Asia travel on a Budget

Yes. It's true, I did spend a year in Vietnam, but mostly in Ho Chi Minh city.

Ho Chi Minh city or Saigon (as it was called before the war) is in the South of Vietnam. Quite a few people have gained an interest in visiting it since the country opened its borders to mass tourism.

What a crazy city is Ho Chi Minh city. It was such a shock to my senses when I first arrived there. That was after 3 years in Bangkok, so it wasn't like I wasn't used to loud polluted cities, but still did Saigon shock me.

Most of the informative details I learned about Saigon can be found at www.travel-budget-asia.com/ho-chi-minh-city.html --- but this Squidoo Lens is just about opinions and insights into living there or even spending a few days there.

I recommend spending only a few days there. That sounds bad but it's because of the quality of alternatives in Thailand, Cambodia, or Laos that I say that.

I originally went to Saigon and Vietnam for the cash. It's the best city in Asia to load up your pockets for further travel around Asia. I still believe that they pay so well because so few people want to live there. Even people who have lived there for 10 year, and swear they love the life in Vietnam, are always miserably upset about living there.

You're probably wondering why I say that. Maybe it's just an opinion and worth little. Remember, if you want info on travel in Vietnam and all the details on how to do it then visit the website for that. Here maybe just opinions.

Ho Chi Minh city is loud, polluted and filled with a people that are motivated purely by money and nothing else. That may be stern but it may also be human nature. Maybe if I was born in Ho Chi Minh city, I would be exactly the same.

Tourists stay almost exclusively in and around the Pham Ngu Lao area of the city. It is a thrilling place to arrive. My senses were flying from all the mad action going on around me.

Just be careful crossing the street.

De Tham street is probably the best road to find good food and the better rooms and hotels in the area. Pham Ngu Lao Road itself is so damn noisy day and night that you'd be better off in one of the hotels off De Tham street.

The Pham Ngu Lao area is one city block so go for a walkabout around that block in search of a good hotel. You can get rooms from $10USD a night or up to $50USD a night. Air conditioned rooms with internet and cable TV are about $15USD.

Make sure to go to the hotel alone. Many people will try to wrangle you up and then they will want to walk with you to the hotel. That way they get a commission and you pay more.