Avoid being ripped off by taxi driver

I know by past experience that being ripped off is the one thing that any travellers from anywhere in this world try to avoid. It is not a good feeling to find out that you have been cheated especially if you are travelling on a tight budget like I always do. So here is a few tips that I would like to share with you when you are in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)especially for first timers:
1) Taxi cost around 100,000 dong from the airport to District 3
2) Cheap hotels or hostels should cost less than 15 USD...more than that you're being ripped off
3) Always keep the business card of the place you stay...most of the taxi driver there would NEVER understand your pronounciation. Let them read!
4) Motorbike is ALWAYS cheaper than taxi
5) Stay at the back packer area. That is around Binh Market. It is great to hear advice from other travellers.
6) The most famous place to get out of Saigon to other places like Dalat, Cu Chi Tunnel, Nha Trang etc by bus is an travel agency called Sinh Cafe. It is in District 1. I've tried other places they charged more.
7) Nha Trang is 6 to 7 hours away from Saigon by train.You can buy the ticket yourself. Asking your tourguide to do this for you may cost you more as they would charge for commission. It is not that difficult to do this yourself.
8) Cu Chi tunnel is about 2 hours drive away from Saigon. It costs 80,000 Dong per entry.
9) Apart from Vietnam Airlines, Jetstar is another airline that you can use to fly from Saigon to Hanoi. I heard it is cheaper too.

If you are not into boat, or snakes, or ponies then don't take this trip!

The cheapest way (in my opinion) to get to Mekong Delta is by bus. Not just any bus but bus booked through Sinh Cafe (will tell you the address of Sinh Cafe after I edit this review later on..and ps - Sinh Cafe is not really a cafe per se). It will cost you around 164,000 Vietnam dong so that is probably around 10USD. The bus leaves quite early and Sinh Cafe offers several types of trip ranging from a One-Day Trip to Three-Day Trip (mine was the One-Day Trip).

My bus left around 8.30am and around this time, you should anticipate a very big crowd of tourists and locals outside of the cafe waiting for the buses. You shouldn't worry of missing breakfast as there is a few restaurants around Sinh Cafe where you can have one while waiting.

The bus trip from Sinh Cafe (district one) to Mekong Delta takes about four hours. Bottled water is also provided. The Mekong Delta Trip includes the following:
1) Bus trip
2) One bottle water
3) Boat ride
4) Tour guide
5) Lunch at one of the restaurants on the Mekong Delta
6) Pony ride
7) Meeting with a big python (not really my cuppa tea)
8) A boat trip on a perahu (small boat rowed by old women or men)

If you take the 8.30am bus, you should be back to Ho Chi Minh City by 6pm. The Mekong Delta touring alone takes about 4 hours to finish.

PS - If you want to buy souvenirs, it would be a good idea to bring more than 100,000 dong as the souvenir shops there really mark up their stuff.

PS - Snakewine tastes HORRIBLE!!