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Saigon Day 1: Touring the City on Foot, and Discovering the Cu Chi Tunnels
For our first stop in 2015, my friends and I went to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon). Ho Chi Minh is the capital city of Vietnam, a well known country for budget travellers and the world famous Pho. In this post, I will tell you what happened on our first day, where we went, what we did and how much it cost.
We spent two nights in a humble hostel in the Pham Ngu Lao area. The name of our hostel was Phan Lan 2 hostel. We rented a double room for only 23 usd per night. Click here for a review of the hostel itself.
On our first day, we went around the city on foot. It wasn't very difficult to go around Saigon. The streets were lined with trees which gave shade to pedestrians. There were spacious foot paths and flowers were in full bloom as they surround huge parks. I originally thought it would be hot as fuck, but nope, the trees provided ample amount of shade from the sun and the wind gave us enough breeze that I felt so cool while walking. I never felt my pits sweat. Never!
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| The grass is greener in Saigon. |
Notre dame cathedral (Nhà thờ Đức Bà Sài Gòn)
First stop is the Notre dame cathedral (Nhà thờ Đức Bà Sài Gòn). This cathedral was established by the French between 1863 and 1880. The neo-romanesque style attract locals and tourists alike. This iconic basilica made me feel like I was strolling in the streets of France. Unfortunately, we were not able to go inside. I don't think they let people in, but I do know the basilica holds mass every sunday.
Post Office (Bưu điện Việt Nam)
Right next to the Basilica, is the Post Office. It was built built between 1886 and 1891 by renowned architect Gustave Eiffel, the same guy whose company built the Eiffel Tower. The architecture looks so grand, and so beautiful, I wouldn't think I'm on Asia. When we stepped inside, I felt like we traveled back in time, for it looked like a train station, the only thing missing was the train! The walls decorated with hand made paintings of maps. They also have a number of phone booths and a lot of post cards for sale.
War Remnants Museum (Bảo tàng chứng tích chiến tranh)
The War Remnants Museum exhibits a range of information about the wars that have ravaged Vietnam over the years. They even have a display of military equipment such as tanks, helicopters, fighter jets and bombs. Inside the building, you will find dioramas of what prison cells looked like back then, there are artworks, and several exhibits with captions both in Vietnamese and English. It's a good read about Vietnam's history, though some of it are a bit one sided and may cross the realm of propaganda. If you want an unbiased story, read up about Vietnam's history before hitting the Museum.
Bến Thành Market
Bến Thành Market is large marketplace found at the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. You can find all sorts of stuff here: food, clothing, watches, meat, spices, bags, alcohol etc. At night, the Market closes and vendors start putting up their stalls on the surrounding streets, kinda like a night market! Most of the stuff you will find are most likely overpriced, so try your best to haggle at least half the price! It's not rude to haggle, it's expected.
Another tip, don't go around asking for the price of something that you don't intend to buy. One of my friends made the mistake of asking how much a magnet was, and the vendor just wouldn't let her go until she bought the item. So if you don't want to be trapped, don't ask and just politely turn down any point of conversation unless you are sure you really want to buy that thing.
End
That wraps up our walking tour for this trip! There are a lot of other places you can visit in Ho Chi Minh on foot. Unfortunately, we only had half a day to spend for exploring the city. The other half, we spent on a trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels (Read about our Cu Chi Tunnel adventure here).
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