Good for Vietnam

Few days ago some posters mentioned the growing number of video clips about Saigon HCMC, Cu Chi, My Tho posted on You Tube by a guide from the same place. I viewed all and thought that was something. Something good for people planning to go there. Something good from an individual. Up to now, there haven't been many things of same nature about places of interest in VN. There should be more efforts like those since many, many people can find one or two things clearer prior to arrival.

All good points.

We first visited Vietnam in 2008 and will be back there again in 2012.

Keith

Few days ago some posters mentioned the growing number of video clips about Saigon HCMC, Cu Chi, My Tho posted on You Tube by a guide from the same place. I viewed all and thought that was something. Something good for people planning to go there. Something good from an individual. Up to now, there haven't been many things of same nature about places of interest in VN. There should be more efforts like those since many, many people can find one or two things clearer prior to arrival.

we toured with him in Jan. He's very good and his love of country is infectious.

Few days ago some posters mentioned the growing number of video clips about Saigon HCMC, Cu Chi, My Tho posted on You Tube by a guide from the same place. I viewed all and thought that was something. Something good for people planning to go there. Something good from an individual. Up to now, there haven't been many things of same nature about places of interest in VN. There should be more efforts like those since many, many people can find one or two things clearer prior to arrival.

How do I find these?

How do I find these?

It's simple, Glutenhab..

First, check in http://www.youtube.com

Secondly, search for dungzoom

After viewing his clips in dungzoom you can search for dungzoom1 for more.

Thanks, but this is the first post in this thread mentioning dungzoom, so how would I have know that?

Also in the sense of good for Vietnam, good for my country's reputation I wish to mention the rapid commercialization in Mekong Delta's places of interest. Tour for people from Phu My port is to My Tho. Tour from Saigon Nha Rong port is to Cai Be. The latter serves cruisers' expectations much better than the first. My Tho tour's places are full of shops and don't open your eyes to vast views of rural environments. In the garden they even hang fruits on the tree and the "amateur" music band sing like a machine, never forgetting to put a basket for tips on your table at the end of their "show". Almost everything at your places of visits meant to sell not to show visitors greeness of the land.

Time spent for the tour is also too long. Four to five hours two ways sitting in the van might be quite tiring. Time for touring not much, just rushy, pushy. There are some longer time tours in which people can be away from crowded places but out of time permit.

Mine is a local's personal views. You cruisers should refer to others' especially those who have done it.

From Phu My, roughly 80% visitors buy a city tour to Saigon. If you are coming back to Saigon on your second time, make some reading and buy a free & easy tour if not Cuchi tunnels excursion.

As you plan to visit a country you are generally interested in its beauty. That’s number 1. During your visit, you will certainly meet with the people. That’s number 2. To a certain extent, you will join the local environment / society. That’s number 3.

It’s the same when you plan to visit Vietnam. One thing; however, is the very low percentage of tourists returning to VN on the second time. Why ?

There’s no doubt about the beauty of Vietnam’s charms from Halong Bay to Hanoi, Hoi An, coastal line, Saigon,…etc.

The Vietnamese people and the society have something wrong ? Me think, the Vietnamese are hospitable but not for sure during the tour a visitor meets real locals who welcome him not for money. The society; besides, is developing uncontrolled. Outside a number of best and comfortable hotels, good restaurants and chains of places of interest, it is not ready for you to live with. It looks interesting if seen from a tour bus but if you like to “swim” in it, you might be “victimized”.

If you are a backpacker, the Vietnamese environment is suited and you can travel long days.

But if you are not, a cruise tour is most decent. Come, visit and go without stay. If you fly, a quick visit organized by some renowned travel agents is also best option. They select best hotel, best tour guide, best car and driver, best compensation policy...

Vietnam is like a beautiful flower. Enjoy looking at it, take its picture and say goodbye. You will; thus, miss it. That is much better than you try to experience it and go without a promise to come back.

Since I am plannning a trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand for next summer...I know heat and humidity, I am overwhelmed. I have cruised well over 50 times to other areas, but other than China, have had very little experience with Asia. I could use some advice here. I am looking for an experienced guide/driver in the cities,and countries I plan to visit. Since, I am always successful here, can somone offer some assitance with the pre-planning for me. I do appreciate any and all assistance.

