ATM's and money matters

Picking which atm to use initially doesn't seem like a big deal,  after all a few thousand dong extra in fees doesn't seem that bad.  But when you remember that your bank will also be charging you (even if you are using a travel card often they have atm fees). Plus over a couple of weeks it adds up!

 

VIETNAM

Best pick
MB
White buildings with blue writing
NO ATM'S FEES- and this atm allowed me to withdraw 5 million dong in each transaction. 
Gives 1 million of withdrawal as small notes
In hoi an most ATM's only allow 2 million per transaction,  MB stills allows 5

 

ACB
30k fee on atm
Varies between ATM's how much you can withdraw.  2 or 3 million per withdrawal.  In hoi an they only allow 2 million. 

 

Agribank ATMs

Maroon and white.

Allows withdrawals of 2 Million (I have never been able to take more than that). The best thing about Agribank is that they give you at least 1 mill in small denominations, 20K -> 100K. This is super useful if you are getting spending money out. Most shops will get angry if you give them 500K and market stalls or small businesses just wont even accept it.

 

Cambodia

100% the most useful ATM is Canadabank. They won't charge you fees (as long as  the money is in USD. If it is a different currency you will get conversion fees). The problem is that you get most $20 or $50 bills, but if you go in branch they will actually change the money to lower denominations for you for free, so that was pretty awesome!

 

Once I discovered these ATMs, I didn't use any others!

 

The currency advice is that if you do take a chunk of money in local currency, and ask people at markets the price in riel, they will either work out the price in USD and then convert it, or sometimes they can't do that maths in their head and will quote you a closer to cambodian price.... so you end up paying less.

For hotels, tours, and big purchases you will be quoted in USD. You may as well use these as at least if you have money left over you can spend it in other countries and it's free to get from ATMs. But keep that small change for buying water, snacks etc. Don't stress too much about changing money, often if you pay a hotel in USD, your change will be in Riel - just watch that exchange rate for any weirdness!

Tailors of Hoi An (getting clothes that fit perfectly!)

I could have included this in the Hoi An post......  but there is such a lot to say about tailors in Hoi An (and other places too!) that I thought it warrants it's own post!

Starting with my experience in Hoi An, which is the most popular place to get clothes made.... and so has tailors on every single street!

My absolute 100% recommendation is Xuan -- 27 Hoang Dieu st. Hoi An

Xuan (right) with my boyfriend in clothes she made and her staff

Why do I recommend her?

Firstly, she isn't pushy. If you want to come in and look around, then you walk away - I have never seen her follow anyone, or yell out for them to buy stuff, or start asking millions of somewhat harassing questions.... You will see what I mean when you walk around or past any of the other tailors!

Her prices are really good! The more you buy, the bigger the discount that you get. And we kind of bought a lot..... So I can't really give figures of how much for any one item (plus, it depends on design, fabric etc etc).

But another couple that I ran into in her shop (after meeting them in Hue and giving them her card) told me that they got quotes for 3 piece men's suits at another shop..... and hers were half the price!

Honesty

This falls into the great pricing part (personally I don't haggle with her.... especially when I bought heaps because I know the discount was already there!). Also honesty in how you look...... You see, One of the items I bought was a tight "wiggle dress". It is meant to the form fitting.... but Xuan was honest enough to insist on letting it out just a tiny little bit (so it didn't stick quite so much to my curves) which made it look WAYYYY better! Even though this meant more work for herself as it was another alteration!

Quality and longevity 

I know people who have used Xuan for their tailoring needs for 8+ years. This ranges from suits, to formal dresses, everyday wear and work pants for her husband. Nothing has broken before it's reasonable life span. Nothing has shrunk, or fallen apart, no seams popped!

I Haven't had time to try out my big load of shopping.... but I have been wearing two shirts that I bought in May more or less continuously for the last three months and for two of those months I was hand washing them and wringing them out quite forcefully! They are in perfect condition despite my mistreatment!  

Summary - definitely head to Xuan and have a chat! if you don't see fabrics you like immediately describe what you want and she will do her best to find it! Take photos or download them off the net too, she has wifi at her shop so you can email her the photos and get exactly what you want!

Other tailors I know of or have used:

Swim wear

Unfortunately Xuan doesn't make swimwear :( So I had to search elsewhere for a tailor who did).

I asked at a few of the shops along the same road. Most showed me the fabric options which was a jersey knit. They didn't seem to have Lycra. Watch out for this, Jersey knit is very stretchy, and yes it feels light. But it wil get more waterlogged than lycra and is likely too stretchy, meaning when wet it has the risk of stretching more and dragging down, and as it ages it can stretch out - no body likes daggy bum swim-wear!

