Washington DC to Ho Chi Minh City $671 RT Airfares on ANA / United Airlines (travel Aug-Oct)

Can anyone care to comment about Ho Chi Minh?

I am in HCM right now. I can't wait to get out of the city to visit other cities. I am staying with local family and have been seeing the real HCM, like hospitals/ER, street markets, daily regular life things that bloggers and YouTube hardly ever show. Daily life is chaotic order. It's not glamorous and can be downright dirty and frustrating. You definitely won't be getting the real HCM/Vietnam if you are visiting for a few days. For a short visit, you will be getting the westernized tourist version that is on Youtube and blogs. There is some good food to be had and some experiences that will stay in your memories. Things I have seen: litter and trash everywhere, polluted waterways, people taking advantage of tourists and each other, salespeople turning sour when you don't buy their things, bribery left and right, lack of sanitation, people selling rotten food, people willing to push and step over each other for no apparent reason other than to cause chaos. You do not want to ever get sick and end up at the ER here, it is nervewrecking disorder that makes no sense. You even have to be wary of pickpockets and scams at the ER...

I have yet to experience the tourist side of HCM/Vietnam. So I can't really tell you about it. HCM is divided into several districts. Most tourist things are in District 1. Taxis are pretty cheap, stick with MaiLinh and Vinasun and you will be less likely cheated or overcharged. For me it cost like 150k dong(less than $8) to get from the airport to District 8. I think for a 2km ride, a taxi was like 40-50k dong(less than $2). There's an app called Grab that is basically like uber/lyft. Uber also works in HCM. You can call a motorbike, car, or taxi using both Grab and Uber. Riding as passenger on a motorbike is cheaper and a faster way to get to where you want to go. But be warned that it is not for those with health defects or weak hearts. The traffic here is crazy, youtube it and you will see.

Careful of pickpockets and scams. Tourists stick out like you would not believe here so you will likely be targeted. Always be mindful of your bags, pockets, money. Hold on tight to your Money, scammers will confuse you by grabbing at your money when you pay and take more than they are supposed to or short change you.

To fly out of HCM is cheap. I found plane tiks to Da Nang, Hanoi, Nga Tran anywhere from $15-80 round trip. Also you can fly to other countries for a reasonably good price. I found RT tiks to Seoul for less than $200, to Taipei for less than $100. It's a good entry way if you are planning on an extended Asia backpacking trip.

If you want more order, HCM companies have some multiday tours to the Vietnam cities ranging from $200-400, though they are viet languaged tours. You can probably find some cheap english speaking tours to these cities if you research some more.

Finally someone spoke the truth.
I was stayed there with my parents for 3 years because of my father's job.
A real shit hole city with garbage people.

Yep, Saigon was one of the greatest city before the 'Cong's invasion. My dad was the Army first Lieutenant about to be promoted to Captain, then had to move back to the States because of the chaos.

He came back 5 years ago, and he would totally agrees with you.

Side note, Pho King good...can't help it...lol.

I am in HCM right now. I can't wait to get out of the city to visit other cities. I am staying with local family and have been seeing the real HCM, like hospitals/ER, street markets, daily regular life things that bloggers and YouTube hardly ever show. Daily life is chaotic order. It's not glamorous and can be downright dirty and frustrating. You definitely won't be getting the real HCM/Vietnam if you are visiting for a few days. For a short visit, you will be getting the westernized tourist version that is on Youtube and blogs. There is some good food to be had and some experiences that will stay in your memories. Things I have seen: litter and trash everywhere, polluted waterways, people taking advantage of tourists and each other, salespeople turning sour when you don't buy their things, bribery left and right, lack of sanitation, people selling rotten food, people willing to push and step over each other for no apparent reason other than to cause chaos. You do not want to ever get sick and end up at the ER here, it is nervewrecking disorder that makes no sense. You even have to be wary of pickpockets and scams at the ER...

I have yet to experience the tourist side of HCM/Vietnam. So I can't really tell you about it. HCM is divided into several districts. Most tourist things are in District 1. Taxis are pretty cheap, stick with MaiLinh and Vinasun and you will be less likely cheated or overcharged. For me it cost like 150k dong(less than $8) to get from the airport to District 8. I think for a 2km ride, a taxi was like 40-50k dong(less than $2). There's an app called Grab that is basically like uber/lyft. Uber also works in HCM. You can call a motorbike, car, or taxi using both Grab and Uber. Riding as passenger on a motorbike is cheaper and a faster way to get to where you want to go. But be warned that it is not for those with health defects or weak hearts. The traffic here is crazy, youtube it and you will see.

Careful of pickpockets and scams. Tourists stick out like you would not believe here so you will likely be targeted. Always be mindful of your bags, pockets, money. Hold on tight to your Money, scammers will confuse you by grabbing at your money when you pay and take more than they are supposed to or short change you.

To fly out of HCM is cheap. I found plane tiks to Da Nang, Hanoi, Nga Tran anywhere from $15-80 round trip. Also you can fly to other countries for a reasonably good price. I found RT tiks to Seoul for less than $200, to Taipei for less than $100. It's a good entry way if you are planning on an extended Asia backpacking trip.

If you want more order, HCM companies have some multiday tours to the Vietnam cities ranging from $200-400, though they are viet languaged tours. You can probably find some cheap english speaking tours to these cities if you research some more.