5 most romantic coffee Vietnam shops in Ho Chi Minh city

Coffee culture becomes an indispensable feature of Saigon people. Anytime you wish for a relaxation, it’s not hard to find a coffee shop at any streets in Ho Chi Minh city. Here are 5 top romantic café where you may want to experience for difference during your visit.

1. Panorama Café

Panorama Café is located at 33^rd floor of Saigon Trade Center in District 1. Not surprising when it has the most stunning view of the whole city. The feeling of sitting on a very high point of the city to drink coffee is great. In terms of price, Panorama Café charges more expensive rather than other coffee shops. It costs around $7 per drink but just thinking about the view, it is worthy paying for such beautiful place.



2. Diamond Café

Be situated at a suburban district, Diamond Café may be not a crowded attraction. However, for those who love big garden and wide space to relieve all stresses at weekends, Diamond Café can satisfy your demand. The café is divided into 3 separate spaces: an air-conditioning room, an area with panoramic view of the garden and an airy garden. The average price ranges 14,000 – 49,000 VND per drink. Besides drinks, Diamond Café also serves European and Asian dishes.

Address: 45/76, Lane 20, Ward 8, Go Vap District



3. Huyen Thoai Café

Huyen Thoai Café is well-known by its unique own architecture. It was designed based on the idea of the ancient European-style castles. You will see uninterrupted system of lakes surrounding the foot of the wall, making feeling like the castle built between the cold lakes.
Sipping a cup of coffee and imagining you’re a prince or princess in a castle will be an unforgettable, dreamy experience.

Address: 39 Nhat Chi Mai street, Tan Binh District



4. Du Mien Café

Du Mien Cafe is located in a small alley of Ho Bieu Chanh street. The cafe is designed with Spanish style. The surroundings with peaceful lawns along the blooming buds bring a feeling of comfort. The café has separate pieces of space so if you prefer enjoying the sun and smelling the aroma of flowers, the terrace is where you should take a seat. In addition, the bar also has delicious and beautifully decorated ice-creams.

Address: 48/9A Ho Bieu Chanh street, Ward 11, Phu Nhuan District



5. Jumbo Jungle – Café & Restaurant

Located in the basement of Parkson CT Plaza, the restaurant is impressive enough to attract attention of many visitors. Upon entering, Jumbo Jungle will make you go from surprise to surprise. It is decorated just like a real jungle. From the roots of artificial old trees to animals like monkeys, elephants, etc., all were created by detailed caring and soulful heart of the owner.

Not stopping there, Jumbo Jungle is also a playground for kids where they can review the evolutionary history of mankind through the images painted on the cliff. Above all, Jumbo Jungle also offers a green message to the people: "Let love and protect the forest, the lung of the earth”



Address: Basement B1, Parkson building, 60A Truong Son street, Tan Binh Dist.

Hue airport will be under repair,Phu Bai International Airport

The Airport Corporation of Vietnam has announced a plan to close Phu Bai International Airport (Thua Thien Hue Province) in March next year for runway maintenance. The reparation time may take up to 8 months; therefore, tourists who wish to travel to Hue city by air might have to use Da Nang International Airport instead, which is 90 km away.

The Thua Thien Hue People's Committee in association with the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the provincial Department of Transportation has informed tourism companies about the case and has implemented a plan to transfer passengers from Da Nang International Airport to Hue city conveniently.

Phu Bai airport normally serves around 3,000 travelers per day. In mid-2011, Phu Bai airport closed for one month for repairs without early notice, causing tourism business a loss of about VND 25 billion to transport passengers between Da Nang and Thua Thien Hue.

Hue, famed for 100 architectural works reflecting the life of Emperors and mandarins under Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), has become one of top attractions in Vietnam. As a result, in December 1993, Hue was recognized as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Tips to get Vietnam Visa quickly

Here are must-know things a foreign traveler should keep in mind to get Vietnam Visa in the quickest way: Your passport must have no less than 2 blank pages to get your visa stamped. Your passport must have at least 6 months validity from your departure date to Vietnam. Otherwise, you need to get it renewed before arrival. Your visa application: a good travel agent will assist you a lot to avoid visa hassle. In case you are confused with visa applications because of terms or jargons or you are not sure what should be filled in the form, just contact to a trustworthy travel agent for help since errors on forms can be costly. Passport photos. Frequently, you are required to submit two passport-sized photos with your visa application. Go to a photo store to take passport photographs. If you are traveling a lot, get a lot of extra photos. Include your travel itinerary. In some cases, you may be required to include your travel plans as proof of enty and exit dates. Normally, your round trip tickets will indicate this information. Include a copy of your passport. It is not necessary to attach your copy of your passport while submitting a visa application. However, make sure you have a copy available in case Vietnam Immigration Department needs to verify your information. Make sure your visa/approval letter arranged before the weekend or national holidays since Vietnam Immigration Office closes over this period of time Have a credit card available. If you are applying for visa on arrival from an online booking travel, the most popular and quickest way to pay the service fee is to pay by credit card. Aiming  to provide our valued clients with quick service in urgent cases, Immivietnamvisa.com also offers rush visa options. Cost of  Vietnam rush visa at www.immivietnamvisa.com - Within 4 - 8 hours processing: Vietnam visa service fee plus $20 - Within 24 hours processing: Vietnam visa service fee plus $10 If you have any queries, please send us an email to support@immivietnamvisa.com.

