Saigon, Vietnam
Saigon, Vietnam
Saigon is bustling Vietnamese city famed for its chaotic streets, vibrant nightlife and historic sights. Narrow alleyways and roads are lined with thin buildings, home to coffee shops, cocktail bars and seafood restaurants.
Ho Chi Minh City
Saigon is formally known as Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC. Modern skyscrapers define the skyline, each illuminated in colorful lights at night. Moto bikes continually zip across the city, beeping at pedestrians stuck in zebra crossings. The city is an important location to learn about the war and unification of Vietnam. We only spent a few days here but could easily get lost exploring this city for weeks.
Things to Do
Mail a Post Card. Visit the French Colonial style Ho Chi Minh Post Office to buy a post card and mail it back home. Baskets of post cards feature Vietnamese artwork, historic sights and cultural symbols. We bought a couple, stamped them with local postage and sent them on their way around the world. It’s very touristy and fun experience that brings back the nostalgia of traveling in a time before smart phones and social media.
Order Coffee at The Cafe Apartments. A nine floor building along the Nguyen Hue Walking Street with dozens of cafes serving Vietnamese style coffees. From the street, neon signs, paper lanterns and string lights cover the building and its balconies. We visited Saigon Oi, a cafe on the center of the fifth floor decorated in plants and vines with a balcony overlooking the walking street. We ordered an iced coconut coffee and iced matcha latte, each topped with coffee and tea jellies.
Shop at the Cho Ben Thanh Market. A historic Vietnamese market with aisles of souvenir stands, custom clothing makers, jewelry shops and vendors selling coffee, spices and candies. Shops will give outrageous prices for their goods. Negotiate for the cost of everything, offering to pay as little as 10-20% of the asking price. Walk away when they say no. They’ll chase after and eventually accept.
Street Food Kitchens. Inside Cho Ben Thanh Market are restaurants serving fresh pressed juices and seafood focused Vietnamese dishes. Try the sugarcane juice and Chao Tom, minced shrimp wrapped around sugarcane and grilled.
Farmers Market. An outdoor farmers market lines the rear of the market. Vendors sell fruits, vegetables, tofu, a variety of eggs and fresh caught seafood like crabs, prawns, squid and whole fish. We shopped here for groceries during our time in town.
Eat Vietnamese Street Food. With its proximity to the coast, seafood is popular across Saigon, especially as street food. We visited, Quan Ang Cua, a local seafood restaurant with tanks of live sea creatures ranging from baby octopus, red snapper, grouper, conch, prawns, crabs, lobsters, scallops and snails. We ordered a bowl of snails cooked in coconut brith and crab sautéed in garlic butter. Other street food includes stir fried noodles, five colored sticky rice and boba milk tea.
Ride the Saigon Waterbus. A water taxi with stations along Saigon river. We booked tickets to sightsee and watch the sunset, riding the full route between Bach Dang and Linh Dong stations. We embarked an hour before sunset and returned an hour after sunset. The route offered views of the modern skyline, landmark buildings, French style chateaus, riverside parks, contemporary bridges, local neighborhoods and waterfront restaurants.
Pro Tip. Book tickets at the station a day in advance. When buying tickets, request an outdoor or window seat to maximize views. The most central station is Bach Dang.
Visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. The infamous tunnels were dug by the Vietcong and Cu Chi guerrillas to fight against the Americans during the Vietnam War. The former battle ground, now a museum teaches about the 250km of tunnels, the history of the war, the use of conventional and chemical weapons, guerrilla warfare and booby traps. We crawled through a widened 100 meter section of a tunnel, watched as people fired machine guns and tasted cassava often eaten by soldiers. The tunnels are located about 1 hour 30 minutes from Saigon. We visited with Vietnam Travel Group and booked on Viator.
Walking Streets
Bui Vien Walking Street. A nightlife street with bars, clubs, tattoo shops and massage parlors. Bright and colorful lights illuminate the street as loud music, live singers, go-go dancers, crowds of visitors, beeping moto bikes and hosts eager to flag down customers create a spectrum of sensory stimuli. Numbered bars and sidewalk patios with fold up chairs line both sides of the street selling inexpensive Vietnamese beers like the city’s namesake, Saigon.
Nguyen Hue Walking Street. A walking street leading from the French Colonial style city hall to the Saigon River. It’s lined with a range of hotels, cafes, restaurants and stores. Large digital screens display banners of the communist flag and propaganda. Festivals and events are often held here. At the time, decorations from Tet celebrations the month prior remained on display.
Book Street. A pedestrian only street with a couple dozen bookshops, cafes and kiosks selling mostly Vietnamese books. We strolled through the shops looking at the beautiful covers and Vietnamese translations of English titles.
Sights & Museums
Independence Palace. The former seat of government for the Southern Vietnam Republic. It’s now a historical museum and symbol of Vietnam’s reunification after the fall of Saigon. The armored tanks used to storm the palace gates and a fighter jet used to bomb it during the south’s collapse are displayed on the front lawn.
