Even though Ho Chi Minh City is approaching the status of megacity, there aren’t distinct neighbourhoods compared to cities of a similar size. Apart from the colonial-era inner city, most of the city has the same uniform mayhem to it. There is a Japantown in District 1, and a couple of Korean enclaves. Cholon is […]
Flight Review: AirAsia – Penang to Ho Chi Minh City
Flight: AirAsia AK 1502 From: Penang (PEN) To: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) I flew with AirAsia from Penang to Ho Chi Minh City. As two of my favourite destinations in Southeast Asia I was happy to see that AirAsia had started this route. I already knew I was going to fly this route, but […]
Flight Review: Vietjet Air – Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore
Flight: Vietjet Air VJ 813 From: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) To: Singapore (SIN) I flew with Vietjet Air from Ho Chi Minh City to Singapore. There are a number of full-service and low cost airlines plying this route. I compared flight options with Skyscanner and went with Vietjet for price and time of day. […]
Saigon to Phan Thiet by train – the easy way to get to Mui Ne
Mui Ne is the popular beach resort area in Southeastern Vietnam. The actual beach area is between the towns of Phan Thiet and Mui Ne, though most people just say Mui Ne for the general area. Even though Phan Thiet is about 200km east of Ho Chi Minh City, it takes anywhere from 4-6 hours […]
Flight Review: Vietjet Air – Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City
Flight: Vietjet Air VJ 877 From: Hong Kong (HKG) To: Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) I flew with Vietjet Air from Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh City. I searched for flights with Skyscanner.com and found that Vietjet had the best price at a good time of day to fly. I have flown from Hong […]
How to get from Saigon to Vung Tau by ferry
Vung Tau is the closest beach town to Saigon, so naturally it’s a popular city escape for Saigonese. The easiest way to get there is by the fast boat service. This used to be the quickest way before the Long Thanh expressway opened. Now getting a minivan takes about the same time. There was some […]
The changing face of Saigon – 2017 edition
With around 8.5 million people in Saigon the city will soon join the ranks of the world’s megacities. I wrote about the changing face of Saigon in 2015 which summarised the changes to the city. Much has happened over the last two years so here is an update on the changes – good and bad […]
Female butchers of Saigon
[Female butchers of Saigon – a photo essay by Tanya Olander from Somewhere in Saigon.] This time last year I would’ve been hard pressed to tell you what it is exactly that fascinates me about the female butchers in Saigon (and throughout Vietnam in general). Up until then, I’d actually never even realized that I […]
Where I’m At: February, 2017 – Year of the Rooster edition
Where I’m At; a monthly update of what I’ve been up to, site news, and where I’m going next. Where I’ve Been The month began in Nha Trang where I got the train back to Saigon. In the time I was away the Santa Claus decorations that were all over Saigon were transformed into roosters. […]
Nha Trang to Saigon by train
Vietnam by train is a great way to travel if you are making your way up or down the coast. While I wouldn’t traverse the whole length of the country in one go (especially when flights between Hanoi and Saigon are so competitive) it’s good for the stops in between. Trains in Vietnam follow a […]
