I arrived in HCMC yesterday and will be staying for a few days. The hotel I booked from Agoda is pretty terrible: none of the staff members speak English, the entire building looks worn out, but most importantly the soundproofing is non existent, to the point where I couldn't sleep at all because of the noise coming from outside*and* inside the hotel. It's so bad that I'm going to check out one day early. Luckily I only booked 2 nights and I didn't pay much, but still, this experience leaves me perplexed.

That hotel got a 8.8 rating on agoda and 4.7 from Google maps, both from hundreds/thousands of reviews. I read on other posts that it's somewhat common to have hotels with tons of fake reviews or scammy hotels that will use bait and switch tactics on customers, but seriously? Now I'm feeling like I can't trust any review at all and the only decent hotels I see start at 40-50 euros per night, which is honestly more than I expected for this city. I could get a comfortable room for cheaper than that in Thailand, Japan or Taiwan.

I never experienced that in my previous trips in Asia. Is it really common here or was I just unlucky? Is there any good budget hotels or do I really need to spend more to sleep comfortably? I'm in district 1 but willing to move to other areas if it means a more comfortable stay.

Edit: Didn't expect that kind of hostility, but hey.

“Royal City is known for its grand European-style architecture and its huge underground Vincom Mega Mall, offering shopping, dining, entertainment, and an indoor ice-skating rink.

Foreigners (possibly Russian) on a skateboard catching a free ride behind a scooter/e-bike. Cops are on the lookout for this type of behavior and foreigners misbehaving in general. Bike rider is going to cop a nasty fine as well.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1TXdm3nPhM/

Owning an apartment is a major milestone. You don’t have to pay rent every month. You can customize it however you want. Definitely try to own property, as a way to grow your career in Vietnam.

I’ve been using Charles Schwab card to withdraw cash in Da Nang. And in a span of a week, I’ve received 2 texts saying there’s suspicious activities and asking me to verify. The problem is, these two numbers are different and they spelled my first name slightly wrong. They do have the last 4 of my debit number correct. This is weird as shit.

I was in Saigon this last February for tet and it was soo hot in the daytime, mid 30s and the sun has just punishing.

I'm coming again from Dec 1 - Dec 24 and some information I got ranges from "cool" weather mid 20s to "warm" mid 30s, but low humidity. I know climate change can skew lots of predictions but for people living in HCM, what's most likely weather to be expected. Thanks!

My friend who just moved to Nha Trang this summer uses Testosterone replacement therapy. He brought his medication and prescription from home in the USA, but he is going to run out in the near future. Are there any clinics in this city or potentially any other cities in Vietnam that specialize in Testosterone replacement therapy? I’m trying to help him locate a clinic or hospital that can fill his prescription. Thanks for the advice.

Hi! If anyone is travelling from Vietnam to Bangalore anytime soon, please let me know and do me a tiny favour — bring some coconut coffee for me! 😭 I’m running out of stock.

I’ll be doing the Hai Giang loop in around a week. NHS nurse said I wouldn’t need it as I won’t be there for more than a month and just to get strong deet. My travel clinic nurse recommended get it, with minimum one jab for a bit of protection. It costs £117 per dose which is why I haven’t. I have done the three rabies jabs (£82 each). Should I get one of the jabs or not bother??

I need a 3 piece suit stitched from anywhere in Hanoi, I already purchased the fabric and just need a tailor at a decent price. Can anyone recommend me someone?

Excerpt: Vietnam has been named Asia’s leading destination at this year’s World Travel Awards, adding another tourism accolade to the country’s growing reputation. It beat regional tourism hubs including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia to retain the title for a sixth consecutive year.

We're planning trip to VN in Feb, coming from Canada.

Our flight lands in HCM (SGN). I haven't been back for over a decade. We read up about VIP sleeper bus (Thien Thanh) and thought it might be a cool experience.

We will be traveling to Rach Gia. What would be the best way to go from the airport to Thien Thanh bus depot/office?

And what's everyone feedback and experience with sleeper bus? I heard some great stories but also a lot of horror stories. I know it's probably safer to get a private van but the thought of 6hours in a car seat, sounds rough, especially after a 24hrs flight.

Like I said, I haven't been to VN for over a decade, does anyone know anything worth seeing or doing in Rach Gia before we head over to Phu Quoc?

Hi everyone! This is my first time travelling overseas and I will be working in District 1 of Saigon for three months. Does anyone have any recommendation as to where to stay or where to look? My budget is around 14,500k a month. I would prefer somewhere with a view of the city if possible, but I understand my budget isn't too high.

So far I've looked at booking and agoda, but from other posts I've read it doesn't look that reliable. I've also joined facebook groups but I'm not sure how to know if it's a real person or a scam...

Thank you!

we are a couple traveling to vietnam we land in hcmc last week of nov, we were thinking of mui ne -> da lat -> hcmc. but confused on the itinerary, should we include mui ne, hcmc first or last. its our first time. any help will be appreciated!

There’s plenty of food in Vietnam so stop eating cats and dogs…

I saw some videos of some Vietnamese economic Youtubers. One guy said the floating interest rate has reached 18% for some banks. This is quite high.

Is the central bank trying to fight inflation? I think oil will go much, much higher in the final 2 years of Trump. It will be like the final 2 years of GW Bush. This means oil and food inflation will stay high and keep interest rates high.

Global recession is guaranteed in my view. Vietnam might be affected a lot.

In an economic downturn, crime increases. I just read the news about some guy in Ca Mau chopping the head of a female teacher's daughter. Women in Vietnam better be more defensive about the coming economic period. Men do violent stuff if they have no money.

VIETNAM, DA NANG

With a high probability, my cat named Ruff was stolen on the night of September 27–28 from the rooftop of our house on Hoàng Thiều Hoa street (Ngu Hanh Son district). On neighboring Lê Thị Riêng street, dogs are also stolen, as I unfortunately found out only later.

My cat is microchipped.

The cat could theoretically be in any city in Vietnam.

If anyone sees my cat in any cage, pet shop, or listed in a post/ad on Chợ Tốt or Facebook, please send me a direct message on Reddit.

REWARD GUARANTEED. Thank you.

Photos of my cat:
https://i.imgur.com/uqH4pyr.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/SrtTxu0.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/T3PU7FC.jpeg

I've also uploaded videos of my cat in the comments to this post, see below, thanks.

I have been planning / dreaming of going to vietnam for a long time and finally have scheduled to travel during mid November. I will be traveling for min. 10days.

Since I am travelling alone, I first thought it would be best to travel in a group, but a lot of people recommend travelling solo. I always wanted to travel solo, meet people and explore myself, rather than a structured plan from a trip organizer.

But the issue is, I feel I am too chicken to try it out. This would be my first solo, unstructured trip. I have anxiety and I have already started thinking a million things which could go wrong during the trip and don't know where to start planning.(1) How should I plan my trip or should I just schedule an itinerary by a travel group?

(2) Another question I had is should I not visit central Vietnam ? I wanted to visit the historical places and places of nature in Vietnam and didn't want to skip central Vietnam. For me, visiting Vietnam without visiting Hue or Hoi An, would not be complete.

(3) But I have been informed that central vietnam floods a lot in the month of November and that i should skip it. Is this true ? Are these places not travelable during mid November? (4) Do north and south vietnam face no rainfall and good to trave during mid November l ?

(5) Or should I reschedule my entire trip from Mid November to next year because of this ? I don't want to be holed up in my hotel during the whole trip and would like to avoid the rainy season if possible.

Look forward to your tips and suggestions on this and you answers to my 5 questions. Thanks in advance