The girls at shop 47 Hoang Dieu were able to help. They don't actually make swimwear themselves but one of the ladies put me on the back of their bike and whizzed me to her "sister" who does. (nb, seeing as the woman didn't seem to know much about this apparent sister - like if the sign about car hire is the same shop, I think the relationship might not be so close :P). The first tailor did the price negotiating. She quoted me $40 and I negotiated to $30, which for a two piece swimsuit seemed fairly generous to me (but still cheap compared to Aus, and I tend to fear bargaining too hard for risk of items being made very cheap and breaking!).

This woman did had a few pairs of swimmers hanging up around the shop, and big bins full of lycra. I showed her photos that I had, we worked together to sketch up what I like, and picked out colours. The only difficulty is that she doesn't speak English.... So you need to go via another shop like I did, or take a translator, or take good pictures and a dictionary! 

I really like the togs that I got made. They are pretty perfect, but I wanted the back strap to be tighter and the tailor talked me out of it. Later I looked again and I really do need that strap tighter! So I will just have to do it myself when I get home. This sort of talking you out of changes so that they don't have to make alterations really put me off them! I also noted that the woman who actually made the swimmers was paid only $17, the tailor said she paid her some the day before as well..... but I was in the room the whole time and didn't see any money change hands! 

Lucky Number

This tailor is up out of the old town a little. On Hai Ba Trung st.
In January I was in Hoi An with a friend and she wanted to get some clothes made so we went here.
I initially got a "play suit" style thing made. However as they gathered the pants instead of pleating like in the picture they looked like clown pants! seriously, it was terrible. We negotiated and turned it into a dress instead, much less clowny.
I was really happy with it initially, however I has washed it only twice. The first time the zip busted, but I was able to get it working again.

I also believe it shrunk in the wash as it got extra tight! The next time I washed it it seemed fine, but now the zip has actually torn so cannot be used at all. Basically they used poor quality zips and stitched it poorly so it cut into the zip and caused it to tear.
The difficulty here is that when you receive the items it seems fine, it is only after you go home and start wearing that they break!

I also got some pants made. These I said I think they need to be tighter and there was a lot of space in the waist band..... they explained in various ways why this shouldn't happen and got me convinced that it is fine...... but it isn't. they are far too large, and fall off. Personally I vote, don't buy clothes here.... they are expensive (at least compared to Xuan), and don't do the alterations well enough to get a good fit!

These are my experiences with tailors.  Limited, yes..... but once I fond Xuan I really had no motivation to go elsewhere! When I have more time I will chat with other people I know have spent plenty of time here and add their experience!

Good cause shopping in Phnom Penh

Good cause shopping, love it or hate it.... there is plenty around in Phnom Penh!

The good
- In theory you know where the money is going - to women who have escaped the sex trade, or people with disabilities or whatever. In practice I do wonder if like charities in the western world (6-8 figure CEO salaries for example) plenty gets skimmed off the top. But regardless, in the developing world people with disabilities are often ignored and treated as a burden, so at least these shops do give them meaningful employment!
- Set prices. You might be paying slightly more than for a similar product elsewhere.... but you wont have to haggle, and you wont walk away feeling ripped off. Plus, I am happy to pay a little more for things (as long as it is a little!) if I know the money is going somewhere good!
- helpful staff, I have always found the staff in these shops more than happy to give you directions, or advice. And I feel less like they are going to be collecting a commission from whoever they recommend I travel with! Plus I usually fell less pushed and pressured to buy things.
- great gifts and souvenirs -  I hate shopping for souvenirs, I always worry that people won't find my gift useful, or won't want it (personally I hate clutter - and most souvenir type items are clutter!). But when you shop at a good cause shop, and put an informative brochure in with the gift, people love it! Gifts that give twice.... yada yada yada everyone's happy!
- things typically seem to be better quality. These are stores that rely on tourists spreading the word. So it isn't in their interest to have dodgy products that fall apart!

the bad
-  it is pretty easy to spend bulk cash!


Stores in Phnom Penh
Rehab crafts - # 1 (but actually not the first building on the street!) street 278. close to the corner with street 51
This shop had lots and lots of stuff made of the fertilizer/cement bags. I picked up a great travel toiletries case for $6 and a massive shopping bag for 6.50
Huge range of stuff made from bags / rolled paper jewelry (from $1 for bracelets), and silk stuff.
Around the corner from Rehab is a place called Smarteria (#7, street 57). This place advertises as recycled and up-cycled home-wares and accessories. It is more bags.... If you want a handbag or a laptop cover - you'll be happy.... I didn't really see anything else though.