The building is a midcentury beauty defined by its rectangular planes, minimal detailing, lofty corridors and symmetrical design. It was inspired by a French colonial palace that once stood in its place while taking on elements of ancient Vietnamese design. Its ground floor is mostly open air with rooms used for hosting state banquets, cabinet meetings and conferences. The second floor served as the presidential office and residence with a grand foyer, reception hall, ambassadors hall, national security chamber, bedroom and wardrobe. The third floor is the entertainment floor with a game room, theater, first lady’s reception room and a library. The fourth floor has a gala space, a helicopter pad and two large circles noting where bombs were dropped on the palace.
Skydeck Saigon. An observation deck located on the 49th floor of the city’s iconic Lotus Tower with panoramic views of the city, countryside and Saigon River.
Notre Dame Cathedral. A French colonial cathedral designed to look like Notre Dame with rose windows, two tall spires and buttress like facades. The cathedral was closed and almost fully covered in scaffolding during the time we visited.
Saigon Opera House. A French colonial opera house in the middle of downtown with a traditional arched facade decorated in classical designs and Greek statues. The neighborhood surrounding it is home to many French luxury brands and high end hotels.
Tao Dan Park. A city park with shaded walkways, flower gardens, a lily pond, pagoda inspired pavilions, various sculptures and a temple dedicated to a former king. We packed a lunch and dined in the park with bubble milk tea.
Cocktail Bars
Like many major cities, cocktail bars are popular across Saigon. In typical style, we visited a speakeasy, tiki bar and roof top bar.
Dot Drinkery & Kitchen. A speakeasy style cocktail bar on the third floor of an unassuming building with a dimly lit interior and Veitnamese decor. The mixologists craft flavorful and aromatic cocktails with local ingredients like kumquat juice, pandan leaves, lemongrass and shrimp salt. Try the Big City Life and The Guava Dawn.
Waikiki Bar & Restaurant. A two floor tiki bar with beachy decor on the Bui Vien Walking Street. Come here for tropical drinks served in tiki mugs and fresh coconuts. Relax with a Singapore Sling or Mai Tai and watch the busyness of the street pass-by.
The View Rooftop Bar. A rooftop bar and restaurant on the Bui Vien Walking Street with panoramic city views and well made cocktails. Try a classic lyche martini or the Hoi An Ancient Town, a gin and lotus flower drink served in a ceramic mug with a rooster painted on it.
Good to Know
Getting Around. We explored the city mainly on foot and by calling Grab. Grab is South East Asia’s taxi hailing app. Grabs are widely available and inexpensive.
Crossing Traffic. Crossing traffic can be intimidating in Vietnam and cities like Saigon. We cautiously walked into traffic with our hands out at zebra crosswalks, keeping a slow but consistent pace as scooters passed by on either side of us. It definitely takes some getting used to.
Card vs Cash. Cash is the preferred method of payment. Many businesses will not accept credit or debit cards. The Vietnamese Dong is the local currency.
Drinking Water. Tap water is not safe for consumption. It’s best to buy bottled or filtered water.
Safety. Like most of Vietnam, Saigon is safe to visit with no need for extra precautions.
Language. Vietnamese and English are widely spoken, seen on street signs and restaurant menus across the country. That said, it’s still good to know a few Vietnamese phrases.
Hello = Xin chào (Sing-Chow)
Thank you = Cảm ơn (Com-Un)
Good bye = Tạm biệt (Tam-Be-Et)
See you later = Hẹn gặp lại (Hen-Gap-Lie)
Where to Stay
We stayed at Ekomo Home, a small apartment building with short term rentals. The cozy fifth floor unit had a full kitchen and city views with a basic rooftop terrace one floor above. It’s located less than 5 minutes to the Bui Vien Walking Street and 20 minutes from the Cho Ben Thanh Market.
Elsewhere in Vietnam
We spent nearly a month traveling across Vietnam, exploring its lively cities and beautiful landscapes. Along the way, we immersed ourselves in the country’s rich culture, history and craftsmanship while savoring Vietnamese cuisine, coffee and street food. Visit the ancient town of Hoi An for Vietnamese street food and the nightly lantern festival. Explore the bustling capital city and chaotic of Hanoi or venture out of the city to the islands of Ha Long Bay. Row through the karst mountains and caves of Ninh Binh past lush rice paddies and historic temples.
For Next Time…
Saigon is one of the few major cities we could see ourselves living! It’s urban charm, vibrant energy and worldly presence beacon us to return. We have a short list of city sights and countryside escapes that we plan to experience on our next trip.
Ben Nghe Street Food Market. A large food hall specializing in Vietnamese cuisine and street food. It’s a popular tourist spot to enjoy local and worldly flavors.
Cat Tien National Park. A tropical forest and protected bio-reserve home to multitudes of endangered and exotic flora and fauna. Self guided bike and foot trails lead through the park while guides can be hired for “safaris.” It’s located about 4 hours from Saigon.
Cai Rang (Can Tho) Floating Market. Merchants gather on hundreds of small wooden boats selling fruits and vegetables, cooking street food and performing Vietnamese folk music. The market is located a few hours from Saigon and best experienced in the early hours of 4-6am.
