Is it too tight for 5 days in Ho Chi Minh City & Phnom Penh?

Question

I would like to drop by Phnom Penh(Cambodia) thru Mekong Delta trip.

How do I go about??

14th august - 1 night in HCM

15th august - Set off @ 0800hr for Mekong River trip.

How do I go to Phnom Penh from Mekong Delta??

16th august - sight seeing in Phnom Penh

16th august - Is there a direct ferry back to HCM, late at night?

17th - 18th august - Sight seeing in HCM.

Please advise.

Many thanks!

trina

Answer 1

For the night in Ho Chi Minh... try this..

My top day in Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by everyone who lives there) would probably begin with a bowl of pho (noodle soup) from a streetside stall in the Pham Ngu Lao area (this is the backpackers area). With camera to hand, I'd then set forth into the traffic and wander up to Cong Vien Van Hoa Park for a stroll among the exercising locals, before continuing on to the War Remnants Museum. With all the military hardware on display, at first glance this museum can look like a celebration of war. It's not. Each time I visit it is a sobering but intensely worthwhile experience, often with a new exhibition to take in. The Reunification Palace, just down the road, speaks to the same turbulent period of modern history but in more extravagant language. I love the classic '60s architecture, the furniture that's remained unchanged since 1975, and the shaky television pictures of tanks bursting through gates that run through my head while sitting in the grounds. Saigon is all about street food, so I'll walk down to Ben Thahn Market and follow my nose to the food vendors for lunch with a bia hoi (draught beer) or two. My nose will also lead me to the market's coffee merchants, a tasting session and yet another kilogram or two of the best arabica. In the afternoon I'll sit in a cafe (the long-running Givral, perhaps), read the paper and conserve energy for the evening... Maybe back to the hotel and rest a little.. Ah, the evening in Saigon! I'll meet friends at the Saigon Saigon Bar for sundowners and discussion of the latest and greatest Vietnamese beach resort, before moving on to dinner at one of the Dong Khoi restaurants (probably Quan An Ngon if we feel like local cuisine, or Augustin for delicious, cheap French food). Dinner is followed by a round of cocktails at trendy Q-Bar, where, suitably lubricated, I might allow myself to be persuaded into a dancing mission to Apocalypse Now. The final act is a xe om (motorbike taxi) trip back to Pham Ngu Lao, a great way to clear the head.



Atl least you would get the most of it..

  

Answer 2

you don't really have enough time to go by boat from HCMC to PP and back and still enjoy both cities.

you should have at least two full days in PP to get any sort of feel for the place, but to do the basic touristy sights then you can see a lot in a day, but that's just not giving you any time to appreciate anything, so there's not a lot of point in rushing.

as for HCMC you need at least four full days to see this city.  yeah, sure you can 'do' the lot in a couple of days, but again you'll only be scraping the surface and not getting to experience the place to any real depth.

my advice is to spend all your time in HCMC and leave PP for another, dedicated trip.

BUT if you do want to travel by boat to PP then you cross the border at Chau Doc then onto PP, but it's an all day boat ride and you'll get into PP late afternoon, when all museums are closed.  the return is the same, long and wet.  no late ferry back to HCMC, so you'll have to do the whole trip in reverse, with another day lost on travel.  back to HCMC and you'll be too tired to enjoy it.

you can fly between the two cities, so go boat one way and plane the opposite.  you can also go boat/bus which is to drive from HCMC to the Vn/Cmb border the boat rest of the way to PP.

your hotel can help arrange travel, or go to Pham Ngu Lao and try any of the travel cafes as they all do the same journey for good cheap prices.  

i hope you get to see something, but try not to push it else you miss out on the good stuff.

Answer 3

i think you can take a boat to go to PP from Mekong Delta and 5 days from HCM city to PP is ok .