. There is all sorts of possibly USEFUL info there that will be repetitive if
I keep putting it in each page.Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City
NOTE:
Mine & Other peoples hints & suggestions (mainly from LP Thorn tree)
that I have collated can be found either HERE
(PDF from 2002) or HERE (PDF's from 2003) Many kind
thanks to those that answered mine or others queries
. There is all sorts of possibly USEFUL info there that will be repetitive if
I keep putting it in each page.
Well ... after 3 trips to Vietnam .... the first visit to Saigon.
We spent 2 days & 2 nites there but would have liked another cupple. We got a hotel deal at the Kim Do hotel, with the airline ticket, which was way better than the Hanoi Hotel --- in fact it was very nice and well discounted off 'rack rates'.
See the Hotels Info page for a review
First impression ---- a lot of commentary suggests that HCMC is more vibrant than it's capital Hanoi & that's mainly due to it's history, size & climate. I found that even though Saigon has more people - the streets of Hanoi seem busier somewhat, probably cos they are narrower (esp near the Old Quarter). In summertime, I also feel that there is just as much nightlife happening in both cities.
Second Impression ---- HCMC seemed to have a more 'big city' feel and seemed less friendly than Hanoi. Thats a pretty subjective statement I know (so dont flame me ;-X yet) but HCMC seems more like Hong Kong than Kunming in it's pursuit of prosperity.
Third Impression ---- It seems as much a 'colonial' city as Hanoi. French, that is, not American. In fact, I found there was very little evidence of the American occupation other than devestated areas and War museums.
[As a side note (cos I wont
write otherwise about our drive thru the DMZ) --- on the drive from Dong Hoi
to Hue you cross the DMZ where there is still plenty of remnants of the 'American
War'. (I use the 'American War' reference as it was only the 'Vietnam War' to
the West as the Vietnamese also had their 'French War'.) You can see from the
coast, to the Laos border, and the effects of deforestation caused by Agent
Orange is still starkly evident. It is scary that it is still difficult for
nature to recover 
so
many years later]
Fourth Impression
---- I like the place 
What to do:
We went to the Rex Hotel rooftop bar for a drink but it started pissing down with rain so had to move to the inner area. It had a sense of history architecturally and a sense of atmosphere --- but overpriced for what it is.
Hint: In the shopping centre across the road from the Rex, head up to the rooftop and there is an open bar/restaurant area where you have great views of the Rex Rooftop and City Hall. Food is good & drinks are 1/3 the cost of the Rex and they have these amazing air-con fans when it is HOT.
Here are some shots of the Rex Hotel
Damn .... too many images on this page ?
On the 2nd day, after 2 weeks we were getting foolhardy, we hired a motorbike to fang around and see as much of the city as possible.
We went down to Cho Lon market and was pretty
disappointed with it. However, our 'superior' 
navigation skills found us following some canal back towards our hotel till
it joined the river. There is some severe tidal movement on that river,
with some huge clumps of debris and crap floating down it. DO NOT SWIM HERE
!!! hehe
There are a few nice places to have a beer alongside the river where there is a respite from the heat in the shade and viwes of ferries and boats plying the river. It must be pretty deep considering the size of the ships moored so close to the city.
We wanted to pay a visit to the 'infamous' Apocalypse Now bar but due to "police trubbles" was closed temporarily. Be careful having a drink in bars near here as they seem to be mostly 'Suzy Wong' type joints with overpriced drinks and 'Instant Friends' [mainly girls with expensive drink habits]
An 'interesting' bar is Saloon 17 - along the waterfront near the Rex. They have a Filipino cover band that is quite fun at night. This is a pretty straight bar and the band & Viet girl singers are excellent. Interesting decor for Vietnam.
Ben Thanh Market --- Is sorta OK but nuthin special. I mainly bought some coffee to take home --- not a lot there I wanted or needed at that stage. The food market wasn't spectacular but was interesting with interesting dispalys.
Food in Saigon is more like we are used to in western Viet food prolly due to most migrants from Vietnam being from the South. Therefore I found it LESS interesting.
We found some nice deli's with interesting food - went to a interesting French-Viet restaurant one night.
We ran out of petrol in our hired motorbike and a local guy guessed what our problem was. He gestured one of us onto the back of his bike and, using his foot on the passengers footpedal of our bike, pushed us to a gas station to refill. Pretty scary ride at 4:30 in the afternoon in the traffic !!! He was genuinely surprised when we rewarded him for his efforts.
A MUST SEE is the Presidential Palace --- time it right (that is when NO toursits are in sight) and you will be given an individual guided tour of the former rulers of South Vietnam. On the day of liberation, the building was sealed, and you can see it as it was abandoned by the Americans & South Vietnamese government. Very interesting to see the lifestyle of the affluent ruling class
