@robvan

Yes, Turtle Lake is a circular construction with seats around it. Nothing special as such, but a city landmark: https://govntravel.com/turtle-lake-saigon-a-must-visit-tourist-destination/ Read More

When I lived in Saigon, I used to go to Starlight in District 3: https://www.starlightdental.net/centers/starlight-city-center-dist-3/. No doubt more expensive than a local butcher, but plenty modern and lots of expat clients (English spoken). I had ... Read More

@OceanBeach92107 Oh, and if you're staying at the Continental, stroll across the square past the Opera to the Caravelle Hotel and have a cocktail at the bar on the top floor. Journalists used to congregate there during the Vietnam War -- sorry, ... Read More

@yudirajput As OceanBeach said, Hotel Continental is a good choice if you can afford it (around $120 a night, maybe cheaper for a single, as always try booking with the hotel direct and ask if that's the best they can do). Refurbished, ... Read More

@Malcolmleitrim Hi Malcolm,Here's a story I wrote for Citypassguide some four years ago. It's not entirely relevant in your case and some of it is probaby out of date (I no longer live in Vietnam), but perhaps you'll find some of the points useful. ... Read More

@SteinNebraskaYep, you're screwed indeed, because you let your home-country licence expire. Silly, yes? Unless you still can fix that, e.g. by going back to your home country and telling the licence people there a sob story about covid travel ... Read More

As some people already said, simple home appliances are cheap here -- keep your top-of-the-range Miele blender for when you return home. Most appliances these days are dual-voltage, but check -- your American single-110V appliance is probably quite ... Read More

Yeah, paperwork etc. The same applies to the AZ shots produced in Australia that the EU doesn't recognise either. I've had both shots and would love to visit Europe next year when Australia lets me leave. (I think it's the only country ... Read More

Hang on, after returning to Melbourne Australia I got both my AZ shots and both times I had to sit there for 15 minutes afterwards to monitor any adverse reactions. This applied to everyone. Do they just let Vietnamese walk away immediately over ... Read More

@Gobot and others, Re things to see and do in Saigon: -- Apocalypse Now bar? OK if you don't expect to hold a conversation. I used to work in a discotheque in Amsterdam that had the same problem, though there was a quieter bar upstairs. ... Read More

Hi Enki, Good for you to delete the "go back where you came from" comment. I'm sure I'm not the only one on this forum who doesn't know where that would be. I was born in Singapore of Dutch parents when it was still a crown ... Read More

Hmm, Enki, not a helpful response, is it? Newcomers often reach out for advice from those who came before, struggled with the same iissues and pulled through. "Go back to where you came from" has a nasty ring to it. I suspect you're ... Read More

I get where you're coming from. I spent five years in Saigon after five years in Kuala Lumpur, now I'm some two years back 'home' in Melbourne Aus. I preferred Saigon over KL (safer, friendlier people, no ethnic tensions, cheaper too ... Read More

Why renew an Aus licence you won't use? Well, because it's properly recognised internationally. Try doing anything semi-official overseas with a Vietnamese one :-) Then again, if you never plan on going anywhere outside ASEAN countries ... Read More

Ciambella's advice sounds right to me. Good luck. Re Veloexpat's suggestion... "You can apply on line through the Washington DC embassy for you VEC just need an address to mail in the US then have the family members or friends forward ... Read More