailand. 

There are excellent deli type operations that stock a healthy collection of imported foodstuff for the growing and large expat contingency, most of whom seem to live in District 2.  District 2 is an antiseptic self contained city filled with expats.  A city of wide, well ordered streets and massive towering condominiums that sit upon every kind of familiar food outlet other than Vietnamese.  If you want to live on American style fast food this is your place.  there are International Schools here with a large Japanese and Korean population working with the many companies from these countries.  This is an expensive part of the city to live with prices typically 1500 to 2000US  a month.  Property prices in Saigon are very high.  A small shophouse in D1 but not in the heart of things is going to cost over a million US.  So rents are high.  Wages for the average worker are low at sat 150US a month for a waiter in a restaurant. 

Shopping is done in districts rather than at shopping centres. One area will have every musical instrument known to man, and few more beside.  The fabric market areas are huge.  Whole areas are devoted to hardware - one shop sell just scissors, another screwdrivers and another the parts to make up a wrought iron fence.  yet another area will be dedicated to sheet metal and another electrical.

Things to do as a tourist:  The city is really a two day event with a day or so for visiting the Delta and tunnels etc.  But if you are after an off the beaten track adventure, so to speak then things look up a bit.  I visited quality music places every evening.  They start typically at 9 and finish at midnight.  Sax and Art have the owner playing from 10pm.  This guy is world class on the sax.  Yoko has a very solid rock band.  hard Rock Café has a good Salsa night as does La Fenetre Soliel and Cuba La Casa de Mojito (twenty meters apart).  There are many others and several famous duff duff techno spots such as Apocalypse now - but not to my taste.  Some have a small cover charge but usually includes a drink.

On drinks - beer is cheap.  Draught beers especially so.  Food is OK but apart from BBQ meats I preferred Thai food.  Saigon is really into sea food which does not appeal to me so much.  The soup Pho is their staple street food and OK.  Pho is pronounced Fur by the way as "Foe"  would get you a lady of the night.  The later being scarce compared to Thailand.

On double pricing:  The famous Benh Than tourist (tat) markets are about twice the price you should pay for anything and I bargained them down to one third of the asking price just to see how far I could get them down.  The Saigon centre markets are no better,  There really is not a lot to buy there.  certainly not computer or camera gear.  As a foreigner you will be overcharged in the main tourist areas.  Food is an exception in restaurants or street side stalls.  Vietnamese pay 20% tax and expats pay 40%.  I am told National Parks are free for locals but tourists pay but I have not confirmed this.

I spent a lot of time looking at buying a scooter.  An old style Honda with kick start, but made in japan, can be had new for 500US and the same model (125cc) with electric start and Made in China was $550.  A good proposition was a second hand one my Vietnamese friend found - a Yamaha Nuovo 135cc for 200US.  No papers and I could sell it anywhere for a drop of 50 to 100 dollars depending how fast I needed to get rid of it.  Repairs are ridiculously cheap there.  technically you can't drive a scooter over 50cc without a license and the cops will ask for tea monies when they pick you up.  You can't drive a car in VN - period.  Vietnam is starting to issue it's own citizens with IDP but does not recognise them as valid for tourists.  The drive out od Saigon is easy and only takes about ten minutes.  The road North along the coast is lined with excellent camping sites with western style facilities and makes a nice trip.  Avoid highway one at all costs.  Beware your insurance will most likely not cover you for scooters.

On safety:  As with all destinations I have travelled I have been warned about scams, theft, muggings and the health dangers - including every deadly disease known to man.  in Saigon the locals wre repeatedly warning me agains carrying my camera and phone.  I was also warned against going into the parks at night because of the drugged out  holding you up at knife point.  The latter could be a real possibility and certainly there are opportunistic thieves but I felt safer in Saigon than in BKK and frankly I feel pretty safe there as well.

The back packer area od Bui Vien and  Pham Ngu Lao is full of even seedier specimens than Khao San and certainly not as nice as Soi Rambutri.  BKK backpackers seem a better lot to me.  The main hotel area is expensive so I stayed in a sort of half way area with a good large, well air-conditioned room and private bathroom for 20US a night.  There are cheaper to be had for sure.  This included an OK breakfast.  My preference would be in or about Bui Thi Xuan.  This area is well known to cab drivers, has plenty of restaurants and is within walking distance of all the sites.

Last minute thoughts:  Optical is OK there but no better that Thailand and they use lens blanks from the Hoya works in Thailand anyway.  I would think dental would be better in Thailand. 

