Global Gary

Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s most populous city with a population of around 10 million people. Formerly known as Saigon, it is situated in the southeast region of Vietnam, and is busy, bustling and colourful.

We arrived in the run up to the Tet Lunar New Year festival. This is an important annual event in Vietnam with a lot of the population going home to celebrate with family. Visiting at this time of year has its benefits and drawbacks. On the plus side the city is decorated with flowers everywhere and the displays on Walking Street and the flower market are particularly spectacular, as is the firework display over the Saigon River on New Year’s Eve. There are fewer people and traffic is lighter. The downside is that some things are closed. We would have liked to visit Ben Tranh market for example.

On the drive from the airport we were struck by just how many scooters and motorcycles there were. And it was not nearly as busy as it normally is. Most drivers and passengers were wearing helmets, although incongruously, small children perched dangerously did not. Some of the scooter/ motorcycle riders even stopped at red lights. Coming from the UK, the weather was very hot at 35 degrees Celsius. Doing things in the mornings and evenings suited us.

Magnificent 7 // Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

1. Explore the War Remnants Museum
2. Join a city walking tour
3. Navigate the Mekong Delta
4. Go underground at the Cu Chi Tunnels
5. Stroll along Nguyen Hue Walking Street
6. Browse Book Street
7. Sample Street Food

Getting there –

We flew from London Heathrow to Ho Chi Minh City on Qatar Airlines with a short 60-minute stopover in Doha.  We had a slightly longer stopover on the way back home from Hanoi. Hamad airport in Doha is massive and it was a good 20-minute walk from Terminal A where we arrived to Terminal C where we departed for Ho Chi Minh City. Flight time was around 13 hours. After leaving the UK at 3pm we arrived just after 1 pm the following day. One of our suitcases did not arrive with us; it had an extra-long layover in Doha, and we had to go back to the airport the next day to collect it, which was a bit of a pain.  The flights were good, food was fine.  We received the meals we had ordered, so overall a good experience, except for having to return to the airport for our suitcase as Qatar would not send it on to our hotel.

Where we stayed –

We stayed five nights at the Eden Star Hotel in District 1, a nice 4-star hotel with excellent choices for breakfast, good sized rooms and a fabulous rooftop pool. A bonus was the free minibar with beer and soft drinks, replenished daily. The cost of Eden Star Hotel was around £300 for the five nights over the Tet Holiday period which we felt was good value as it also included breakfast.

To eat and drink –

There is so much choice.  We ate street food most nights, although due to the holidays a lot of outlets were closed.  Nevertheless, there was no difficulty finding street food and open restaurants.

Magnificent 7

1. Explore the War Remnants Museum

This is a must do activity. That there was a war in Vietnam involving the Americans is well known. Not so well known is the history behind this war and what went before it. The first room to visit is on the second floor and is entitled ‘Historical Truths’ and looks at the Vietnam war through the lens of Vietnamese and International correspondents. History is not kind to the American and French involvement in Vietnam.

There are 9 permanent exhibitions and some temporary ones. We went to the Museum twice; it was that good. Warning, the images of the suffering caused by America’s use of chemical warfare in Vietnam are harrowing. Budget 3 or 4 hours. It’s worth it.

2. Join a city walking tour

On our first full day we took a private walking tour through Booking.com (cost of £60). It was relatively short, but given the heat, the length of time was about right. We were given lots of information from an interesting guide – Castle – and we visited the War Remnants Museum, Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Post Office and Book Street. There is a Hop Off/Hop On bus that also covers these, plus more; however we prefer talking to guides rather than listening to generic taped information. 

3. Navigate the Mekong Delta

You can take a full day or half day tour to visit the Mekong Delta. We took the half day tour and combined it with a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels (see below). We went on a small group tour with Indochina Heritage Travel (booked through Booking.com). Our guide was Kevin and he was excellent. On arriving at one of the Mekong River’s branches we were taken by boat to Unicorn Island, one of four islands near to each other. Whilst on the island we were shown how coconuts and honey were used in a variety of products, with lots of tastings. There was a singing “performance” that was enthusiastic, and we also had a 2-kilometre trip through flooded, swamp-like waterways on a rowing boat that held four passengers and two rowers/paddlers which was good.

Were we constantly sold to? Yes. Was some of it a bit too much? Yes. But overall, we had a great time, bought some things, gave a few gratuities and learned a lot. Thoroughly enjoyed our time there.

4. Go underground at the Cu Chi Tunnels

The highlight of this tour was crawling through a 60-metre section of a tunnel that had been widened so that visitors could experience travelling through a small section of the tunnels. There were also examples of some of the boobytraps used as well as a shooting range and various examples of military equipment eg bombs/tanks etc. I liked the way termite hills were used to circulate air and the way shoes were fashioned from old tyres and designed so that it was unclear from the footprints in which direction the wearers were headed. In contrast to the War Remnants Museum, it seemed to glorify the events that took place a little bit. Nevertheless, experiencing the claustrophobia of crawling through the (enlarged) tunnels was worthwhile. We did not go to the shooting range.  We thought the idea of shooting a Kalashnikov was a bit tasteless after the War Remnants Museum the day before. The cost for both The Meekong Delta Tour and Cu Chi Tunnels was £70 which was great value for money.

5. Stroll along Nguyen Hue Walking Street

Nguyen Hue Walking Street is a bustling pedestrian promenade stretching for nearly 800 metres from the Saigon River. During Tet it had the most magnificent flower and dragon displays. During the day families and friends, dressed in their finest, were taking photographs with spectacular backdrops. At one end of the street is the People’s Committee Building. This French colonial-era building is beautiful and serves as the headquarters of Ho Chi Minh City’s government. In front of the building is a statue of Ho Chi Minh himself. This statue is a symbol of the country’s history and independence. Walking to the Saigon River there is a mix of modern and traditional architecture and lots of hotels, bars, coffee houses (the most famous being the Café Apartment Building). At the Saigon River end of this street is where the most crowds were for the New Year’s Eve fireworks.

6. Browse Book Street

This is a short pedestrianised street with lots of welcome shade in the centre of the city close to the Notre Dame Cathedral. As the name implies, it is full of bookshops, and is a great place to stroll, browse, drink coffee and sit and people watch

7. Street Food

It’s everywhere and you will probably end up sharing tables with strangers, perched on rickety plastic chairs. I’m not sure what some of the things were that we ate, but it was a great experience.

Of Note

There are lots of other things to see and do in Ho Chi Minh City. Notre Dame Cathedral was closed and was having extensive repairs when we visited. It has a fascinating history and we would have liked to go inside if it was open to the public.  The Post Office was open and was interesting. It had a colonial feel and you can get postcards and stamps if that is your thing. Ben Tranh market is vast and unfortunately closed when we wanted to visit. If you go, remember to negotiate prices as the first price you are offered can be on the high side.

We had to go back to the airport to pick up a suitcase the day after we arrived (Qatar Airlines left it in Doha). We downloaded the Grab app (local version of Uber). Taxis from the airport cost 300,000 to 600,000 dong. Our Grab ride (you can pay in the cab itself rather than loading your bank details) cost 130,000 dong.

Massages are bliss. We had a foot massage on our first evening. This cost about £13 for two people including a tip.

Cash is king. We found that using a UK Visa Debit at an ATM gave us a very good rate for local currency, much better than that offered by our hotel. When businesses did take cards, and many did not, they usually charged a premium of 3% to do so. We took a spare mobile phone and bought a data-only SIM card to use when WiFi was not available and we had to book a Grab car.

Fun Facts

In Vietnam, unicorns (as in Unicorn Island) look like lions, not horses