A Hasty Peek at Ho Chi Minh City a.k.a. Saigon

Upon arriving at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, I was elated despite the fact that it was roughly a couple of minutes after midnight. (Promo fares – that’s how you get to places without coughing out a fortune, son.)  I wasn’t sure if the excitement was another euphoria induced by travel or by the fact that we had no arrangements on transportation and lodging prior to our trip. I tried to distract myself by taking a few snaps before realising that taking photos was not allowed in the immigration area. FML. The airport was very quiet to be honest. Perhaps it’s because we were there in the wee hours of the morning, or perhaps it’s because Việt Nam really is just a reserved country on its own.

Upon reading Trip Advisor (which is still an awesome resource for travelers), I’ve learned that most of the taxis scam the hell out of tourists. Since we arrived past 12 midnight, there were no buses available. Therefore, I would highly recommend others who are planning to arrive on the same period to have your hotel pick you up from the airport. If you happen to be naïve like us who didn’t make hotel arrangements beforehand, I recommend getting only two kinds of taxis from the airport – Mai Linh taxi (green color with phone number 38 38 38 38) and VinaSun taxi (green+red, no. 38 27 27 27). Once you’ve exited the airport, turn left. The VinaSun booth is situated in a very inauspicious spot. There are many copycats, so be very very wary of the taxi you’re taking. VinaStar or Mai Linh Linh are definitely not the same as the first two. The taxi company representative handed me the taxi details – plate number, driver’s name, company number – the works.

Even if I was equipped with this knowledge prior to our journey, the VinaSun taxi still asked 10,000 VND more than the rate on his meter. I let it slide because I wasn’t interested in starting our road trip with a lingering bad vibe. Besides, he did take the fastest route to our destination and didn’t give us the impromptu uncalled for tour of Saigon. The trip cost less than 150,000 VND, which was definitely an improvement from the 180,000 VND – 250,000 VND I had read on my research. However, if you think about it, are there really safe taxis in HCMC? Just be prepared in any case.

Hồ Chí Minh City was a throbbing survivor with the remnants of wartime etched on the streets. As my colleague put it, the city was incubating all the heat, waiting to explode. If it weren’t for a failed negotiation between our point person in Vietnam, we would just be heading straight to Thailand for some well-accounted exploration. But alas, there we were. And a good thing too – another place to explore. Upon touching down at Bùi Viện street (rumored to be the only street alive in District 1 at that hour), I was surprised. This country definitely wasn’t reserved at all. The yells of partying people could be heard a mile away. I walked a couple of blocks and found myself undoubtedly famished. I was excited to try authentic Phở. However, we needed to secure a place to sleep first. Hence, we found the Bali Boutique Hotel which had the most hotel vibe of all the places we stayed at during our Indochina roadtrip. Some of them felt like hostels despite being hotels.

Upon walking a few blocks, we found a cozy spot to get some grub. The place was very raw. Food was thrown on the sidewalk to be cleaned in the morning. Plastic chairs and tables carried minced chilies and herbs to be added on a steaming bowl of Pho. The Phở definitely tasted different than the ones I had eaten on restaurants. The aroma of the herbs was strong, and the noodles were oddly slippery and pleasant. The chicken was cut swiftly, so shards of bone could be found in the soup. The meat was also greasier. I was delighted – such a nice taste of Vietnam.

The streets of Saigon were indeed filled with motorists – it is their norm. There were barely any stoplights, so pedestrians just crossed the streets whenever and wherever they felt like it. It needed a little getting used to since in Singapore, you can be charged with jaywalking if you’re not crossing on the pedestrian lanes. Vehicles moved fast, so that place wasn’t for the faint hearted. There were Vietnamese flags everywhere which made me feel that the North and South were really united. The heat was sweltering.

I also tried Vietnamese coffee whilst doing one of our walks. The espresso blend was strong, just as I like it. It tasted fairly like our Barako coffee in Batangas. The shot cost 18,000 VND. If I added 4,000 VND, I would have gotten one with milk. But alas, once I tasted the coffee, I was awoken, howbeit I was still in dire need of shade from the scorching heat. Hence, we got ourselves inside Bến Thành market.

Here was where our haggling skills were tested to the hilt. It had a very rural feel which made me think seriously about visiting Hanoi in my next travels. There were assorted items to be bought, but the prices were thrice or twice its original selling price. Make sure to go around the outside streets of the market as well to find some bargains. Finally, I had a fairly common lunch because I couldn’t get enough chicken. Traveller’s Tip: the piece of wet tissue costs 5,000 VND if you use it when offered to you, so better be prepared to pay extra for small things like this. Overall, Vietnam is a place I would visit again – perhaps when I have more money. 🙂