Seemingly Endless Shopping

MBK is eight stories high and 330 meters long, with 2,500 shops using a total selling area of 89,000 square meters according to Wikipedia.  It used to be one of the biggest shopping malls in all of Asia when it was opened in 1985.  Fast forward to 25 years and MBK is no longer one of the largest shopping malls but it is still probably the coolest.  Bangkok now has many bigger, newer and “nicer” malls but MBK is most people’s favorite and will always be my favorite.  MBK is located centrally and is connected to the National Stadium BTS Skytrain stop making it very easy to get to.  The walkway also connects it to Siam center a newer, more expensive western mall clone which enables you to literally walk for miles through various malls starting at MBK.

Making Shopping Fun

MBK draws tourists from all over the world for its deals.  If you didn’t know which country you were in and you walked in MBK you would have a very difficult guess to make.  To me it reminds me of the Star Wars cantina scene because there are so many different types of people many whom are dressed in their native garb.

What makes shopping at MBK fun is probably 90% of everything in the entire shopping center is negotiable.  The asking price is often only slightly marked up for example some knock-off T-shirts are often sold for 150 baht when they will accept 120 or maybe 100.  It is not at all like Vietnam where I was told to offer 20% of the asking price at Ben Thanh Market.  What also makes shopping at MBK fun is the number of competitors.  For some items there are literally a dozen shops selling them so you can easily walk from shop to shop and shop for the best prices.

MBK Shopping General Guidelines

If you wonder if something is a knock-off product it is 99% of the time.  If you go to MBK expecting to buy the newest and latest high tech gadget for a bargain price think again.  Most high-end, top of the line electronics cost the same if not more expensive than in the United States or anywhere else in the world.   I was surprised that my Nikon camera was no cheaper in Thailand than the US because Nikon’s lens factory is here.  The same goes for all products made in Asia such as Nike shoes.

There is less supply and competition of many high end products in Thailand than there are in the USA.  Another possible reason why the electronics are not cheaper which relates to competition is the lack of internet sales.  To my knowledge it is not as common in Thailand for people to shop at online mega stores such as Amazon.

Just because you can’t get deals on high end electronics doesn’t mean  you can’t get great deals on electronics.  MBK is loaded with last years models and other not in such high demand products such as cell phones, mp3 players and video games which the prices are all negotiable and depend on your bartering ability.

MBK Shop Factoids

If you’ve never been to MBK there is no way to explain the uniqueness of it.  You just need to go there and experience MBK shopping because it is not like a typical shopping mall experience.  Besides Tokyu department store which is an Asian incarnation of Macy’s which is on the corner of the first 4 floors there are many styles of shops that do not exist in the USA.  I lived across MBK for a month and I go there probably 10 times a month so I list my current view of what’s at MBK.

1st Floor

The first floor at MBK has a mix of everything.  There are clothes shops, banks, pharmacies, restaurants and other random shops on the first floor.  There is also a full sized grocery store called Tops market.  It is pretty much like a Safeway on the west coast of the USA.  I found Greek yogurt there which I hardly find in Bangkok and they have a pretty good bakery.

2nd Floor

The second floor is much like the first floor in that there is no real organization.  There is a GNC where I buy my multivitamins for astronomical prices which is a rip-off compared to the US prices of supplements and vitamins.  On the second floor is a place where I get my business cards and printing stuff done and it is not alone.  There are seemingly dozens of printing places on the second floor and what  seems like the alternating printing shops, tailors and jewelery shops sprinkling in the occasional clothes and hand bag shop.

3rd Floor

The 3rd floor is mostly fashion oriented.  My favorite part is the south end closest to the Patumwan Princess hotel where there is a concentrated no nonsense clothes area with cheap deals on T-shirts and other forms of non-formal clothes.  You will also find your fair share of gold & jewelery shops on the 3rd floor which I easily ignore, and tailor shops which I try to ignore as most of the time there is a semi-annoying (usually non-Thai Asian) guy trying to get you to come in and buy a suit.

4th Floor

Although there are sporadic electronic shops on most floors the entire 4th floor is electronics.  There are hundreds of kiosk like shops in the middle which is surrounded by shops lining the walls.  There is no real organization to the 4th floor shopping  madness but it seems like one side is mostly cellphones while the other side is mostly mp3 players and other electronics.  There is also a retail electronics store called Power Buy which is not that much fun.  There is also a ghetto looking food place selling Thai food and a row of food shops selling snacks next to the middle elevator.  I get a Thai Pearl Tea drink almost 100% of the time when go to MBK which costs 15 baht (45 cents).  I have spent most of my money on the 4th floor of MBK.

