Vietnam Visual Diary: Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon
Posted on Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Topshop Dress via Zalora | Asos Denim Shirt
So Trishna and I made it through Vietnam as two female travelers, which in theory sounds terrifying - but having done it, I don't know why we were so scared!
Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, as the locals still call it) isn't my favourite Vietnamese city, but we are very fond of it since it was our very touch point here. The crushing traffic and polluted air is enough to make one miss the comforts of Singapore, but hey, we were here on holiday so... YOLO.
Getting Around
Unlike Bangkok where all taxis are fine so long as you go by meter, in Vietnam you have to be careful to pick certain taxi companies ONLY, lest you get scammed by the rocket meter like we did when we first arrived! Afterwards we figured out to only use these two taxi brands around Saigon: Vinasun and Mai Linh. Each ride was usually around 20,000 - 60,000 dong (SGD1.00 - SGD4.00) around the main attractions, so I don't know why even bother walk!
That said, it is possible see a lot of attractions in Saigon on foot - it's funny to think how much braver we got when crossing the road from the start of the trip to the end! From clutching each other and screaming "LOOK LEFT! LOOK RIGHT!" on the first day to gaining the confidence to wade through the bevy of motorbikes on our own by the last day! The key, as we were told, is to walk slowly and steadily across and the motorbikes will part around you. Sudden movements are dangerous as the motorcyclists will not know how to react if you suddenly burst into a run.
Where we stayed
We chose to Airbnb it out at Christina's (ironically, owned by two men - one of whom we met - Mike from Detroit!) We loved it because it has the idea of a hostel in which we can meet people and chill in the common areas, but also have the privacy of our own studio rooms as they own the whole building. Our flat was also located just 100m from the ever popular Ben Thanh Market! Just our luck on the night we arrived, Mike had organised an Airbnb meet up a rooftop bar called Air 360 for us to chill; and meet the locals + other fellow travelers living in the same building, which was nice because Trishna and I are both into talking to people and it's a "safe" option for us female travelers to drink but meet new faces!
What we ate
Banh Mi - Our favourite store is this push cart opposite the travel agency "Sinh Cafe" along De Tham Road where we booked our tickets for our Mekong Delta tour. If you don't know, I'm not sure if it is the best Banh Mi in Saigon, but we ate there two mornings straight at 20,000dong (SGD1.30) a Banh Mi, so go figure!
Street Food - To get our fix of salt grilled prawns since it seems to be a thing here in Vietnam, we also walked along De Tham Road where at night it comes alive with massive street side stalls selling what I can only describe as Zi Char. It's a Vietnamese thing to also eat snails and drink beer along the roads, though we didn't try this time since Trishna was squeamish!
Cuc Gach Quan (see above!) - This restaurant is super pretty and set in a colonial house a little out of the way from the Saigon city center, but highly recommended on all the travel forums, which is how we ended up here! We had the most amazing lemongrass tofu, spring rolls, and soft shell crab... the menu is incredibly extensive and I wish I could have tried more! It is a little bit more pricey as our bill ended up around 700,000dong, which works up to be around SGD46, or SGD23 each - which is really expensive for Vietnam! But I think it was one of the best dinners we had... so worth it!
What we did
We were only in HCMC for half a day, so we mostly spent time eating, then exploring the streets and looking for tour agencies to book our Mekong Delta tour for the next day + bus tickets to Da Lat (another Vietnamese city). The whole of De Tham Road is just full of tour and bus agencies and is a Saigon experience in itself I would say!
Also although I personally would not have gone based on reviews, we decided that we should check out Ben Thanh Market to mark it off our Saigon to-do list. It's where you'd go to get your souvenirs and buy famous Vietnamese coffee - but watch out, the store owners will actually reach out to touch you as you walk past, which was seriously creepy, not to mention the market is very stuffy and claustrophobic. Would not be somewhere I want to return to!
Where to drink
As mentioned earlier, we ended up at Air 360, a gorgeous and modern rooftop bar! Happy hour was from 6:00-9:00pm and we got our bubblies for around SGD5.00, which I'm guessing is expensive for Vietnam, but coupled with the view I really don't mind! The traffic from above looked so mellow... But down there it is a different story!
Safety for female travellers
There are hardly any violent crimes in Saigon, mostly just petty thefts and scams. Vietnamese women dress modestly - but Trishna and I did not. Nevertheless, we didn't get heckled along the streets, nor did I feel any unsolicited gazes by the men. We were hardly approached by people on the street trying to scam us (but if you are, always ignore!!), and we made sure to always clutch our phones tightly with two hands when using them as I've heard of many cases of motorbikes snatching phones while people were using them!
All in all, I would say that my worries about traveling SEA were more or less unfounded, and I'm really glad we did it! I spent less than S$900.00 for this 7 day trip, including flight and accommodations -and I feel like we could have actually spent even less if we tried harder! Though I missed Justin of course, sometimes traveling without him reminds me that I am extremely resourceful and capable of pushing myself out of my comfort zone - which is something I forget sometimes.
So yep, if you have any questions about Vietnam, feel free to let me know in the comments section! I love sharing about my travel experiences :)
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