Ho Chi Minh City Off The Beaten Path Tips by xuessium Top 5 Page for this destination

Stroll through Pham Ngu Lao

This is the main backpacker area. If you are staying outside of Pham Ngu Lao, no harm strolling in to have a look at this buzzing place, with its many cafes, internet shops, souvenir and craft outlets, tour agencies, restaurants and shops and peddlars selling pirated DVDs and books and a place crawling with backpackers from all nations.

Cholon Chicken Market

My Cyclo driver took me here. I am not so sure that it is such a good idea now with the Avian Flu going strong in Vietnam, but then it was really fun to see so many chicken cackling away in one spot. It is within Cholon, the traditional Chinese area in HCMC and you shouldn't miss it - you can smell chicken poo from miles away.

Go to a wet market in the morning!

Experience a piece of everyday life by visiting the wet markets - Ben Thanh and Thai Binh for examples. You don't see this in the West. This is where folks get their groceries - fresh meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables and breakfast! Watch the ritual of the morning unfold before your eyes with cries of sales, stalls hawking weird and exciting food items and smell the aroma of the place, as long as you do not mind the chaos, the dirty water and the jostling crowd of ladies/mothers going about their shopping!

Slums

My cyclo driver took me here. This is the part of HCMC that the Vietnamese government does not want you to see. Hidden away at the local quarters, the Black River (and it is REALLY black) slums are a depressing sight to behold. This is a first for me, coming so close to one, and I must say, I am a little taken aback by the living conditions. People are actually living on those boats in those brackish smelly waters. This is real culture shock and really makes you appreciate the comforts you have. I took a reality check.

Dare: Eat Dog Meat!

Yes, dog meat! Dog meat has been a staple for the Viets for thousands of years. (Before you start campaigning the Viets to stop eating dog, try convincing your folks back home to stop eating cow. They are both just as cruel) Get chummy with a Cyclo driver and he will most likely bring you to the haunts. Today, many of HCMC's dog meat stalls have been "exiled" to the local quarters of the City, hidden away from the eyesight of tsk-ing Westerners. Which honestly, is a shame!

Eat A Star Apple!

A fruit quite indigenous to Indochina, it's a green "hardy" looking fruit (kinda resembling a round guava or green apple) but when fully ripe, the flesh is soft, very sweet, tasting like condensed milk, and with the texture of chiku (sapodilla) and soursop (guanabana). It's quite a delight! Folks either sliced it as you would an orange or simply cut an opening and scoop out the content (kinda like how you would eat a grapefruit).

Note: The fruit should be in season during December and you should be able to see it in most fruit stalls/shops.

Viet Pho across the War Remnant Musuem

There is this little discreet stall just across the War Remnant Museum, selling Viet Pho (glass noodles). Give it a try. A bowl of pork noodles, with yoghurt does not cost you more than 5000dongs (about US$0.40) Delicious!
Note: The stall owners do not really speak English, so try your luck! This is real Vietnamese street fare.