Saigon Surprise Pt. 1 | 5 Days in Ho Chi Minh City

Tan Dinh Church, located in District 3

“I love it here!” I exclaimed. And with a big grin on my face, I literally jumped in the air (I do that a lot).

I felt like a kid in a candy store. Saigon was my candy store, and there were endless surprises in this city; yummy, beautiful, artistic, and kindhearted surprises waited for me down every alley and around every corner. 

What made my experience in Saigon even more delightful was the fact that I didn’t have any expectations for the trip. Ho Chi Minh hadn’t been a city I’d wanted to visit and only booked a ticket there because it was cheap and sunny. It came as a great surprise how amazing of a city Ho Chi Minh is. 

​In the midst of being pleasantly surprised by Saigon, I also felt grateful to be walking around for hours on end –as I’d gotten into an accident the weekend before and injured my foot so badly that I was unable to stand or walk. The doctor put me on bed rest for a few days, and luckily enough I healed in time to make it to HCMC.

Mekong Delta tour to My Tho in my BagLady Basics T'Shirt Dress

​Before I proceed with my Saigon stories, I should let you guys know that I do have the answer to the question I asked in my previous blog post.

“Am I tired of traveling alone?” 
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The answer is no, I am not tired of solo travel. I had an amazing time in HCMC by myself, and it was in fact the greatest solo travel experience I’ve had thus far!

Expressing exactly why I now love HCMC is truly hard to convey with words, because it was just a feeling that I got. With that said I know that the lovely people, great food, fresh fruit, cute cafes, warm weather, charming architecture, and vibrancy of the city contributed to that feeling. It somehow just felt a bit like home. 

Enjoying tropical fruits in my BagLady Basics High Waisted Pants

Vietnamese women are so beautiful!

 
​I SPENT 5 DAYS IN SAIGON, AND THIS IS HOW IT WENT DOWN…

I arrived in Saigon on New Year’s Eve, but missed the major Tet celebrations; I also missed the fact that I was supposed to pay 25USD for my visa on arrival! How could I have missed that? I thought to myself, “here we go Shanya, hot mess start to your vaca.” I also forgot to get cash from the ATM, so I was stuck in customs with a bit of a situation. Luckily it was quickly solved, I kept calm, asked the couple sitting next to me to lend me the cash and reimbursed them as soon as we got out of arrivals! OK! Problem solved!

*Note to self, do better next time!

Day 1 in my BagLady Basics Maxi Shirt Dress

​I must admit that I am no longer amused by countries in S.E Asia (maybe I need to start visiting countries in other regions), so I decided that I’d just stick to Ho Chi Minh, and not venture out into other cities in Vietnam. My plan was to visit cool restaurants and cafes, and few sites in HCMC and try to experience it like a local and/or expat.

I’d heard of their great food, and had read about their eccentric cafes, so I just planned on walking around and eating for 5 days. My friends also told me that I’d only need 3 days maximum in Saigon, so I went prepared to consider going on a day trip to a nearby city.

My only wish was to have a similar experience to my life in Shanghai, but of course with the compliment of a Vietnamese vibe. I wanted to keep it simple, relaxing and culturally entertaining.  ​

Tet Celebration

My first day in HCMC started off a bit slowly, as it was New Year’s Day. It being Tet, meant that a lot of the cafes and restaurants that I’d wanted to visit were closed. I knew this before I got to HCMC, and decided from then to not let it spoil my vacation. ​

Fly Garden Cafe

I felt more comfortable with the city by the second day, and this comfort grew as my time there went by. I allowed myself to get lost in noisy Saigon every day, but also had a sense of which areas I was in. I felt very proud of that because I have a really bad sense of direction. 
I stuck to my plan/non-plan, which was to just eat and walk around, and I had a great time doing just that. 

I visited touristic sites like the Notre Dame Basilica, and the iconic Saigon Central Post Office next to it, the Palace Museum, War Remnants Museum, Bitexco Financial Tower, Lam Son Square, Saigon Opera House and the Tan Dinh Church (a 150 year old pink church).

The Saigon Central Post Office, and Lam Son Square were my favorites, and I would recommend walking around the square both during the day and at night. There are great shopping malls and restaurants in the area, and the famous Café apartment building is also in the vicinity. 

Saigon Central Post Office

​Sightseeing could be done within 2 days, which is probably why my friends said that I’d only need 3 days maximum in Saigon, but I wanted more from my trip. 

It wasn’t just about the sites, but more about the people, and feeling at home in this strange but familiar city. I randomly stumbled upon a local bazaar one day and I remember feeling the soul of Saigon there. It was a very family friendly event with amusement park rides for kids, live entertainment, shops and street food.