Three most favored street vendors that you cannot miss in Hanoi

Sometimes, you might get tired of highly-cost dishes at luxurious restaurants and hotels and want to try out something new. I also believe that the traveling would be funnier to try out traditional and typical taste of the place other than just staying closed and modern. A suggestion given is to go to street vendors to try street tastes that are loved by Vietnamese young people. These street vendors, however, mostly has no English lists or even no menu, so it’s better if non-native goes with someone who knows Vietnamese. Another limit is that you might have to sit outside not in big restaurants like other; but besides all of that, these are really something to try! So, if you’re going to find out what’s happening on Hanoi’s streets, these are some advices for you.

1/ Caramel Hang Than



You might be familiar with home-made caramel pudding which is loved by its greasy taste made from eggs and milk, but you might be surprised and impressed by the special taste of Caramel from Hang Than Street. It is made to be sweet and cool just enough for customers to feel the delicious caramel dish and want to eat more!

Other than Caramel, there are many things sold on Hang Than Street, such as: Coconut jelly, Ice-cream-in-the-coconut,…



2/ Sua chua mit (Yogurt with Jack-fruit) Ba Trieu



Just recently been discovered and made not long ago, Sua chua mit has been increasingly popular among youngsters. The sweet and greasy taste of jack-fruit mixed with the cool and sour of yogurt has made this one of the most favored street vendors in Hanoi.

The shopkeepers at Ba Trieu Street can proudly say that this is made by their own ideas and tastes. Customers who go to the shop is impressed not only by the delicious flavor but also by the service provided by the young shopkeepers, waiters and waitress. This is also a place that you are recommended to come if you visit Hanoi.

3/ Banh gio xuc xich (Pyramidal rice dumpling with sausages)



Banh gio (Pyramidal rice dumpling) is one of many traditional flavors that are loved by Vietnamese people since a long time ago. The hot rice dumpling, filled with meat, onion and mushroom inside, makes people warmer in the cold winter days. Nowadays, Banh gio is complemented by other things like xuc xich (sausages), nem chua ran (fried pork rolls) or cha lua (pork bologna).

These Banh gio are presented in many Banh gio vendors, but there are some places that are really famous to young Hanoians such as ones on Dong Cac Street, Luong Dinh Cua Street, Thuy Khue Street and Nguyen Cong Tru Street. The Banh gio on Doc Cac Street is also famous for its special sauce, which is a little bit hot from chillies, sweet from sugar and other tastes made by other secret ingredients that made it so attractive.

Other than Banh gio xuc xich, the vendors on Dong Cac street have other things like salads, Banh Bot Loc, Balud, ...

How to avoid taxi scams in Vietnam

Inexperienced and innocent tourists often become victims for taxi scams in Vietnam. The fraud taxi drivers always try to take them to the intended place by the longest road possible or they will start driving without turning on the meter.  However, you must not be worried because not all taxi drivers in Vietnam are cheating on you. Most licensed taxi drivers are honest and hard-working people. You can try with two most reputable taxi companies in Vietnam named Mai Linh and Vinasun. They charge around 14,000 – 16,000 VND per km travel (70-80 cents). Other alternatives may be Saigon or Vina taxi in Ho Chi Minh city and Van Xuan or Morning Taxi in Hanoi capital, which are surveyed to be comparatively cheap. Just a few dishonest drivers have developed some clever ways to pocket your money, but you completely can protect yourself from all taxi scams with just a few attentions.

Research Routes and Fares: Before visiting one city, you should take time to plan your taxi trips as well your hotel stays. Find out about typical fares from the airport to your hotel or from your hotel to another spot you wish to pay a visit.

Get the meter turned on: Whenever you enter a cab, make sure that the meter is on since some fraud drivers will ignore turning on the meter and demand an unreasonable fare later at the end of your trip.

Spot taxi scams: Finding out taxi scams is not difficult. You can realize them through some particular uniforms. For instance, Mai Linh drivers wear geen outfits while those from Vinasun wear dark green shirt with maroon tie. Besides a lot of scammers copy the famous names and change them into something similar like Mei Linh or Mai Lin instead of Mai Linh. These taxies charge incredibly high fares, and they might steal your belongings as well. Another signal for a scammer is the license of the driver. Do not trust a driver if he does not show a license.

Bring a pencil and camera: If you are suspicious of any taxi driver, just write down his name and taxi license number. In case you forget your pencil, just pull out your camera and take pictures instead. That will become a hard evidence to back up your claim to the police.

Carry small bank notes (bills): when you are in Vietnam, you’re advised to use local currency as Vietnam Dong. If you can pay your fare with exact change, you will protect yourself from taxi scams because sometimes a fraud driver announces that he has no change, which means he'll pocket the difference between the fare and the face value of the smallest bank note you have as a colossal tip.

Get out if you’re in doubt: When you cannot reach an agreement with the driver, just get out and walk away to find another cab. In a worse case, the driver asks for more money than agreed before, leave the agreed-upon fare on the seat and exit the cab.