CategoriesAbout Saigon Our Blog
By

HOP ON – HOP OFF BUS

Known as a thriving city, Ho Chi Minh City has a lot of places to explore.

🏢HOP ON – HOP OFF bus is designed with two floors with 63 seats, the top floor is designed as a convertible to help visitors have a great experience. Immerse yourself in the breezes of Saigon’s current weather, go through architectural works with long-standing historical landmarks such as Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral,  Fine Arts Museum, Ben Thanh Market,… The panoramic picture of Saigon appeared beautiful and stirred up people’s hearts. On the other hand, you can choose automatic captions including English, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, .. very convenient. The most impressive thing is a palm-leaf conical hat which is provided for visitors to shade the sun. It can be considered as a tool to help you take extreme virtual life photos.

🧢On a daily basis, although I go through these places many times, I just focus on driving and ignore their beauty. So, if you are living in Saigon, let’s book a ticket right away to experience this lovely city with a completely different perspective.

Link: https://facebook.com/saigoncorners.org/posts/872991469909426 

CategoriesCommunity Activities Our Blog
By

WELCOME DAY

WELCOME DAY – an activity organized to warmly greeted the Hoa Sen University’s freshmen. The activities are held annually aiming at providing the freshmen with academic activities and new learning environment in Hoa Sen University. Welcome day is the most expected day by “the new-horn” and “the old salt” of Hoa Sen University. Saigon Corners played an active role in this activity. Here are some pictures showing the exciting activities of the day.

CategoriesCommunity Activities Our Blog
By

FIELD TRIP FOR FRESHMEN

Saigon Corners organized and guided freshmen of the academy around Ho Chi Minh City on an interesting tour in the morning on foot. The famous landmarks in city center and historical sites such as Independence Palace, Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, City Post Office. The field trip has become a memorable experience for the freshmen, giving them useful information and impressing them with the confidence of their university seniors.

CategoriesCommunity Activities Our Blog
By

CULTURAL EVENT

The “Mekong Delta: Sketches on Unique Traditional Arts and Culture.” organized by Saigon Corners with the participation of The Southern Culture Research and Honoring Club held on July 13, 2019. The event consisted of the model display, talk show and classical opera performance successfully attracting hundreds of people, audience, reporters from newspapers, broadcasting channels and television.

CategoriesOur Blog Travel Tips
By

TRANSPORTATION

Vietnam is developing day by day, so along the streets are streets full of vehicles and vehicles. Some vehicles will be waiting for you to cross the road, but you should make sure to get up and go right away. Instant. In order to attract discerning travelers, here – Ho Chi Minh City in terms of transportation, is also diversified to meet the needs of each person. Some common types are as follows:

Photo: Thùy Linh (SGC)

1. Motorbikes

Motorbikes are the most popular means of transportation for people in Vietnam. Moreover, even when traveling to a new land, motorbike is a very popular vehicle to hire.

Motorbikes are cheap; the rental period is extended, go anywhere.

The most important things are the convenience and high flexibility so that many travelers choose for themselves a conventional vehicle is a motorbike.

2. Taxi

Like other tourist cities, the system of taxi firms in Ho Chi Minh City is very diverse. Although traveling by taxi is quite expensive, if traveling in large groups (from 4 to 7 people), taxis will be a reasonable choice for travelers. You will have a driver for yourself, no need to be sleepy to drive. Moreover, it will be suitable for those who do not have a license or drunkenness.

Photo: Internet
Photo: vietnammoi.net

3. Cyclo

 They have a long tradition in Vietnam, the tourists just have to wave and pay for just a little price to have a slow ride enjoy without having to go through complicated procedures.

4. Bus

The bus is a reasonable choice for young people or families who want to explore many places in the city center at the most economical cost possible. However, you need to be healthy enough to go to every place on the long way!

Because Vietnam is a developing country, the transportation system still faces many difficulties during traffic hours.

Rush hour: From Monday – Saturday including time frames: From 09h30 – 11h30, 17h00 – 20h00; Sunday: there is no rush hour

Photo: VnExpress
CategoriesOur Blog
By

LANDMARK 81

Located besides the Saigon river, at the central of Binh Thanh district – Landmark 81 is not simply a name, but also a prideful symbol of The Oriental Pearl – for being the 9th tallest skyscraper in Asia and the 1st in Vietnam. It shows the world that we – Vietnamese – are able to do the extraordinary things.

Taken by: Bá Thảo (SGC)

Landmark 81 holds a breath of modernity and a traditional, nostalgic Vietnamese spirit of the Bamboos – which represent the symbol of the resilience and indomitability that run in the blood of Vietnamese.

Experience a whole new look of Saigon, from 460 meters high above!

