Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is far less popular, as a tourist destination, than many other south-east Asian cities. That’s exactly why the husband and I chose to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary in Saigon. 

While reading up online and preparing our detailed itinerary, little did we know that we would fall in love with Vietnam. Some of the YouTube vlogs were so not impressive. I expected Ho Chi Minh City to be the Osaka of Vietnam, in terms of the availability of veg food, English-speaking population, and tourist-appeal and a Colombo in terms of urban development. I can’t begin to tell you how wrong I was. Even without a public transportation system in place (they are yet to start construction of their metro transport; there are no intra-city buses), we could easily move around in the city without learning a single word in Vietnamese. Thanks to the Latin script, we could always type and get words translated on Google.

Most of the tourists who visit Ho Chi Minh City prefer to stay in District 1. A large majority of the staff in shops and restaurants, in this district, speak basic English. We could commute within the city limits in cabs. We figured out that Grab was always cheaper than Uber. Also, Grab recently acquired Uber’s south-east Asian operations. 

I thought I would struggle to find veg food in restaurants and was mentally prepared to survive on bread and potato chips. But after staying in Saigon for 5 nights, I wanted to live in the city forever just for the amazing local food. Despite having no popular religion that practises vegetarianism, every single restaurant that we dined at had a separate (mostly elaborate) section for vegetarian food on their menu. That gave me the opportunity to try out Vietnamese cuisine, with its beautifully aromatic flavours. With its highly developed food culture and mouth-watering delicacies, HCMC left me open-mouthed (quite literally). From the bubble teas and the Bánh mì sandwiches sold by roadside vendors to the coffeehouse chains like Phuc Long and Highlands Coffee to the unsweetened Vietnamese iced tea served at every local restaurant to the rooftop bars, Saigon leaves no stone unturned. 

Our Vietnam trip itinerary looked fairly simple: Vietnam Itinerary’18

I suggest that you stay in a hotel in District 1. We stayed in 2 Airbnb accommodations in Ho Chi Minh City. The Airbnb culture is yet to foster in the city; the properties are professionally managed and not homely and there involves no personal touch with the host. Plus, hotels are inexpensive and you can enjoy complimentary breakfast with local dishes. Although pretty hot and sultry, March is a good time to travel to Saigon. It felt as hot as Chennai in the month of February. But on the flip side, the rain does not play spoilsport until the beginning of April.

If you have 10 days to spare, I suggest that you club your Saigon vacation with 3 days in Hội An and 2 days in Phu Quoc.
Here are my personal recommendations for your Saigon itinerary, which you can comfortably do in 5 days:

Tea Tasting

We went for an Airbnb experience called Vietnam Tea Discovery. It was a great opportunity to learn, in detail, about tea and specifically about the tea cultivation and tea culture in Vietnam. We got to taste white tea, green tea, red oolong tea, black oolong tea, and black tea with ginger.

Saigon Central Weekend Market
You must visit this weekend market to eat the best street food. This bustling market has dozens of stalls that sell all sorts of street food, including local veggies, pork, octopus, several varieties of sea food, pancakes, fried snacks, and much more. You can get a henna tattoo done; buy cheap clothes, jewellery, and cute accessories. This market is located near the backpackers’ street.

Coconut Coffee and Iced Coffee at ABC Bakery

With a mix of European-style breads and pastries and traditional Vietnamese coffees and teas, ABC Bakery is an interesting eatery to spend an evening. Vietnamese iced coffee is strong black coffee served with condensed milk and ice. Coconut coffee is just an uncommon and fun drink, whereas the Vietnamese iced coffee at ABC is out of this world.

Bargaining/Shopping at Ben Thanh Market
At this traditional yet super touristy market in the middle of the city, you can sharpen your bargaining skills to shop for some local spices, rice noodles, rice paper, coffee filter, and filter coffee powder; knock-off stuff like T-shirts, wallets, purses, and bags; artificial jewellery; souvenirs; and more. I thoroughly enjoyed the bargaining experience at this market and was proud of the deals that I got. My highest record was bringing down the price of a pair of earrings from VND480,000 to VND80,000. I bought a few Levi’s and Tommy Hilfiger fake T-shirts for VND100,000 each and am pleased with the quality (for that money).

