http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/ Welcome to Been there. Your tips on the places you know - that you love, live in or have just visited - are what make this guide. http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31855 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/31855 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25803 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25803 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25488 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25488 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25487 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25487 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25277 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25277 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25276 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25276 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25123 At the end of the night we were short changed with our money as well!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25123 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25122 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25122 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25121 Vietnamese cuisine served in an airy courtyard.
Good value.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25121 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25120 Good fun as you can barbeque your meat at your table.
Good value, great service and full of locals which is always a good sign.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25120 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25119 Huge foodstalls set up all around the market with stalls selling all manner of things in the adjacent streets.
Great atmosphere but be careful of potential pickpockets!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25119 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25118 These magazines (as well as having interesting articles about HCMC) carry listings of pubs , restaurants & clubs etc.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25118 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25117 Taxi driver charged us equivalent of c.$20 for a 5 minute ride.
He fiddled the meter and charged us in dong and we were not used to the exchange rate which added to our confusion. Our fault!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25117 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25115 The Communist tanks crashed through the gates on 30 April 1975 and other than the repaired gate the palace has been left as it was in 1975 as a monument to the communist victory.
Only about £1 entry fee.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25115 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25114 Plenty of bars (Go2 bar, Crazy Buffalo), travel agencies etc.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25114 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25113 We stayed there in November 09 and paid around £40 per night.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25113 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25096 Variety of wines by glass / bottle.
UK prices.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/25096 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21626
For the brave, a motorcycle taxi, or Xe Om, is a great way to see the city; travelling without a roof means you can take in a lot more of the city, provided you haven't clenched your eyes shut in fear. Since December 2007 all Xe Oms carry spare helmets for their passengers so this is now safer than it was. Be prepared to haggle for your fare though!

For the rest of us, taxis are a cheap, cool and comfortable. Escape from the heat and the noise of the city; a journey across the centre can cost as little as $1-2.

Be careful to go with a good brand like Vinataxi, Mai Linh or Vinasun though, as there are a few shady operators who fiddle their meters.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/21626 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14809
It was the hotel that Michael Caine was filmed in during the The Quiet American. Great American coffee (most coffee in Vietnam is Vietnamese, and rather bitter) available in the veranda style lounge room overlooking one of the shopping streets.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14809 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14589
Join a daily mass at noon with a congregation mostly dressed in all white. See the Divine Eye watch over a hall supported by 28 dragon-encrusted columns.

Cao Dai is a syncretist religion founded in Vietnam in the 1920s. Statues of different religious leaders including Jesus, Buddha, Confucius and Lao Tze share the altar stage.

The temple also has statues of the religion's saints including China's first president Sun Yat-sen and the French writer Victor Hugo!]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/14589