snail

Day 5:

Went to a pool hall. it seemed run down compared to the pool halls I shot at in the US.
70k per hr and no upsell on buying drinks.
will try out one of the bars that has a single pool table to compare.

went to Ben Thanh Market but left after 5min because it was too hot for me. it was around 2pm.
will try again another day, either in the morning or around 5pm.

went on a combined food and sightseeing tour.
omg Chinatown where the raw meat is sitting out in room temperature with no ice to be seen.
and no thanks to duck embryo, which is apparently a delicatsy in Vietnam.

craz

I( dont know what the deal is about Ben Thanh Mkt is, I found it to be no different then the typical flea mkt here in the US. Except for the stalls selling some caps, theres no tourist stuff but everyday items instead.

Besides the mkt in Cholon is alot larger and theres tons of action (watching how they bring the goods there and get them to the stalls) While Ben Thanh is quiet

CrazyInteg

Dude. If you need a fancy pool hall, then ask your friend to ask where a fancy one is and tell your friend to take you there. It just costs more.

Because you buy it, go home and cook it. It's probably hours old. Which is why you go in the morning when it's even more fresh.


It sounds like you're not having that great of a time. Sorry

invisible

First time in Asia, signs of culture shock. It will go away once one understand why things are this way.

This Nov I will be going to Vietnam again - fourth times in last three years. If I had time/companions, would fly there quarterly, considering that I can get roundtrip flights from Singapore for less than US $65....

snail

im having a great time.
didn't mean for my post to come across as negative.

yes, that's what I was trying to put across in that post, instead of negativity

invisible

OP, try to have good time. BTW, avoid going to Tunnels - this is scam. As it was said here - anyone suggesting to Saigon visitor that she/he needs to go and see tunnels - immediately loses all credibility.

snail

Day 6 - Got conned

Went to one of the hotels with a casino near Nguyen Hue Street.
just slots, e-Blackjack, and e-Baccarat.
no video poker.
Any casinos in Saigon that has video poker?

As I walked back, a guy with a shoe shine kit pointed to my shoes.
I shook my head no.
then he keeps pointing at my shoes and gets up close on one knee.
he was pointing at the heel of my shoe was loose, which I knew.
I used cement glue in the past and it comes apart once in a while. I got tired of fixing it. it didn't affect the functionality of the shoe.

anyway, he quickly grabs his glue and squirts some in as im protesting.
at this point, I could either tell him to F off, or let him do his thing.
I decided to let him do his thing to earn a couple of $. then he shines my shoe (which I didn't want either).

he says 50k.
I only have a 200k on me. he gives me 120k back and said he doesn't have any more change.
I take the $ and walk away laughing.
I know I got conned but what can I do about it?

im actually more surprised it took this long to get conned and only for 80k ($4).
that's why I was actually chuckling.

Hmm...How much does a decent paying job in Saigon pay per day?

snail

yeah, was going to see the Tunnels but read some of the reviews saying its a total tourist trap.
was going to go on Fri.

booked a scooter tour today, which doesn't overlap the sights covered by the food tour.
Going to see the War museum on sat or sun with my friends.
no plans for Fri right now

invisible

If you want to try some unusual museums, try Museum of Traditional Medicine and Ai Dai Museum.

snail

Day 7

Visited the casino at New World Saigon Hotel.
no video poker.
besides electronic BJ/Roulette/Baccarat, it also had e-Sic Bo.

what surprised me is if they have sic bo, then they can also do craps.
ie: 2 white dice and 1 black dice. sic bo= all 3 dice, craps = only the white dice
That's what casinos in the US have when they offer e-Sic Bo.
there's no extra equipment needed. it's just an additional icon on the screen so surprised they don't offer it.

one slot machine was under going maintenance and they had the set up screen up.
I bet one of the options was setting the return for the machine if I studied that screen but didn't want to get thrown out.

Went on a scooter tour:
- Central Post office, Notre Dame church/Virgin Mary statue, Reunification palace, CIA building, burning Monk, Tan Dinh flea market in district 3 (tried yogurt and flan desserts, and 2 different Lychee fruits), flower wholesale market in district 10, Binh Tay fruit/veggie/meat Market in Chinatown (district 6), and the oldest temple in Chinatown (district 5)

it was fun and the tour guide explained each site very well.

CrazyInteg

Because the guy didn't have change?

Did you enjoy it?

snail

given the fact that he started fixing my shoe despite my protest, I would lean towards him lying about not having more change.

yes.
(edited that post)

CrazyInteg

You posted this in a separate thread, but thought I would ask you if your foresee any possible retirement plans that involve HCMC now that you've been there a week?

snail

Day 7

around Midnight-
Couldnt sleep so randomly walked around.
got to Nguyen Hue, decided to see whats on the other side of the Palace behind the Ho Chi Minh statue.
after that, made a right onto Pasteur and kept on walking. I remember that street name because it stood out because its not in Vietnamese.
after a while, decided to go back to the hotel.

one interesting thing I saw on my walk back was a homeless 3 generation family camped out on cardboard in front of a closed store.
grandma, mom, children.
what I found interesting was that they had a motor bike.
i assume it was theirs since there was no one else around and the kids were sitting on the bike.

they didn't ask me for $ as i walked by nor did i see a sign/bowl for $.


8am:
Found out Ho Tram casino just outside of Saigon has a free shuttle from district1. it's a 2.5hr ride.
but after being on hold for 30min to get a reservation, I walked over there.
the next 2 buses (10am, 12pm) were full. the 3rd bus (4pm) had room but the bus back is at 10pm and is the last bus. nah.. not going to risk that being full and being stuck at Ho Tram.
not upset since I knew the risk of going there w/o a reservation.

I asked for reservation for tomorrow morning but the hostess said that can only be done via the reservation hotline.
sigh.. will call when I get back to the hotel.

then enjoyed myself wondering around randomly for a couple of hrs before going back to the hotel.

on my way back, I saw a street seller selling handmade Grasshoppers made from sugar cane stalk.
it looked amazing. I wanted one then thought would it be allowed thru customs because it's a plant (sugar cane)?
going to google it, and hopefully I remember where the merchant is. and that he doesn't move location tomorrow.


4pm:
went to ben thanh market for souvenirs.
saw the price of a shirt (55k) and magnet (40k) I want at one of the outside (fixed price) govt booths.

went to the inside booths to haggle.
lady 1st offered 100k for the same shirt and 80k for a similar magnet.
I left w/o haggling. even at 1/2 price, I save 5k on the shirt and nothing on the magnet.
not going to waste my time since I don't like to haggle that much.

bought 2 magnets and a few t-shirts at the fix priced booth.
she was very helpful in finding the shirts in the color and sizes I need.

I guess for higher priced items, haggling will save a lot more $ than the fixed price sellers?

snail

no, mainly because of the heat/humidity and traffic.
im soaked in sweat walking anywhere in the afternoon.
and im too scared of riding a motor bike in that crazy traffic