"Saigon -- Exciting and Interesting City" Ho Chi Minh City by Ewingjr98

Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide: 3,081 reviews and 6,928 photos

Hauling chickens in HCMC - Ho Chi Minh City
Hauling chickens in HCMC

Saigon is dirty, crowded, and a bee hive of activity. However, it is a great hub for traveling around southern Vietnam, and it has a few great attractions and hidden gems that are worth visiting.

I spent four days in and around Saigon during September 2003. Soon after arriving in town and checking into our hotel, my friend Vince and I began wandering around the congested streets. Little did we know how pedestrian un-friendly HCMC is, or how convenient the motorcycles are!

On 15 September, We began by walking from the Bong Sen 2 Hotel on Hai Ba Trung Street to Mei Linh Square at the Saigon River. The first big challenge was just trying to cross the major street called Ton Duc Thang that runs parallel to the water. Lucky for us, a motorcycle driver, who would soon become our tour guide, pulled out into the street screening us from traffic and enabling us to cross safely! We walked along the water's edge fending off motorcycle and boat touts, passing in front of the modern Riverside, Grand, and Majestic Hotels. Upon turning the corner at Ben Nghe Channel, we saw the pink Ho Chi Minh Museum and headed in that directed until our motorcycle buddy let us know it was closed. We then wandered down a few busy side streets trying to lose this guy... finally he was gone.

Our next stop was the Reunification Palace, then Notre Dame. Walking down Le Duan Street, we passed in front of the US Consulate then finally the botanical gardens. We returned to the Notre Dame via Nguyen Thu Minh Khai Street and past the Opera House on the way back to our hotel. In the course of two hours, we saw most of downtown HCMC!

That first night in town, we met a couple of great Vietnamese girls. One of the girls invited us to her mother's house the next day for lunch. Her mother lives about one hour north of HCMC by taxi.

Temple interior - Ho Chi Minh City

Temple interior

We me the girls the next morning, 16 September, rented a taxi, and away we went to parts unknown. On the way there, we stopped at a nice Buddhist temple and had a few glasses of the drink made from crushed sugar cane. We were worried about the local ice in our drinks, but had no problems. Upon arriving at the girl's house, we were warmly welcomed by the mother, despite her lack of English. She immediately brought us fruit and coffee and bought some coconuts from the local farmer for a cool drink.

The house was amazing. The peak of the roof was probably 25 feet high and very steeply pitched. The front half of the house was the living room. The walls only went about half way up to the roof so you could look over the wall into the next room if you had a ladder. In the living room, they had a wide wooden bed with no mattress, a couch, two chairs, and an ancient TV. The next room was the kitchen. It had no table or chairs, and the back part of the room was curtained off for a bedroom. To wash my hands I had to put on slippers and go out to the cistern (a concrete tub to store rain water). There was a small faucet near the ground to get water. The bathroom was even more unique; as they had a squatter and a plastic scoop for "flushing" the toilet. Next to the bathroom at the back of the house was the other bedroom.

For lunch, the mama-san made us a great meal of fish, rice, veggies, and other odds and ends. We sat on the floor and scooped helpings of each of the dishes into a bowl. With no table, I had to hold the bowl in my left hand and use the chopsticks with my right hand.

After about three hours at the farmhouse, we got back in the taxi (the driver waited for us the entire time!) and headed back to HCMC.

Busy HCMC streets - Ho Chi Minh City

Busy HCMC streets

After returning to HCMC, we met up with the same motorcycle driver from the day before. Figuring there wasn't much to lose, we negotiated to pay him a few dollars for a quick tour of the city. He drove us first to the Reunification Palace. We spent about 30 minutes at this large building that used to be the presidential mansion for South Vietnam. This building was completed in 1966 and today it remains virtually unchanged since the end of the Vietnam War. The highlight of this palace is the downstairs command center with period maps of the Vietnam War, an old communications room, and other interesting tidbits. Walking outside, we found our motorcycle drivers waiting for us like lost puppies.

Our next stop was The War Remnants Museum, supposedly the number one tourist attraction in HCMC. Formerly called the "War Crimes Museum," it still has an accusatory air about it with constant reminders of the "atrocities" committed by the Americans. But hey, the victors write the history books.

Our third stop on the quick motorbike tour was Cholon, to the Bin Tay Market, about twenty minutes farther southwest. We spent about 15 minutes here, but I just wasn't that impressed by the heaps of junk at this "Wal-Mart on steroids."

The final stop of the afternoon was a temple on a side street in Cholon, I think it was Phuoc An Hoi Quan Temple.

Upon returning to the hotel, we made arrangements with our new friends -- the motorcycle drivers -- to take us out of downtown HCMC for a good cheap dinner. They drove us south, past the Ho Chi Minh Museum to a small restaurant along the main road. We had a great dinner of beef, peppers, rice and Ba Ba Ba (333) Beer. Toward the end of our meal, it really started to rain, so our drivers ran across the street to buy us ponchos for the ride home.

That night, as all of our other nights in HCMC, we enjoyed the nightlife around our hotel at the bia hois and bars such as Apocalypse Now and Wild West. One evening I did take stroll around to the Opera House, the Hotel de Ville, the somewhat (in)famous Rex Hotel, and Lam Son Square. I did this walk alone after dark and almost got my pocket picked in the deal.

