Imagine streets dominated by mopeds as far as the eye can see….the constant sound of horns beeping and the sense of non-stop frenetic movement. Add an endless number of people sitting on tiny chid size stools along the sidewalks ….cooking on small grills with large open flames (hello 911…what’s your emergency????) . Much like the 1980s video game Frogger, the real challenge in Saigon is crossing the street in between all of the mopeds without getting smooshed. The advice from the locals on crossing? “Don’t stop, don’t run. ” I did both. I stopped. I ran for dear life. Aside from the obstacles on the sidewalks and in the streets, the city of Saigon had so much more excitement to discover !!!

Getting There

In the words of The Grateful Dead, What a Long Strange Trip it’s Been would decribe our journey from NYC to Saigon. The flight was most certainly long. Strange would be an understatement. The flight from NYC to Saigon took a total of around 22 hours with a stop over in Hong Kong. My travel companion was so disturbed that we lost an entire day somewhere way up in the sky. The plane actually flies over the North Pole! I tried to spy Santa’s Workshop from 30,000 feet, but I must have missed it. There are several carriers that go to Saigon from the US, including Turkish Airlines and Cathay Pacific.

Things to Do

Take a Free Walking Tour– One of my favorite things to do in a new city. We took a 2 hour tour through Trip Guru and our guide went above and beyond. He took us through the markets, into a repurposed apartment complex turned coffee shops/cafes and to a great selection of historic sites. The concept of the free tours are to pay what you feel like the tour is worth at the end. The average tip amount per person is between 10 and 20 USD.

Crawl through the Cu-Chi Tunnels– This is a claustrophobic’s nightmare. It was like a reenactment of my own birth, wiggling my way through the dark narrow tunnels trying to get out… crying as I finally made it. The Cu-Chi Tunnels were created by the Viet-Cong during the Vietnam War and actually gave them the advantage. There are quite a few original tunnels that visitors can explore and some have even been slightly modified to fit people who are taller than 4 feet! Or fat Americans. The tour also includes a presentation by a war veteran who lived in the tunnels . It’s always interesting to see a different side of history through another’s eyes (even if you don’t agree).

Facts about the tour; We used the 3rd party, Get Your Guide On to book the tour. Tickets for a 5-plus hour tour were about $75 USD pp. with hotel pick up. The ride from Saigon by comfortable bus was about 2.5 to 3 hrs.

Fun Fact; Cu-Chi is only about 1/2 an hour from the border of Cambodia if you wanted to hop on over and explore .

Enjoy a show at the Saigon Opera House– The opera house was actually built during the French occupation of the city, The architecture is fantastic! The long running AO show reminded me a little of Cirque de Soleil, but with a historical twist! The performers were spectacular. Travel Tip; get there early and enjoy a glass of prosecco on the outdoor veranda!

Tickets were 50. USD per person. We bought ours in advance online directly from the theatre …click here to buy tickets.

Shop til you drop at Ben Thanh Market– The Ben Thanh market is sensory overload! The salespeople have memorized several key words and phrases, but this did not work in their favor. No matter what you look at (clothing, luggage, accessories, etc) they will inform you about fifty times that they have it in many other colors…They also claimed that everything was 100% silk…but when I looked at one label it said; “100% silk feeling” hmmmmmmm. OK, then I am 100% feeling like a super model.

Brave a trip to Chinatown – Saigon has a pretty extensive Chinatown! We took a “Grab” there. There are several unique temples to visit if you have some time, including Ba Thien Hau Pagoda and Phong Son Tu. If you think the other districts in Saigon are chaotic, Chinatown is like chaos on steroids.

Travel 49 floors up to the sky deck on Biotexto Tower- Well worth the small fee to take the elevator up and enjoy the views!!! Try to go at sunset for the best pictures!

Watch the famous Dragon Water Puppet Show– This was a combination of comedy, confusion and artistic expression all in one. Comedy because the storyline was actually funny, from what we could understand. Confusion because we had no idea what the narrator was saying (adding to the humor) and artistic expression because the puppets were impressive. It’s around 20. USD for the one hour performance and well worth it.

Get measured and have a dress or a pants suit hand made- There are stores all around Saigon with tailors that advertise that they will custom make clothing. I stopped at a shop where I picked out my own fabric, showed a picture of the dress I wanted and got measured. The dress was ready within 2 days!!! The best part? It cost a little less than $50. USD!!!!

Take a coffee making class- I was somewhat surprised to discover how seriously the vietnamese are about their coffee! We found a great 1.5 hour class that included making 3 different vietnamese coffee drinks, drinking them, and getting recipes ! My favorite? The salt coffee!!!

Stroll along Bui Vien Street at night!!!– The energy on Bui Vien street at night is undeniable.. They sell a variety of things, including edible scorpions, centipedes and crickets! I opted out of the late night snacks..

Visit the War Remnants Museum– The museum consists of 3 floors containing photographs, war propaganda and artifacts from the Vietnam War. Of course the museum is one sided, but worth a few hours. It cost about 1.50 USD to enter.

Fly to Da Nang – Spend a few days enjoing the beaches, spend an entire day exploring Hoi-An and climb Marble Mountain. Read my blog on Da Nang to learn more……

Where to Stay

Silverland Jolie– This was a great boutique hotel tucked away in district 1 on a quiet street (with the exception of an unseen, noisy rooster outside our bathroom window) The hotel was within walking distance of the opera house, The river front, Biotexto Tower and the markets! They offered breakfast, had an amazing pool and bar on their roof and provided a complimentary “afternoon tea” at 2pm every day. This was way more than tea…. they had a mini buffet with spring rolls, miso soup, waffles and so much more!

We paid about 140. USD a night to stay here

Villa Song– We stayed our last 2 nights back in Saigon at this hotel. It’s on the river in district 4, A wealthy ex-pat community with a downtown walking street. The hotel has a beautiful salt water pool and breakfast is included. We paid around $ 120. per night.

Where to Eat

Ciao Bella- cozy atmosphere and the food is incredible..

Pasha- Great traditional turkish food in a cute little space.

Dahi Handi – Delicious Indian food…

Tips and Suggestions

Vietnam currency is the Dong. You will become an instant millionaire when you exchange your money there. $50. USD is worth over a million Dongs. So many jokes…sooooo many dongs. What’s a girl to do?

Bring toilet paper when you go out….most bathrooms we used had, but some don’t.

Vietnam’s version of Uber is called Grab. Download the app and use it anytime you need a ride. They were so cheap and reliable.

Bring mosquito repellent

You need a visa to get into Vietnam. It’s easy enough to do it yourself online, but give yourself a few weeks in advance just in case it gets kicked back. The visa costs $ 25. You will need a printed copy at the airport!!!

Vietnam was such an amazing place to visit. We learned so much about the people, their country and their culture. We ate a lot of rice (even for breakfast) and learned how to cross their streets without dying. Don’t stop, don’t run. We learned that thank you in Vietnamese sounds like “come on” in English. We were reminded that governments and politics lead us into wars, but people, no matter where you go in the world, are just people. All wanting similar things. What a wonderful opportunity it was to meet some of these people….to those that we met I say; “Cam on”.

Read my next blog on Denang and Hoi-an!!!!!!!