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Keeping Healthy? Best month to arrive?

 
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NYCLizzie



Joined: 02 Aug 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

PostPosted: Sat Aug 12, 2006 10:20 pm    Post subject: Keeping Healthy? Best month to arrive? Reply with quote

Hi, this is from a newbie.

HCMC may be my first Asian destination and since staying healthy is pretty important: Why are people getting ill when they arrive? Is it the heat? The sanitation standards? Anything else? Can anything be done to prevent illness?

I thought it was relatively safe to eat from the street stalls: is that not true?

How easy/hard is it to be a vegetarian there? To find healthy cereals, and other western foods?

Vietnamese is not my fav cuisine (much prefer Thai!). How easy is it to find other foods?

I am thinking of arriving early January; feedback about that time much appreciated!

Thanks!
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ChuckECheese



Joined: 28 Jul 2006
Posts: 216

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 3:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Why are people getting ill when they arrive? Is it the heat? The sanitation standards? Anything else? Can anything be done to prevent illness?


People here generally get sick for variety of reasons like anywhere else. Though it's hot and humid here, I haven't heard people getting sick because of the heat. Because it gets so hot, people generally stay out of the heat and know what they can and can't tolerate before it'll make you sick.

The sanitary standard, in most part, is very poor compared to the Western standard. However, speaking from my experience, I haven't been really sick even though I've been here over two years. You just need to keep yourself sanitized at all times.

Quote:
I thought it was relatively safe to eat from the street stalls: is that not true?


Although not very sanitary, I often eat at the street stalls. May be because of my tough digestive system, I haven't been sick from them. However, I've heard some of my friends here have gotten sick from eating at those places. I guess it all depends on your body's tolerance level.

Quote:
How easy/hard is it to be a vegetarian there? To find healthy cereals, and other western foods?


It's very easy to be a vegetarian here. However, I recommend that you do the washing of any vegetables and fruit yourself. I've seen many people who got sick from eating raw vegetables at some restaurants (even at the 4 or 5 start hotel restaurant). I normally stay away from raw vegetables unless I've done the washing myself. But both vegetables and fruits are plentiful and very cheap in Vietnam.

You can easily get western food and groceries in HCMC. But it's very costly. They are about the same price as in the Western countries. But when you consider economics in Vietnam compared to back home, it's considered expensive.

Quote:
Vietnamese is not my fav cuisine (much prefer Thai!). How easy is it to find other foods?


Other cruisines are very easy to find (includ. Thai!) in HCMC. However, if you grew up on McDonald's and Burger King's fast food, you'll have craving for it that cannot be fullfilled in Vietnam. There are no such things. You'll have to make a run to Thailand for those. However, there are plenty of burger joints that are mediocre.

Quote:
I am thinking of arriving early January; feedback about that time much appreciated!


If you're coming in January for job prospect, you'll have very little chance of landing a job right away, because that time of the year is the Chinese New Year holiday. So if you're arriving that time of the year, bring enough money to last 2-3 months, until things start picking back up again.
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kparsons



Joined: 30 Jun 2005
Posts: 63
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2006 3:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

ChuckECheese's reply pretty much says it all. But I'll chip in my two cents as well.

Health:
I haven't been sick... at all in Vietnam. Last week I got my first ever eye infection (something similar to pink eye), which I assume is from the kids I teach, as many of them have pink eyes in class (and I've no idea where else I would pick it up). I did get sick in Thailand once -- for the first time in ten years, in fact! However, my boyfriend was sick fairly often when we first arrived in SE Asia, as I know many people are. I believe it has a lot to do w/the food, which you often hear about. Most people don't get vomity sick, just a touch of upset stomach. I think as far as avoiding it, follow Chuck's advice: don't eat raw fruits and veggies that don't have a peel (unless you wash them yourself in clean water), similarly, don't drink most juices (also be careful of ice), etc. unless you know that it's been made w/purified water, etc. I always expect to get sick, and if you don't, then you're doing well!

Being a Veggie in VN:
It's easy. There are always veggie options on the menu. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by Vietnamese food -- you say you don't lilke it, but once you get here, give it a shot. There are some exceptional (and cheap!) veggie places on Pham Ngu Lao, near the "backpacker" area in town. But, if Vietnamese proves not to be your thing, never fear -- there are LOADS of other options in HCMC. Pretty much every place has about nine million dishes on the menu (pasta, pizza, Thai, Vietnamese, etc.), so you probably won't run out of options.

Here are a few recommendations you may want to check out: Asian Kitchen, 185/22 Pham Ngu Lao, Sinh Cafe, 246-248 De Tham, The Original Bodhi Tree, 175/4 Pham Ngu Lao, and Zen, Pham Ngu Lao, are all highly recommended -- great food, and you'll be surprised by how cheap they are.

Good luck!
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