UBER and GRAB is big in Saigon if you want to go that way.  Cheaper than taxis.  They even have GRAB scooters.  You can get a SIM card at the airport and download the app.  Google Maps are your friend.

Can't think of much else at this point.

 

 

[Mousehound]

Forgot to include a link  to pictures of Saigon.

 

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah...look out fer that Bin Thanh market...itsa lively place at night (outside as the covered bit is shut) but they rip you off like a blind man...I was up the street on Le Thanh Ton at a hotel fer a couple of weeks and was payin' USD10 fer a bottle of Vodka Hanoi when I found that at the corner shop it cost the usual USD3...

 

no matter, I was supposed to be workin' but it was a good party...

 

check out the cheap hotels on Thi Sac St just up from Apocalypse Now in D1...good value fer money and most anything you would want close by...but no ice fer the drinks...

 

 

[Mousehound]

On ‎25‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 6:48 PM, Mousehound said:

Forgot to include a link  to pictures of Saigon.

 

Click on Homer's pic above to see a photographic slideshow of Saigon

[Nowisee]

A bloody long read... halfway in my ADD kicked in and had to take a break.

 

Saigon was fun.

The market was a hustle and once you get the hang of it, the negotiating is not so bad.  The prices IMO were crazy low.  I bought some nice clothes for really cheap and really how low can you go.  For a nice polo shirt at $2.35 I was not going to try to beat the lady down any more... damn.  

Go across the street to the other big indoor market, just as fun but cooler.

 

I just happened to be there last year during the Unification Day.. man, what a great night.

 

The food was good... er, just ok maybe, but I ate dinner a lot at one of the Indian restaurants.

 

The bus was my main mode of transport... very easy using Google Maps.

It was a scooter in Da Nang/Hoi An, easy city to ride around in.

 

I thought the locals were great... friendly, helpful and I had more conversations in 2 weeks there than 2 years here.  Ambitious folks too.  

 

Beer every where and cheap.

Best beer was in Hue IMO.  

 

Most of the guesthouses were good stays with 2 having a great breakfast.  I have really come to dislike tourists from a certain asian country... LOUD and inconsiderate smokers.  oh well.

 

Exchanged most of money right inside the airport as it was the best price... then one time in Binh Than market and one time in a bank in Da Nang... avoid the bank... man, it took 40 min and signed a bunch of forms and copies of passport... 555

 

I look forward to going again.  I miss the sound of horns :)

 

  

 

 

 

 

[LongTimeLurker]

On 2/25/2017 at 5:17 PM, Mousehound said:

Last minute thoughts:  Optical is OK there but no better that Thailand and they use lens blanks from the Hoya works in Thailand anyway.  I would think dental would be better in Thailand

Opticians are about 1/3 of the price in Saigon as in Thailand.

 

Dentists about half the price.

 

Both professional services.

[Mousehound]

On ‎21‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 10:35 PM, LongTimeLurker said:

Opticians are about 1/3 of the price in Saigon as in Thailand.

 

Dentists about half the price.

 

Both professional services.

Cut price opticians are cheap in Saigon but quality ones are, I found, a bit more expensive than better end Thai outlets.  There are a lot of operations that sell clone frames but I prefer original and these are way cheaper than Australia and about the same as Thailand.  I believe dental is good in Vietnam and my pricing seems to indicate about 25 - 35% cheaper than Thailand but I have no actual experience of dental in Vietnam so can't really compare.  On the other hand I have two pairs of multi focal specs from Vietnam and three pairs form Thailand over the years.  The Vietnamese pair of tinted multifocal sunnies I just got from Vietnam, with Thai made lenses are actually better than ones made in Australia.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Mousehound
Incomplete sentence

[LongTimeLurker]

On 3/23/2017 at 8:47 AM, Mousehound said:

Cut price opticians are cheap in Saigon but quality ones are, I found, a bit more expensive than better end Thai outlets.  There are a lot of operations that sell clone frames but I prefer original and these are way cheaper than Australia and about the same as Thailand.  I believe dental is good in Vietnam and my pricing seems to indicate about 25 - 35% cheaper than Thailand but I have no actual experience of dental in Vietnam so can't really compare.  On the other hand I have two pairs of multi focal specs from Vietnam and three pairs form Thailand over the years.  The Vietnamese pair of tinted multifocal sunnies I just got from Vietnam, with Thai made lenses are actually better than ones made in Australia.

It's the Thai lenses in VN that are 1/3 of the price of the (probably same) lenses here.

 

Cost of frames vary according to what you want.