Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City

Billy and I are just wrapping up our second full day in Saigon and we had a blast. It is a little bit NYC, little bit Vietnam, little bit Chinatown, and a little bit San Francisco. Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is the largest city in Vietnam and the most commercialized which is why at times you forget you are in Vietnam, at least until you try to cross the street and are almost run over by a scooter.

We drove from Dalat to HCMC on a tourist bus which means for about $4-$5 more per person ($6 total) they give you water, AC, wet wipes for your hands, and they run an express route between the two cities. The road was worse than that going to Dalat and the young boy sitting in the seats across the row got sick twice. It was bumpy, unfinished in portions, and kept going through mountain roads but the views were oustanding. This time our bus driver hauled but instead of hitting a rock he hit a person on a motorcycle. The man appeared okay as did his bike and just brushed himself off and after only five minutes of stopping we were on the road again. If you are a local you can have the bus driver just stop and an intersection and drop you off, but being tourists we rode until the end of the route. By the time we reached the bus's final stop we were one of five left on what had been a full bus.

Upon checking into our hotel, which was in Central Saigon about 3 blocks from the Ben Thanah Market, we started to explore the city.

Day 1:

We spent our initial arrival day visiting the Ben Thanah Market. Ben Thanah is the largest in the city at about 11,000 square meters filled with housewares, souvenirs, food stalls, places to eat, and an abundance of heat. We thought the heat and humidity was bad outside but once we entered the market we hit the wall. As with most markets their prices were more than shops a few streets away so we just walked to take in the ambiance.

After the market we left for Nguyen Trai Street. We had seen it when entering the city by bus and thought there was plenty of shopping. We went in lots and I took full advantage since this is the one time Billy doesn't mind shopping with me. At the end of the street was a Catholic church lit up like Vegas. People were spilling out onto the streets and it was a wonderful evening to watch people. We walked for about two hours and had dinner at a Hue style restaurant. We discovered when walking that there were many Hue style restaurants. I have to say that the food wasn't as good as that in Hue or Northern Vietnam.

Day 2:

I should say we had a hotel with no windows which is common in Vietnam since hotels are skinny and vertical so we set an alarm to make sure we were up at a reasonable time.

First we walked to the two main streets that the book and locals said were good for fashion and art. Both were a bit over our budget but the quality was incredible. Just strolling the boulevards was a nice break since cars and motos had different lane which lessened the noise.

We tried to enter the Notre Dame Cathedral but it was closed. We read that it was shipped from France and resembles that of the original but both on Sunday and Monday it was closed to visitors.

Our next stop was the war crimes museum. It was like going to the Holocaust Museum, you know you have to do it but you won't like to see the photos and read what is inside. Billy and I were glad we went but felt like it was hard to stomach since it shows photos and descriptions of what happened to the innocent Vietnamese during the war.

After the museum we took off for the Cholon Pagodas in the "Chinatown" of HCMC. We thought it would be about an hour walk but after an hour and one stop at an ice cream shop we had to catch a cab and we were glad we did. With the humidity and feeling like were sweating out of ever pore were were sluggish and wanted to get there before they closed. It was a subtle change from Vietnamese/English signs to Vietnamese/Chinese signs. In the 1980's Cholon used to be a ghost town but since the early 90's it is once again regaining its ground as the center of Chinese business in the city. Almost all of the pagodas were destroyed to some extent during the war and are slowly being restored. We took the walking tour the book provided and afterwards cabbed it back to an area near the central district.

Billy has been on a Highlands Coffee quest so we had to visit a few Highlands that evening so he could try and smell various types. Highlands is a brand of coffee here that he says is phenomenal. At one store he convinced them to make a special cup for him out of one blend he purchased since it wasn't available on the menu.

Next our tired feet needed a rest so we stopped by a spa for a 30 minute foot and lower leg relaxation. It was better than the treatments in the states and well worth the money spent. I thought Billy was going to fall asleep afterwards but thankfully he was up for dinner.

We had read about food near embassy row and it didn't disappoint. We sat facing the street on little teak chairs and tables and just people watched. The best was a "high roller" as Billy would say. He arrived in his Mercedes, table ready, and he and the owner were hugging hello. After he got there it was hard to get any waitresses attention since they kept swooning over his table.

Day 3:

We tried to walk east of where were staying but found it was made primarily of big business, apartments, and lots of motos. Since motorcycles have become the main mode of transportation they are everywhere and the city has yet to build parking garages so sidewalks are covered. In fact most of the stores have parking attendants in front who are responsible for containing the moto chaos and retrieving yours from the mess when you leave.

Billy did find a gourmet market which is slang for American. He bought a beer while I checked out pricing for granola, Seventh Generation, and spices. We had lunch in a little shop right next to an office complex with all of the locals and ate phenomenal pork, rice, and vegetable soup for $1. Next was the post office where I mailed some postcards and a bit more shopping on side streets. We started our walk back towards town all the while taking notice of an incredible office complex going up. It has a helipad on the side of the building, curved glass, and looks like a tulip opening up.

In the afternoon we stopped for ice cream at a major traffic circle to watch the careful dance between motos, cars, people, and bicycles. There are few traffic lights, no rules, and lots of people all trying to navigate intersections. On one-way streets you often see motos going the wrong way on the sidewalks to avoid rules so you are never not on the lookout.

In the evening we had dinner at a Thai Seafood restaurant that Billy thought was some of his best food in Vietnam. In addition he had a smoothie of watermelon and pineapple that topped all his others.

All said Saigon was a wonderful experience and a place both of us would love to return to. The shopping, eating, people watching, and diversity were all over the top. We didn't take many photos since it was just a large city but I tried to capture daily life and things we want to remember Vietnam by.

Tomorrow we leave for Cambodia where we will spend a week in two cities before heading to Laos.