Your top 3 Tips for a newbie coming to HCMC for the first time!

1. Leave your 'attitude' and preconceptions at home. VietNam is a proud country and stands equal with others. It doesn't need Foreigners to succeed, it's done that on it's own;
2. Vietnamese people are little different from any other on earth, they are not 'specimens' to be examined. Some Foreigners who come here (usually on business) and hole up in a hotel waiting for that day when they can fly out. Others live in compounds, in a very incestuous lifestyle, with a us and them attitude and generally try to avoid contact with the locals.YYou can see hordes of Japanese in Da Nang who arrive on the Japanese jet, board Japanese style buses (horror of horrors a VN driver) but Japanese bus attendants. They drive to some high priced hotels south of the city (Nam Hai,Hoi An Beach), spend the weekend with fellow Japanese and claim they have 'visited' VietNam!;
(3) VietNam is a country not a war. Over 50% of the population was born after the American War in VietNam, most could care less about it as new cell phones and the latest fashions occupy their minds. If you are a former soldier coming to relive your memories, the jungle has gobbled most of them up and whatever they missed is likely to have been knocked down - except for the 'pill' box near the airport and a few more in Hue.
(4) VietNam is a 'binary' destination: you either love it or hate it.

P.S. Leave your Immodium at home and drink Rau Mau (phonetic) a vegetable based drink that will cure even the worst of stomach poisoning. Available from most VN restaurants and drink vendors.

Excellent advice jaitch.
This was the kind of reply I was looking for. Very informative points you have made there. I'm liking the way you described Vietnam as a binary destination no if or but about it.
As for being holed up in a hotel or incestuous living - I ll be the total opposite and try to get out there as much as my body can take.

Thanks for your time
Peter

#1 Get a small Vietnamese language book with helpful words and phrases and "go native" as much as possible.

#2 Take your time....make decisions in haste and you will regret at your leisure.

#3 Always PAY ATTENTION! If you fail to pay attention, one of two things can happen: #1 things will go wrong very fast, #2 things can go very wrong without warning.

Vnescape

Thanks for your post. I fail to mention that I can understand vietnamese perfectly but cant speak as well as i can understand. But reguarding point 2 and 3, do you have any kind of example where this has effected you cause it saounds as if you've learnt from an error.

Hi Silverfox,

I have been in Ho Chi Minh for 2 weeks now and can think of a few things I wish I would of done differently.

1) Unless you're really into fashion and owning a big wardrobe, pack as lightly as possible. I can count many items of clothing I will never wear in this country due to the climate etc (4 pairs of jeans, 2 sweatshirts)

2) When crossing the road, ALWAYS look both ways. There is no such thing as driving on the right hand side of the road here. If there is a space in the road a Motorbike will take it regardless if it is on the right hand side or not!

3) Sandals. I wish I had brought with me more pairs of waterproof 'crocks' as we call them in the UK. Instead I have brought with me a batch of trainers I don't think I will ever get through as I much prefer keeping my feet cool!

1.)  Be patient, above all else.

2.)  Rent a motorbike and roam around the city.

and

3.)  Have fun!  This is the best city in the world,IMHO.

Bonesy wrote:

3) Sandals. I wish I had brought with me more pairs of waterproof 'crocks' as we call them in the UK. Instead I have brought with me a batch of trainers I don't think I will ever get through as I much prefer keeping my feet cool!

Go to Bui Vien, on the De Tham side.  There's people selling sandals there for 50K VND and up. You can probably find Croc knock-offs there, too.  I found a pair of 46/12's today, which is a score here, especially at 50K!

Hi Vnescape
Wow. Its sound like you have had a little bit of a tough lesson to learn but sounds like you are coping regardless. Thanks for taking the time to write and share whats sounds like an ever struggle. Im not here to find a relationship so i guess i dont have to be cautious in the same respect that you have. But all in all after reading some other post i guess caution and not being too trusting in anyone too much is well advised. Ive heard some terrible stories about marriages and visa etc and its not nice what some people will do to get out of vietnam. But apart from that i hope you and your wife are happy for the rest of your days together.

Let me know if u are free when i arrive in april and would like to share more conversation over beers or iced coffee.

Peter

WideAwake wrote:

1.)  Be patient, above all else.

2.)  Rent a motorbike and roam around the city.

and

3.)  Have fun!  This is the best city in the world,IMHO.

Hi wideawake

Patience. Yes. I seen the traffic! But i know what you mean. Patience with getting around and not getting frustrated by little things will be a challenge itself.

As for renting a motorbike!? Im a bit dubious about that. I can ride a bike class myself as a pretty good driver in the uk. But me, a newbie in hcmc with all that traffic. Is that wise?

Having fun is gona be the easy part ( ithink)

But im glad u think hcmc is the best place on earth. And after my trip there i hope i will be saying the same too.

Kudos to you wideawake

Bonesy wrote:

Hi Silverfox,

I have been in Ho Chi Minh for 2 weeks now and can think of a few things I wish I would of done differently.

1) Unless you're really into fashion and owning a big wardrobe, pack as lightly as possible. I can count many items of clothing I will never wear in this country due to the climate etc (4 pairs of jeans, 2 sweatshirts)

2) When crossing the road, ALWAYS look both ways. There is no such thing as driving on the right hand side of the road here. If there is a space in the road a Motorbike will take it regardless if it is on the right hand side or not!

3) Sandals. I wish I had brought with me more pairs of waterproof 'crocks' as we call them in the UK. Instead I have brought with me a batch of trainers I don't think I will ever get through as I much prefer keeping my feet cool!

Hi bonsey.

Thanks for the heads up. I usually dress quite well at home in the uk. But will try to shorts tshirt and sandles it all the way in hcmc to try to blend in. Crocs are a personal fav of mine for comfort an now i can wear them without being laughed at.

I recently read your post about rasidm and thought it was quite unfortunate and hope it hasnt detered you from shopping at places like that guitar shop. Kerp trekking cause u will find idiots like that in any walks of life.
Hope to bump into you in hcmc so i can hear u play live.

Nothing better than live music

Silverfox88 wrote:

Hi bonsey.

Thanks for the heads up. I usually dress quite well at home in the uk. But will try to shorts tshirt and sandles it all the way in hcmc to try to blend in. Crocs are a personal fav of mine for comfort an now i can wear them without being laughed at.

I recently read your post about rasidm and thought it was quite unfortunate and hope it hasnt detered you from shopping at places like that guitar shop. Kerp trekking cause u will find idiots like that in any walks of life.
Hope to bump into you in hcmc so i can hear u play live.

Nothing better than live music

No problem!

One more thing to mention whilst we're on the topic of clothing, I wish I hadn't of brought as much 'heavy' clothing. You sweat much more quickly wearing them rather than lighter items (you'll have to forgive my vague terminology, materials are not my strong point and I can't be bothered to google it :p )

Thanks for the advice on the whole guitar issue, in the end I found a lovely shop owner who I bought a guitar from and I'm very happy with it!

Yeah when I get moving with things I'll be playing at a few bars on Bu Vien. If you're really into live music it's an incredible street for it, very talented Filipino acts perform amazing covers that appeal to all audiences!

Safe travelling,

Bonesy