Hey everyone, I'm visiting Vietnam for the first time ever.

Background information:

I was born in California in 1985. My parent's were born in Vietnam. I speak and understand Vietnamese, just not very well.

Anyways, I'm going to Vietnam for the first time. I'll be leaving on June 2nd 1am Pacific standard time.

What should I do when I get to vietnam? any tours you guys would recommend? any temples I should visit? I heard it is very hot over there.

Also, are there any pool halls (billiards) in Saigon? I think I'll be staying at the palace hotel in Saigon. I'd like to shoot some pool when I'm bored, as that is a hobby of mine. So if you guys know of any pool halls near the hotel let me know.

And I would like any general information about Vietnam. Anything you guys think I should know about Vietnam, please post it here. Thanks!

-Paul (Huy).

Places you should visit in Vietnam:
- Vietnamese history museum and Temple of Hung Kings
- Take a tour down the Mekong delta and see how ordinary southern Vietnamese really lives
- If you're into history then visit Hue in the central or Hanoi in the north.

yeah it's a really bad time to visit Vietnam in summer. However, there's been rain so it's not so bad. Also remember to agree at a specific price (do some homework) before using any service, such as taxi, cyclo and various other things. If you have a relative in Saigon then use him/her as a tour guide.

There are plenty of pool tables in Saigon, you just need to ask the local where the closest one is.

The DELTAS!!! :)
Central coastlines Long Hai-Phan Thiet-Nha Trang or even Da Nang
Pay some times to visit Hanoi...then Halong and go for the Northwest if u plan a long trip....Northwestern (Tay Bac) sceneries are breathtakers,i luv it!

Actually summer is the season i feel most confortable here,not too hot,not too dry :D

I'm praying that u won't have boring times to play pool in Vietnam,sincerily... :)

my best experience in Vietname when I was there in 2003 was the Ha Long Bay cruise... 3 hrs east of Hanoi if I remember it right... we took the cruise from Handspan... :D

you sounded so out of touch......those things ya like ya can get them anywhere in Saigon
but I recommend ya visit uncle ho mausoleum in Hanoi, take a few nice pictures then smash it (or burn it) hehe

huh? why smash or burn the pictures of Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum? Is there really still a conflict between North and South Vietnamese?

I think he found it ugly. and Bang intends to smash the building itself not the picture :)

Haha....yeah me too bang.

dont wanna to get into politic now but if they wanna to built a mausoleum for him then built a better one rather than made an exact copy of the one from Moscow.

@KightRiderBMW: i haven been back to VN myself yet but u gotta vist Ha Long Bay...so beautiful. Heh why do u wanna play pool when in vietnam go out and visit as many places as u want. Have fun and take lot of pictures and share them here heh?

(SGT-HCMC) Seventy to 100 tourists a day are already flocking to Son Kim Ltd.'s tourism information center in HCMC's District 1, although the company will officially open it only in mid-June.

The center at 4G-4H Le Loi Boulevard provides free information about traveling, tours, hotels, resorts, restaurants, banks, exchanging money, schools, health care services, visa procedures and special events.

It also gives free advice on doing business in the hospitality industry, together with information about the culture, history and investment opportunities everywhere in Vietnam, according to center manager Vu Thanh Tung.

The center finances its operation by leasing space out to its partners and charging for advertisements.

Of the 10 sections for lease, four have already found tenants, including a bank and travel company. In addition, the center has signed a deal to get US$50 per month for providing the 50-by-50-centimeter electronic billboard space.

im leaving 26 hours from now!!!

Have a good trip.
Good luck to you, KnightRiderBMW :D

>KnightRiderBMW have a good trip from me too....:)

You can also contact me via e-mail --- .....for example,where to 'an choi' in Saigon,come,come and i'll show ya :D

I just come so how many hours left?

I forgot.... your picture posted here looks pretty nice.....when you're back in Vietnam could ya take some more picture of ya standing in front of all those construction sites? and like....... could you stand to the corner of the pictures a little.....and like ....so we could see you and the buildings and constructions ......like ....a little better? ...better yet...could you... like ......stayaway from the pictures altogether so .....like.....we could see the entire construction sites? thanks.

have a nice trip......stay away from the commie, police and traffic.......don't think driving moped is cool and get on the wheel like I did....and ended up hitting a "Hu Tiu" stall and got screamed and cursed
have a safe trip

Awesome...enjoy your trip dude..
Takes lot of pic heh?

