vietnam guide thread 3

[yby2476]

hectic nga ang sked ng parents mo sis purpleish...and nakakapagod yan...:-) yung mga friends ko na ganyan ang itinerary, nag-stay na lang sila sa bus terminal, para hintayin yung first bus out going to cambodia...may 24 hrs na open na pho hoa store na malapit dun eh...medyo mukhang carinderia siya pero masarap yun at may branch sila dito sa rockwell...:-)

[southpaw]

Sis purpleish, mala-amazing race nga ang trip ng parents. Why aren't you joining them for this trip? Mukhang okay na rin naman yun itinerary na prepare mo for them kasi nagalternate sila sa rest(bus ride)-tour-rest-tour. Plus they are availing of tour packages naman  for the trip, so they don't have to worry about transport and itinerary na. Hope they enjoy their trip!

[purpleish]

sis barefoot_taka ... oo nga sis no choice kaso iniisip ko sayang naman kung hindi den sila makapag Cambodia, andun na den naman na sa Vietnam...nung nag backread ako sis parang halos city tour and cu chi tour ata ang pwedeng magawa sa HCM... nag iisip ako sis kung sakali i-cancel nila ang Cambodia at mag concentrate na lang muna sila sa Vietnam... ano pa kaya interesting puntahan? may nakita akong Mekong Delta, okies kaya (nag babackread pa ako ngayon kahit onti na lang time baka meron mahabol)

... ay oo nga pala, meron pa den bang mala "Ms. Saigon" sa theatre para ma-experience nila yun?... (gusto ko ma-experience yan =))

sis yby2476 ...thanks sis siguro ganun na nga lang gawin nila...

sis southpaw ...sisssssyyyy tee hee! dito naman tayo nag tagpo...mala-amazing race talaga hehe, sanay naman na sila... nako sis how i wish makasama sa kanila, love ko pa naman ang Pho Hoa mukhang interesting ang country nila, mukhang masarap den mag foodtrip...gusto kong makakita ng kalsada na puros mga nag bbike, sarap photo op un =) kaso hindi kame pwede sumama kasi hindi pwede umabsent ng matagal si chloe, tyaka anniversary date daw nila mader at pader =) tee hee!...

thanks sis... para less worry na ako...pero kung kame kasama ni dennis sarap sana mag DIY...pero sarap den na meron guide para mas more info sa lugar...tingin ko den sa Vietnam parang very affordable...mag kano kaya sis ang rate nila??

[huit]

^

okay naman ang mekong delta tour.pili na lang sila kung anong klaseng tour ang gusto nila kase iba iba yung tour ng mekong delta eh. hehe.

[barefoot_taka]

sis purpleish don't change their IT na lang. ok naman na yan. sayang naman if they don't get to see cambodia eh...mekong delta tour so-so lang daw yan eh. don't know about ms.saigon. wala yata. when we went there wala eh.

[purpleish]

thanks mga sissy's for 2 days nakagawa ako agad ng IT...habang ginagawa ko ang IT nila mader, parang nakasama na den ako dun, at least ngayon meron na akong idea kung paano ang pwedeng gawin dun sa Vietnam-Cambodia, pero plan ko pa den mag backread...sana mag enjoy sila sa tour nila =)

mga sis how much nga pala ang papalit nila sa USD dun ngayon?

[iluvescadasport]

@purpleish

re: mekong delta, i recommend you get it kahit 1 day tour lang. don't get the 3days 2 nights mekong delta tour kasi redundant na siya on the 2nd day. 1 day is okay, kapag 2 days so-so. I took the 3d2n kasi, for me naging redundant na. opinion ko din, parang pilipinas lang siya. But masmalinis sa kanila, and siyempre you get to see how they live their life in the waters.

ang laging kasama sa mekong delta tour (regardless how many days) is the fruit farm (which in my opinion is so-so lang kasi masmasarap pa yun fruits dito sa pilipinas) and the coconut candy (you get to see how they make the coconut candy). yun sa 3d2n ko, meron din yun visit to rice popcorn area (how they make the rice popcorn) and yun 2 lang kaso sa isang boat tapos meron magrow (parang gondola type) to the floating market area tapos you can buy sa floating market. 

medyo tiring din kasi puro boat and bus. pero it was a good experience.

