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Lin Phuong

Friday, March 13th, 2009

I am running behind on my blog entries for Ho Chi Minh, so you will have to excuse this post being in the India section of our blog. We have been helped so often by folks that have recommended tours or accomodation on their blogs, so I am adding this post so others might also enjoy the wonderful place we stayed in, in Ho Chi Minh.

 I love our guest house! It is a little oasis tucked into a back lane one street back from the bustling Pham Ngu Lao street and in the centre of the back packer district! It is suprisingly quiet for its location.

The building is 4 floors high but that is the norm here and we are getting quite used to scaling stairs. We stayed on the 3 floor in a room for 3 but the manager gave us a mattress for the floor so we could all fit.

We paid $US28 per night for the four of us and that included eggs and coffee and baguettes (with real butter!) for breakfast, free internet, and the most wonderful hosts. The linen was changed daily and the room cleaned. The whole place is spotless and the whole family is involved in the business. We chatted to the kids, the parents and even the grandparents during our time there, although not all of them spoke English so we all just nodded and giggled at each other.

 The address for travellers that are interested is: 283/29 Pham Ngu Lao St, District 1, Ho chi Minh City. Ph: (84-8) 38377709  Email: linphuonghotelvn@yahoo.com . It is near the Canada hotel, down a small driveway/lane. Good luck finding it – Just ask one of the locals they can show you the lane.

Posted in Accomodation, Guesthouse, Ho chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh City, Hostel, Pham Ngu Lau St, Travel, Vietnam | No Comments »

Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

We arrived in Ho chi Minh City tonight just before dinner. The Lonely Planet guide assured us that we would be able to take the local bus for the price of 3,500 Dong ($AU3.50). We asked and searched and walked and walked however we were told over and over again that they stop running after 5pm.

Having been warned about such scams we didn’t believe a thing they said. We went on searching for our bus and along the way collected a little group of other foreigners that were also searching for the elusive bus. Eventually, after asking several more nationals and receiving the same answer (that the buses don’t run this late in the day), we decided that a taxi was the best option.

We all crammed into a 8 seater taxi and shared the fare of 200,000 Dong, a price increase of approx ten times what we had planned to pay. Then to add insult to injury, I over tipped the driver in my confusion about all the zeros in this new currency. I meant to pay him 6,000 Dong and accidentally paid him 60,000 (I’m sure he was very happy but I felt very foolish).

 It was quite fun to be crammed into the back of the van, all full of excitement and sharing our travel stories. The traffic kept us laughing (and gasping/squealing) all the way into the city.

 We had read about the traffic in Vietnam in guidebooks and blogs, but nothing had really conveyed just how bizarre it is here. Cars, bikes and buses literally weave in around each other, constantly honking their horns. To turn across the traffic at the lights, it is like an orchestrated dancing horse parade, as the cars and bikes just drive straight for each other and vie for position to get in front of each other.

Once we found our hostel (Lin-Phung Guesthouse – Pham Ngu Lao St, a fantastic little place 5 stories high, run by a family that keep plying us with crispy Vietnamese snacks – yum), we went out to dinner and sat chuckling at the traffic some more. We saw little old granny’s riding bikes and giving other women rides on the back (one was so tiny it was hard to believe she was riding at all). We also saw men riding bikes and calling out to offer us a massage, as well as one woman pushing a scale and encouraging folks to weigh themselves for a fee.

 All and all it has been quite an adventurous day full of surprises.

Posted in Ho Chi Minh City, Hostel, Travel, Vietnam | No Comments »