Food is better

This is much related to personal taste, as most of Northern people are not quite getting along with Saigon’s food flavors. What I like is a big range of food. Many choices for your eating, especially breakfast. It will be easy to stay a month but you don’t need to eat the same courses each day

Service is much better then elsewhere

No matter what service you use, small restaurant or 5 star service standard, you will feel comfortable and ‘be served’. That is hardly to get elsewhere in Vietnam, especially Hanoi.

Taxi is good

You will have reason to worry when you use Taxi in Hanoi, but in Saigon you will find more reliable taxi around. It is not only to reputable taxi operators like Mai Linh or Vinasun, I found others are also fine. They are helpful and honest on serving.

Things seem to be cheaper now

Depending on services you use, but lately I found cost of living in Saigon is cheaper than Hanoi.  Accommodation is 20% cheaper than Hanoi in the same standard. House renting is even lower at least about 40% which is great chance for anyone wish to stay in Saigon at the moment.

Weather is stable

It is sunny and hot year around in South of Vietnam including Saigon. I personally don’t like sun and heat but stable temperature and lower humidity would please most of people especially Northern where the weather is always hard to predict.

Posted: April 6th, 2012 under Destination, Travel.
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When I stepped out of Saigon station in early of 1999, I realized that the City was not for me.  There were so many things I dislike about, noisy, strange, food, accents and might be a part of its history. We was told about Saigon as the capital of Vietnam War, place of death and horrible killers. Saigon was eyed like that by a 20 years old conservative Northern boy.

After 4 years stayed, I’d loved every corners of it. Saigon has its own charm that not quite the same to any other places. Saigon culture could be suitable for young people, things are more simple here, no particular scrutiny like in Hanoi. Someone said it has influence from America, No, I don’t think so, it seems like weather, geography conditions made people here more open and friendly.

I was addicted to coffee since I was here, I just like the way people having it, the best way to know the locals though coffee shops on roadside where people talk, chatting away after breakfast or lunch break. You don’t have to keep silence like in Hanoi, conversations are unnecessary considerate which is a must in the North. Fun is easier found here.

I miss Saigon sometimes, miss the wide selection of food that mostly unbearable to Northern people, miss those motor taxi drivers on roadside with big smiles every times I passed them. No more reason to base there for long but It has certainly an excitement whenever I am thinking to go there.

Posted: September 22nd, 2011 under Destination, Travel.
Comments: 2

Our trip started at 9 am in hanoi, after 1h30p we were present at Perfume Pagoda.On the road, around 20km far from Perfume pagoda, you may encounter a touts for boats service, meals…., but should not use their services.
Seems like the atmosphere of the main festivals still echo to this day so we feel very excited when we had recently arrived. Instead of raining on the way is the light sunshine that makes scenes become brighter and more beautiful than ever.
Our trip enlists the weekend on sunday, so we can only select the main point to visit such as Trinh temple,Thien Tru, Huong Tich cave.
Depart from the wharf, it will take about 15 minutes to reach the Trinh temple, 60 minutes to Thien Tru and from there you can catch the cable car to the Huong Tich cave.
As an amateur photographer, I also spend my time to take some images for sharing so that you may have a look at one of the famous landscapes of Vietnam. Unfortunately, images are not very good so you guys should give me your sympathy .
The trip is perfect and ended at 4 pm, we drop into restaurant and recharge the energy after one day traveling then go back to Hanoi at 7.30pm.
I hope to have the opportunity to come back and visit more places!

Posted: March 26th, 2011 under Culture, Destination, Travel.
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Sapa has been changing so much since tourism boom about 12 years ago in this area. No doubt to say that many nice change of improvement into the local life, especially on minority people. More schools have been built, road and transportation are getting much better than it used to be, people here has chance to learn lots from modern life that build up great sources of education to this remote area. Besides, how preserving the local culture is a big question and big mission for local tourism administration in order to maintain the sustainable local tourism.

The storm of tourism is taking local people leave out their habitation for trading, with limited on education and poverty, locals easily fall on the demanding of ‘money chasing’, meanwhile, the value of their own culture will be at risk. More and more children now quit their free education in the village to follow tourist to sell things. More and more people leave their village and agriculture for Sapa town to find their luck of earning money. The handicraft works that have been with them in thousand of years also vanished, people make their way to Lao Cai to buy product to sell instead of making by themselves. The little society has been changed and it is in the threatening of relationship broken when they go too close on the trading competition. More and more ‘mixed’ children were born in Sapa without father. And maybe their fathers left without intention of they have a baby here.

Everything is priced in Sapa now, if you want a photo from someone, you may have to pay them something or buying stuff from them. This is the new behavior from locals as Vietnamese in rural areas usually love photos and they are happy enough if you show them after taking.

I am not expected to make a big change for Sapa, that work is too big for me, I just wanted to rise a few words to tourist and local authority to consider their acts to this lovely destination. Most of people travel to Sapa got a big heart to locals, to this scenic place, the useful information are needed to help tourist doing the right things. There are many tour operators out there still ignore the the impact of Sapa and forget the long term of destination they run the business to. Here are some of my personal suggestions to people travel to Sapa, your comments are more than welcome. All I want is making a Sapa as the long term tourist destination for all travelers.

1, if you love any local products, buy them from the shops, not trading directly to local minority people. Someone may think doing directly is helping directly to their family, but in long term is not! Children need time for schools rather than hanging around all day to sell things. Competition between them is an issue too.

2, Don’t offer money or anything to make photos or other purposes. Asking before making photos, if they refuse, just please walk away.

3, Please don’t give candy or biscuits to people, especially to children as local people has no ideas and reach of dental service.

4, Try to respect the local atmosphere when you do homestay. No late party or drunk. No drug uses please. Follow what local do and respect their timing of meals, sleep and other customs.

5, if you want to give local money, give it to older people, or donation to established organization in town. Many people don’t know how to spend that kind money and maybe some of them will go to drugs or harmful stuffs.

Posted: March 7th, 2011 under Destination, Travel.
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It’s not much later after I wrote an article of Junk or Junk about Halong bay including the safety concerning when you choose a Junk in this popular spot, the disaster happened. 12 people died mixed international. The reasons found were human errors; someone forgot to switch of the engine valves and took off the night shift. Things found too late and boat was sunken with 12 people lives.

Two people arrested, Captain and Chef Engineers. Of course. But people may raise a question of who else will take responsibility apart from 2 those guys. It is quite clearly that the safety training system is questioning. I think lot of the boat operators in Halong Bay pay less or little about safety conditions and requirement. Annual maintenance for boat are operated seriously but I am sure there are also some corruptions on those especially on tourism peak season when operator need more rooms to sell to tourist. This accident is also a big ring to Vietnamese people pay more personal working attitude to safety requirements that often being forgotten or ignored.

This is a big lession for Vietnamese government and local authority in development and integration. It is time for Vietnam changes or upgrades their way of conditions that will be more suitable or closer to international standards in order to keep maintaining Vietnam development in general and tourism in this specific cases.

Human errors can be found anywhere of this world. The recent Halong Bay accident will make tourist think twice before they go, however, this will not stop people to visit the must – see world heritage of Halong because there are still many good and serious operators out there to choose. What you must do is making some homework before hand. And I am so excited to see how local authority react and do to gain back the consumer’s trust! Let’s see.

Posted: February 21st, 2011 under Destination, Travel.
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