Phuket Thailand - HCMC TRIP REPORT:@23-26 Jan 08

dikman · #1 28-01-2008, 15:34

Hello Bms...here's my TR on HCMC.

The Airport: International standards.Newly opened sector it seems.Duty free spirits and liquor much less priced than in Kuala Lumpur,Spore and Bkk.Arrival gate outside was packed with greeters and locals for whatever reasons.Could not find our greeters..late for 30mins..But noticed that the sun was directly facing our eyes upon going out of the gates hence trying to spot a guy holding a sign with your name on it with the sun in the front was blinding.

The Hotel: Indoch*** (a mini hotel) in Dist. 1.Right in the middle of things and on cross roads of Dong Du and Dong Khoi...Room quite ok for US$35...no internet in some rooms..free bf was simple..use the PC on he mezz without being charged.
Overall clean and cosy.However avoid the front rooms cos it is noisy with the main road right in front.Heard a guest complained about it.Shower does not have a sliding door hence water spalshes all over the side onto the dry areas.

Guest friendly? Yes indeed.Girl just walk right in and left their IDs at the reception. No trouble.Surprising.But Girl told later that she had to tip the reception guy.

The Girls: First nite had a call in arranged by the reception.Just ask for masage.Half and hour later a slim,tall,29 y.o. with brown dyed hair walk in .Looks:7.5.Body 9.5. GFE:9.8. No rush. Ha good attitude and fun. Service : good .We were surprised that even the local contact our ours did not realise that the hotel can accomodate girls.Could have asked her to join us to disco the following nite but was more keen on more discoveries.

: Second nite was bar hopping.Lots of billiard bars around walking distance of this area...you will see pimps asking you to come in...some persistent ,some ok.The girls will be given que to come out to entice you.Definitely a teaser cos they all look great and young!..in bikinis too!
Was tempted by one Bar Billiard 35 on Hai Ba Trung.....they all seem to be named according to the shop number.This one is small,about 15 gals inside.Drinks was 15000Dongs and take out was rather high plus the bar fine too.Me and my mate just could not resist walking off empty handed and decided on two beauties...btw,the bar was literally empty...2-3 customers only at 12 midnite. Same goes with the other billiard bars.
Mine had a 9.8 face,8.0 body and a 4 attitude unfortunately...it seems the younger and prettier they are the more demanding and sulky they become.Was rushy and had to settle for second bet.But it lasted at least 2 hours instead of the agreed 1 hour. The mamassan at the bar was fluent in English and was assuring us of safety and what not...would rather go for her!
Funny thing was when she did not have a condom and wanted to call it off...me carry condom?...after a few sms and calls to her mamasan she decided to walk downstairs to get them herself!Paid by me of course!When she got back realised that she just slipped on her blouse without bra or panties!...again no problem with the reception...She is kinda on-off attitude and hard to predict when she will smile,etc..a psycopath!?...

Food: I must say food is good here...Al Fresco is a chain of fine italian/Euro restaurant..the one right in front of Sheraton has wi-fi and some great ribs..worth every dong...catch the specials and happy hour deals...
Local fare in restaurants are so so ..not filling eneough for the average Joe though cos it is mostly finger food stuff and greens...There is a unique restaurant offering local food that shouts "no delicious no pay"..Pho something along Dong Khoi Road...what impressed me was not the food but the immensely elaboarte wood craft decor that sort of scares you off...wood panels,carvings,local crafts,shell inlaid tables,even a carousel horse hanging from the second floor...we were taken to second floor in a room filled wall to wall with wood carvings and antiques...the chairs,tables,lights,and a miniature six feet armada ship...
Another great stopover was the Underground ...a pub in the side basement of the Lucky Plaza(?)...on dong khoi street...great waitresses and relax atmosphere...guess not a pick up joint...