5th Floor

The 5th floor is mostly furniture therefore since my apartment is fully furnished, I never really spend more than 30 seconds on it.  I’ve glanced at the furniture and it seems it is very cheaply priced and no doubt most of it is cheaply made.  There is also a book store selling mostly Thai written books and an international food court called “The Fifth Food Avenue” which is geared towards tourists.  It has a few different ethnic restaurants and a backpacker/tourist meeting lounge.  You put some money on a credit card and go in and order and they swipe your card.  I had a steak at one of the places and it was terrible but I didn’t expect much.

6th Floor

The 6th floor is mixed with clothes and souvenirs.  The entire south end is loaded with shops selling Thai handicrafts and other souvenirs.  There is some cool stuff but I don’t like to be a pack rat so I avoid picking up all the cool stuff I see.  Even when I try to buy something for a family member or friend I can never think of what to get.

The 6th floor has an extremely ghetto food court where you have to buy these tickets.  The food is pretty disgusting but if you’re hungry enough you crave the heat-lamped garbage.  Of special not is an Indian/Mediterranean place which is overpriced and absolutely terrible with microwaved nan and curry that is probably weeks old.

7th Floor

Last but not least is the 7th floor.  The 7th floor has a gigantic karaoke place on the south end and a big neon style bowling alley on the right side.  There are around 20 restaurants on the 7th floor including American chains, McDonalds, KFC, and “The Sizzler” which is very popular as every time I walk by there are tons of people waiting in line.  There is a Swensen’s dessert place and a Red Mango yogurt peddler along with many more restaurants including a couple Japanese restaurants and Asian style barbecue places.  I am in the process of reviewing MBK’s restaurants but it will be hard because I always want to go back to my favorite CocoIchibanYa Japanese curry house.

The 7th floor is littered with movie promotional stands playing clips about Thai and American movies.  There is also a small arcade and internet cafe.   In the center is the box office and there are around 10 movie theaters.  There are 3 primary types of movie theaters which I will blog about in the future but the standard movie for matinee is only 100 baht ($2.99) which compared to the USA may be the best deal of Thailand.  The theaters are all brand new and nice usually playing all current blockbusters and Thai movies.

More About Movie Theaters in Bangkok - Coming Soon

Inside at the Center of MBK

Everything I have Bought at MBK

Before I moved out of my cluttered apartment in San Francisco I promised myself I wouldn’t buy a bunch of toys only to use my favorite one and have the others collect dust along with accumulating tons of stuff that will eventually just be hard to get rid of.  Lucky for me I got a fully furnished apartment and haven’t bought too much stuff although I need to stop now or I will become a pack rat!   This list doesn’t include the dozen or so movies, meals and pharmacy items (shampoo, soap, etc.).

Rundown of all Items I’ve Purchased at MBK from April 7th to October 27th 2009:

DVD Player

MP3 Player (Sony Walkman)

Talking Language Pocket Translater

Portable DVD Player

Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera

Nikon Nikkor 70-300mm Lens

Bed Set (Sheets, blanket & pillow cases)

Camera Bag

Ergonomic Microsoft Keyboard

Bunch of T-shirts

1 Pair of Green Cotton Shorts

Bunch of DVDs

2 Nokia Cell Phones

Picture Cell Phone Vendor Lady took of me with my New Cell Phone Camera to Prove it Worked

South to North Vietnam

After returning from Vung Tau to Ho Chi Minh City on an early morning hydrofoil trip we barely made it to the Saigon airport in time to catch our flight but of course our Jetstar Pacific flight was delayed.  Once we got in the air the flight was only around 2 hours and touching down in North Vietnam had me thinking if Hanoi would be a repeat of Saigon which I found to be nerve racking and not very enjoyable.

After the flight landed at around 4pm I really wanted to head to Halong Bay right away.  I asked a booth about the trip to Halong Bay and the packages they offered were pretty consistent with what we actually paid.   We decided to book the 2 day excursion to Halong Bay the next morning from our hotel in Hanoi.  We easily found the legitimate taxi (so we thought) and started off for the hour or so long drive into Hanoi.