Last year this time my wife and I cruised to Vietnam for the first time. We hired Zoom as a private tour guide and we were more than satisfied with his professional approach to his tour of Saigon. He took us to all the sights. We visited markets, post office, churches, war museum, general tour, lunch at Pho 2000 (fantastic). Iced coffee at the roof top bar at the Rex Hotel. He set up a wonderful dinner dance show for us (fantastic). He arranged for his driver to drive us around Saigon after the tour was completed he came back the next day with a CD with all the pictures he took during our tour. He has been a tour guide ion Vietname for many years and is well respected within the community. He was the private tour guide for Chelse Clinton when they visited Saigon during the CLinton presidency. I would highly recommend him. You can send him an email dungzoom@gmail.com to contact him. He willpick you up at your ship's berth and make all the arrangements. His knowledge is second to none. You will get a very interesting perspective on current day Vietnam as well as history lesson if you wish. If you have the chance don't miss the Mekong Delta it is well worth the trip and gives you a chance to get out of the city to see the country side which is very beautiful. Hope you have a great time....we did.

It's simple, Glutenhab..

First, check in http://www.youtube.com

Secondly, search for dungzoom

After viewing his clips in dungzoom you can search for dungzoom1 for more.

He just posted one last weekend (17-June date stamp, I think) capturing what crossing the street is like at the Chinatown markets. I'm the guy in the first minute of the video asking "Is that durian?"

(Man, I had a lot of fun seeing the city with Zoom.)

As you plan to visit a country you are generally interested in its beauty. That’s number 1. During your visit, you will certainly meet with the people. That’s number 2. To a certain extent, you will join the local environment / society. That’s number 3.

It’s the same when you plan to visit Vietnam. One thing; however, is the very low percentage of tourists returning to VN on the second time. Why ?

There’s no doubt about the beauty of Vietnam’s charms from Halong Bay to Hanoi, Hoi An, coastal line, Saigon,…etc.

The Vietnamese people and the society have something wrong ? Me think, the Vietnamese are hospitable but not for sure during the tour a visitor meets real locals who welcome him not for money. The society; besides, is developing uncontrolled. Outside a number of best and comfortable hotels, good restaurants and chains of places of interest, it is not ready for you to live with. It looks interesting if seen from a tour bus but if you like to “swim” in it, you might be “victimized”.

If you are a backpacker, the Vietnamese environment is suited and you can travel long days.

But if you are not, a cruise tour is most decent. Come, visit and go without stay. If you fly, a quick visit organized by some renowned travel agents is also best option. They select best hotel, best tour guide, best car and driver, best compensation policy...

Vietnam is like a beautiful flower. Enjoy looking at it, take its picture and say goodbye. You will; thus, miss it. That is much better than you try to experience it and go without a promise to come back.

This afternoon as sitting at Trung Nguyen cafe on Le Loi Blvd, Saigon, I saw a couple of foreign tourists in an awkward situation. They stopped and bought two coconuts from a walking vendor right outside my cafe. And, they had to put 100,000 VND or nearly 5 US dollars in the stretching hand of the vendor.

One US dollar per coconut is already a good price for that "throat-cutting service". He sells my country's reputation for three single dollars !

If I could not stop that "business" or " service" I can be less ashamed of my country fellow's act by writing about that. Ask your guide/driver/hotel concierge about an extra activity like walking before you do it.

Also in the sense of good for Vietnam, good for my country's reputation I wish to mention the rapid commercialization in Mekong Delta's places of interest. Tour for people from Phu My port is to My Tho. Tour from Saigon Nha Rong port is to Cai Be. The latter serves cruisers' expectations much better than the first. My Tho tour's places are full of shops and don't open your eyes to vast views of rural environments. In the garden they even hang fruits on the tree and the "amateur" music band sing like a machine, never forgetting to put a basket for tips on your table at the end of their "show". Almost everything at your places of visits meant to sell not to show visitors greeness of the land.

Time spent for the tour is also too long. Four to five hours two ways sitting in the van might be quite tiring. Time for touring not much, just rushy, pushy. There are some longer time tours in which people can be away from crowded places but out of time permit.

Mine is a local's personal views. You cruisers should refer to others' especially those who have done it.

From Phu My, roughly 80% visitors buy a city tour to Saigon. If you are coming back to Saigon on your second time, make some reading and buy a free & easy tour if not Cuchi tunnels excursion.

For people coming to HCMC by Diamond Princess, Ocean Princess,... which dock at Phu My the Mekong Delta Tour is really a big rush in which driving time is 5 hrs two ways. Now that the return time could be extended there's still one thing to concern, very long sitting time. Six people in a minivan.

