ho chi min bars and restuarants

i will be in ho chi min city in july 2009 can anyone suggest any good restuarants and bars

ho chi min bars and restuarants

Hi Steve

I can%26#39;t remember the name of any of the Viet restaurants we visited but if you need a break from Asian fare, I can recommend Sheridan%26#39;s Irish House at 17/13 Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1. Great beer (even do a local version of Guinness), live music nightly and good pub grub. It%26#39;s only a small place which is set amongst other restaurants and bars. We%26#39;ll be in HCMC at the end of March and we will definitely visit Sheridan%26#39;s again.

Best place for a 'special' birthday dinner?

Hello,

My husband and I will be in Hoi An in March, and will celebrate my husband%26#39;s 50th birthday while we are there. Does anyone have any recommendations for restaurant where we might be able to have something special for dinner? It doesn%26#39;t necessarily have to be fancy or expensive (although that would be fine too) just an experience that will be memorable.

Thanks, Mermaid

Best place for a 'special' birthday dinner?

The Mango Room at 111 Nguyen Thai Hoc is really nice. Probably a little more expensive than most of the other restaurants but nothing excessive.

Food was great and a blend of many cultures with fabulous service.

My 10 year old son and I went there when we visited back in June and they made such a fuss of us both.

The Red Bridge Cooking school also runs a restaurant at night and it is a little way out of town or you can catch a boat. We only ate lunch there (what we cooked) but the suroundings are very stylish and would love to go back for dinner. Good wine list with a sprinkling of french, Chile and Australian wines.

We are thinking of going back to Vietnam this year and most likely will visit Hoi An again but this time I have talked my husband into coming as well.

There are some great restaurants around especially down near the river - ask for some recommendations from the hotel staff and fellow travellers. You will love Hoi An, one of my favourite places

Best place for a 'special' birthday dinner?

Hi,

For me some of my most memorable meals in Hoi An have been at the smaller family run places on the river. the decor is not the flashest - but i wouldn%26#39;t do too much either if it was going to flood each year - but they are genuine. The toilet is likely to be the family bathroom through the kitchen, but they are friendly and helpful. Great place to sit and people watch whilst eating good Vietnamese food. Can%26#39;t remember all their names but Cafe 96 and Cafe Can I enjoyed. another place a couple of streets from the river which was good was Cafe Hai (Scout Cafe) - a great BBQ of prawns etc. Take a wander around during the day and see what takes your fancy - there are plenty of them there.

Hoi An is such a wonderful place with, filled with fantastic restaurants. There are just so many to choose from!!

For a special dinner you can%26#39;t go past the gorgeous ';Morning Glory'; restaurant(106 Nguyen Thai Hoc St)the food and service is simply superb.

Enjoy Hoi An - what a fabulous place to celebrate a special birthday!!

Regards,

Rech

Hi,

I must agree Mango is Mangonificent the food the room is really nice.It is a bit more expensive than some places but you get what you pay for Bon Appetite.

Coupe

Thank you so much for your suggestions!

I would surely say Mango Rooms or Mango Mango ( especially recommended during the full moon celebrations as they have a perfect view on the beautiful celebrations taking place around the Japanese Bridge - so nice!)

The food at both restaurant is great, Mango Mango will offer a little more privacy and the food is coocked in an open kitchen with staff that will kndly take care of you both :)

Hi Mermaid,

Must agree with the others, both Mangos are special with superb food and friendly owner and staff. Ate there 3 times recently despite the fact they are more expensive than your usual Hoi An restaurant. The Red Bridge cooking class is fun also - a bit of a market tour, river trip, cooking class and meeting other travellers!

Hi,

My partner and I were in Hoi An in December 2008 and had dinner at Mango Mango on two nights, Fantastic food service cocktails, you want be disappointed.

Great Coffee aswell!

Cafe Hai is nice to eat at as well. Nice and relaxed and lovely outdoor area, though one night my son and I ate sitting out on the front veranda where we continually got harassed by kids wanting to sell us stuff.

Would not call it special a special celebration restaurant but worth the visit. Service is really good as well and we noticed that a lot of tour groups were eating there as well.

Hello all,

I agree with others about Mangos, they are nice places with good food. We celebrated Xmas and a BIG birthday in a place called Lighthouse Restautant. It is located just acrosS the river on Cam Nam Island. The location is beautiful - you can see the lights from the town and clear sky with the stars. The restaurant is fairly new and run by a Vietnamese lady with her Dutch partner, Hans. The food was excellent! The lady also runs a cooking school, so she is well qualified for cooking a feast! The service couldn%26#39;t have been better and friendlier. It was a night none of us will forget soon. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

skin care products

Halong Junk Boat for 3 adults in one room

Is anyone aware of which junk boats have rooms suitable for 3 adults? I will be traveling in November 2009 and there will be 5 of us in total so looking for best way to book cabins.

Any advice or recommendations much appreciated!

BLUE tailors in Hoi An

I HIGHLY recommend Blue as somewhere to have clothes made well. Tam was very meticulous about her products and the girls were all very friendly. They spoke excellent english and were actually a lot of fun to deal with.

My wife and I had a LOT of stuff made and completed within 2 days and are very very happy with the result and the quality too.

As Aussies we suggest there is NO other place for other Aussies to go for clothes in Hoi An. Dont run the risk of being ripped off or receiving poor workmanship elsewhere. These girls are professional and make it a great experience for us laid back guys from Oz!

Happy to provide more details on items and costs. We were there 7th Aug 2008.

BLUE tailors in Hoi An

would appreciate some details as to what your wife bought and prices.

I am going there in December and wanted to get some stuff made up.

Did you buy any shoes by chance, or can anyone else recommend a good shoemaker.