Taxi Driver Hotel Scam

I saw two things that interested me during the taxi ride from the airport.  First of all, the air was completely filled with smoke.  I couldn’t tell if it was from a celebration or just a bunch of farmers.  The date was September 20th, 2009 so if anyone reading this knows do tell.  Secondly I noticed the very large presence of foreign companies.  Almost every billboard which were plentiful were from Korean and Japanese companies.

Chalk up another victory to the Lonely Planet Guide for warning us about the taxi driver scam.  We asked the taxi driver to take us to Church Hotel which was recommended by another guide book, the Hanoi Wallpaper Guide.  The Lonely Planet warned about taxi drivers taking you to the wrong hotel, or in our case he took us to a random room above a shop.  I know the language barrier is significant, but this guy was obviously trying to make some extra bucks.  I was not surprised because of my experience with the rip-off and scam artists in Ho Chi Minh City which were also in the Lonely Planet.  This taxi driver hotel scam had me thinking again that Hanoi was going to be a repeat of Saigon.

Hanoi is Nothing Like Ho Chi Minh City!

After the taxi driver started driving to the real Church Hotel I had a chance to sit back and observe Hanoi.  It was even apparent on the highway from the airport that Hanoi was a lot more friendly than Saigon.  In Hanoi I noticed a presence of young, smiling faced people.  It seemed that every time I turned my head in Hanoi I would see an attractive 20-something girl or a beautiful 30 something woman doing her thing. I

thought Hanoi really had a small town atmosphere, especially when compared to Saigon.  Most of the streets were narrow and while the traffic was hectic, there was nowhere near the volume of Ho Chi Minh City.   We finally got to Church Hotel and incoincidentally was located right next to this big Catholic church.  We had a chance to get our rooms and relax for a little bit then it was time to head out in Hanoi for the first time.

Places to Stay in Hanoi:  Church Hotel:  -Coming soon

Paces to Stay in Hanoi:  Gia Bao Hanoi Hotel

The Lake

Hanoi is a city with many lakes but the Hoàn Kiếm Lake is seemingly right in the center of the city.  Both hotels we stayed at were located a very close walk from Hoàn Kiếm Lake.  all around the lake was a very peaceful and relaxing place even though it was surrounded by the normal swarm of motorcycle traffic.  The noise of the traffic somehow disappeared when I was walking around the lake.

During the day the lake was a place for people who were just getting off work to sit and rest for lunch and by night time it was a place for couples and friends to go and just relax.   I would estimate the circumference around the lake to be around 1.5 miles and there is plenty of shops and restaurants across the street from the lake and one restaurant actually outside alongside the lake called Hapro Bon Mua. I met a guy selling Lonely Planet guides and post cards walking around the lake.  I first gave him the usual cold shoulder but ran into him again a short while later and started talking.

He said he was a student and explained his life story and we chatted for around 3o minutes.  He told me that he knew some good karaoke places and gave me his phone number and offered to show and my friend around.  He insisted I go across the street from the lake where there was a large group dancing.  It turned out the dancing they were doing was very far from traditional Vietnamese dancing.

Looking Across Hoàn Kiếm Lake at Night

More Rip-Offs

My friend who I was traveling with told me about the Lonely Planet warning about the English speaking people around the lake, I decided not to call back the guy who I spoke with at the lake.   I can usually tell if people I meet are good natured but the Lonely Planet had been 100% so I decided to not take the risk of getting ripped off.  Unlike Saigon there were very few cyclo drivers and other annoying people on the streets trying to sell you something or provide a service.

Taxi drivers seemingly drove around the lakes multiple times for no apparent reason which lead to large taxi bills.  They even did this when we were with our Vietnamese guide who we asked to show us some night venues when he was our tour guide at Halong Bay.  We asked him to show us around since he spoke English well but his guidance led to more rip-offs as he definitely brought us to less than spectacular places because he was going to get a commission.  This wasn’t necessarily a rip-off but an annoyance nonetheless.

Thinks I did in Hanoi

Hoa Lo Prison (Hanoi Hilton)

Shopping at Cho Dong Xuan

Overall Impression

Since my less than optimally planned trip to Halong Bay cost 3 days I only had the chance to visit Hanoi for 1 full day and a couple nights.  I had the chance to stay longer I just booked my return ticket too soon.  At the time I felt it was time to head home to Bangkok but I definitely want to return to Hanoi as I missed out on a few tourist attractions as well as the city away from the lake.  Since Hanoi is close to China I’m thinking I may try to obtain a visa for mainland china and start my journey in Hanoi to see what I missed.

