About Ho Chi Minh City attractions
LIFE IN IN HO CHI MINH CITY
PS : This is just from a single perspective - namely mine!
19 Feb 2007
Tet, or Lunar New Year as we know it in Singapore, is a sight to behold. Flowers deck the whole city. I'm told by my staff that we had to get "lucky yellow flowers" and so we got some... apricot flower buds about to bloom for Tet.
Below : Dragonfruits galore at the park flower display
My boring daily life
I float between my bed, my desk and my dinner table, then back to bed and the whole cycle starts again - Mon to Fri. Most of the time, that's generally about the life for me here in the past six months.
Caught you there!! Of course life isn't so boring. But after a while, without my family here, life does get monotonous. I mean...there is only this much I can do, that much I can see - can't be a tourist while working here, right? Can't go out with family...all by myself, don't wanna be... so I try to taste different food, try out different restaurants, and check out places for my friends and family when they visit - at least something to keep me busy apart from work.
Food I've covered in the page on HCMC Restaurants. Let's talk about transport then. In HCMC, you can travel by bicycle, motorcycle, car, taxi or bus. It's truly organized chaos in the roads during peak hours and travelling by bike or m-bike will set your life back several years as you inhale the exhaust of the few thousand m-bikes that you pass along the way. I have not the courage to buy a bike yet, not wanting to meet either my Maker or the VN police that early in life. Most of the time I travel by m-bike (xe ôm or honda om) or by taxis.
Xe om/Honda Om/Unlicensed motorcycle taxis.
Update (30 Jan 08) : The helmet policy was implemented on 15 Dec 2007. It was total disbelief on 15 Dec 07 among all as the Vietnamese took to almost total compliance to the latest rule on safety. No one believed that it would work but it did. One problem, though. Xe-om drivers now wear helmets and have a spare for their passengers. $1 million dollar Q : will you wear a helmet worn by a few hundred passengers (over time, perhaps a few thousand?)
Mar 07
Over time, I've learnt to distinguish between the genuine traditional xe ôm drivers (where your life is safe in their hands..seats?) and those who would like to bring you to heaven with them in the fastest way possible. A ride within any district costs about 10,000VND - a longer one might costs 15,000VND - well, at least for me. I know the locals probably pay less but then, so long as I feel I'm not ripped off, I'll pay the price. Always agree on the price and destination before you take one. I'll had enough of those idiots who try to overcharge me. Never get on one that "happens" to come by.
Of late, I've had a change of heart regarding taking xe oms. If I have the time, a taxi, preferably Vinasun, is my preferred mode. The pollution is getting worse by the day and there is really isn't much difference between cab fare (12-15K) and xe om fare (10K). Something to deter me is the law to be implemented on 15 Dec 07 requiring all motorcyclist to wear helmets. Can you imagine how many passengers the xe om has per day and how many would have worn that miserable helmet that he has with him? Not me, not on my life. I think the xe oms will die a natural death eventually - this new legislation will slowly suffocate the xe om trade ... but then again, knowing the Vietnamese, they might just come up with something really creative to circumvent the law.
Taxis.
Latest update (30 Jan 08). I've seen many cabs with the number 8 27 27 77 - looks suspiciously private - my take - they're trying to identify with the premier Vinasun 8 27 27 27 - hoping unsuspecting tourists will mistake one for the other. To be safe, if you're in the city, look out for the green men with maroon ties - no, they're not aliens but are staff of Vinasun. They're there to help you get a Vinasun cab, so use them. I do.
Mar 07
There are two types of taxis here - the registered taxi companies and the private taxis. What's the difference, you ask? The registered taxis are mostly trustworthy but some still literally take you for a ride. I've given up on Comfort-Savico : my own Singapore company took me for a ride on 2 consecutive occasions - sad. The rest ...well, depends on your luck. Cab fares start at 12,000 to 15,000VND - cheap. Most trips around the city centre cost about 30K to 40K, or less. No booking fee applies even when you book cabs. Registered taxis are recognised by the company tel nos at the side - they start with 8 followed by a 6-digit number with a certain pattern eg 8111111, 8272727. The logos at the sides are big and obvious. There is also an oval sticker (with a number) pasted on the side of the windows (some near the fuel cover too). Have a look at the following photos and you will understand what I mean.
Now for the private ones. They are operated by individuals and many a time, the owners try to disguise their cabs to look like the registered ones - the wannabes. Problem with these private cabs is that some have tampered with their meters and you end up paying a lot more, esp over long distances. So I try to avoid them, even though I've come across some honest ones. How to recognise them? The tel numbers on their cabs start with 9 - meaning they are handphone numbers. The logos at the side are very small stickers - hardly noticeable at times. Still, it's hard to tell from a distance, and esp at night. And oh, they don't wear uniforms.
Public Buses.
The fares for public buses are very affordable - 2k to 3k (S$0.20-0.30). Can't really complain about the system given the fare. Most are supposed to be air-con but the ones I took never had the air-con working properly. Still am not too sure about hopping up the buses along the streets - can't figure out the numbers and the routes. So far, the buses I've taken are from the Saigon Bus Station near Ben Thanh Market. It's still the cheapest mode of transport around esp if you're going far away like Suoi Tien Park - 3k for bus fare; 180k for taxi fare (a whopping 60 times more ie 6000% difference)!!!
...more to come when I have the time.