More interesting was actually a book shop right across the road.It is called Bookazine..but I did not se this signage outside..it says technical books distributor orsome thing like that on their signage ...but you can't miss it...it is right across from the Underground...the stacks of postcards at the entrance greets you..but inside it is an amazing musuem of local history waiting to be grabbed by those in the know...old maps,old stamp albums,old manuscripts of Vietnam,old books,old b&w photos(stacks of them) and old journals...this is crazy!..just like the owner who was at that moment drunk and red faced...but managed to speak about his private collection ...eveything is for sale ...at the right price...can you imagine stacks of aerogrammes,letters,pictures from the pre war days all waiting to be unearthed?..this is a treasure house...i was holding a latter dated in the 40s...and it brings me chills!...an actual letter with the envelope and stamp on it...and all those old journals and maps...this is a rare shop in a modern city...hope you BMs have a field day here...unfortuntely i did not have the time...28 Dong Khoi,District 1...you can't miss it...in fact,forget about the run of the mill souvenirs,get something with history from here...

Next stop before flying was the Apocalypse Now Disco...also within walking distance from these streets...jammed packed at 11pm friday...lots of locals with their friends...some freelancers noted but was too crowed on the dance floor that we did not attempt any moves...locals were just chilling out on a friday nite...some stunners were with farangs...tourists were noticeably few and caucasians seen were more like expats here...no place to sit so some gals were seen leaving after a drink...hardly a good place to spot and pick...too packed...and of couse noisy!..anyway a fun place for people watching...

Last stop was the Saigon Saigon Bar on the roof top of Sheraton...definite classy with live band from the Philipinnes...good atmosphere..great viwe of the city...gals?...no too sure...did not see any picks...waitresses were cute though...

Overall,HCMC was more fun and happening than Hanoi...the city ia as wide a metropolis as Singapore and development is crazy everywhere...property is booming and speculators do make big...seen the number of Lexus 400?...

Would certainly love to explore more of HCMC next trip...and drop a report...

Happy reading!

K2 · #2 28-01-2008, 16:18

Thanks very much for an interesting and useful trip report Dikman

Nautilus · #3 28-01-2008, 16:37

Thank you for sharing. Cheers !!!

Captain · #4 28-01-2008, 17:06

Thanks for sharing. Going back to HCMC in 2 months so was interested.
I didn't find any places to pick up girls on Dong Khoi, with the exception of 2 shabby bars close to Majestic Hotel (at the river) and a lot of massage places.
I have to look harder but all info (names and streets) are welcome.

banger_chris · #5 28-01-2008, 19:53

Hi dikman!

Thanks for the informative TR. Good work. I will fly over to Saigon in just about four weeks for a month. I just plan to stay in Saigon for arrival and depature to BKK tho as i will travel to Mui-Ne/PhanThiet and stay there for some water sports.

The info on the book store comes very handy tho as i love old things to collect. Lookin forward to it.

Anyone with infos on popular Karaoke Joints in HCMC? I would love a fun night out with the lads in a public Karaoke place. Im not sure if that sort of entertainment is popular in vietnam too?

cheers,

banger_chris

steve w · #6 28-01-2008, 20:00

havn't been since 1998,maybe this year might be the time to see how its developed.
i enjoyed the local food,big bowls of beef pho with loads of noodles and fresh veggies to garnish with.

nelsonone · #7 29-01-2008, 04:23

Yep good report Dikman

I had no luck with hotels at all...anything half ddecent had a strict no gals policy however at the massage centre inside the hotel there were a coupe of beautiful women who looked after me for a about $20

The hotels I was taken to by FL's were prety shabby and out of the way with guys on the reception who looked like thugs....so I would definitely take a loo at your hotel....Indochine was it??

Had a couple of FL's from Apocalypse now but realy only into a ST/quikstix give me the money type experience

Best bonks I had was with 2 Japanese gals I met at the Sheraton....where i ended up staying for 2 nights for free

from what you are saying it may have improved since I was there last...early 2005

dikman · #8 29-01-2008, 10:12

Just to add some more observations on HCMC...