Go to Hanoi and Have a Seat!

Get There; Beware!

To get from Ben Thanh Market from anywhere in the backpacker’s district near Pham Ngu Lao Street you can walk in less than 15 minutes.  I was staying at Elios Hotel on Pham Ngu Lao Street and I decided to go for a morning errand run and got to Ben Thanh Market by accident just by following the park and NOT following the advice of cyclo drivers, moto taxi drivers and various other people trying to make some money off a Saigon first timer.

(View from Elios Hotel Roof Restaurant) Park along Pham Ngu Lao St. Leads to Ben Thanh Market

Rip – Offs:  Getting There

Cyclo are Everywhere near Pham Ngu Lao

If you walk to Ben Thanh Market you will be under constant pressure from people trying to sell you services.  As mentioned in the overview of Ho Chi Minh City the best (and only) way to deal with the people who try to talk to you is to completely ignore their existence.  Yes, it does sound rude and against the mantra of most travelers but it is absolutely necessary dealing with the following skilled and very persistent characters roaming around district 1.

First and foremost you have cyclo drivers.  Cyclos are everywhere and while you want to ride in them the drivers have a horrible reputation for taking you to places you don’t ask to be taken and charging too much.  You also have motorcycle taxi drivers who will constantly be telling you that the Cyclo drivers will rip you off but they won’t.  They seem a little more trustworthy than the cyclo drivers and even provide testimonial books but seem pretty shady.   One thing they all have in common is they will tell you that Ben Thanh Market is expensive and they can take you somewhere cheaper, usually Chinatown.

Secondly you have shoe shine boys.  These kids who seem to be very poor and/or addicted to meth walk around and try to shine or brush your shoes with tooth brushes.  They are very very persistent and will follow you for blocks and if you talk to one, you’re likely to have a group surrounding you.  If you make the mistake of talking to them, they will likely demand several hundred thousand dong.

Lastly I ran into the Filipina women.  I was actually warned by a cyclo driver about the women and it was just in time.  I already had talked to 2 Filipina women in the park who asked where I was from in perfect English (as most Filipinos speak) and coincidentally she knew people there.  Next was talking about where you live and they gave me their phone number and asked to have lunch later.  Evidently they get tourists to trust them and somehow get them involved in gambling which can cost a lot of money.

I wouldn’t have thought twice about it at first, but I ran into 2 or 3 Filipina women on the walk who all said the same thing, “Hello, where you from? …. Oh my sister lives there…. “  It seemed to me that all the scam artists were working against each other.  I know it sucks having to suspect everyone being a scam artist but unfortunately in Saigon it seems to be the norm.  I guess you would expect this in a developing, communist country which has only been open for tourism around 25 years.

Rip – Offs:  At Ben Thanh Market

Before going over what is actually available at Ben Thanh Market you should know that you have to bargain very hard at Ben Thanh.  Not a rip-off per say but you can learn from my mistakes.  I bought some designer underwear (which I assume was knock-off) and nice Abercrombie cargo shorts and some T-shirts and I paid around 2,500,000  or more dong (around $140).

When I told this to my 2 expat friends over lunch, I received the dreaded double face palm as they painfully explained that the starting negotiating point for anything at Ben Thanh Market is 20% of the asking price!

Shop for Everything under the Sun Roof

You can literally find anything under the roof of Ben Thanh Market.  It is very big and crammed together like most markets in Asia.  There seemed to be no real organization of goods.  You could find clothes on one stall which was next to a stall selling mystery food (see picture below).  Vendors (especially young women) were often grabby when I expressed interest.  I found some pretty high quality (what I assumed to be) knock-off clothes and other products.

Name that Food

Recommendation

If you go to Ben Thanh Market take your time and bargain very hard.  You are no doubt going to visit another shopping area so compare prices and you can always come back if you don’t find what you want in Chinatown or another shopping area in Saigon or anywhere in Vietnam.

Winging it Again

If you know me or have read some of this blog you already know I’m not the most prepared traveler when it comes to lodging.  I was once almost stuck in Buzios, Brazil homeless because I didn’t bother to reserve a hotel when the whole country of Brazil was trying to get a room for the holidays.  Well, it happened again upon entering Vietnam.  I had a friend who has lived for 2 years in Saigon but asking for a hotel recommendation can often be like finding 100 needles in a haystack.

