Novotel Garden Plaza Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City

Advantages: Cheap rooms and food
Disadvantages: Tourism

...I arrived in Saigon from Cambodia having travelled from Cambodia overland. Saigon, or Hoi Chi Minh City as it was renamed after the war, is the largest city in Vietnam and has many attractions for travellers and tourists. As Saigon is the most popular city for tourists, areas have become very commercialised which has led to a more competitive tourist trade but does detract from the overall feel of the city. It’s a good city to start off on a tour of Asia or Vietnam as everything you need is catered for. Most people in the tourist area speak enough English to communicate but this does lead to a lot of hawkers and beggars. Even in a bar hawkers who move table to table will accost you with silk prints, cigarettes and lighters to name a few. I advise not sitting next to an open window as passing hawkers and beggars will try... Read review

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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 has... Read review

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Advantages: Plenty to see
Disadvantages: Weather unpredictable - can ground you

...My boyfriend and I took a three week holiday in Vietnam December 1999. A reasonably priced fare with Lauda Air (£458 inc) Heathrow - Vienna - Bangkok - Ho Chi Minh. We planned to make our own travel arrangements through the countryside as far north as Nha Trang. We arrived unaware that a cyclone was hitting hard from the Phillipines. Flooding up and down the country led to a state of emergency being declared throughout the country. Tourists were being shunted back to major towns and cities as fast as possible. So this situation put paid to our plans for a three week travelling trip. We faced up to the fact that it was going to be Saigon and very little else for the duration. It was disappointing that we couldn't control our own proceedings and missed out on the beautiful countryside, sand sea and local village life that we had... Read review

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