Ho Chi Minh City

Introduction

The last time that I was in Vietnam was before the pandemic, and I’ve been wanting to go since! So when I had the chance to visit Ho Chi Minh City, I jumped on it. Although I had mixed feelings, I would definitely go again (hopefully with some friends) and explore outside the city

Ho Chi Minh City was a little more hectic than I expected but somehow the chaos of the city just worked and flowed. Although, I would be really careful if you’re crossing the street - the traffic stops for no one. The food was amazing and cheap, and it was easy to get around!

In terms of getting around, using Grab is easy and affordable. I would recommend booking a Grab Bike if you’re in a rush since sometimes the traffic is bad. However, I actually took the public bus more often! The bus ranges from 5000-7000 VND, and you just hop on and sit down. Then, the driver will come to you to collect payment. I wasn’t sure if they accept card, so I just paid with cash. However, when I took the bus from the airport, I noticed that the driver was charging people per person and per bag. I wasn’t sure if the driver was trying to pull a fast one, but he did this to multiple people.

In terms of eating out, sometimes they will give you a wipe, basil leaves, fried dough, etc. before they serve you pho. Just be careful if you use those things, since it is not free. It’s kind of how water and bread aren’t free when you eat at a restaurant in Europe. Also, definitely be careful of street vendors. I’ve also heard from some friends that they got scammed or short changed, but if someone approaches you, they usually want something from you (as in many other countries). Just be careful while you are walking out and about!

If you’re interested in buying things (like winter jackets, bags, etc.) from the big markets, like at Ben Thanh, Russian Market, Saigon Square, you should negotiate aggressively and be prepared to walk away. The goods at face value are very cheap, but the goods at the stalls are most definitely fakes. However, either the fakes have questionable quality or they are high-quality factory rejects. You could do some more research online about how to find the best quality ones, but I found some good buys.

Overall, Ho Chi Minh City was a great time and I would recommend it!

food

Pho - all of these pho places were honestly incredible, I would recommend all of these.
- Phở Hòa Pasteur
- Pho Le
- Phở Phú Vương
- Phở Việt Nam
Coffee
- The Hummingbird Café & Roastery - the cafe is kind of hidden away in an alley but the coffee there was incredibly tasty, particularly the lemon cake on top of the coffee.
- Phúc Long Coffee & Tea Express
- Cộng Cà Phê - the coffee here was so good and had a nice vibe where you can chill outside, but the interior was also very cute!
- The Cafe Apartment - highly recommend stopping by here to “cafe hop”. It’s essentially an apartment building where they put multiple coffee shops on each floor. You can take the elevator up for a few thousand dong, but I honestly wanted to save money to take the stairs.
  - Po Cafe - they had a very tasty salted coffee! It was a little more unique than the other shops in the area.
  - % Arabica
Bánh Mì Hồng Hoa

Attractions

War Remnants Museum - This is one of the more touristy places but I still highly recommend going because of the history the museum shows about the Vietnam War. It’s incredibly thorough and thought provoking.
Saigon Central Post Office - I would honestly skip this. The inside of the post office is beautiful but there were so many tourists and many vendors selling stuff, which took away from the experience.
Russian Market - I think this market had the least people although it was a little hard to find and there were less stalls. I wasn’t sure if it was the time of day I went, but I got a good winter coat here and found that stalls here tended to be cheaper.
Saigon Square - This market was a little more crowded but smaller than Ben Thanh Market. I found that there was a decent variety here, if you’re interested in an experience that isn’t too big.
Ben Thanh Market - This is the market that is most well known, with all sorts of vendors selling a little of everything. I bought a fanny pack, a pair of shoes, and some coffee bags here and found that the stall owners are more fluent in English but the prices trended a little higher. However, some stalls here do take cards in case you don't have any cash on you. I would come here first to get a lay of the land on how much things are, and then look at the other markets to see if there’s cheaper options.