Welcome To Saigon! This guide is inspired by the Singapore guide, Saigon version
Saigon and Ho Chi Minh city are the same, people prefer to call it as Saigon
TODO: update table of content
- Travel
- Currency
- Power
- Communication
- Hotel
- Medicine & Facemask
- Coffee
- Eat
- Bar
- Shopping
- Tours
- Notes
- Human
- Resource
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Taxi:
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There are 2 most famous local taxi brand. You can call them: Mai Linh (08) 38383838, Vina Sun (08) 38.272727
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Grab & Uber: by app
NOTES
- After book a grab car or grab bike, they will call you. Make sure your phone number is updated to local number. Most likely they cancel your booking if they can't make a call.
- I prefer using grab (bike or car), it's more common than Uber.
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Motobike (xe ôm)
- Uber moto, Grab bike are new xe ôm service. They are both cheap and safe, you should try.
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Cyclo: if you want to travel around Ben Thanh Market while laying down to a comfortable chair, and definitely environment friendly.
Should exchange cash, we use VND (Việt Nam Đồng), 1USD ~ 22,713 VND (12 Nov 2017, 1:32 PM)
I often exchange money from this place (may be)
If staying in Ho Chi Minh City for few days, I suggest you exchange money here, the rate is better.
When you arrive to Tan Son Nhat Internation Airport, just exchange enough money for taxi, sim card (~40$/person).
You can use Master Card in coffeeshop, restautant or Taxi, but better to have some cash. Master, Visa, Nets, paywave haven't become common yet.
We use type C & E/F (2 legs electric plug, round & square).
Vietnamese version (Source: Tinh te)
Phone number: definitely a Sim card with 3G registered (no ID needed). You will need it for booking taxi, translation, map.
Language: Vietnamese. In Dist1 and Airport, people also use English.
Go to booking website (for example: http://www.agoda.com/)
I prefer stay in Hotel more than homestay in Viet name, though some homestays' service are very good.
In Viet Nam, we can buy medicine & facemask easily in any pharmacy.
Just go alongs any street, you definitely can find them.
I recommend to wear facemask when traveling because of the pollution.
Saigon has a fanstatic coffee culture. People loves drinking coffee, discussing work & life, or reading book and working.
There are 2 kind of coffee beans in Viet Nam, Robusta and Arabica. And less than 10% coffee shops use Arabica beans.
You can find Robusta coffee in any coffee shop. There are 3 kind of coffee drinks
- Đen đá: Black coffee with ice, serve in "Phin"
- Nâu đá: Coffee with milk, serve in "Phin"
- Bạc sỉu: Coffee with more milk
"Phin" is special type of coffee filter.
For Arabica coffee drinker, there are less options than. I add an ! for arabica coffeeshop. It is not 100% accurate. I haven't visited all of them also.
Tips - You can use Foody app for looking for a place to chomp
Sai gon may be the best destination if you are looking for food.
- Phở
- Spring roll
- Snail & Sea food
- Broken rice (Cơm tấm)
- Bread (Bánh mì)
- Glunitous rice (Xôi)
- Bánh xèo
- Bún chả Hà Nội
- Appetizer
Beer hoi, 333, Sài gòn (red, green, silver) are local beer.
Looking for a karaoke, here are some places
- Sai gon Center, 65 Lê Lợi, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam
- Ben Thanh Market (Chợ Bến Thành)
- Vincom Center - 72 Lê Thánh Tôn and 45A Lý Tự Trọng, phường Bến Nghé, quận 1, Tp. Hồ Chí Minh
- Cresent mall District 7
- [Sai gon Square] (http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g293925-d2475475-Reviews-Saigon_Square-Ho_Chi_Minh_City.html)
- Aeon mall - a little bit far.
- Many supermarkets: Coopmart, Maximark, B'smart around the city, plus many small shops alongs street.
- https://www.triip.me/ho-chi-minh/saigon-by-night-29/ Saigon by night
- https://www.triip.me/ho-chi-minh/pick-up-and-city-map-airport-district-1-4359/ When you arrival to Sai Gon and don't know what to do :thumbup:
- https://www.triip.me/ho-chi-minh/vietnamese-street-foods-why-not-426/
- https://www.triip.me/ho-chi-minh/start-up-tour-an-adventure-into-start-up-world-of-vietnam-831/
- https://www.triip.me/ho-chi-minh/saigon-food-tour-1892/
- https://www.triip.me/ho-chi-minh/phu-my-hung-urban-area-tour-v1-2474/
- http://www.foody.vn/ho-chi-minh/tau-sai-gon Buffet in the ship around Saigon River.
Workspace:
- http://www.worksaigon.com/#about
- http://start-saigon.com/
- https://dreamplex.co/
- http://saigoncoworking.com/
- Human of Saigon to know more about human, lifestyle of Saigon.
- You may become a victim of pickpocket,
- Watchout for valueable assets (phone, ipad, wallet) when going in the crowd
- Don't pick your phone or walk alone in the street, especially at night.
- Consider go back by cab
Please make sure this don't happen to you.
- https://www.triip.me/
- http://wikitravel.org/en/Ho_Chi_Minh_City
- https://github.com/rubysg/singapore
- http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Travel_Guide-g293925-Ho_Chi_Minh_City.html
- http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/ho-chi-minh-city
- https://boccommunityblog.wordpress.com/2014/11/29/viet-nam-co-bao-nhieu-quan-ca-phe-tong-hop/
- http://foody.vn
- http://google.com