"Ho Chi Minh" Ho Chi Minh City by yuet29

Ho Chi Minh City Travel Guide: 3,083 reviews and 6,932 photos

Most people prefer Hanoi; but I love Ho Chi Minh.
So much.

Frenz..

Made friends with some locals, they are very nice. In the picture is Nga and Vy who brought me around for good food; especially Ca Keo, a kind of fish from Mekong river. The way to cook the fish is use a stick to stab through the fish and barbeque until it dies.

Itinerary:

I reached HCMC in the evening, after found a guesthouse and settled everything, one day is gone. I was only able to walk around the pham ngu lao area, eat the famous pho and drink a cup of sugar cane juice at the road side.

Day 2 is pretty easy. Drank vietnam caphe with a cyclo driver in the morning. Then met a french guy and we walked together to Van Hoa Park. Saw someone selling endangered animal illegally at the roadside and tried to rescue the poor 'aye-aye'. Finally got the WWF address and sent the animal to WWF~ wooff =S
Then then then, busy for the whole morning for an animal which they may caught and sell at the same place tomorrow, we visited notre dame cathedral, main post office, ben thanh market.
At night, coincidently met the japanese girl i met in Siem Riep, so we walked to Dong Khoi area together and had dinner together. Before back to GH, we eventually found Bia Hoi after walking for a few streets and happily consumed =)

Day 3 me and the japanese girl, chizuru went to cholon together. She wanted to purchase some bags as souvenirs for her family members and I just follow-- coz i seldom spent money in these stuffs. There are a few places to go in cholon such as Thien Hao Pagoda, Cha Tam church and Nghia An Hiu Quan Pagoda.
We say bye bye in the afternoon. She is taking flight back to Japan in the afternoon. So me alone go to War Remnants Museum in the afternoon.
At night, I met the french guy again, his name is max. He stayed here for 3 months so he has some local friends in saigon. This night, he introduced his friends to me- nga and vy (in above picture). The whole night we were watching some real violant movie in Nga brother's pub.

I went to 1/2 day cu chi tunnel in day4 in saigon. I have stomach ache after i came back from the tunnel. Not feeling well so just sleep for the whole afternoon. At night I went for ca keo meal with Nga and Vy. After that Nga brought me on the motorcycle around the city, cool. And I also tried riding motorcycle in Saigon, in such chaotic traffic with all motorcycle and only in saigon! Exciting and sweating =S

Day 5 I left Saigon to Mekong Delta.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Friendly people, lots of good food
Cons:theft, beggers, motorcyclist snatching bags
In a nutshell:Worth a visit

Last visit to Ho Chi Minh City: May 2004
Intro Updated Apr 1, 2005
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Reviews (29)

Cu Chi Tunnel Things to Do (7)

I took a half day tour to cu chi tunnel. This is a must go place if you are in HCMC. The tunnel is 200km long and 10m... more travel advice

Nghia An Hiu Quan Pagoda - Ho Chi Minh City

Nghia An Hiu Quan Pagoda Off The Beaten Path (1)

A Hiu Quan supposed to be the chinese assembly hall but this one there are actually worshiping a few Gods. The pagoda is... more travel advice

Thien Hao Pagoda Things to Do (7)

Thien Hao Pagoda is in cholon area, just a short walk from Binh Tai market. When we arrived there, the pagoda was... more travel advice

ChoLon Things to Do (7)

Another name for china town in saigon is cholon. cho means market, lon means new. Although it is called chinatown,... more travel advice

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Comments (6)

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airasia Sep 11, 2006 at 7:51 AM

Solo trips. Wanted to talk to you about that. But the bloody email is down. aiya.
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JonnyVN Sep 2, 2006 at 6:49 PM

On your endangered species tip: The charity wildlife at Risk was recently set up to try and deal with the problem. see www.wildlifeatrisk.org. Theyy recently repatriated two orangutans from Saigon
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iwys May 6, 2005 at 1:24 AM

You and your friend were so kind to save the monkey. Did you find out where it went to eventually?
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ngcsc Mar 31, 2005 at 9:39 PM

Eh, it is better than Japan hoh
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anne_vdns Feb 15, 2005 at 7:30 PM

Hi! I haven't been to Ho Chi Minh & I envy your travel. Did you travel here alone?
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muddybok Jan 1, 2005 at 8:29 AM

Haahah!!! The room thing is funny. Great tips!!