Liberty 4, Ho Chi Minh City

Exotic City For Those Who Want Something Different

Advantages: Exciting culture, new sites and smells, beats the old humdrum cities
Disadvantages: Very hot in April

I was a little worried when I was informed that I had to go to Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam on business. I was brought up in the far east and I knew this place as Saigon. Sometime in the seventies Saigon became Ho Chi Min City. ***FIRST IMPRESSIONS*** My first impression was that it was very hot and dusty and had a strange sickly smell. Most foreign airports strike me that way when I first get off the plane, so this isn't something peculiar to this place. There were still soldiers, military vehicles and anti aircraft guns scattered about the place, just as they had been more than twenty years ago. I just hoped that the rest of the city had made progress. ***AIRPORT*** Everything looked crowded and dusty as we left Tan Son Nhat International Airport which is right in the heart of the city. There has actually been some ...

jan007 10.11.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Pham Ngu Lao/Backpackers!!

Advantages: Convenient and reasonable prices
Disadvantages: Noisy and crowded

Arriving at Tan Son Nhat[Ho Chi MInh Aipport] is one thing - but leaving can be harder. The taxi-drivers know that you don't have any alternatives or so they think. They'll tell you a price which can be up to ten times more than the actual price on the meter. So what you should do is turn left and head towards 'Departure' cause the taxi-drivers down there are not part of the scam. Jump into to a taxi and tell them your destination. And your destination if your budget is less than 5 star hotels and so on should be the "Pham Ngu Lao' area also called the backpacker zone. Here you find hotels/dormitories from $5 and up. A nice little room with aircon, fridge, tv and bathroom goes for around $10/12 and up. Don't get stressed there are plenty of options in the area. Some people will most likely try to tell you that all the rooms are gone ...

vilumdeluxe 17.03.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

A Sai For Those Who Have Not Gon.

Advantages: Modern Vietnam With One Eye Carefully Trained On The Past.
Disadvantages: The Scam Merchants Will Have Your Eye Out If You're Not Careful.

As much as those in authority try to change Saigon to Ho Chi Minh the more the locals hold onto Saigon. You see despite the passage of time and outwardly friendly gesturing between North and South Vietnam there is still much distrust between the two. So holding onto a historical name is one way of showing the other how they really feel. Saigon is a wonderful capital that is clogged morning, noon and night with motorbikes, bicycles, pedicabs and the occasional 4 wheeled vehicle. It has much to offer and despite the constant stories of robberies and muggings it is a safe city to visit. Pollution isn't on the scale of Bangkok but when you compare it to Hanoi some work clearly needs to be done to clear the air. Saigon sprawls over 16 districts but the main attractions and most of the accommodation are housed within district one. It ...

indiecater 22.09.2002 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)