Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) & Mekong
From January 28th to February 1st 2023
Day 1
We landed from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City around midday and checked into our hotel at the Park Hyatt Saigon.
Walked to dinner at Pizza 4P and were looking forward to a ‘familiar’ meal. We ended up ordering way too much, 2 starters, 3 salads and 2 entrees. We were getting looks from around the restaurant, but we were hungry and didn’t mind. Hailey got a crab pasta and Max had a… Margherita pizza.
We left Pizza 4P and made our way to the first bar of the evening: Stir. We turned off the main road into a narrow alleyway. At the end of the alleyway it was all local shops and people hanging in front of their storefronts. We took a left down that alleyway and felt like we were getting further and further from where tourists typically go. We found a small sign that said the bar’s name on it that directed us up a narrow staircase with stray cats prancing all around, and then an inconspicuous door. The inside was designed immaculately and we knew we were in good hands. We were the first ones to arrive, and we enjoyed our speakeasy-esque bar in that little corner of Saigon.
After Stir, we set out for the next bar; Summer Experiment was in a completely different side of town, was very easy to find and faced the street. We scored 2 spots at the bar and enjoyed the creations that the bartenders there wanted to show off. It was a young and hip place, there were a lot of locals inside and the bartenders were all sharp.
After a few libations at Summer Experiment, we walked home and noticed large groups of people on the Main Street (Ben Nghe) in town. It’s impossible to miss, there were at least 10 different groups with their own speakers singing karaoke, other bands set up and playing music, kids roller blading, other street entertainers and vendors, etc. It was a lively affair, we just walked up and down the street to see the variety of entertainment before heading back to the hotel and calling it a night.
Day 2
We woke up in the morning to start our day around 9am and have a tour of the city. We drove 1.5 hours with a guide out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which is a preserved area/park/attraction that educates tourists on the tunnel system that was built by the south Vietnamese during the Vietnam war. The attraction had a number of war artifacts to share, including undetonated bombs, grenades, old guns, uniforms and shoes, old tanks, examples of jungle traps, maps to the tunnels, recreations of south Vietnamese lifestyle in the tunnel area, etc. We were warned at the start of the tour that there’s a shooting range at the attraction that is run by the Vietnamese military, and to not be alarmed if we hear gunshots while walking through the tunnels and wooded outdoor area. After physically going into some of the tunnels, we made our way to the driving range and shot some of the guns that they had on site. Hailey shot 100 rounds of an AK47 and Max shot 100 rounds of an M60. The cost for the ammunition was $400 USD. This tour was an informative and versatile one.
We left the Cu Chi Tunnels and headed back towards Saigon for lunch. When we got back to Saigon, the tour group had booked us at a restaurant called Propaganda and we had a preset meal. It was spring rolls, rice and chicken.
With bellies full, we continued our tour around the city by heading into a historic Post Office that seemed to be a central place for a number of government operations. Across the street we made our way to the Presidents Palace (and or the Reunification Palace) where you could tour around the entire building. It was also full of war artifacts, including pictures of prominent political figures during that time that came to the palace for peace talks and meetings alike. There were parts of this palace that reminded us of the Churchill War Rooms in London, because they had left a number of large machinery in place so you could imagine what it was like trying to communicate, strategize and place orders during wartime.
After the tour of the Presidents Palace, we took a mini shopping break so Hailey could purchase some Vietnamese tailor made clothes from Phuong Giant Shop (located 96 Bis Nam Ky Khoi Nghia St, District 1). The place has served the area for many years and Hailey walked away with a few new extra articles of clothing. Max was not interested in any new clothes for himself.
We then walked across the street to Binh Tanh Market, which is a typical asian market selling all kinds of goods from fresh food to fake designer suitcases.
We went back to the hotel to rest a bit before our evening ahead.
We left the hotel and headed to a hipster part of town; it reminded us slightly of what Abbott Kinney in Venice is like. Luu Bar (108 Phạm Viết Chánh, Phường 19, Bình Thạnh, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam) wasn’t very busy, but the bartender took great care of us. We had a few drinks there before walking and having a slice of pizza at Oliver’s Pizza across the street. After Olivers we walked a few more doors down to Symposium Bar, which, also wasn’t very busy, but the bartenders were very knowledgeable and the cocktails hit the spot. We preferred Symposium Bar over Luu Bar.
After Symposium, it was time to grab a proper meal for dinner. We took a “Grab” car and took a 20 minute drive outside of town to a very popular spot, Pho Le. There were 3 floors of tables all being served by a little street cart out front. Their menu consisted 1 thing only, served 5 different ways: beef pho. We had a great time feeling like locals (we were the only foreigners), watching the way others ate their pho, watching the kitchen crew run their operation around the restaurant, and watched families having dinner together.
We went to a bar after dinner named Layla. Again, we were the only foreigners inside and we ended up playing pool for hours before we called it a night.
Day 3
The next day we hopped back in the car with our guide and made our way further outside of the city to tour the Mekong Delta.