The next morning, 17 September, our motorcycle friends took us to My Tho on the Mekong River. We returned late that night and were exhausted!

On 18 September, we slept in fairly late, then took the hydrofoil to Vung Tau.

We returned to HCMC early that afternoon to meet the girls again. This time one of them invited us to her apartment for a late lunch. We took a taxi to her place and hiked up the six or seven flights of stairs in a huge old building. Her apartment was tiny with only a kitchen and one large bedroom for the two girls who lived there. Luckily, it had a very high ceiling, so they had built a second bedroom above the first with 2" x 6" boards, plywood, and a ladder. They served us fresh fruit and cooked up a nice lunch of seafood and rice. We hung out for a few hours, just relaxing and watching music videos on their tiny TV.

The morning of 19 September, we caught a taxi, checked out of the hotel, and flew to Hanoi at 1000.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Friendly people, good food
  • Cons:Horrible traffic, scams and con artists
  • Last visit to Ho Chi Minh City: Sep 2003
  • Intro Updated Sep 18, 2012
  • Add to Trip Planner (?)
  • Report Abuse

Reviews (26)

City Hall in the distance from Nguyen Hue Street - Ho Chi Minh City City Hall Things to Do (14)

City Hall, or the Hotel de Ville, is a colonial French building, built in 1908, that adds a sense of history to the... more travel advice

Our driver/tour guide (in white hat) - Ho Chi Minh City Ask a local for a dining tip Restaurants (1)

We made arrangements with our motorcycle drivers from earlier in the day to take us out of downtown HCMC for a good... more travel advice

Joe and Vince at Phuoc An Hoi Quan Temple - Ho Chi Minh City Phuoc An Hoi Quan Temple Things to Do (14)

Phuoc An Hoi Quan Temple is an impressive little temple off a quiet residential street. The temple itself is squashed in... more travel advice

Lookit at all dat stuffs! - Ho Chi Minh City Cholon - Binh Tay Market Things to Do (14)

Bin Tay Market is about twenty minutes southwest of the Reunification Palace via motorcycle. It is a huge, two-story,... more travel advice

Comments (7)

  • Reply
    Nemorino's Profile Photo
    Sep 13, 2007 at 2:38 PM

    Glad you enjoyed your four days in and around Saigon. I spent a lot of time there in 1964/65, and had a great return visit thirty years later. (Thanks for your ratings and nice comment on my Berlin page, by the way.)

  • Reply
    atufft's Profile Photo
    Mar 18, 2007 at 9:19 PM

    Nice work JR on covering your visit to HCMC. Transportation and Things to do tips are very good.

  • Reply
    Oct 26, 2005 at 1:13 AM

    I really enjoy reading your travelogue on HCMC. Well-done. Keep it up!

  • Reply
    bpacker's Profile Photo
    Mar 7, 2005 at 11:32 PM

    Haha, WalMart on steriods! Yes, it's an apt description for the markets there. Honestly, I think it's because of all the strong coffee they drink. Great page:)

  • Reply
    jolou's Profile Photo
    Feb 27, 2005 at 2:33 PM

    Really helpful info... I'm mentally preparing myself for crossing those roads in a few weeks time!!

  • Reply
    mad4travel's Profile Photo
    Feb 14, 2005 at 6:52 AM

    Just got back from there myself. Its a mad mad place but is great fun. Good page!

  • Reply
    Hosell's Profile Photo
    Apr 27, 2004 at 5:18 AM

    Nice and very informative page!!

Ewingjr98's Related Pages

Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide

 
Explore the World
Travel Destinations
Ewingjr98's Profile Photo

Ewingjr98 Visits Here Frequently!

Ewingjr98

“"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut." ~ Ernest Hemingway”

Online Now

Male

Top 1,000 Travel Writer
Member Rank:
0 0 0 4 9
Forum Rank:
0 0 6 3 5

Badges & Stats in Ho Chi Minh City

  • 26 Reviews
  • 56 Photos
  • 0 Forum posts
  • 7 Comments
  • 5,983PageViews
  • See All Stats
  • See All Badges (69)

Have you been to Ho Chi Minh City?

  Share Your Travels  

Latest Activity in Ho Chi Minh City

Photos in Ho Chi Minh City

See All Photos (56)

Top 10 Pages

See All Travel Pages (297)

Friends

See All Friends (28)

Travel Interests

See All Travel Interests (5)

Latest Ho Chi Minh City hotel reviews

Continental Hotel
265 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013
Grand Hotel Saigon
446 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 11, 2013
Hotel Equatorial Ho Chi Minh City
263 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 16, 2013
New World Hotel Saigon
306 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 14, 2013
Caravelle Hotel
781 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013
Bich Duyen Hotel
579 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 10, 2013
Legend Hotel Saigon
269 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013
Duxton
371 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 9, 2013
Luan Vu Guest House
140 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013
Sheraton Saigon Hotel & Towers
556 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 16, 2013
Park Hyatt Saigon
619 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013
Vien Dong
153 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 17, 2013
Hong Han Hotel
180 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 7, 2013
Thao Dien Village
73 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Feb 22, 2013
A & EM Hotel 132 Ly Tu Trong
33 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Mar 5, 2013