You would see at the Holy See, there are a total of 50 Divine Eyes located around; in five different shapes, each representing a different meaning of spiritual aspect.

Address

 208 Nguyen Huu Canh, ward 22, Binh Thanh district, HCMC

Open time

  • Monday to Saturday: 9:30 am – 22:00 pm
  • Sunday: 8:00 am – 22:00
CategoriesOur Blog Travel Tips
By

CURRENCY TIPS – PLACES TO EXCHANGE MONEY IN SAIGON

Ever wonder where you should exchange your money when you go to Saigon? Well, here are tips and some recommended places to exchange your currency while you are traveling to Saigon.

Taken by: Thùy Linh (SGC)

1. Plan in advance for revenues and expenditures

You wouldn’t want to carry total cash with you, both inconvenient and dangerous, because you will become a target for pickpockets. Revenue and expenditure planning to help you estimate the amount of money you carry and use. For example, plan where you will go, how much money you need, expenses for transportation, food, souvenirs, costs incurred. A small note is you should have an exchange in city centers (Saigon, Hai Phong,..) this is more beneficial than exchange in rural areas or small towns.

2. Contact the bank, check account

Before your trip, contact your bank to make sure your account has international payment capability and what the balance is, which will not be redundant. Many people who used to feel secure with their credit cards then have trouble going abroad because their credit cards are locked for many unexpected reasons.

3. Change money and credit card

There are three basic ways to exchange money: exchange cash at a bank before your trip; Use the airport exchange service and use a credit card. Accordingly, your payment will be deducted directly when buying. However, international visitors can save up to 15% by using a credit card.

Some place that you can exchange your money in Ho Chi Minh City

Near Ho Chi Minh Square

You can find Ho Chi Minh Square right in front of Ho Chi Minh City Hall, which takes you around 8 minutes from Ben Thanh Market. Surrounded by several shops, restaurants, and hotels, we will not be surprised by many money changers shops and gold dealers here.

Recommendation:

– Hung Long Money Exchange (86 Mac Thi Buoi, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Daily 7:00 – 22:00.

–Eximbank Money Exchange 59 (135 Dong Khoi, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Daily 7:00 – 22:00.

–Minh Thu (12 Le Loi, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam). Opening hours: Daily 7:00 – 22:00.

–Currency Exchange (109 Ho Tung Mau, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam). Opening hours: 24/24.

 Around Pham Ngu Lao Street

Pham Ngu Lao Street, which is well-known for the name “Backpacker town in Ho Chi Minh City”, in which there is variety of boutique hotels, hostels, bars, diners and coffee shops. Hence, it is not tough when it comes to buy local currency. Here are some bank branches that we hope you like:

– Dong A Bank (187 Pham Ngu Lao, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 – 17:00.

-Vietcombank (69 Bui Thi Xuan, Pham Ngu Lao, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 7:30 – 16:30.

–BIDV (118 – 122 Nguyen Cu Trinh, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 7:30 – 17:00.

–Saigon Commercial Bank (242 Cong Quynh, Pham Ngu Lao, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 – 17:00.

-Indovinabank (50 Pham Hong Thai, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9:00 – 16:00.

Tourist area in Ho Chi Minh City

Recommendation:

±  Vietcombank Me Linh Square (5 Me Linh Square, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 7:30 – 16:30.

±  Vietinbank on Ham Nghi Street (93-95 Ham Nghi, Nguyen Thai Binh, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 7:30 – 17:00.

±  Asia Commercial Bank on Le Loi Street (72 Le Loi, Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, HCMC, Vietnam).

Opening hours: Monday to Friday 7:30 – 16:30.

4. Current types of currency in Vietnam

The money denominations circulate domestically:

Polymer money

– 500,000 VND

– 200,000 VND

– 100,000 VND

– 50,000 VND

– 20,000 VND

– 10,000 VND

Paper money

– 5,000 VND

– 2000 VND

– 1000 VND

– 500 VND

Currency:

Regardless of the country you travel to, the US dollar has a specific effect. Many states accept this currency for trading, so you should bring US dollars with you, but you should also understand the foreign currency conversion before trading.

The exchange rate can be checked via link: https://www.customs.gov.vn/Lists/ExchangeRate/Default.aspx 

5. Divide the money into several parts

You should divide the savings for the trip into two parts; one converted into cash, take with you, the rest transferred to the cards that can withdraw some money when abroad. This ensures you do not have to carry too much money, natural danger, and have the necessary preparation plan in unexpected situations.

Besides, you should also bring a credit card (Visa or Mastercard credit) with a relatively stable limit for peace of mind to always have plenty of money on transactions during the trip.