From DP, OP I would do the City tour in HCMC and the countryside tour in Nha Trang instead.

For what it's worth, other cruise lines can dock much closer in. We were on Azamara who docks at Klong Toey and downtown was about a 10-15 minute cab ride. Some people just walked it. I remember a Seabourne ship was also docked behind us. It seems carriers like Princess, Celebrity, etc., etc., dock so far away - ditto for Bangkok where the port most lines us is 2 hours away from Bangkok. I know there are limitations due to a ships size, but why take a cruise that limits how much you can see and where so much time is spent in transit to and from.

For what it's worth, other cruise lines can dock much closer in. We were on Azamara who docks at Klong Toey and downtown was about a 10-15 minute cab ride. Some people just walked it. I remember a Seabourne ship was also docked behind us. It seems carriers like Princess, Celebrity, etc., etc., dock so far away - ditto for Bangkok where the port most lines us is 2 hours away from Bangkok. I know there are limitations due to a ships size, but why take a cruise that limits how much you can see and where so much time is spent in transit to and from.

This post may confuse a few people. The thread is about Saigon but Klong Toey is in Bangkok. The smaller ships of Azamura and Oceania can indeed dock close to downtown Saigon-actually walking distance- and at Klong Toey in Bangkok which is 1/3 the time to the city compared to Laem Chabang where the larger ships have to moor.

Just an example... I can almost guarantee that the same ships that are docking far out by Saigon are probably doing Bangkok on the itinerary as well. In both cases, there are other cruises who do utilize these ports and it is so convenient and wonderful to have the cities right there. Makes it for a far more enjoyable experience.

Saigon is Saigon. Ships weighing over 30,000 tons ( or 26K tons sometimes ) have to dock at Phu My port, 110 km or 2hrs10' to downtown Saigon.

Ships weighing under 26,000 tons do not automatically dock at Nha Rong Dragon House port which is 5 minutes to downtown Saigon. The height of the ship's chimney is now limited by the height of a newly-built bridge. In such a risk of chimney-to-bridge damage the ship has to dock at Hiep Phuoc port which lies 45-60 minutes to downtown Saigon.

This is an update since March. Between 5 to 60 minutes there are two other ports lying some 30 minutes to downtown Saigon. Docking at Dragon House port is always best giving visitors chance to come back to downtown by night time after the day-time tour.

At some leisure after tours your cruisers might be like children enjoying a Skydeck drive up to the 49th floor of "Top of the World" in VN, the Financial Tower.

The ticket is VND200,000 or roughly 10 US dollars.

Your tour guide with license is allowed to be with you.

Take several photos of the sites such as Ben Thanh market, East-West belt road, Saigon river front, Nguyen Hue blvd., City Hall,... before you make a 360 degree video clip of the city seen from high above.

He just posted one last weekend (17-June date stamp, I think) capturing what crossing the street is like at the Chinatown markets. I'm the guy in the first minute of the video asking "Is that durian?"

 

(Man, I had a lot of fun seeing the city with Zoom.)

Time passes and the danger of crossing streets in Vietnam especially Saigon increasing now, Sep. 2012.

This afternoon as sitting at Trung Nguyen cafe on Le Loi Blvd, Saigon, I saw a couple of foreign tourists in an awkward situation. They stopped and bought two coconuts from a walking vendor right outside my cafe. And, they had to put 100,000 VND or nearly 5 US dollars in the stretching hand of the vendor.

One US dollar per coconut is already a good price for that "throat-cutting service". He sells my country's reputation for three single dollars !

If I could not stop that "business" or " service" I can be less ashamed of my country fellow's act by writing about that. Ask your guide/driver/hotel concierge about an extra activity like walking before you do it.

Cheating is impossible and losing tourists' affection for Vietnam.

Oceania N. is good to be able to dock right at Nha Rong Dragon House port, five minutes to downtown Saigon. It's the largest cruise ship docking there. Under 26,000 tons weight and height lower than Phu My bridge's are conditions or cruise ships have to dock at Phu My port.

Just an example... I can almost guarantee that the same ships that are docking far out by Saigon are probably doing Bangkok on the itinerary as well. In both cases, there are other cruises who do utilize these ports and it is so convenient and wonderful to have the cities right there. Makes it for a far more enjoyable experience.