 Friends and stuff - street 13, end near the museum. Big blue sign out the front.
Good collection of t shirts, gifts, accessories and homewares. I found prices here really quite reasonable. A wallet made from recycled newspapers, or cartoons is $5, set of 10 coasters is 12. Lots of upcycled products. great for gifts etc.

These guys also have 2 restaurants. One right next door to the shop which is a tapas place. We ate lunch here, it was quite expensive (tapa sized meal, full sized price!) and was nice, but not mindblowing.
Romdeng is #74 street 174 prices were about the same as at friends, but we had 4 people and 3 dishes and it was amazing! This food is creative cambodian. Really tasty and fun. The adventurous can even try spiders or red ants.

 Daughters of Cambodia 
# 65 Street 178
These guys help sex-workers exit the sex industry permanently by providing training and opportunities for work. Upstairs you can watch a short documentary about the work they do and the se industry in Cambodia.
They sell lots of jewelry, some soft toys, lots of bags and shirts/scarves. Prices here are a little more than some other shops (so if you feel super tight maybe not the best) but the products are beautiful. and very well made.
Daughters also has a cafe upstairs (you can get main meals, and the best smoothies I have had here!) and a hand and foot spa in the back. We had great meals, great pedicures and helped train these women for something other than sex work!

Ta Prohm Souvenir
Just up from Daughters (towards the museum) is a tiny little shop. Literally only as wide as a normal sized door. #49BEo (no idea what those letters mean) on street 178. I haven't seen this place in any guidebooks. But they claim to be a self-help team of women with disabilities. small store but really reasonable prices. wallets made from the recycled fertilizer bags from $3, roller paper and glass necklaces from $4, my friend bought a silk necklace that was 20/30 in another store for $6. They also have tiny little elephants and other Christmas tree decorations for .5-$1. Definitely worth stopping in and having a look around!


A.N.D shop
#52 b/c st 240. pure cotton clothes and accessories made by the disabled. lots of really nice vintage look clothes made from vintage fabrics. the dress there was $30. higher quality jewelry and earrings (sterling silver and vintage china) for around $25. some really nice clutches and bags also.

Khmer Creations
#116, Street 113
Opposite Toul Sleng Museum
This store makes a whole lot of knitted toys. Animals and little monsters, plus woven bags and mats. The plastic items (bags, mats, etc) are made from plastic bags. Each one tells you how many bags were collected and used to make them, which I think is pretty cool!
Also a range of jewelry and accessories. Interesting to see this fork necklace - identical to ones at daughters. Not sure if made there but in the same style, made at daughters and sold here, or made somewhere else entirely and sold by both places to boost there profit margins. Plus - in googling to find their address: http://khmercreations.com.au/ they have a website and  looks like they do internet orders - :) So not having space in your luggage is no longer a reason not to buy!! Crafters (or crafty expats) can also buy knitting needles, wool and even stick counters here.

Hoi An

Hoi An, Hoi An, Hoi An.......
I keep changing my mind about how I feel about Hoi An.
Sometimes I just can't stand the insane tourist buy anything all the time attitude. There is little to do in the town of Hoi An itself other than walk around shops and buy things. - at least for me, because I have seen the old houses once and have no desire to see them again.
Othertimes, the nice colourful old buildings and lanterns win me over.

Staying:
An Hoi Hotel
a pool! at $15 a night for a single room!!!! WINNING
Having a pool in Hoi An is a relief, especially from May onwards as the weather is really warming up now! The rates seems to vary depending on the season. But I was quoted $15 for room only. $18 for room and breakfast. To be honest the breakfast looked pretty basic and uninspiring - and would only cost about $2 if you bought it at the hotel separately, instead of 3 if you include it in your room rate.
But the rooms are nice. I would avoid the rooms at the very back of the hotel. The walls are thin and the outside noise can be very annoying it you are a light sleeper. But the pool is lovely, the rooms are very large, queen sized bed, fan and aircon, large tv. The second night when I got moved to inside the hotel (buidling works woke me up at 4am.... but I'm sure that's finished now!) it was very quiet and perfect!

Nguyen Phuong Hotel - 109 Ba Trieu St.  +84.510.3916588
This hotel is located out of the old town, which means it is on a nice quiet street!  I found them to be very helpful and friendly. A basic single room is $12 a night - aircon, tv, large (and very comfy!) bed with quality pillows! shower . A double room- double bed and single bed, large windows, aircon, tv, bath and shower is $16.

Thanh Binh II Hotel
Located just outside of the main drag this is a large hotel.
Breakfast and a pool are located just around the corner at the Thanh Bihn III. Only about 50 metres away so not really an issue. Breakfast is a buffet with eggs cooked to your liking,  pretty tasty and a reasonable range of foods on offer.