ilan days parents mo sa vietnam? opinion ko lang a, 3 days is enough to see hcmc (1 day in mekong delta, 1 or 1/2 day for cuchi tunnel, 1 day for city tour). if they have more than 3 days, either go to cambodia, or go to Mui Ne or Nha Trang or Phu Quoc. Based sa mga kwento ng mga naka-sama ko sa bus (mostly Westerners, so baka iba taste nila sa atin mga Pinoy), super okay doon sa 3 places na yun. What I'm not sure if baka meron kapareho yun mga places na yan sa Pilipinas

[Gladz31842]

@purpleish:

sayang now ko lang nakita tong post mo sis...yong conic garden na condo is very very far from the city tapos ang tawiran niyan may tubig sa gitna na minsan tumataas and hindi matawiran. bakit dyan sila magsstay? meron ba silang kakilala? may mga pinoy nga dyan sis pero kase tirahan yan hindi hotel. Pag magtaxi naman sila from that area up to the city, it will cost them around 200,000vnd or P400 sa pera natin, sayang naman tapos pag iikot pa mas lalong tataas...ang layo ng iikotan.

naku late na pala tong post ko, nov 20 pala nagpunta kala ko this sunday pa...wala din ako sa vietnam this time, iniisip ko kase na baka pwede kong samahan..tsk! sorry sis now ko lang nakita itong post mo...sana nag enjoy mom and dad mo...

[Frozen Toes]

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City 9:30 PM of Dec 1. We checked in at Lan Lan 1 Hotel. I love its location because all the major tourist spots are very walkable. When I say walkable, tatawid ka lang. Nasa tapat na kasi nya yung Independence Palace. Malapit din sa Ben Thanh Market, less than 2-minute walk. I actually tried hiring a cab papuntang Ben Thanh since may pila ng Vinasun cabs sa harap ng hotel namin. Tinatamad na kasi ako maglakad. Ayaw ako pasakayin, lakarin ko na lang daw. The cab drivers said it in a nice way naman.

Also, malapit din yung hotel sa Water Puppet Theatre (4-minute walk) and sa Notre Dame & Central Post Office (10-minute walk, can be less than that kung mabilis ka maglakad).

We booked a Deluxe Twin via Agoda. Parang Php2,500 per night yung rate. Inclusive of buffet breakfast for 2. Okay lang yung breakfast pero good enough yung selection. May mga katabi din syang eateries and restaurants plus a spa. Di namin na-try yung traditional Vietnamese massage, sayang.

It's approximately 40 minutes (moderate traffic) away from the airport via cab. VND 109,000 yung binayad namin sa cab na naghatid samin sa airport. Pero it can go up to VND 150,000 daw pag traffic sabi nung receptionist sa hotel.

Sa pagbalik ko sa Vietnam, dito ulit ako magsstay.

[melodymedley]

Hello to this thread!

I've been backreading here and I haven't found anyone who did a Mui Ne DIY tour. Anyone?
I wanna see the sand dunes. Nabasa ko sa ibang forum na may ganito sa Mui Ne.

I plan to do this 3Q of 2012 pa. I've read about Mr. Bihn Sahara Tours and Jason Superstar doing tours doing daytrips to Mui Ne kaso ang mahal kapag solo lang. So I was wondering if meron dito nakagawa na ng DIY? Or nakapunta na sa Mui Ne? Feedback please. 

[Frozen Toes]

^ You can ask Mr. Punch. I know he went to Mui Ne last week before returning to Manila.

[Gladz31842]

^ui sis sana nagkita tayo

[Frozen Toes]

^ Ay oo nga! Dami pa nga naming spare time. Sana nagmeet na lang tayo. Sayang, ngayon ko lang nabasa na based ka sa Saigon eh.

Pero malamang babalik ako dyan. 2.5 hrs lang pala ang flight, lapit lang. Naenjoy ko stay ko sa District 1. Chaotic in an orderly way. Hehe.

[thesoloist]

how'e the weather on May?

[Mr.Punch]

Hello to this thread!

I've been backreading here and I haven't found anyone who did a Mui Ne DIY tour. Anyone?
I wanna see the sand dunes. Nabasa ko sa ibang forum na may ganito sa Mui Ne.

