Visas, taxis, Tet and more

While planning our Vietnam trip, I looked for information about getting visas online. Specifically, what is the difference between online and going through the Vietnamese Embassy. At http://visa-vietnam.org/ you pay from $14 to $20 (depending on the size of your group) for a visa approval letter that you take to the “Landing Visa” counter in the Saigon airport. At that counter, you pay another $25 in cash and a passport sized photo to get the visa. Going through the Embassy (at the time of our travel) was about $85 per person. Plus we would have had to mail our passports to the Embassy, which I wasn’t too comfortable doing. We decided to go with the online letter. Arriving in Saigon after 27 hours of travel, it wasn’t too fun to go through the bother of getting the visa using the letter. It took about 30 minutes, which in retrospect wasn’t bad. I would still go with the online route since it was only $38 each.

Taxi drivers are waiting for the international flights to arrive so they can overcharge. The first guy wanted $25 and we talked him down to $15 to get to District 1 in HCMC. We quickly learned that the usual cost is 100,000 dong or approx. $6 US. Not a great start to our haggling. The taxi ride from SGN to the Elios Hotel was chilling. The driver was constantly honking his horn, swerving around other cars and motorbikes. At one point, he drove against the traffic and slightly bumped the back of a biker. Little did we realize that this is how everyone drives in Vietnam!

We arrived in HCMC on Jan. 26, the first day of Tet. Most of the shops were closed. Enough restaurants were open to give us a variety of choices. What was really cool though was being there to see all the lights, flowers, and festivals. We walked around and happened to come upon a park with a big celebration going on. We paid our few dong to get in and had a wonderful time watching the dragon dancing, viewing the bonsai and flower arrangements and getting a kick out of all the activities for the children. It was wonderful. Tet is like Christmas, birthday and New Years all wrapped into one.

Advice on crossing streets in Vietnam – scooters don’t stop for pedestrians. You look for a break in traffic and walk across at a steady pace. The bikes all swerve around you. Don’t stop and don’t dash across. It’s a bit unnerving, but you kind of get used to it.

Things to do in Saigon: American Remnants museum was from the communist point of view, which is understandable but still unsettling to see the propaganda. Cu Chi tunnels were impressive and disturbing. They show the booby traps set for our GI’s and their dogs. It was interesting though to see what an enormous undertaking building and digging those tunnels were for the Viet Cong. The Elios Hotel staff arranged the tour for us that included the Cau Dai Temple. I would not recommend going to Cau Dai. It is a 2-hour van trip that stops at a handicraft factory (just in case you’re short of souvenirs). You arrive at the temple and it is gawdy, ugly, brightly colored, Disney-esqe and not worth taking that much of your vacation.

Visas, taxis, Tet and more

Thank you for posting your report. I found it very interesting and helpful. You touched on points of interest to me, especially about the Visa. I have mine already from the Embassy here in Australia because I was a bit nervous about doing it on-line (and yes, it cost quite a bit more!)

I have been gathering quite a bit of info from another TA member as well, so soon I will be the ';full bottle'; on HCMC. Only 4 weeks before I leave - can%26#39;t wait.

Visas, taxis, Tet and more

Redhead,

Great report. Did you go anywhere else beside Saigon?

Yes, we spent 2 weeks and 2 days in Vietnam. In addition to Saigon, we went to Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hoi An, and Phu Quoc island. It%26#39;s hard to name a favorite since these destinations are all so different, but I would have to say that Halong Bay was absolutely magical. We went on the Red Dragon junk for one night and had a fabulous time!