Short overnight stay in Saigon

January 17, 2018

Short overnight stay in Saigon

The Long Phuong bus dropped us off at the bus station opposite Huyen Si Cathedral. I mistakenly thought that they would drop us off at the address written on the ticket, which was a 5 mins walk from our hostel. Instead, we went on a still relatively short 15 min walk. Really really thankful for Google Maps. By now our beach tan had settled and we looked local, so we did not encounter much offers of motorcycle? and we could walk around with more ease.

Our hostel was hidden on the upper floors along the backpacker/party street of Bui Vien. Although it was undeniably loud at night, it was the cheapest we could find (and cheapest place we’ve stayed in for this trip), the location was good and it was only a one night stay. Our purpose in Ho Chi Minh City was mainly to get VNDs, train tickets, sim cards and a bit of sightseeing.

First on our agenda was to get some Vietnamese dong, and our hostel owners suggested the Western Union nearby. We only changed a bit and headed on to Ben Tanh market, where we found this gold store with much better exchange rates and changed more there. We did not know the actual rates but judging by the crowds of locals and foreigners shoving their USDs, KRWs, SGDs and MYRs at the window, we were pretty convinced they were good.

Ben Tanh Market

They have some traffic lights for pedestrians, though some motorcycles
would still pass through

Next was the sim card. Now, we did not know where to buy them and reading online that there is a registration process, I felt hesitant sharing my details with the makeshift stores at the roadsides. So we went into official looking phone shops to ask where we could get sim cards, and after some hand gestured directions, we ended up at a store called ‘thegioididong’. It was a very easy process: just queue at the sim card counter and the staff would do everything from registration to all the keying in in the phone. There were also other foreigners around and I felt more at ease letting an official shop do all the passport scanning and registration. We found the trademark yellow-black colours of this brand all around the city, as well as in Hoi An and Hanoi, so any sim card problem can be solved in any of the outlets.

By now it was the afternoon peak and we decided to get a Grab to the train station to get our tickets for Da Nang the following night. While waiting, we roamed around, got some bahn mi, drinks and watched as the motorcycles invaded the sidewalks to ease through the traffic. Oh, the charm of Vietnam.

The motorcycles might be intimidating at first, but it takes a short time to adjust to them.

Buying the tickets in Ga Saigon was pretty simple. While looking for the ticket counter, we came across a lady who asked us if we needed help, and lo and behold, she was working at the ticket counter! She was very friendly and charming and she led us to her desk, where she booked our tickets. She entertained any questions we had and gave us a card to direct our further inquiries to (though she shyly admitted that she was not sure if they could speak English haha!).

Train station

We tried GrabBike this time, which was so much cheaper compared to the rates offered to us by the laughing motorcycle drivers by the entrance of the train station.. obviously ripping us off. It was my first time on GrabBike (they don’t have it in Singapore, only in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam) and it was really convenient, cheap and there really was no need for any communication because the app does basically everything so no language barriers. Though I realised that the motorcycle driver would not stop exactly at the pick up location so you would have to hover around the area to find him.

Now at Bitexco financial centre, we took a stroll around the mall and the streets.. I was so excited to finally get KOI and then my phone died.. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise as I was able to take in the almost festive atmosphere along the lighted and modern Ham Nghi Street where we had some street food, a look at the shops and enjoyed the diversity around us (If you close your eyes, you can hear many different English accents, the occassional ‘lahs’, Korean, Tagalog, Mandarin and some from further places).

Afterwards, we just roamed around, went to the riverside and back, tried to find a place to eat, and after not being able to decide on any, we settled on Mcdonald’s where I finally had my beloved Double Cheeseburger and spent futile attempts in getting my phone to charge.

Saigon Day 2

We took a morning walk to the Bitexco Financial Centre, got a view of the river and took another Grab to Ba Chieu Market. It was far from our part of the city and it was interesting to look at the morning peak from the comfort of a car this time. The market itself was a typical wet market, divided into wet and dry, and the different goods they sold. We had breakfast at a pho stall and the lady was very nice. There was a language barrier but she enthusiastically pointed at the signs and prices on the wall and we were able to order our pho and drinks easily (and with the prices listed). I think she tried to explain the drinks to us in basic Vietnamese but we couldn’t understand her. One cool thing was that the stall was along a narrow path I assume is for people to walk through and browse on the produce from both sides, but motorcycles reign supreme in Vietnam and they had a ‘right of way’. We were eating pho with motorcycles passing right behind us! A cool and unique experience!

Morning view from our hostel

Bitexco financial centre, with its trademark helipad.. reminds me of Stark Tower.

Morning view of the river

Hearty delicious pho!

The motorcycles would just zoom behind you as you eat!

Street scenes

Another Grab bike this time to Andong Market. It was again very interesting to pass by another part of the city I have never been to and being on a bike felt like we were having the ‘local experience’. The ‘market’ consisted of a few stories of wholesale clothing stores and a floor of food stalls, both of which did not really cater to us. Soon, we were on our long walk back to the hostel. (Google Maps said it was a 38min, 3km walk)

They have Jollibee!

We reached back at lunchtime, took a short but much needed rest on our beds and checked out. We left our backpacks on the hostel for a fee. This time, we went to the must-sees of Saigon, the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Saigon Post Office.

Notre Dame Cathedral. It was undergoing some construction works.

Saigon Post Office

A Christmas fair beside the Post Office

It was my second time in Ho Chi Minh City, and I wanted to track down a local dessert place which served the best coconut ice cream I had ever tried in my entire life. I did not know the name of the place, and all I knew was that it was along this roundabout with a pond and a tower in the middle and that it was of walking distance to the Cathedral. After a frantic google search and finding something that matched the descriptions, we keyed it in Google maps and started our search.

We did find the roundabout but the store was no longer there. I also could not find any more information in English online and that was a real bummer. We walked around aimlessly after that, tried some food (still bitter about the ice cream) and finally decided on visiting the War Remnants Museum.

The War Remnants Museum contains an impressive collection of information on the Vietnamese point of view of the Vietnam War. It was eye opening and there was this aura of suppressed sadness lingering. War should never be an option and the visual exhibits were horrifying. It was beyond shameful then, that there were some tourists giggling at pictures of the victims of Agent Orange and joking that the bomb spots on a map look like cappuccino flakes. Some respect and humanity please. On a lighter note, it was heartening to see an exhibit on the protests from all over the world, from Baltimore to Delhi, Rio de Janeiro to Helsinki, condemning war and all the horrors that comes with it.

They have outside displays of enemy planes

Interior exhibit

We walked around again with the afternoon rush, along Dien Bien Phu and the residential areas, coincidentally coming across Chinatown, to meet a friend we met in Koh Rong. After a short catch up and our goodbyes, it was a long walk back to Takashimaya Saigon, eating our street food dinner on the go and a decent coconut ice cream as consolation. The mall was grandly decorated and it was full of people taking pictures with the massive Christmas trees and the breathtaking lights snaking all around. It reminded me of a mini-Singapore with Singaporean brands and food. There was a rooftop garden with a view of the city. We did not go to the Saigon Skydeck, but at least we saw Ho Chi Minh City from above somehow.