​I also spent a day venturing outside of District 1 (which is the most central and touristic area of Ho Chi Minh) and visited Districts 2 & 3.

Tram Cafe located in District 3, Ho Chi Minh

Street art in District 1, Ho Chi Minh, but no one around to take a picture for me...

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​The streets dictated my days; I followed what looked interesting around the corner, the drumming I heard down the street, the pretty lights in the distance, the crowd gathered in an alley. These things all led me around the city in a disorganized but somehow streamlined way for 5 days. 

In this way I found restaurants and cafes. Some of my favorites were:

Dreamers Dessert Bar | A chic but cute bar that offers desserts that are meticulously prepared and presented. They also had a creative selection of non-alcoholic drinks. 

Mountain View Retreat Restaurant | A bit hard to find, but definitely worth the effort. It’s located in a building along a dusty alley. A couple flights up a dodgy looking stairwell would lead you to a homey retreat and mouth watering Vietnamese food. 

Ngon 138 Restaurant | I had my first Vietnamese meal here. I felt pretty lucky to stumble upon this gem. Ngon 138 celebrates Vietnamese tradition, and serves a wide array of Vietnamese cuisine. What makes this restaurant extra special is that all of the food is prepared in food stalls located inside of the restaurant, to give it a bit of Vietnamese street vibe.
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Fly Garden | For the lovers of VERY cute and girly cafes! I visited twice, for their treats, including their soursop ice cream! (TRINIS YOU KNOW!)

Propaganda | A Vietnamese fusion restaurant, decked with the in-your-face graffiti that portrays vibrant images of traditional Vietnamese life. It’s a work of art that not just makes their walls come alive, but makes you feel alive! I dined there twice and this spot was packed both times, which should attest to how tasty their dishes are.  It’s one restaurant you MUST TRY in Saigon. Try anything on their menu! I’d suggest their banana fritters for dessert (but ask for coconut ice-cream instead of the chocolate). The fresh spring rolls are also a great addition to your order! ​

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Propaganda Restaurant

Mountain View Retreat Restaurant

​In addition to exploring HCMC on foot, I also utilized the Grab app, their car service to take me to District 2, and their motorbike service to zip around District 1. 

On my second to last day in HCMC, I joined a 2-day Mekong Delta tour to My Tho, and it was a hot mess from the beginning. 

I'd read reviews of the My Tho tour online, and most people gave it bad reviews and said that it was rushed. I decided to still check it out, and found out that they reviews were right. We left 45 minutes after the scheduled time, then made a 30 minute rest stop after 20 minutes of driving, then another stop to a temple so that the Vietnamese tourist on the bus could make offerings, which took another 40 minutes. I kept telling myself that the tour would get better once we arrived to My Tho, but it didn't.

Long story short, the activities for this tour were so bad that I decided to head back to HCMC on the first day (I obviously wanted to enjoy my last day in Vietnam). Upon informing the tour guide that I wanted to go back, he let me know that because it was Tet, all of the buses were full, and if I wanted to head back that day I’d have to sit on the floor of the bus. I wanted to return so badly that I agreed to it and even had to sign a “contract” stating that. Thankfully, in the end I got a seat!

Mekong Delta Tour, My Tho

Staying in high spirits on the Mekong Delta tour was hard. Our tour was scheduled but at some point in time my mood was lifted as I was once again shown how kindhearted Vietnamese are.
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I booked my tour on Biu Vien walking street (the backpacker street) like most tourist, but for some reason I was the only non-Vietnamese on this tour (with the exception of another guy there with his Vietnamese wife and kids), and no one else spoke much English. I did however meet one girl named Lyn, from Hanoi, who was on vacation with her parents. Her English was good enough for us to communicate a little and her parents adopted me as their child for the day. They didn’t say that to me, but that’s what it felt like. They couldn’t speak English, but kindness doesn’t have a language. It touched me how they genuinely cared for my well-being on that little Mekong Delta tour. ​

Rollin down the river in my BagLady Basics T-Shirt Dress

My favorite thing about my trip to Vietnam was the people. They were very warm, friendly and polite. Living in China, one becomes very appreciative of this, and it made me very sad to leave Vietnam. 

​My friends initially told me that I would only need a maximum of three days there, but I’d have to disagree. I spent 5 days in Saigon, and I definitely felt as though I needed more time –at least two weeks! Maybe it was because I really fell in love with HCMC. I know that it’s a place that I would return to, maybe sometime soon!

Stay tuned for Part 2, where I'd share some tips for Visiting Ho Chi Minh.
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Shanya