Breakfast at the Café Apartment

If you are a true lover of Vietnamese tea and coffee hot/cold, café hopping at the Café Apartment is a great idea. This was suggested to me by a friend who read about it on Instagram. So the Café Apartment is a multi-storied building full of tiny local cafés that serve tea, coffee, snacks, pizzas, pastries, and more. If you take the lift, you will have to pay the lift man (yes, just for using the lift) and you would not be able to check out the interesting cafés on every floor. Therefore, I suggest that you walk your way up and choose a nice eatery. We went to Sielts Café, where we had Vietnamese iced tea (as a complimentary appetizer), amazing Vietnamese coffee and pizza.

Sending Postcards

Saigon Central Post Office is one of the iconic landmarks in the French quarters of Saigon. You can buy Vietnamese souvenir postcards and stamps to send to your family and friends back home. My Mom (in Kerala, India) got the postcard that I sent her in about 2 weeks’ time.

Bubble Tea

Bubble tea is a new fad in Ho Chi Minh City. The youth love this Taiwanese idea of iced tea with black/clear chewy tapioca balls. Some shops also put jellies as an add-on. Apart from the roadside bubble tea shops, I suggest that you go to Koi (a Korean joint) or Koicha (a Japanese joint).

Saigon by Night Bike Tour by XO Tours

I am so grateful to my friend who recommended this conducted bike tour. We had such a wonderful time. Two young girls, dressed in the traditional Vietnamese áo dài, picked us up from our Airbnb and took us to 5 different districts in the city. We were taken from District 1 (where we stayed) to District 5, which is the China town—a wholesale market for spices, fruits, vegetables, meat, and local goods. From there, we were taken to District 8 for a sumptuous dinner. We could choose among a Bánh Mì sandwich (with pork filling), a broken rice dish served with chicken/pork, and a Banh Khot (rice pancakes) wrapped in different types of leaves and dipped in a sweet and salty sauce. The husband had the broken rice dish with chicken and I had Banh Khot. Both of us absolutely loved the food, but could not finish the huge quantity that they served. They also served beer/lime juice and dragon fruit. Post dinner, we were taken to District 7, which is the most posh area in the city, where most of the expats live in luxurious apartments/villas. This locality has a majority of Korean population. In District 7, there are American and European food chain stores and retail joints, quiet and well-maintained roads, and lots of uninhabited flats that the expats use as holiday homes. We were then taken to District 4, where the lower middle class population of the city lives. We were served traditional Vietnamese desserts at a tiny eatery, where we sat on low-profile plastic stools.

Day Trip to Củ Chi Tunnels/Mekong Delta

We booked our tour well in advance with Vietnam Adventure Tours, through viator.com. We were taken on a 7-seater coach, with a tour guide and the driver. The tour guide was an old guy who was not great at his job and we were not entirely happy with his service. I suggest that you book your trip with a different tour operator. We were first taken to Củ Chi Tunnels, where they showed us the remains of the large tunnels that the guerrillas built to save themselves from the Americans, during the Vietnam War. It was a fascinating experience. We paid extra to shoot 10 times using an AK-47. After a sumptuous lunch (where we were spoiled for choice), we were taken to Mekong Delta, where we thoroughly enjoyed the boat ride and the local entertainment. If you have the luxury of time, you can split this tour into two and do Củ Chi Tunnels and Mekong Delta on different days, so that you can cover them in greater detail; you can find a place to stay in Mekong Delta to unwind and feel the rural vibes.

Night-Out at Pho Di Bo Bui Vien

The Bui Vien Walking Street is the most hip and happening place in District 1; the Vietnamese youth, tourists, and expats enjoy drinking and dining at the restaurants on this street. You can relish some local beer and great food at one of these restaurants. We dined at a restaurant called Mimosa and at another restaurant that didn’t really have a name, on different nights. Mimosa had no loud music, served great food, and the staff were friendly and nice. At the other restaurant, there was loud music, we watched an English Premier League match and chilled out for a long time.