Room prices vary depending on room facilities. We booked through booking.com and got $22 a night rooms, breakfast included.
The downside was that the bed was extremely uncomfortable! we could feel all the springs. I would suggest asking to see rooms before accepting the check in process, even if you have booked already - that way it will be a lot easier to change rooms if needed. We did sneak into an unoccupied room, and the bed there was way more comfortable, so it's worth asking them to switch if you find it too hard.

Eating
Hola taco
This meal was amazing!  The tacos are soft shells,  more what we Aussies would call tortillas.  The flavours are amazingly put together,  including avocado,  home made cheeses,  Chipotle sauces. This honestly was the best meal I have had in a long long time,  and I love Vietnamese food!

Secret garden
Check the map,  this place can be a little difficult to find,  but look for the black signs with gold writing and a key hole symbol.
This restaurant was beautiful. It is set in lush gardens with big fans,  ponds and plants to keep it cool,  and I hear they have an air conditioned room for those really hot days! Food was delicious!  Really nice flavours and twists on traditional food.  We planned to go back a second time,  but never got back sadly. We were a bit afraid that prices would be way high when we walked in and saw how beautiful it was,  but meals were around 5 to 7 dollars.  Generous serving sizes,  we had a shared entrees on 2 mains,  and were both stuffed!

Mermaid
The original of miss Vy's restaurants,  now joined by morning glory,  cargo, the market and a bakery Cafe!  Mermaid is small and simple,  the kitchen is next to the dining area and open enough to allow you to see in if you want. 
Food was tasty,  we had pork ribs and squid stuffed with pork mince (amazing!).  Potentially make a booking if you are determined,  it was empty when we arrived around 6.30 or 7, but completely full when we finished.

Namaste
Ranked 2 in hoi an on trip advisor.  I have no idea how!  This was absolutely the most disappointing place we ate. 
It didn't taste bad per say,  but was just so uninteresting.  We asked for medium spice,  I couldn't taste any! Seriously I have had spicier mild curries in Australia.  We got a curry we had never heard of before,  which had some nice flavours,  but nothing mind blowing.  Our other meal was butter chicken - which often works as a good base test for new restaurants....  It is the most tasteless BC I have ever had.  Plus the meat was incredibly tough  :-(
The honey lassi however was delicious! And we were given complimentary cracker  type things and dip. 

I was later told by a local that they have always been disappointed here,  but always get a delicious meal at ganesh!

Stuff to do
bike riding
My favourite activity in Hoi An was hiring a bike, getting a map (there is one you can get with the surrounding area marked on it) and just riding out of town. As soon as you get out a little way you find people who are amazing and entertained to see westerners and keen to interact with you for fun.... not to demand money for every photo or anything.
Learn how to say hello, and beautiful (dep) and then feel free to walk out into the rice feild and take photos of people! say hello, show them the camera - then show them the first photo you take. Often farmers etc. have never seen a photo of themselves! so they find it really entertaining and will point for you to take photos of other people, or show other people their photo.
If you are in the area for a few days consider going to a print shop - getting some photos printed and going back to give them to the person. especially if you were in their house and can find your way back. It will only cost you a dollar or two for heaps of photos, and will be an amazing gift for people who have never had photos taken before, or only for special occasions.

My Son
Pronounced - Me son, is up in the hills behind Hoi An. It is easy through any hotel to arrange a bus tour up to see the ruins. I would recommend leaving as early as possible (my tour left at 8.30. last time I went I think the bus left at 6ish) Early is cooler, and has less tourists walking around.
I would also check how much an entrance ticket is. Turns out these aren't included in the tour price. I thought it was about 60 000VND. But our tour guide made everyone give him 100K VND.
If you are interested in the history, I would recommend reading up on it before you go. I found the tour guide difficult to understand. And annoying, because he kept repeating himself and giving pop quizzes like it was some sort of school trip. Plus, by walking away from the group I could be a little alone and relax.

Blind massage
one hour, skilled hands, $5.
Need I promote this more! (I will anyway)
Basically, this shop is run by a group of visually impaired people who do great massages. This is a massage to get those tight knots out of you back.... not a soft, useless "relaxing" massage like you often get in the tourist spa type places. Plus, you are helping blind people have a profession that is perfect for them!
It on Cua Dai street, a little way out of town - maybe ride a bike or get a taxi if it's too hot!