We ended up on the ground with no hotel in mind other than the general recommendation to stay near Pham Ngu Lao Street.  We struggled mightily with the language barrier (the whole trip) to instruct the taxi driver to get us there but after a good 15-30 minutes from the airport through the normal insane motorbike traffic we were dropped off on Pham Ngu Lao Street.

Pham Ngu Lao Street

Pham Ngu Lao Street is the Khao San Road (backpacker’s ghetto of Bangkok) of Vietnam.  Everything along Pham Ngu Lao Street is for tourists and includes many bars, shops and of course hotels.  The primary difference between Pham Ngu Lao Street and Khao San Road is the traffic.  Pham Ngu Lao Street is extremely busy and noisy with people constantly honking their motorbike and car horns as well as cyclo drivers and others trying to make a buck off you.

Showing up carrying a bunch of bags with no idea of where to go did not help.  As we walked down the street, sweating from packing our bags we were under constant bombardment, albeit friendly from hotel (using the term loosely) owners trying to rent out rooms.  There was definitely not a shortage of rooms but the standards were iffy at best for some of them.  After viewing a couple $10-20 a night rooms we had enough and decided to just get a hotel right on Pham Ngu Lao Street.

Elios Hotel

Elios Hotel stood out from the rest with its large brightly lit lobby and 3 Star placard on the outside which was common in Saigon.  The 3 star placard somewhat seemed to prove a hotel’s legitimacy as there were so many accommodations especially throughout the Pham Ngu Lao area. The staff was very helpful, friendly and had adequate English speaking ability which made the check-in and check-out process a breeze.

The Room

Two rooms were available on the 11th floor for my friend and I.   One had a window and the other did not.  I chose the one with the ‘view’ which happened to be a tiny window I could barely get my camera out of to snap the picture at the top of the post. The room was average at best.  There was nothing special about it whatsoever and probably didn’t warrant the price which was $47.62 a night.

The room had a mini bar stocked with soda, water and beer as well as a safe but there was nothing really nice about it.   What Elios Hotel lacked in room it made up for with service and the restaurant.

Amenities

Elios Hotel’s Blue Skye restaurant on the roof had indoor and outdoor areas which were great for getting a sky view of the adjacent park as well as the traffic and buildings of Saigon.  The hotel also has a “fitness center” which is actually a tiny room next to the restaurant on the top floor with 4-5 pieces of equipment in it with no air conditioning.  If you’re dying for an exercise session the cardio machines provide a nice view of Saigon.

TAKE NOTE

Room 1101 was right below the restaurant so bright and early in the morning at around  6am it got really noisy.  To me it sounded like the hotel staff were wearing wooden sandals and running down the stairs.  If you want to sleep in make sure you avoid the 11th floor rooms, especially 1101 which was right next to the stairs like the plague.

You would think in a touristy area there would be a bunch of places to eat after midnight but I found the area of Pham Ngu Lao where Elios Hotel was located to be completely dead and quiet after midnight.  It was uncomfortably quiet even for me to walk around outside hunting for food.  Luckily the front desk guy was more than happy to order me what he called “Chinese Food.”  To me it was Vietnamese food but it arrived in about 5 minutes, was cheap and delicious.

Overall Thoughts

Elios hotels rooms were not very impressive but it made up for it with great service and a nice view from the top floor restaurant.  We quickly grew tired of the manic Pham Ngu Lao Street and decided to find a quieter area and check out another hotel.  Although I was  not dissatisfied with Elios Hotel I would recommend it for people who like hanging out and drinking with the backpacker type of crowd as well as anyone who is in Saigon one night and wants to do some shopping or sight seeing.  

Saigon

From Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City (officially),  formerly known as Saigon is a quick and painless hour flight east on AirAsia.  I was told to expect the unexpected and I would further this advice for anyone else visiting Saigon.

I have lived in Bangkok for the past 6 months and have got used to the Thai lifestyle, people and general flow of the city so if you have never lived in Thailand or been to Bangkok your experience may be vastly different but that’s precisely the reason why there are tens of thousands of travel blogs.

Getting There & First Impression

Since I like to be thorough I created a whole blog entry devoted to Getting to Saigon Vietnam from Bangkok Thailand.  As the plane was making its final descent I could see the snaking river and city approach just like in every Vietnam war movie.  I figured that the taxi from the airport would be relatively quick which it was.