I plan to do this 3Q of 2012 pa. I've read about Mr. Bihn Sahara Tours and Jason Superstar doing tours doing daytrips to Mui Ne kaso ang mahal kapag solo lang. So I was wondering if meron dito nakagawa na ng DIY? Or nakapunta na sa Mui Ne? Feedback please. 

I did a DIY on Mui Ne, but just for 1 night like most people I've come across.

The first thing I did was do research on where to stay, because I did not want to be limited by what the bus companies offer (where the rooms are usually 30$ and above.)  I was able to get in touch with Ever Green Guesthouse that offered $25 for that 1 night (rates could go higher or lower, depending on the season, and December is high season na).

Then I did some research on tour guides who could take me to tourist spots.  Usually, guest houses and hotels would have their own contacts, but I wanted to be flexible enough so I hired an "easy rider" (Mr. Binh) whose standard rate is $10 for half day.  For that half day, I was able to go to the Fairy Stream, view the fishing village from afar, the "mini-Grand Canyon", as well as the White and Red sand dunes.

When both of that is settled, then I bought a bus ticket going to Mui Ne.  I read through forums in Tripadvisor and it seems that Phong Trang is the best bust going to Mui Ne, and the second best is Sinh Tourist (formerly Sinh Cafe).  I first inquired in Phuong Trang, but their 8am schedules were already full, so I walked a few more meters to Sinh Tourist and got a ticket for a 7:15 bus for $7.  By the way, both Phuong Trang and Sinh Tourist ticket offices are located in De Tham Street, very near Pham Ngu Lao Street.

Everything went smoothly because the conductor on Sinh Tourist asks each passenger in which hotel they plan to stay in Mui Ne, so they can drop you off there.  I got dropped right in front of Ever Green Guesthouse at 12:30 in the afternoon.  I was supposed to wait for Mr. Binh in Ever Green, but since I had his cellphone number, the owners of Ever Green offered to text/call him up to inform him I was already there.

Fast forward.

After the tour is over, I told Mr. Binh to stop by at the Sinh Tourist office in Mui Ne so that I can buy a ticket going back to Saigon.  The ticket going back costs just $5, for some reason and the bus leaves at 9am.  They even offered to pick me up at Ever Green at 9:15 am and they got there at exactly that time.

Anyway, if you need the contact info for Mr. Binh and Ever Green Guesthouse, just PM me. 

[melodymedley]

^Thanks for the detailed report Mr. Punch! 

One night in Mui Ne lang din ang plan ko. Wow, $25 a night is relatively cheap because I am budgeting $30-35 for one night there. I also plan to take the bus.

I want to hire Mr. Bihn too. Pano yung transpo nya? Habal-habal type ba?

[dreamfairy07]

anyone going VN later? para may kasabay ako hehe

[herroyalbleakness]

sis dreamfairy! Enjoy your vacay Vietnam Holidays ka pala

[dreamfairy07]

i'm back in the PH!

thank you sis herroyalbleakness, sobrang nag enjoy nga ako sa vn trip ko

wanna come back to vietnam again! i stayed in Bien Hoa, Dong Nai province.
sobrang mag-enjoy ka kung nasa province. ang sarap lahat ng food, mapa-street food
or from resto. the weather is so cold pa. unlike sa HCMC, super init and di ako
nasarapan sa food, except those from Mon Hue restaurant. babalik-balikan ko talaga!

sa susunod na visit ko, wanna stay there for a month para malibot ko yung countryside.
ang sarap din ng feeling na tanggap ako ng family ng bf ko. they even asked me to
come and visit my bf's grandfather and aunt in Thu Duc, near HCMC.

sa 5 days ko, eto lang napuntahan ko: VungTau, Giang Dien, Long An Lake, Cu Chi Tunnel,
HCMC. sa susunod, try ko puntahan lahat, since may friends naman kami living near
Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, and Quang Ninh province.

must try itong mga food na ito: Banh Beo, Banh Xeo, Com Lan Sen, Banh Uot, Banh Cuon
Thanh Tri, Bun Rieu Ca, Bun Moc, at marami pang iba! Sobrang namiss ko ang vietnamese food.
wala akong hindi gusto

   

[herroyalbleakness]

welcome back sis!

nainitan nga rin ako sa HCMC during our trip. mukhang super happy vacation mo sis

i did hear about how nice Nha Trang is. Masama nga sa IT pag nagpunta ulit ako.