things to do!
Food Tour! (see top picture)- Best thing i did in Ho Chi Minh. Flying round Saigon on the back of a scooter stopping off at a variety of places for street food. The guides were lovely and so informative! Can highly recommend XO Tours!
Mekong Delta - Unfortunately didn’t have time to go, but you can do a day trip to the delta and get taken round the delta by a guide on a boat tour. What i can say is that of the people I met, most said do the Cu Chi tunnels, but skip the Mekong. (The people I surveyed were a family on the food tour, a couple by the pool and a man in a lift. Reliable sources I’m sure you’d agree.)
Cu Chi Tunnels - Into history??? Then do not miss the tunnels! Find out all about the Vietnam war, travel through actual tunnels used in the war and if you want, shoot an AK47! Not in the tunnels! That would be dangerous! You can do a half day tour from Ho Chi Minh.
Walking Street (see picture) - PARTY!!! Dancers, drink and music so loud you vibrate down the road! A mad street/area with loads of bars to choose from. So grab a Tiger and dance down the street in your flops!
Ben Thanh Market - Biggest flea market in Ho Chi Minh. Get that Louis Vuitton bag you’ve dreamed of for £5! Watch out though it may be spelt Louise Vitton!
Go up Landmark 81 - The tallest skyscraper in SE Asia and one of the tallest in the world. Stunning views of the city. Especially at night when Saigon comes to life!
Post Office - ‘You’re recommending the post office?!’ I hear you exclaim! Yes i am, you can send a post card home! Grab a wee post card, go into one of the booths (see picture at the bottom) and write to the people you’ve just whatsapped about the things you’ve just put on your insta story! Great eh?!
food & drink
Bên Nghe Street Food (see picture) - Loved this wee market. Cheap as chips and every type of food you want. Order your grub, sit on the wooden bench and watch the world go by!……or Saigon go by…
The Cafe Apartments - Vietnam is FAMOUS for it’s coffee and the cafe apartments (see picture at the bottom) are like a block of flats but instead of apartments you have every type of coffee going from egg coffee to salt coffee, brilliant place in the centre, must visit!
Quan Ngon 138 - Right beside Ben Nghe Street food is a great authentic vietnamese restaurant. See picture of the interior at the bottom. Had some of the best squid in my Vietnam trip here! So if you fancy a slightly fancier evening than the street food market then… grab the tuxedo! and check it out.
Little Hanoi Egg Coffee - THEEE place to try the world famous egg coffee! Yip that’s right a big yolky coffee! We found it down this tiny alley way, which I’ll be honest I thought I had taken a wrong turning and I would soon meet my demise, but no, sure enough there it was! Quaint, authentic and very popular. BALDY REVIEW - I have to say the egg coffee was…well…peculiar…not sure yolky coffee is for me 😂.
145 Bui Vien - You’ll find this on Walking Street. Most of the food places on Walking Street are pretty rubbish so dive into this wee vietnamese establishment for some top grub at much better prices.
Warning Zone - Great BBQ in district 3 across from my hotel. Fancy some top notch grilled meat then head here. Great atmosphere too!
Banh Mi Huynh Hoa - A Banh Mi recommended to us by some locals of Saigon and it was a big one, loaded with meat, cheese and crispy onion. BALDY REVIEW - The biggest… and it was good, but not the best…you have to travel elsewhere for that!
my hotel
We stayed at La Vela Saigon hotel and what a beauty! 5 star treatment, room with a balcony overlooking the city and a huge infinity pool on the roof. It’s a little bit more than other hotels in Ho Chi Minh, but is still insanely cheap for what you are getting. Oh and you get a great brekkie too!
NOTE - there isn’t a swim up bar(it’s…well…defunct 😂), but the pool is still brilliant and there is a rooftop bar so you can have a wee Bia Saigon or Tiger!
Would definitely recommend, a big pool well away from the hustle and bustle of the city is fantastic especially when its 35 degrees!
ALSO there’s a brilliant BBQ place across the road called Warning Zone.