Thượng lộ bình an..

I just bought a camera. The canon A95. I will definately be taking a lot of pictures!

Notice your new motto.....is this your car,versalvin? :)

http://www.hewnandhammered.com/pho/images/got_pho_1.jpg

I think a food thread should be opened soon.

HAHA :lol: I Wish saigon_monsơoner...lơok like a mazda ;)

there will be lots of things that are not in your imagination during your first time in Vietnam......some of them are pretty hard to grasp.....but I say ignore the adult beggars and lottery sellers and vendors.....but don't turn your back on the children, if they sell something buy it.....it's the children that broke your heart.

KnightRideBMW:Hope you will find a lot of nice girls in saigon,good luck for your trip.

Hey everyone, currently I am at Saigon Postel Corp, which is a place that allows me to access the internet for free, near the Rex, Kimdo, Palace, hotels.

I have taken about 300 pictures so far. I took some pictures of some of the construction going on around the city. I went to Vung Tau already and it is a very nice beach. The water is warm, and is very soft like a swimming pool. I rode a jetski and that was fun. I also visited the many cousins I have and most I have never met before. Im 20 and my cousins range from 30-50, with most in the 40-50 range. They have kids which are older than me. lol


Do you guys have any recommendations on any shops that have cheap stuff. Like toys/clothing/electronics?

I've already been to Diamond Plaza but I haven't really shopped around. The items look pretty expensive there. I went bowling at Diamond Plaza and it is expensive! 125,000 VND for 1 game which lasts about 20 minutes. I haven't played any Bi Da yet, but I probably will. :)

The women over here are awesome. I was at the bowling alley and saw 2 very tall vietnamese girls. Both about 5 feet 10 inches almost 6 feet tall! hot. haha


If you guys have anymore suggestions on any thing I should buy that is cheap let me know. Any suggestions about anything is helpful. Thanks.

have a good time~~

well there are cheaps music, video CDs

but about the girls........ don't know if you can read Vietnamese, but if beautiful girls come up to ya and ask "anh đi không?" don't ever ever say "đi đâu?" like I did, turned out they were prostitutes.
Vietnamese oversea tend to have this stupid looked when they wandered the city because they wanted to look at nice buildings and architectures, but very similar to clients looking for fun.

so.... pick your nose, scratch your ass, pretend to be the local, if ya don't want to be mugged or cheated off when you buy stuff.

ps. I love the 300 pictures that you took and soon post it here!

haha...u seemed to be well experienced about Vietnam Bang...how many times did u come back to VN?

Cant wait for that 300+picts..

For trendy,cheap clothes:pls ask the locals for Saigon Square and sneak at the market inside,my best experience so far,but remember to say this magic word: Chời ơi,BỚT giùm con đi (cô) chú...But don't buy anything from Diamond or Tax (but pirated Cds)...where prices usually go mad.

Electronics..hmm..go to Sieu Thi Dien May Cho Lon u have to find out where is it first then dig on the items....or Dan Sinh market as well.

Clubs,pubs...Mua rung,MTV in Vo Van Tan street or just to have a drink: there are a dozen cafes shop along Nguyen Van Troi ave.

And as bang said,pick your nose, scratch your ass :D not in front of girls of course.

haha...u seemed to be well experienced about Vietnam Bang...how many times did u come back to VN?

Cant wait for that 300+picts..

Only twice...the first time is a month after my 20th birthday just like this boy here.
and the second time was last year.
But I won't be back for quite sometimes ....say 5yrs.....got so much to deal with right now.

But to all saigonese.....the next time I'm back ...I'll be back for good, and will retire there.....so watch out hehe

who wants to be my neighbour? I can talk to ya about buildings and architectures all day everyday, from dawn to dusk hehehe

I'm in Nha Trang now!

I bought a fake Louis Vuitton wallet for 7 US dollars. At first she wanted 15, then I told her I couldn't do that price, so I walked away, then she asked me how much I can do, I told her 5, she said 8, then we agreed on 7. :)

I'm having a tough time telling what clothes/shoes are real and what are fake though. There is this shoe shop in the Lucky Plaza, and I'm not sure if some of the skater shoes are real or fake.

