Stuck in Saigon
Nov 29, 2008
Unable to fly back to Bangkok, we spent some time in the big city of Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) and went on some nearby tours.
Read more
And I thought Thailand was good for the budget! This is an easy country to get around, inexpensive, with a good variety of locations to visit. Being from the US, it was very interesting visiting the war sites and learning about the history and how the North conquered the horrible Americans. Seeing the historical ruins that were bombed in the war was a bit hard to take. But the people are so welcoming.
It's an interesting mix of older people set in the traditional culture and the younger generation all walking around in bluejeans and holding a smart phone. Picture walking down the sidewalk next to both a woman in a typical straw hat carrying her wares in baskets at the end of a pole across her back and a teenager in full modern clothing yapping on his smart phone. Oh, and have fun crossing the street in Saigon! :)
The daily total includes all lodging, food, booze, transportation, sightseeing, visas, etc. I don't include the money I spend on gifts for friends and I do not include the flight price.
| Lodging (shared) | Food | Booze | Transportation | Other Stuff | $1 Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $4.94 (✓) | $4.35 | $2.63 | $2.43 | $3.41 | 17000 |
| Lodging (shared) | Food | Booze | Transportation | Other Stuff | $1 Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $18.83 (✓) | $3.94 | $0.19 | $9.08 | $15.74 | 26200 |
Once a month the entire country eats vegetarian (com chay) so you can find vegetarian restaurants around. However, if you say in Vietnamese that you are vegetarian, a restaurant may tell you that they don't have "com chay", like you are looking for special mock meat or something. They may very well have noodles with veggies or egg. It's kind of weird that way. So just saying you're vegetarian might cause some confusion. Try to pair it with asking for something specific they may have on their menu.
| Language | Meaning | Phrase / Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Vietnamese |
I am vegetarian | tôi ăn chay doi ann (like the name) chai (like the drink) |
| no fish sauce | khong muoc mam mam is more like mom |
|
| no meat, chicken, or fish | không thịt, gà, đồ biển | |
| vegetarian food/restaurant | com chay chai (like the drink) |
| Language | Meaning | Phrase / Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
Vietnamese |
i'm sorry | xin lỗi sin lo'i |
| please | lam on lam own (like you own a car) |
|
| thank you | cam on gam own (like you own a car) |
|
| beef | thịt bò tit baw |
|
| chicken | thịt gà tit gaa |
|
| coffee hot | cafe seur non seur goes up like a question |
|
| coffee iced | cafe seur daa both seur and daa go up like a question cafe sua? daa? |
|
| fish | ca | |
| pork | thịt lợn tit lown |
|
| hello | xin chào sin chow |
|
| see you again | hen gap lai | |
| 0 | cowm cow (as in moo-cow) |
|
| 1 | mot | |
| 10 | muoi like Spanish muy |
|
| 11 | muoi mot | |
| 2 | hai | |
| 20 | hai muoi | |
| 3 | ba | |
| 4 | bon | |
| 5 | nam | |
| 6 | sau | |
| 7 | bay | |
| 8 | tam | |
| 9 | chin | |
| check | thin tien teen tien |
Coffee
Helpful information and fun adventures!
More of a personal nature, my un-related diary-like (hmmm or blog-like?) daily thoughts and activities; the things that don't warrant their own article/adventure post.