New to Ho Chi Minh City

Hi Steven.

Welcome. Im sure there are lots of people, including me to help you know more about HCMC.

Just post your questions & inquiries here & we'll help you answer it.

Cheers
Lee

Welcome in Vietnam! Nice to meet you. If you need some help or more infomation, you can contact me at namphuong312@yahoo.com I will help you without any fees.
Phuong Nam

Awesome.

I'm looking for a general overview of what life is like in HCMC. The culture, restaurants, people, etc. Also, I don't speak any Vietnamese. I speak Mandarin fluently so i'm wondering if that will help me with learning Vietnamese at all.

Thanks a lot guys!

stevenmiller888 wrote:

Awesome.

I'm looking for a general overview of what life is like in HCMC. The culture, restaurants, people, etc. Also, I don't speak any Vietnamese. I speak Mandarin fluently so i'm wondering if that will help me with learning Vietnamese at all.

Thanks a lot guys!

You speak Mandarin? Thats friggin awesome! Some Vietnamese are able to speak Mandarin, but English is the preferred language there. I would think that knowing Cantonese is a small plus as its a bit similar to Vietnamese language

Well, to me life in Vietnam is not as stressed as my home country. People take their own sweet time to do things, people laze around in cafes, people sleeping everywhere in the hot afternoon, etc.

I would propose you to live like a Vietnamese when you arrive to experience it.

Cheers

Hi Lee,

Yeah I had a feeling Vietnamese would be similar to Cantonese. Geographically speaking, it makes sense. Unfortunately, I speak very little Canto as I lived in Guangzhou/HK for only a couple months.

Where are you from originally?

When you say "live like a vietnamese", what do you mean exactly?

Best regards,

Steven

Don't worry how to live.Vietnameses are very easy. Just do as your way

stevenmiller888 wrote:

Hi Lee,

Yeah I had a feeling Vietnamese would be similar to Cantonese. Geographically speaking, it makes sense. Unfortunately, I speak very little Canto as I lived in Guangzhou/HK for only a couple months.

Where are you from originally?

When you say "live like a vietnamese", what do you mean exactly?

Best regards,

Steven

Theres a district where most people speak Cantonese & it feels like home for me. I forgot which district. Don't worry. You will be able to speak Tieng Viet as time goes by.

Im from Singapore. Moving there soon. Just gotta settle some issues for a while & I'll be there in September to work & live.

Live like a Vietnamese, in my context means eat, live & enjoy the slow pace of life just like a Vietnamese. I don't think you will patronize restaurants for your every meal, live in 5* hotels, etc. We've done that in our own country.

Regards
Lee

Hi Steven
just can tell you some basic things
People: Vietnamese are friendly and hospitable, easy to make friend.The life in Vietnam is quite slow, not stressful and peaceful.if you walk around and ask for the direction, street, hotel, information, etc, Vietnamese are always willing to tell you with smile.
District 5 is Chinatown with lots of  Chinese restaurants, store,people,etc and they usually speak Cantonese. District 1, district 3 is center of Ho Chi Minh.
If you want to discover Vietnamese food, let's try street food( but hygiene is not good ). you should try " Phở, bánh xèo, cơm tấm, bún bò "
Address: Banh Xeo Muoi Xiem, 190 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, District 3 or 225 Nguyen Trai Street, District 1.
Nha hang mon Hue ( typical food from Hue city, middle region of Viet Nam) 178 Nguyen Van Troi, Phu Nhuan District.
or you can buy a magazine for foreigner to see.
Vietnamese is interesting and has a great spelling system.you can write exactly what you hear,no homophony.
and, traffic in Viet nam is quite terrible.cross the road is a problem with foreigner cuz all the motorbike seems to hit you but you just need to go slowly and will be ok.

and, welcome to Viet Nam. 

Regards.

Hi Steven, welcome to Vietnam
I think will like my country, when you arrive here, you can contact me by yahoo :huynhkyvuong@yahoo.com, i can help you anything, we can exchange about language and culture
My name Vuong, job engineer, this is my company khoisangviet.com
Good luck.

Wow. The overwhelming show of respect and support on this forum is a testament to your country. I am now even more excited to get there and start interacting with people.

It's quite interesting to hear that Vietnam, a country growing at almost 6% GDP YOY is, as you all have put it, "slow and peaceful." One would expect this level of growth to represent a country with a bustling, fast-paced style of living. It's nice to hear that people are so laid back and helpful.

I've spent the last week or so learning the tones/alphabet so that I don't have to worry about it after I arrive. I'm hoping to pick up as much Vietnamese as possible in my short time there.

I'm used to the crossing the road part. I can't imagine it being worse than crossing the roads of Beijing, where I spent much time studying/working.

Pho and Banh mi (Is that spelled right?) are the only foods i've tried but they are delicious! I'm super excited to taste more vietnamese cuisine!!

Thanks so much everybody!!

stevenmiller888 wrote:

Wow. The overwhelming show of respect and support on this forum is a testament to your country. I am now even more excited to get there and start interacting with people.

It's quite interesting to hear that Vietnam, a country growing at almost 6% GDP YOY is, as you all have put it, "slow and peaceful." One would expect this level of growth to represent a country with a bustling, fast-paced style of living. It's nice to hear that people are so laid back and helpful.

I've spent the last week or so learning the tones/alphabet so that I don't have to worry about it after I arrive. I'm hoping to pick up as much Vietnamese as possible in my short time there.

I'm used to the crossing the road part. I can't imagine it being worse than crossing the roads of Beijing, where I spent much time studying/working.

Pho and Banh mi (Is that spelled right?) are the only foods i've tried but they are delicious! I'm super excited to taste more vietnamese cuisine!!

Thanks so much everybody!!