Traffic out of a Horror Movie

The first thing any n0n-native to Vietnam will inevitably notice about Saigon is the insane amount of motorbikes and seemingly chaotic traffic.  There are motorbikes with 1-4 people and various odd shaped items (i.e. refrigerators, tires, stacks of packages, etc.) swarming around every street and intersection in multiple directions.

If you though sheer volume of traffic is bad, compound that with the fact that many of the vehicles in the street are honking their horns every few seconds and you may find being anywhere in Saigon nerve-racking as I did from the outset. There could be an entire blog devoted  solely on Saigon’s traffic but it is worth mentioning that the traffic makes any US city and even Bangkok seem like a rural suburb.  When there is a traffic jam in most cities, most of the traffic (cars & trucks) are stopped and there is very little movement but in Saigon motorcycles, mopeds, bicycles, cyclos and other forms of transportation are jockeying for position which is like navigating a maze.

Midday Traffic from Reunification Palace

Crossing the Street

Simply crossing the street is a seemingly perilous adventure when you first set foot on the streets of Saigon.  Crossing the average street with a traffic brew consisting of motorcycles and mopeds zooming everywhere along with the occasional car and bus is actually a lot easier to deal with than you may first think.

To make crossing the street in Saigon easier keep in mind that most of the traffic is moving less than 30 miles per hour and they’re more aware than most western drivers on their cell phones listening to the radio because they have to.  If you want to cross the street simply go for it!  Walk slowly and most importantly DO NOT STOP as it will confuse the drivers and actually make it more dangerous for you.  The traffic amazingly flows like water around pedestrians.

Money

Even though most American and European travelers will initially get a kick about their astronomical bank account balance while in Vietnam as 100,000 Vietnamese Dong is around $5.60USD the exchange from Vietnamese Dong to American Dollars is very annoying.  When your not constantly chopping  off zeros and work with the 500,000 and 100,000 Dong bills you are having to worry about mistaking a 100,000 dong bill for a 10,000 dong bill while in a rush.

My travel buddy in Vietnam actually tipped both bellboys who brought his bags up 200,000 dong ($11)  each mistaking the 100,000 dong bills for 10,000 dong bills.  The large sums can drive anyone bad at math insane especially when certain cash registers and taxis chop off zeros automatically on their screens which further confuse things.

To my surprise, unlike Thailand, the American dollar was widely accepted in Vietnam.  For anyone heading to Thailand after Vietnam, make sure you get rid of all your Dong before you leave Vietnam as exchanging Vietnamese Dong was almost impossible in Bangkok.

Things to Do

Regardless of what you think of Saigon neither you nor anyone can call it a boring city.  It is enormous and there is an endless list of things to do in and around Saigon.  I spent almost the entire time in District 1 and there are over 11 districts.  Saigon will always be a good starting point if you plant to visit anywhere else  in Vietnam. How much time you spend in Saigon depends on what your interests are.  Here are a few things which I did and wish I did.

Eat

If you love Vietnamese food and French food, Saigon has the best of both worlds.  You can get everything from a bowl of Vietnamese noodle soup called pho (pronounced Fuh) or a Vietnamese sandwich on a street stall for under $1USD to dining at trendy and/or fine dining restaurants.

Bibi Restaurant

Places to See

Saigon was at center stage for one of the more infamous wars in the history of mankind and there are many places you can visit to learn more about the Vietnamese side of the Vietnam War.  To learn about the guided tours in and around Saigon you can find tourist information centers spread conveniently throughout district 1 which is likely where you will be staying.   From museums to historic sites, Saigon has a lot to offer within the city limits as well as within a few hour air conditioned bus trip.  Unfortunately I was in expat hang-out / party mode so I missed some great parts of Saigon but here is what I had a chance to experience:

Reunification Palace

Cu Chi Tunnels

Vung Tau

War Remnants Museum – I regretfully missed out on the War Remnants museum.  After visiting the Reunification Palace and seeing some of the photos I wasn’t really feeling like seeing more death, destruction and propaganda but if I ever find myself in Saigon I will definitely check it out.

Places to Stay

Saigon was surprisingly expensive for mid-range lodging, compared to Bangkok for lodging, at least in District 1 where I was staying.

Elios Hotel

Shopping

Living in Bangkok which is one of the best places to shop in the world I really had no business buying things common in Bangkok in Saigon but forgetting some necessary items required me to do some shopping.  Shopping in Saigon is only half of the story as if you don’t bargain, you WILL pay several times the expected sale price.  You can read more about the bargaining process in the entry about Benh Thanh market.