BLUE tailors in Hoi An

Thanks Raybaby, I would be interested in pricing for ladies clothing, planning a trip for March 09 and you have saved a lot of time for us in Hoi An

Gaye

Hey thanks for the good rec on tailors. Could you please update us on how your items hold up after wearing and washing? Also, details - prices, fabrics, etc. Thanks, hope you had a good trip!

Thanks for the information we are also going in March 09 will certainly be visiting Blue.

Sue

susanw

We are going in March 09 also what dates you going??

Gaye

hey ray we were there on the 8th too.

I had 2 sets of matching pants %26amp; tops, one pair of cargos, one dress %26amp; a long satin dressing gown made %26amp; they were fantastic.

Total cost was about $220 so we thought it was great value, the fit was great %26amp; fabric was beautiful.

thoroughly recommended.

Ray great post about ';Blue tailors';, what is the range of fabrics like? was there a resonable selection of light weight wool blends, you mentioned shoes in a post I think, did they say ';You to big Aussie, must kill 2 cows?';

Had that responce in Thailand, keep the updates coming we will be there in Jan 09 7-9 aprox.

Scott

Scott: hahahaha very good! No not that exact quote but close. Many Vietnamese rubbed my belly and laughed saying ';happy Buddha!'; or ';Buddha brother';.

I think its fair to say the range of fabric is ';reasonable'; but not extensive. Tam and Yum Yum (no kidding) have only been in business for a relatively short time after having worked for another tailor for many years. For me their attitude and friendliness made it easy and enjoyable to deal with them. I am very happy with the products as well.

I am from Brissie so selected lighter and cooler blend material.

Ray

Ray thanks for the reply, keep us informed as to how the wear an tear factor go%26#39;s, do blue make shirts. I had some made in thailand and they feel great.

Where did you stay in Hoi An? how did you travel in and out?

Regards Scott

Scott

I also copped the ';happy buddha'; line everywhere in Vietnam.

As far as accommodation in Hoi An - we have been twice ( and returning 2009) and stayed at Thuy Duong 3. Loved the place, both Hoi An and hotel, and couldn%26#39;t drag ourselves away and ended up staying for 9 days last time. Great staff, good breakie and pool at reasonable rate.

We flew into Danang then Taxi to Hoi An. Leaving we caught open tour bus for a couple of dollars to Hue.

Enquiry on Hanoi to Sapa to Yunnan

Hi everyone,

I like to seek help for my itinerary planning.

1.I intend to move from Hanoi to Sapa.I understand that I need to take an overnight train.Which accomodation is recommended for staying in Hanoi and near the original Sinh Cafe @ Hanoi?Im okay with a guesthouse or a 2 or 3 star hotel.

2.Are there other tour guides/agency aside from Sinh Cafe worth recommending if I%26#39;m looking for a tour to Sapa?How many days should I spend in Sapa?

3.From Sapa, I intend to make my way to Yunnan.How should I go about it?

Thank you very much for all help rendered! =)

kill sheep to make ugg boots

Phu Quoc in May

Hi

Myself and my wife are hoping to visit Phu Quoc in late May (maybe 21-25th of May). It looks loveley, but we have a slight concern about the climate on Phu Quoc at this time of year.

Does anybody know from experience if late May is the rainy season in Phu Quoc? We don%26#39;t mind the odd rain shower, but we don%26#39;t want to visit if it rains most of the time. We are just looking to spend time on the beach, and do a bit of swimming in the sea.

I hope you can help.

Richard

Phu Quoc in May

Hi Richard,

I can%26#39;t speak from experience however here is a resource for you;

http://www.mysherpa.info/phuquoc/index.cfm

Ray.

Phu Quoc in May

Hi Richard,

I am planning on going in May also. Have you gone? Is it rainy season all the time? or occasional rain showers?

Thanks!

Roxana

We went in late June it was rainy season then but in 7 days we were on the beach every day. There were showers occassionally but all it did was cool us down for a while.

There were people who left when we arrived and they told us it had rained for 7 out of the 11 days.

I just sounds like pot luck on the weather.

Thanks!

Dear Roxana

Sorry for the slightly delayed response. The weather in May 2008 when we were in Phu Quoc was generally hot and sunny. It was certainly perfect weather for sitting on the beach. The only disadvantage was that the sea conditions were rough, which meant that most snorkelling trips were not operating. There was also the odd rainstorm, including quite a violent thunderstorm.

But for 90% of the time, the weather was fantastic.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes

Richard

Hi Richard,

It really helped, I guess it will depend on luck...but definetly will not plan on diving!

and did you like it? Is the sea clear, clean and good beaches? Compared to others in Vietnam or Thailand?

Thanks!

Hi Roxana

We haven%26#39;t been to any other beaches in Vietnam, but we have visited Langkawi in Malaysia and Ko Samui in Thailand.

We definitely preferred Phu Quoc to an over developed beaches we visited on the east of Ko Samui, the beach was cleaner and less crowded. However Phu Quoc wasn%26#39;t as nice as Langkawi or the north end of Ko Samui. The beach was as good, (though the water isn%26#39;t as clear) but the biggest disadvantage is that there is less to do on Phu Quoc, less choice of restuarants and no shops nearby. The food at our resort (sea star) was fantastic though, especially the mackerel curry. My last tip would be to not visit the Tropicana resort, lots of people moved out of there because it was dirty and generally poor.

I hope this helps. We loved Vietnam as a whole, though I wouldn%26#39;t visit just for a beach holiday.

Best wishes

Richard

Thank you very much Richard. I guess it will be great a 3 day rest at Phu Quoc after 2 weeks traveling around Vietnam!. Thanks again for you help,

Roxana

Phu Quy island

How can I get to Phu Quy island? As I know there is ferry or boat from Phan Thiet seaport. What about schedule and the cost? Can anybody help in this question?