Just get you a** here & enjoy life in Vietnam. Im anticipating mine too...

stevenmiller888 wrote:

Wow. The overwhelming show of respect and support on this forum is a testament to your country. I am now even more excited to get there and start interacting with people.

It's quite interesting to hear that Vietnam, a country growing at almost 6% GDP YOY is, as you all have put it, "slow and peaceful." One would expect this level of growth to represent a country with a bustling, fast-paced style of living. It's nice to hear that people are so laid back and helpful.

I've spent the last week or so learning the tones/alphabet so that I don't have to worry about it after I arrive. I'm hoping to pick up as much Vietnamese as possible in my short time there.

I'm used to the crossing the road part. I can't imagine it being worse than crossing the roads of Beijing, where I spent much time studying/working.

Pho and Banh mi (Is that spelled right?) are the only foods i've tried but they are delicious! I'm super excited to taste more vietnamese cuisine!!

Thanks so much everybody!!

Phở và bánh mì-bread (not Phố và banh mi)
In Ho Chi Minh you can eat any food in the wolrd.

Hi,

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh, I hope you enjoy the rainy season at the moment.

You can come to this blog for more information of Saigon, I hope you would love it:

saigonstay.wordpress.com

Hi Steve, welcome to Vietnam.
If you want to taste the vietnamese foods , I can give you some address:

- Ice-cream of longan : 4 Trương Hán Siêu District 1 (take road Đinh Tiên Hoang, before you're in the Vo Thi Sau, there is Trương Hán Siêu in your right
=> The only address that you can find a longan ice-cream

- Phở :
* Phở bò :(gout Hà Nội) : Phở Phú Gia 146E Lý Chiến Thắng
* Phở Hoà 260 C Pasteur

There 's a lot of add. I just tell you some those are hygiene. It's easier for foreigners to tast the foods without fear of diarrhe . You can go on diadiem.com or thodia.com
I don't remember if they have an English version.

Voila. Hope you enjoy it! ^^

hiiiiiiii welcome to HCM city

Hey i also live in Vietnam. pho bo =beef noodles banh= bread with meet in it.. u wi love the food here plus street food is great and cheap i recommend it for sure. traffic is crazy here but i drive a motor bike here and feel safe... drive slow but when crossing the road on foot walk straight and at the same pace and u will be fine , all accidents happen when and if u stop in the middle of the road. ull be fine over all

Thanks for the tips everyone. I'll def be sure to try all those different places to eat. And I will be careful when crossing the road lol

Hello Steven!
Welcome to Vietnam!

I'm agree with prettyboy101:"street food is great and cheap".

In my opinion, living in Saigon ( I mean HCM city) if you just eat, drink in luxury restaurant you'll never feel all the aspects of Vietnamese.

For example: If you'd like to drink a cup of coffee, in stead of going to big cafe, you can go to Park 30/4 near Notre Dame Cathedral and drink "Bệt" coffee. "Bệt" in Vietnamese here means sit on the ground.

Hellooooo. Hope u enjoy life in vietnammm^^

Chào mừng bạn đến với Việt Nam

Hello Nhat and welcome to Expat.com!

You should use English on this Anglophone Forum so as other members can understand and participate

Thank you for your comprehension.

Regards,
Harmonie.

Hi Harmonie,

Thanks for your comment

I just want to say Welcome to Steven in Vietnamese.

@Steven: Feel free to contact me. I may have helpful information for you.

A great day for everyone.


Nhat

Hi Nhat!

Now Steven will know how to say hello in Vietnamese, thanks to you.

PS: Welcome to Expat.com terrytoan.

Regards,
Harmonie.

Hello everyone!

I'm Julia and i'm moving to Ho Chi Minh city next month for... for a long time . So, let's go for a walk;)

WhiteRussian wrote:

Hello everyone!

I'm Julia and i'm moving to Ho Chi Minh city next month for... for a long time . So, let's go for a walk;)

What will you be doing in HCMC????

syudying in university

WhiteRussian wrote:

syudying in university

Thats great........

of course n u?

Thanks Kim. I'll head over there and grab coffee!

Aznfemale, thanks!

Nhat, thanks a lot. I'll definitely contact you

I'd love to go to that English coffee shop, terrytoan. It sounds great.

Julia, a walk would be awesome lol

perfect

WhiteRussian wrote:

of course n u?

Im gonna hope by to see what opportunities I can find here. Hopefully theres something for me to do...

stevenmiller888 wrote:

Thanks Kim. I'll head over there and grab coffee!

Aznfemale, thanks!

Nhat, thanks a lot. I'll definitely contact you

I'd love to go to that English coffee shop, terrytoan. It sounds great.

Julia, a walk would be awesome lol

Thanks Steven,

We're gonna have a group. I like it.

See you soon.

Hi Steven!

Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City!

You'll find it easy and comfortable to live here. Everybody is willing to help you when you need.

Hello Steven,
I'm a foreigner like you, i come from france.
You shouldn't be afraid of street food. It's the real vietnamese food, not food for tourist.
Trust me, i had never been sick during my trip.
Concerning price, in a tourist restaurant, Pho is about 2$ => not so expensive. But in the street, it's 0.5$ and trust me, it's from a good quality!!
After 3 weeks, i have simply avoided tourist restaurant!!
Be careful with hotel. Hotel for tourist is about 40$ a night although 4$ in the real vietnamese district.

Hey Tranus, What District is the real Vietnamese District.?

honeyclotte wrote:

Hey Tranus, What District is the real Vietnamese District.?

Huh? The whole of Vietnam is real 100% Vietnamese....

The real vietnamese food is where there is no tourist
In the working-class area for example.

Thanks for the food prices Tranus. I was curious about that! I'm actually going to be in a company apartment during my stay so I won't have to worry about hotels.