Behn Thanh Market

The People

I consider the best part about international travel to experience the people of a nation.  I have said it before I totally 100% disagree than the “real people” of any country exist in the rural parts because the cities are what makes any country tick.  Again, my view of Saigon may be influenced by the fact that I’m used to Thailand but in Saigon I got the feeling that people were just not happy.   It seemed everywhere you went people were trying to hustle you, yelling at you or grabbing at you.

Tips & Warnings

Besides the brief history lessons, I’m not the biggest fan of Lonely Planet books as I tend to like talking to people to get recommendations but the Lonely Planet provided the most useful piece of advice for your time in Saigon.

The advice is if you are approached by any person on the street, DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR EXISTENCE!  It may be rude and sound rude but if you even look in their direction let alone say no, the cyclo drivers and shoe polishers will follow you for blocks.

Case in point, I gave a shoe polisher 10,000 dong (50 cents USD) because I thought it would get rid of him and it encouraged him to start brushing, gluing, scraping and literally chewing the glue off my shoes which happened to be 5 year old $30 dollar shoes I got at Ross in San Francisco.   His attention attracted about 5 other shoe polisher guys over and I was quickly feeling uncomfortable.  When he got done he asked for 600,000 dong ($33).  I started to walk away but I remember him using a rusty knife to scrape the glue off my shoes and I could picture this kid stabbing me in the back.  He followed me down Pham Ngu Lao and I went in my hotel.  I literally left my hotel 5-6 hours later and he was still waiting.

Overall Summary

I have talked to numerous travelers as well as expats who live and/or have lived in Saigon for numerous years and have received mixed opinions.  For me, the best thing about visiting Saigon, was leaving Saigon as I had a much better time when I found myself in places which were less nerve racking for me.  Regardless of my opinion and the opinions of others, out of all the places I have been I think the statement “You will either Love it or Hate it” applies to Saigon more than any other city.

Welcome to Soi Arab

I knew I lived in between soi 1 & 3.  Soi 1 is a very small 2 way street while Soi 1 is a large 1 way street with 3 or 4 lanes.  Soi simply means street in Thai.

I have noticed that every time I walk up Soi 3 it’s a lot less like Thailand and a lot more like downtown Baghdad.   You see many women and men dressed in traditional Arab clothing as well as many businesses with Arabic script.

Rip-Off Alert

Nobody likes getting ripped off.  Regardless if the rip-off is for 10 baht or 2000 baht I will always mention it so anyone reading this is either visiting Bangkok or living in Thailand doesn’t have to find out for themselves.

So I’ve gotten papaya from the street probably 100 times since I’ve lived in Bangkok and each time it has cost 10 baht per.  Not on Soi Arab.  I think it’s a scam they pull when people come and order a fruit expecting to pay 10 baht and after they slice it and bag it, they say 20 baht!  The papaya was unripe as well which was a double whammy.

I know it is only getting you for 30 cents but is still enough to never buy fruit from Soi Arab ever again and I would recommend that you buy NOTHING from Soi Arab or the surrounding streets if you can get it anywhere else in Bangkok.

Falafel and Shawarma

One thing which isn’t very common in the rest of Bangkok is indoor/outdoor Mediterranean food.  To get there, from the NANA BTS station walk straight and take a right when you see a big street.  You will be walking onto Soi Arab from Sukhumvit Roid.  You on the right you will pass some sort of pipe smoking oxygen bar or something then you cannot miss a big outdoor set-up with 2 shawarma spits.

There was a friendly Syrian guy who took my order and had my food ready in 2-3 minutes.  I ordered a chicken shwarma and a falafel sandwitch because I was hungry and they are not very big.  One would be perfect for a light eater but I’m a very heavy eater.   They were both delicious as I devoured them in about 2 minutes.  My picture is embarrassingly bad but I’m posting it just to teach myself a lesson about photographic food presentation;)  There is an outdoor/covered area to eat as well.

Although I haven’t tried it yet, there is another place which is pretty much identical about 200 meters down the road.

Price

Falafel Sandwitch (burrito): 50 Baht ($1.46)

Chicken Shawarma Sandwitch: 50 Baht ($1.46)

Meat Shawarma Sandwitch: 60 Baht ($1.76)

If you’re in the area and would like to have a fabulous quick snack or meal these 2 outdoor shawarma spit locations are great.