Thanh Minh Hotel Ho Chi Minh City

Oy Shoi Oy! Saigon is crazy! Mopeds outnumber cars probably 5 to 1, when crossing the road you just have to risk your life, walk out onto the road and hope that all vehicles avoid you. It's much more developed here, many more towers, glass and steel, and many posh hotels. There are a lot of French colonial buildings too. As it's Chinese new year...

January 12th 2009

We had arranged to get the bus to Ho Chi Minh from Phnom Penh at 8.30am, two of the staff had both stated they would wake us up in time to pack, eat breakfast and get a taxi to the station. However, as usual the unreliability of the Guest House staff in Asia caused us to miss the bus, they woke us up at 8.30. However t...

It's my first full weekend in Ho Chi Minh City. To start off, I decided to explore my neighborhood. I live in the An Phu area, just off the banks of the Saigon River. A mile or so away is the Thao Dien Ward, where most of the sights, best eateries, and bars are located. I decided to walk the Thao Dien loop, which took about 2.5 hrs total. What I...

After 5 days on the bike with another 3 or so ahead of us, we knew that we would want a break. Plus I wanted the opportunity to see a little bit of Saigon – so we gave our drivers a day off.

The plan was really just to have a sleep in, go for a leisurely brunch, take care of a few errands and check out the market. And that's what ...

Day two in Saigon - the blackjack scam

I slept in a bit and then had a pho breakfast in the hotel (inculded with the room) and then hit the streets. Got a couple of hundred meters down the road when a guy approached me asking where I was from (uh oh). I told him Australia and he launched into a spiel about how his sister is going to Melbo...

Hello again,



The VN National Opera & Ballet recently celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a two night gala in Saigon. I was so excited about attending I invited two passengers along.

At first, it appeared a mistake. The dancers on stage were merely practicing. Stretching in casual clothes. Going through fundamenta...

Oh well, I guess that it was inevitable, and now I've got it out of the way I will be wise to the experience! I'd been in the city centre on my own for literally less than ten minutes, and clearly had Not Street Wise written all over me...I'm too trusting and forgot any advice that Lonely Planet has to offer!...anyway, cut a long story short, I ...

I think everyone who grew up in the 1960s' had read about, heard about, and seen (on TV) Saigon. But to actually visit it is another matter. For Americans of my generation, the sentiment it stirred up is so complicated, it’s beyond description – among other feelings, there must be a heavy dose of nostalgia; a sour taste of missed opp...

Right where to begin....

Apologies for not writing anything for ages. I've just finished my last blog from Malaysia back in July, I have a feeling this one might be quite alot longer.....

I headed home at the end of July and then had most of August there. In that time I had to squeeze in a stag do, 2 weddings as well as catch u...

Everyone told us that Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City) was going to be much busier and more chaotic than Hanoi. This was not the case. To be fair, we were in Hanoi a week before the biggest holiday of the year, when things are at their most frenzied. Compared to that Saigon was pretty laid back. Maybe its bigger size just handles the crowds better....