I already went to Club Volcano, Gossip, and Lost in Saigon. The DJ's spin good music, and I just wish some of them would open later than 12am. Although Lost in Saigon opened till 2, if I remember correctly. I have 480 pictures now, but alot of that is of my family I have over here. I have like 10 cousin's I have never met, not to mention the many kids they have. Some of their kids are older than me! All in all, I'm having alot of fun on my trip. I will catch you guys later. :)

Awesome dude..sêems like a great trip u having....man cant wait until my turn...hopefully sơon.

Dude, I got my fake Louis Vuitton wallet for only $3 in the Cho Lon wholesale market. You got ripped off. LOL

this kid with the long name in Vietnam. he knows many people are not in Vietnam so keep rubbing it in don't ya? when you're back to america you're going down hehehe

and how dare you bargain with the poor people on the street trying to earn decent living.bargain with diamond department store and the Tax plaza and the shopping malls.that's my policy hehe (although I wou;dn't do that myself)

Man I got ripped off so many times on my first trip to Vietnam that I got so mad. But to think about it now I'd say well they're impoverished so let them take a little advantage of me. hahaha

There was one instance in Vung Tau where this lady keep nagging me to buy her postcards for VND20,000. I didn't want to buy but she said I'm her first customer and she's hungry blah blah blah.

I bought the postcards and later that afternoon my family went into a souvernir shop only to realise that the shop was selling it for a mere VND5000. It's ok to be ripping people off but not by that much. She was blackmailling my conscience into buying that crap.

this kid with the long name in Vietnam. he knows many people are not in Vietnam so keep rubbing it in don't ya? when you're back to america you're going down hehehe

and how dare you bargain with the poor people on the street trying to earn decent living.bargain with diamond department store and the Tax plaza and the shopping malls.that's my policy hehe (although I wou;dn't do that myself)


I tried bargaining at the tax department store, but that didn't seem to work.

I'm now staying at the New World Hotel in Saigon and the snacks and mini-fridge they have in the room stock expensive stuff. A can of Coca Cola is 40,000VND. I went to a small market and bought 4 Coca cola's for 22000VND!

To use the internet at the hotel it is 40,000VND for 15 minutes!!! that is 160,000 for an hour. Most places I've been to is 3000VND-6000VND for an hour. I now have close to 900 pictures. :)

I thought the internet service in hotels usually free?
Yeah I as once in district 1 and happened to drop in an internet service there, and ended up paying around 40.000 too, when it's only 3000 in other places. (only 3000-4000......6000 is too much too)
how much a night in the new world hotel anyway?

I thought the internet service in hotels usually free?
Yeah I as once in district 1 and happened to drop in an internet service there, and ended up paying around 40.000 too, when it's only 3000 in other places. (only 3000-4000......6000 is too much too)
how much a night in the new world hotel anyway?


I forgot to answer this question. It was about 170-175 dollars for a 2 bed suite. My uncle got us a 55% discount, so it was only about 76 dollars a night!

Im probably gonna post some more pictures in the other thread that I have now. :)

why don't you stay with the family it's cheaper?

but that's none of my business.............I just want to know if you didn't stay with your family then you must obtained tourist visa instead of visiting relatives visa.
so with the tourist visa ddid you have to present yourself to the police when you arrived?
because if you don't then next time I'm getting that.....instead of visiting relatives visa.

why don't you stay with the family it's cheaper?

but that's none of my business.............I just want to know if you didn't stay with your family then you must obtained tourist visa instead of visiting relatives visa.
so with the tourist visa ddid you have to present yourself to the police when you arrived?
because if you don't then next time I'm getting that.....instead of visiting relatives visa.


I believe I obtained a Tourist Visa, but what do you mean present myself to the police? Where is the police station? at the airport?

I didn't stay with the family because, we didn't want to trouble them. Plus if I was going out late at like 11pm, I wouldn't come home until 3am, and that would definately bother my cousins.

okie thank you
next time tourist visa it is...................

if ya get visiting relatives visa....after you arrive to your family home, you then have to take your passport to the local police and get a stamp (of approval...crap crap crap).......to let them know that you stay at that place during your stay in vietnam (crap crap crap).......if you don't get that stamp....when you leave you will have to pay a fine to the custom up to 400.000VND at the airport (CRAP).......
ya know the bigger major issue they don't pay attention like prostitution ...drug addicts...criminals...etc....but yet they have lots of time to go through these nonsense