If you want to go back in time in Vietnam and live like 1925 then the Majestic Hotel is it. Typical Colonial French architecture right on the river, this hotel complete with the first motorcar ever built in the foyer is a must see. if you can afford to stay here it will cost you about $150 a night for 5 star service, free internet and free buffet breakfast. Surrounded by the Ho Chi Minh hum of motor bikes this is the real deal. Only minutes walk from all the major buildings and markets in central Saigon. I enjoyed my stay.

Great place to visit. But you have to arrange a lot to live and survive there. However i enjoy my living in Vietnam. Live and animated life.

I found interests reading Manny's review, an over all view of the city of Saigon!! I just find that there are not enough green parks there...

Saigon today is fast developing city, high rise builing encroaching the skyline, yet the old was still there. The beautiful Cathedral right in the center of the city. The bustling old market place where you can find the things that is all Vietnam. The busy happy people, motorbikes crowd the road, green parks, museums where you can feel and see the wars and history. The crowded port that runs along the river, Saigon is a typical south east asian city trying to give her identity as becoming a metropolis, a modern megacity.

There isn't much 'there' in Ha Long City -- most people pass through it quickly after booking a Ha Long Bay tour that begins and ends in Hanoi. Probably the wise move. Those that stay usually only linger a day or so. The provincial capital of Quang Ninh province, Ha Long City is actually comprised of two towns, Bai Chay and Hon Gai which are connected by bridge The former is the tourist town part of Ha Long City, while the latter is more of a local scene. Bai Chay is packed with cookie-cutter hotels and hosts the pier from which the Ha Long Bay tour boats leave -- chances are, if you're overnighting in Ha Long City, you'll find yourself in Bai Chay. While we definitely can't recommend either Bai Chay nor Hon Gai as a travel destination, there is a small, so-so beach on the bay, and an effort is underway to build an amusement park along the water that might make family travel more attractive in the future.