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City Guide - Ho Chi Minh City - Road | ||
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Road The road network throughout Vietnam is reasonable but the standard of the roads varies dramatically from good to appalling. In theory, traffic drives on the right but in practice drivers take the most direct path avoiding the many thousands of bicycles, motorbikes and the animals wandering along the road. As self-driven car hire is non-existent, visitors to the country have to hire a car with a driver. Most will agree that this is the only way until the country introduces and enforces a system of road rules. There are basic rules, such as you must stop at a red light and headlights must be used at night, but that is as far as it goes. Long-term foreign residents are allowed to drive a car but few are brave enough to do so, preferring to employ a Vietnamese chauffeur to do the driving for them. It is safe to assume that if a foreigner is driving a car involved in an accident, he will automatically be at fault. Emergency breakdown service: None. Routes to the city: The national highways are all designated by numbers. Highway 1 travels the length of the country from the very south, through Ho Chi Minh City and northwards to Hanoi and beyond to the Chinese border. Major towns on Highway 1 in the south of Vietnam are My Tho, Can Tho, Phan Thiet and Nha Trang. Dalat is reached by Highway 20, Vung Tau by Highway 51 and the Cambodian border (Moc Bai) by Highway 22. Driving times to Ho Chi Minh City: from My Tho - 1 hour 30 minutes; from Vung Tau - 2 hours; from Cambodian border - 2 hours 30 minutes; from Phan Thiet - 3 hours 30 minutes; from Can Tho - 4 hours 30 minutes; from Dalat - 7 hours; from Nha Trang - 12 hours. Coach services: There are several bus stations around the city that each serve different destinations. Facilities are very basic and are unlikely to have more than food stands serving local snacks. The buses throughout Vietnam range from fairly good to ramshackle. Some express services to Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Hanoi are in relatively modern air-conditioned buses but videos can play constantly throughout the journey. Services on short journeys depart when they are full and those travelling longer distances generally depart early in the morning. It is not possible to book tickets over the telephone and visitors should go to the bus station the day before to check the schedule for the following day and purchase their ticket. The bus to Cambodia, operated by Cong Ty Xe Khach Saigon (tel: (08) 822 2496), departs from 145/7 Nguyen Du, District 1, on Wednesday and Saturday at 0600, for the six-hour journey to Phnom Penh. There are no facilities at the departure point other than food stalls. Buses to Dalat, Buon Ma Thuot, Nha Trang, Danang, Hue and Hanoi depart from Mien Dong Bus Station (Ben Xe Mien Dong) (tel: (08) 898 4893), on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh in Binh Thanh District. There are two bus stations serving the Mekong Delta. Cholon Bus Station (Ben Xe Cholon) (tel: (08) 854 8832) on Tran Hung Dao in District 5 is the most convenient for buses to My Tho and Can Tho, but there is a more extensive service to smaller towns in the Delta from Mien Tay Bus Station (Ben Xe Mien Tay) (tel: (08) 751 0451) in An Lac, Binh Chanh District. Tay Ninh Bus Station (Ben Xe Tay Ninh) (tel: (08) 891 4923) in Tan Binh District has regular services to Cu Chi and Tay Ninh. |