160
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Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?
According to Fodor's Guide to Vietnam, 4th Edition, published 2016, under Introduction to Ho Chi Minh City on page 38:
Still called Saigon by most residents,
According to National Geographic ...
- 46.3k
80
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I was denied boarding due to outdated information on passport validity? What to do?
Check-in staff go by Timatic, which is based on information provided to IATA by local immigration authorities. They won't change their mind even if you call an embassy in front of them.
Unfortunately ...
- 80.5k
67
votes
Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?
My wife is Vietnamese, and her entire family. I also visited Vietnam with them previously. They all spent most of their life in Vietnam prior to moving to another country.
When I inquired (while ...
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60
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Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?
I was born and grew up in Saigon. Saigon has always been and will forever be Saigon. Don't call it by any other name!
A historical allusion to these naming is Leningrad, which, similar to most ...
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50
votes
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Can I travel to Vietnam for Christmas in 2020?
Nope. Not going to work. Stay home.
Vietnam suspended most inbound commercial flights on December 1 and imposed other restrictions after detecting community transmission following a several month ...
- 86.5k
43
votes
What are hotel staff instructed to do when a guest cannot provide a physical bank card to go on file at check in?
This is going to depend entirely on the hotel, so you should call up and ask.
Some will happily accept Google/Apple Pay, others will insist on a physical plastic card. Cash deposits are still an ...
- 99.2k
24
votes
Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?
No. Everyone will be fine with it.
Ho Chi Minh City is the official name of the city, you need to use it in all paper work. No exception.
The Vietnamese who stays in Ho Chi Minh City and its ...
- 534
24
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What are hotel staff instructed to do when a guest cannot provide a physical bank card to go on file at check in?
This exact scenario happened to me. Booked a hotel and promptly lost my only credit card. I immediately cancelled my credit card.
Arrived at the hotel, and, of course, they wanted a credit card. I ...
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14
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How to prepare a picky eater for Thai, Cambodian, and Vietnamese cuisine?
Most typical Thai food is very flavorful. There is certainly a fare share of spicy dishes but there are also plenty of other flavors, herbal, fragrant, salty and sweet. Obviously, the difficult part ...
- 46.3k
14
votes
How can I pay in Vietnam?
Vietnam remains a cash society, and that cash is Vietnamese dong. US dollars may be accepted for larger purchases and places like airport shops.
Credit cards are accepted at hotels and touristy/...
- 99.2k
13
votes
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Explaining ABTC at departure airport in Europe
Checking Timatic via another source (The Emirates website) shows an additional line under "Visa Exceptions" that is not shown by IATA Travel Center website.
Passengers with an APEC Business ...
- 124k
12
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How to prepare a picky eater for Thai, Cambodian, and Vietnamese cuisine?
Vietnamese Pho (most variants anyway- iirc Hue type is already spicy) noodle soup have the spice optionally added by the end user. Similarly the rice and vermicelli dishes are not inherently spicy (...
- 17.5k
12
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What to do during a long stopover in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam?
Yes, you've got plenty of time. In your shoes I would get a day-use hotel room near the airport, so you can also freshen up and/or take a nap, and then go explore the city. You will need an ...
- 99.2k
11
votes
Is there ferry service from Vietnam to Borneo?
No, there isn't. More generally, as far as I'm aware there are no scheduled international ferry services from Vietnam to anywhere.
The easiest (but not the cheapest) option for getting to Brunei is ...
- 99.2k
11
votes
Which other travel destinations have the same or similar vibe to Bali?
There's nothing quite like Bali, but some ideas:
Gili Trawangan, off Lombok; only a few hours by boat from Bali
Ko Samui, Thailand: nightlife in Chaweng, hip boutique hotels in Bophut and Choeng Mon, ...
- 99.2k
11
votes
What are hotel staff instructed to do when a guest cannot provide a physical bank card to go on file at check in?
This can vary widely from one hotel to the next, so the only way to know is to call each one of them. It also depends on how you booked (pre-paid/post-paid), if the hotel offers any kind of extras (...
- 89.9k
9
votes
How to prepare a picky eater for Thai, Cambodian, and Vietnamese cuisine?
Thailand-specific advice here from someone who doesn’t tolerate any spice at all.
In my experience, in Thailand there’s a huge number of small low-key local shops serving basic meals like rice/...
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9
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Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?
I'm Vietnamese born and raised in Saigon. No, most Vietnamese would not be offended if you were to use Saigon instead of HCM. I said "most" because obviously there will always be a minority of people ...
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9
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Can I bring snake wine from Vietnam to Europe?
FYI, according to the information you can read in Carrying habushu (snake wine) from Japan to USA, it is not so easy to import alcohol with a snake to the U.S.:
the main concern for bringing snake ...
- 1,237
9
votes
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Cambodia Angkor Air: Da Nang to Siem Reap direct flights only until October 2023?
Siem Reap International Airport (REP) is being replaced with Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport (SAI). Cambodia Angkor Air will fly from Da Nang International Airport (DAD) to SAI from Oct 16, ...
- 59.7k
8
votes
Dual UK Australian national visiting Vietnam
I did exactly the same as your plan last year, and it was fine. Showed EU nationality at check-in (to prove I can enter Vietnam visa-free), Australian passport on leaving Australia, EU passport on ...
- 99.2k
7
votes
Is it offensive to use 'Saigon' instead of 'Ho Chi Minh City'?
There are two aspects to it.
One is simply that Ho-Chi-Minh City is the official name. Calling that city Saigon is somewhat like calling Tokyo by its former name Edo, calling India's Chennai Madras, ...
- 519
7
votes
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Why is using plugs so difficult in Vietnam?
In theory, Viet Nam uses TCVN 6190:1999 for electric sockets.
In this standard, the socket's hole's diameter is between 5.5mm and 6 mm. If Vietnamese people follows this standards, all A, C, E and F ...
- 534
7
votes
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Is a bike tout in Ho Chin Minh a scam for tourists?
It is to scam you out of your money. They offer prices significantly above market, around 3-5X times what you would pay for a taxi in the area. Some of them will offer more elaborate plans like taking ...
- 46.3k
7
votes
What is the purpose of the "religion" field on the Vietnam EVisa application?
According to Smartraveller, Vietnam cracks down on unapproved religious activities:
involvement in non-state sanctioned political or religious activities, including on-line activities – those ...
- 23k
7
votes
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US Citizen Departing on a non-US Passport
There's no law requiring you to "use" a US passport when you leave the US. The statute you link to requires only that you "bear" a valid US passport. If you have it with you, you are certainly ...
- 140k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible