Originally Posted by
Bravada04
- Landing in HCMC later on a Saturday and staying at the Sheraton. Next morning wanting to walk to the War Remnants Museum then work our way back. Is this walk doable and safe?
We want to experience the culture and are not worried about fancy restaurants and stuff. We can do that at home. Looking for recommendations finding simple eateries that we can watch the world go buy enjoying cheap bear and decent local food. Anything in the Sheraton area that we should be aware of or we can find?
Walking in HCMC is great, if you don't mind the heat of course, or if you can find some streets with some decent tree shade. Vietnam is INCREDIBLY safe, so that will not be an issue. Just watch out when crossing the street for all the Honda 50s. Just start crossing and do not stop.
As for eateries, I can recommend Quan Ngon. It's a small chain of local eateries, very casual, cheap, and fairly good quality. There's at 138 Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa which is almost in front of the reunification palace.
Also, I really like Au Parc for breakfast. It's not very Vietnamese, but it's a very nice cafe. It's at 23 Hàn Thuyên, almost at the corner of Pasteur.
Originally Posted by
Bravada04
We are flying out then on Monday morning to Nha Trang for 11 nights.
Wow, that's a long time in Nha Trang. I have a very good friend who lives there, though he is currently in California. There's an Australian guy who runs a BBQ shack and does an incredible grilled tuna steak. Can't remember the details. There's some culture around Nha Trang, such as the Champa temples, but to me 11 days in Nha Trang would be overkill, but then again I don't like to go to one place and sit quietly on the beach for too long.
Originally Posted by
Bravada04
The next day we are then taking a Mekong Delta tour then coming home the next day.
What kind of tour? Boat tour? If it is a 3-4 days cruise on the Mekong, then I am jealous. If it's a one day tour, skip it. It's a massive tourist trap. Instead, google Vietnam Vespa Adventures and do the one day tour on Vespas. They will skip (most) of the stops at the pearl/silk/gold/etc factory and take you deep into rural areas.
Originally Posted by
Bravada04
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated for our short time in the city.
Also go to google and search XO Tours. It's similar to Vespa Adventures, but it's with Vietnamese women in traditional dress as guides to HCMC on Xe Oms (scooters, hence the XO Tours name). I have done one of the 4-hour night tours of HCMC and it's fantastic. Very off the beaten path, and a great way to try real local food. I did it with another 8 friends and they were super flexible on where we wanted to go, where to stop, and what to eat. We basically asked them to take us to where they had dinner, and it was delicious, and not a single tourist could be seen.
Have fun. HCMC is one of my favorite cities to go to from Singapore.