Phu My (Saigon) Port Review - Diamond Princess

[Denverite]

April 19, 2009: Phu My, Vietnam (for Ho Chi Minh City): We booked a private tour for 8 of us. We were off the ship by about 7:15am and our guide and driver were waiting for us. Princess provides the visa necessary ($11pp charged to your account). Be aware that the buses for the Princess tours and the private vans are a little distance from the ship so there is a bit of walking to get to the vehicles. The roads getting out of the port are very bumpy and muddy. The port is out in the middle of nowhere so don’t expect to walk around and find things to do. We did get to HCMC in about an hour and one-half. There is no need to exchange currency as US dollars are accepted everywhere. Our tour included a stop at the War Remnants Museum, a visit to the Binh Tay Market in the Cholon District, Thien Hau Temple, Ben Than Market, and lunch at the Hoi An restaurant.

 

We had been to HCMC on a prior trip and took the Princess On Your Own transportation. At that time we went to the Reunification Hall, Ben Than Market, the Rex Hotel, and walked the streets. This time we decided to have a guide and driver pick us up (and the charge was about the same as Princess charged for transportation only). Last time we were in Saigon, the Princess ship anchored at Vung Tau and we had to tender to shore. The trip into Saigon took about 3 hrs. This time it was much better as we docked at Phu My. Although still about 1-1/2 hrs from Saigon, we didn't have to tender.

 

The War Remnants Museum contains a lot of pictures of the war, many, of course, slanted against the Americans. In addition, in the courtyard there are planes and tanks, as well as a model Tiger Cage to reflect how prisoners were “housed”. It was a very sobering experience to go through the museum.

 

The Cholon District at one time was the area of opium dens and brothels that greeted American troops. We didn’t see any of that! But we did go to the Binh Tay Market—think Costco in Vietnam. If you wanted to buy sandals, then you needed to buy a package of 10 or so. The huge indoor market was very crowded with people doing their shopping, eating, and one lady sleeping in a hammock in her little area of the market. This is not the place to buy souvenirs; this is the place to see how the real people shop.

 

Crossing any street in HCMC is an adventure in itself—just start walking across the street, keep walking, definitely don’t stop and don’t walk backwards. The motorcycles will go around you, hopefully!

 

Thien Hau Temple was located within the Cholon District and was an interesting temple and just one of many that we would visit during this entire trip.

 

We then headed back to the center of HCMC to the Ben Than Market. This is the place to buy souvenirs—t-shirts, embroidered tablecloths or placemats, clothing (although the sizes are very small), etc.

 

We had lunch at the Hoi An restaurant (an upscale restaurant where supposedly Condelezza Rice ate). The prices were a bit pricey but it was a very nice restaurant. After lunch it was time to head back to the ship. We left HCMC about 2:00pm and were on the ship by 3:30pm.

 

As a side note, the people in HCMC still use the term “Saigon” when mentioning their city. Government officials apparently use the term “Ho Chi Minh City”.

 

Highlights: Talking to our guide about his life in Saigon; visiting the Cholon District

Lowlights: Traffic (although interesting); not enough time to really experience the city

[jcarlese]

Thanks for the review. It was very interesting and helpful. We will be docking in Phu My to visit HCMC in Feb. aboard the Ocean Princess and are considering a private tour. Could you tell me which tour guide you used and if you would use them again?

Thanks for the info.

Janet

[Denverite]

We used Ann Tours (recommended in some of the familiar guide books). The owner, Ann, worked for the US during the Vietnam War. Her story of finding her sons is on their web site. I corresponded with Tony, one of the sons who works for the company. Their site is http://www.anntours.com and his e-mail is tony@anntours.com. Our guide was Anh and he was very good. I would definitely use this company again. The company does require prepayment, but we had no problem doing this. Each of the 4 couples paid by credit card. The vehicle they used was a Mercedes Sprinter van. You can tailor your tour to whatever you want to see. Originally I didn't build in any stop for lunch because you just don't have a lot of time in Saigon, but somehow that got included in our tour. The place they took us to was very good, in my opinion. However, if you have a specific place that you want to stop for lunch, then I would tell them where you want to go. We didn't do the water puppet show. I have heard mixed reviews--some people love it and some people fall asleep. I prefer to see the people and the city.

[jcarlese]

Thanks for the information and the link to the website. I will contact her. We don't often do the ship tours as they are usually crowded and often times include a factory. We like to do private tours where we can go at our own pace and see the things we are really interested in. Your tour sounds like something we would like.

Thanks again.