There is a small park across from the main throufare facing the Sun Wah building in which an art *** photo exhibit is staged at the moment...dead fountain,seen some rats running in and out of the bushes but did see a couple of single gals there on the benches...one actually approached a passing guy and he gladly sad to chat...did not stay to see conclusion of deal but upon my passing by I did se her 7.0 face ,very fair skin tone ,slim looks and surely a FR...so try you luck there fellows!..Others seen here were courting/smmoching couples (locals)...and that was about 11pm...

We did get lots of pimps offring services as we walked along the streets around Dong Khoi and Dong Do,and Le loi...same stuff...but there was one lady about 25 + who did not seem like a mamasan at first cos she was just sitting on the pavement corridor with sort of family guys and having a chat in front of a shoplot...we thought she was just kidding when she called and waved and asked us if we wanted boom boom...first encounter we hought she was a con or she was nuts cos there were men tehre sitting next to her that look like members of her family...so we gently declined...next two days we happened to walk by and the same thing happened and she was kind familiar with us...so we sort of found her genuinely sweet and we cahted and she explained her modus operandi...Boom boom in a mini hotel not far away by cab and back for 2 hours at US$50 all inclusive..could get a discount if we had negotiated......she even wanted us to take a ride to see the hotel ourselves first...no good no go she said...she is a sweet thing ,fair,slim,speaks fairly good English and 7.0 and I actually was keen on her!...and she was willing...but we had to rush off somewhere and declined .Got her number and she said just call her and she can supply too...will definitely try her services next time...

Nelsonone: we noticed a couple of mini hotels around the area and seems GF...not the 3 or 4 stars of course...I guess one have to ask the girls themselves or their mamasan...they seem to know better and I guess it makes sense that these mini hotels in this area do allow cos the billiards bars and pubs are all round them..it does make commercial sense doesn't it?...Indeed
we were surprised that Indochine was GF...I suggest you ask the reception for a massage and see what is their response...that was what we did...ask for a massage and the guy just understood...another economical logic...they want their cut!

Banger_chris : Hope you will be able to find that bookstore or rater little museum...Dong Khoi street ,in front of the Underground bar,in fact directly in front of this store is a construction site called the Times Square...can't miss it...i did not ask about his pricing though,sadly,it is wrongly labelled as a technical book distributor on his shop signage...just doen not lok like a collectors find from the outside...it just happend that my mate wanted to buy some postcards last minute and I walked right in and found a classic storehouse...by the way this place sells secondhand books too...

Captian: There are several billiard bars around this area...just have to open ones eyes and scan...lots of cafes but found the pricing steep...and the shops here closes early...hope you will find some luck the next time..

On the whole,HCMC is preparing for TET next week...lots of decor on their trees...the main road in front of the Notre Dame and Sun Wah will be closed for traffic and made into a parade way for floats...the mood is there and it is a 3-4 day public holiday in Vietnam...The same was done it seems during New Year and there was a massive clog up of traffic..however I find the lack of crowd in drinking places except for the Apo disco...gone to bed early?..

There are lots of Japs around ..couples and single gals...and they all look crystal fair ...yet to taste one!

That;s all for now...next stop:Pattaya in March for Ad Fest 08...any BM heading that way?..

cheers to all!

nelsonone · #9 29-01-2008, 10:20

thanks for the additional answers...I'm thinking about another trip either later in the year or early next year...and this up date was positive

Pad Mc · #10 29-01-2008, 10:33

Good report dikman.

dikman · #11 30-01-2008, 09:41

One little interesting observation....noticed that the tree trunks all round the city were painted white up to about 3 feet from ground...asked the locals why...but different answers came about...later found out from a magazine that they were not to deter guys from peeing on the trees(seen 3 guys doing it in daylight!)..or to glow at nite so that bikers would not bang into them...but actually it is lime wash to prevent ants and termites and insects from destroying the trees...so if one goes closer enough to these trunks you will noticed that they are free of ants indeed...simple idea that works...btw the huge trees all round the city are an amazing salute to preservation of greenery...hope they keep it that way and not let development take over....