My 1st Trip to Saigon
Nov 29th, 2007, 05:19 PM
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My 1st Trip to Saigon
I'm going Saigon in early Jan'08 an all gals trip & staying at Liberty 4 hotel for 4 nights. I'm keen on shopping for local designer stuff & buying some paintings any recommendation on must go spot in Saigon?
Dec 2nd, 2007, 04:44 AM
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My top tip for a place to go in HCMC is the War Remnants Museum.
As for dollars v dong. There are ATMs all over the place, especially downtown.
Dollars will doubless be fine in the upmarket shops - but don't you ever ask yourself why you think it should be possible to go to another country and sail through using the paper money of another country.
Perhaps I should try visiting the US with nothing but euros or pounds or yen or australian dollars. Do you think they would be accepted by your local 7/11 store.
As for dollars v dong. There are ATMs all over the place, especially downtown.
Dollars will doubless be fine in the upmarket shops - but don't you ever ask yourself why you think it should be possible to go to another country and sail through using the paper money of another country.
Perhaps I should try visiting the US with nothing but euros or pounds or yen or australian dollars. Do you think they would be accepted by your local 7/11 store.
Dec 2nd, 2007, 08:19 AM
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I have not been to Saigon since 2000. But one of my favorite shops was Celadon Green, off Dong Khoi; they stock local ceramics and other crafts and I was very impressed with the quality. Hopefully they are still around because I plan to pay a visit in January as well.
You also need to visit Ben Thanh market. And remember that the shop will often deliver the things you buy to your hotel so you do not have to carry them around all day..
You also need to visit Ben Thanh market. And remember that the shop will often deliver the things you buy to your hotel so you do not have to carry them around all day..
Dec 2nd, 2007, 09:50 PM
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I returned from VN 10 days ago. I didn't find a single place where dollars weren't accepted, though I did change some money to dong.
Since a dollar is about 16,000 dong, sometimes it was useful to have some smaller denominations in dong, as there are a few occasions where a dollar is relatively big money.
As with ylieberthal, even open air markets seemed to prefer dollars.
In one memorable purchase we bought a blanket from an elderly Hmong woman in a Sapa market. She quoted the price in dong, but we wanted to pay in dollars. When we handed her the equivalent $23, she had a hard time figuring out if that was the right amount. Our guide assured her it was right and later explained to us that some of these old ladies aren't good at math. Hey! I can sympathize; it isn't easy to quickly multipy $23 by 16,000!
Since a dollar is about 16,000 dong, sometimes it was useful to have some smaller denominations in dong, as there are a few occasions where a dollar is relatively big money.
As with ylieberthal, even open air markets seemed to prefer dollars.
In one memorable purchase we bought a blanket from an elderly Hmong woman in a Sapa market. She quoted the price in dong, but we wanted to pay in dollars. When we handed her the equivalent $23, she had a hard time figuring out if that was the right amount. Our guide assured her it was right and later explained to us that some of these old ladies aren't good at math. Hey! I can sympathize; it isn't easy to quickly multipy $23 by 16,000!