Visiting the old town
A number of houses/buildings in the old town have been preserved traditionally and tourists are able to wander through. You buy tickets outside the old town. Basically a book of tickets gives you access to a set number of locations, you then pick and choose which you want to see.
I haven't done that this visit to Vietnam, on a past visit my dad and i did and to be honest we werequite disappointed. So, nang info might be quite old, and maybe it is more interesting now, i don't know. The places you can look at are either functioning homes, or businesses. We found that even when paying to go in, we would be harassed too buy something, which was particularly annoying!
There are however a couple of temples that are free to visit. They are usually signed well! The Chinese temple I visited for free did have a tourist shop at the entrance, but they were not actually pushy at all, so it was a pleasant (though way over priced) shop.

Hoi An Photo tour
Spend a morning or sunset with a professional photographer and Hoi An local getting to know the people, seeing sites you wouldn't otherwise get to and taking great photos!
see m post here: http://travelnamnow.blogspot.com/2014/08/hoi-photo-tour.html  for more information!

Diving and snorkeling Cham island
I went diving for a day with Cham Island diving centre. They were professional, friendly and I always felt safe! We were both first time divers, but they gave us plenty of information to make sure we were safe and relaxed and kept it fun. Two dives cost about $90, which included one on one dives, all the equipment hire, lunch on the island and time to snorkel after our dives.
I liked them so much I am returning to do my dive course!
There are other dive centres in Hoi An as well. I know that Cham Island dive centre are also PADI certified. A few of the cheap snorkeling places we saw at the dive site. They had much smaller wooden boats (that would take longer to reach the island, and suffer from high waves a lot more) and instead of providing snorkels and fins to the customers they made everyone wear life vests and stay at the surface in one tiny area. It looked awfully unpleasant - so be wary of those cheap tours booked through hotels or other agencies!

Shopping
Hoi An has plenty of markets, souvenir shops, made in china bulk goods. At any of these I tend to offer half the original price, then walk away. They pretty much always call you back offering whatever you said - or lower. And they always look very happy (or I hear them tell someone else what you paid and that person laughs - speaking a little Vietnamese is worth it!). So don't feel like you are ripping them off too much. But at the same time if the product looks well made, or is actually hand made - think about what you would pay for it in Australia / where ever you are from. People who are actually making things themselves might accept your way too low price because they just can't compete with the made in china junk.

Clothes
Getting clothes made is a very big part of being in Hoi An. No matter how much you try to resist...... the days of walking past tailors wears you down eventually. I would absolutely recommend Xuan. She is a lovely woman and being in her shop will be relaxing and calm, no harassing you to buy anything, or trying to tell you to buy more and more. Her prices seem fair, and the quality is really good. She will absolutely ensure you are totally happy with the finished product. and the zips and stitching is all well done.
The clothes last! I know people who come back to her year after year.

Xuan - 27 Hoang Dieu St, Hoi An 0510 3863 342
remember, you might find things cheaper elsewhere, but you get what you pay for!

More detailed information on tailors can be found here: http://travelnamnow.blogspot.com/2014/08/tailors-of-hoi-getting-clothes-that-fit.html

Scams
Hoi An isn't so much about specific scams, as many many people trying to take your money and hugely inflated prices.
As a basic rule... offer them half of whatever they quote you. then, either they will drop their price or they wont. Walk away..... either they will offer you a decent price as you walk away - or they wont. If they don't, obviously the original price was ok... so just go back 5 or 10 minutes later and buy it! I was told by a local that a hat should cost 20-30K..... when I asked for one they told me 150K I got it for 30K.

Hoi An is more about general annoyances, people constantly calling out to you. Even riding bikes along side and talking at you. I usually say no thanks at first, then ignore them. I do find that some have kept up with walking along and talking or yelling at me. Sometimes until I have snapped and had to tell them to go away!

Just try to ignore them and put your hand up firmly to say no. It can be hard after a few days, but try not to let annoying people ruin your holiday! Personally..... as long as you were polite at first - don't beat your self up too much if you do snap!

Money
Most ATMS only allow you to withdraw 2 million dong per transaction. I have even seen signs in the ATM that state this is law in Hoi An. Firstly, that's a lie - the MB bank on Hai Ba Trung will allow you to withdraw up to 5 million (and with no fee!)
secondly, if you don't want to walk that far your other option is to go into the bank and withdraw as much as you like directly. This only works if the card has your name printed on it (so not for prepaids cards) and I am not sure of the fees involved.
Most banks will have people who speak English, so don't be afraid to just give it a go.

Watch out for carrying too much money on you. And remember that Hotels will not take responsibility for money you leave in your room. I have heard of people claiming to have cash taken from their bags, possibly by cleaners? So either keep it locked up, or hand it in to reception if you are worried.