Rough Guide to Vietnam - Jan Dodd [82]
Police Main police station is at 73 Yersin 08/3829 7073. You must first go to the police station in the ward where the crime took place to obtain an initial report before coming here; try to avoid lunchtime visits, as there’s likely to be nobody on duty.
Post offices The GPO (daily 6am–10pm) is beside the cathedral at the head of Dong Khoi; poste restante is kept here. There are several sub post offices around town, such as one at 137 Cong Quynh (daily 7.30am–10pm).
Spas If you need to pamper yourself, check out www.spasvietnam.com for a complete listing of the city’s many spas and treatments on offer.
Sports Many upmarket hotels have excellent sport and leisure facilities which non-residents can generally use – at a price – but it’s wise to check ahead first. The Lan Anh Country Club, 291 Cach Mang Thang (08/3862 7144), has international-standard tennis courts, squash courts and a gym. There are also tennis courts at the Workers’ Club, in the northern corner of the Cong Vien Van Hoa Park, on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai. California Wow has a branch of its fitness centres at the Queen Ann Building, 28–32 La Lai (08/6222 0355). For runners and walkers, the Hash House Harriers (www.saigonh3.com) meet every Sun at the Caravelle Hotel at 2.30pm. For golf, the Vietnam Golf and Country Club, Long Thanh My Village, District 9 (08/3733 0126), has two high-quality courses and a driving range.
Swimming There are inexpensive but extremely busy pools at the Workers’ Club, Cong Vien Van Hoa Park, and at Lam Son, 242 Tran Binh Trong. For a little more peace and quiet, try the relatively cheap pool favoured by expats at the Lan Anh Country Club (see " Listings"), or the more luxurious hotel pools at the Park Hyatt, Renaissance and Sofitel for a daily fee of between $5 and $10 (some include use of sauna and steam bath). Some shopping malls like Diamond Plaza also have pools.
Taxis Several companies operate in the city centre, but the most reliable are Mai Linh 08/3826 2626 and Vinasun 08/3827 2727.
Telephone services Several places, such as the post office at 137 Cong Quynh, offer phone services from which you can call the US or UK for under 20 cents a minute. There are IDD, fax and telex facilities at the GPO (see " Listings") and numerous IDD telephone kiosks around De Tham; otherwise, IDD calls can be made (more expensively) from most hotels.
Tour agents See "Tour agents".
Visas Visa extensions and re-entry visas must be organized through an agent or tour operator; the process takes about four days and costs $25.
Water parks Dai The Gioi (Mon–Fri 8am–9pm, Sat & Sun 10am–6pm; 55,000đ, children 40,000đ) has pools and slides and is conveniently located at 600 Ham Tu in Cho Lon, while a little further north, the water park at Dam Sen (see "Phu Tho Racecourse and Dam Sen leisure park"; Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat & Sun 8.30am–6pm; 80,000đ, children 50,000đ) has 25 different types of water games.
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Ho Chi Minh City and around | Listings |
Moving on from Ho Chi Minh City
For addresses and telephone numbers of airlines and foreign consulates in Ho Chi Minh City, see "Listings".
Ho Chi Minh City and around | Listings | Moving on from Ho Chi Minh City |
By plane
The easiest way to get to Tan Son Nhat is by taxi ($5–6; see "Arrival"). If you don’t have much baggage, you could consider hopping on an xe om (around $3–4), or taking the #152 bus, which stops on Dong Khoi and Pham Ngu Lao. Flight enquiries should be made at the office of the relevant carrier (see " Listings").
Ho Chi Minh City and around | Listings | Moving on from Ho Chi Minh City |
By train
Vietnamese trains are oversubscribed, so book as far ahead as possible – particularly for a sleeping berth (see "By rail" for details). Most tour operators, as well as some guesthouses and hotels can reserve tickets for a small fee. The official agent for the railways is Saigon Railways Tourist Service Company, 275c Pham Ngu Lao (08/3836 7640), which has computerized reservations and doesn’t charge any extra commission.