We pulled up to what looked like a house in the country/jungle, which was our launching pad for our tour on the water. Our first stop on the tour was a Brick Factory, where the business continues to make bricks by hand. We learned how a pile of clay, gets put into a machine that turns the clay lump into a shape of a brick, which is then laid out to dry, before then being place into a large house like kiln to be baked and a complete product. The two kilns were made of brick and they were about 2000 square feet each.
We hopped back into our boat and made our way 5 minutes further down the delta to a Coconut Factory. Here we learned about all the ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle a coconut shell.
After a quick tour here, we made our way further down the delta to a Coconut Candy Shop. We watched a woman shuck a coconut shell, remove the water, our guide shared how to remove the white jelly on the side, and how to wring it out to get the coconut milk. Cooking the sugar from the coconut allowed for it to be caramelized and turned into candies. We watched the ladies at the factory turn the coconuts to candy and package them for resale. It was here that we also tried snake wine, banana whiskey and other local fruits.
We took a walk through the town a little while and came across another house looking structure that was creating Bamboo Mats by hand. We watched ladies feed the machine and little by little watched the straw mat start to appear on the spool.
The next spot was for lunch and we walked further through the little village until we came across our lunch spot, which again looked like it was on somebody’s private property. The lunch spot was really beautiful and clean, it was decorated very unique to Vietnam and we felt like we were eating in the middle of the bush. The lady prepared spring rolls for us table side, and also served Hailey a whole fish. We ate our soups and drank our beers before catching a row boat back to where the car could pick us up and bring us back into Saigon.
When we got back to town we said our goodbyes to the guide and walked around downtown for a little while. We landed on dinner at Sol, a Mexican dinner spot (we were craving a little variety).
After Sol we made our way to the infamous Bui Vien Walking Street where we walked up and down it 3 times before landing on a bar to play darts at. We got there around 9 and left around 11. The nightlife had picked up significantly between 9 to 11 and we could tell that it gets wild. A woman even grabbed Maxs arm and tried pulling him into her saloon.
Day 4
The next day we started with a lunch meal at Hum; a really nice and peaceful restaurant that serves healthy but delicious food.
Just a few doors down was the War Remnants Museum (previously known as the American War Crimes Museum), where we spent a few hours looking at bomb shells, tanks, torture chambers, helicopters, photographs, newspaper clippings, and quotes from all around the world about the war in Vietnam. It is an interesting museum because it tells the history of the war through the lens of the communist lens.
We went back to the hotel to cool off before starting our evening off with a classic storytelling show for the country: Vietnamese Water Puppetry. We sat front row and watched the water stage transform and tell a number of stories. There were 6 musicians and singers on the side who played instruments, added commentary, and sang while the puppets made their way all throughout the water; their actions telling the stories. It was a nice show that made us laugh multiple times, even though we couldn’t understand a word they were saying.
After the puppet show, we walked to grab a drink at Telephone Bar, which is an actual speakeasy. You step through an old English telephone booth and an automatic door opens letting you in to the dark, wooded, almost New York basement style cocktail bar.
We had a few drinks before heading off to our dinner at Da Vittorio in The Reverie Saigon Hotel. This hotel was absolutely lavish compared to most everything we had seen in Vietnam, and the restaurant was very high dining. We absolutely loved our Italian themed Michelin dinner, as it had been a while since we had been to one.
When walking home from dinner, we noticed a large stage set up in front of the opera house and could see about 60 Vietnamese youth practicing a choreographed dance and song for some kind of upcoming performance. It was quite a sight to see.
If you need a guide around the city, we highly recommend reaching out to our incredible two-day tour guide, John: johntran27979@gmail. com.
Next time we visit, we plan to check out:
The city of Hanoi (update: we went to Hanoi… details below)
Saigon Style for market shopping
The Alley
Nahu Nahu
Le Cafe des Stagiaires (Good view, a bit far)
Hanoi & Ha Long Bay
From October 15th to October 18th, 2023
Stay
Capella - centrally located, you can walk to the lake within 5 minutes, and around the whole city in 30.
See/Do
DAY 1
Walk around the city center of Hanoi which includes walking around Hoan Kiem Lake. They were just wrapping up some kind of festival when we went and the streets were still closed to cars. With the streets opened up for pedestrians, there were all kinds of gatherings going on in the streets and it seemed everybody who lived in the city was outside enjoying family time and the weather.
While walking around the lake, you’ll come across a bridge tot take you across to Thap But and Den Ngoc Son. You’ll need a ticket and they only accepted cash.
While walking around the closed-off streets, we saw large packs of at least 100 adolescents each, all dressed in black “goth” gear all doing coordinated dancing to K-Pop music for YouTube or TikTok. The song would change every 30 seconds and new people would pop in to dance the other coordinated song. It was a sight to see!
After you’re done on your walking tour around the lake, take a tuk tuk ride (the cyclists are everywhere) around the city. They took us to the sites to see around the outer ring of the city. Each Max and I got separate tuk tuks, the rides were around 30 minutes long, and they charged us 1 million per person (I think we overpaid). The guys know where to go and they take you on their route to see all the highlights.
While on the tuk tuk tour, we were shocked to see a magnificent and beautiful Catholic Church at dusk. The sun was setting, the church lights were just illuminating and the bells had just started to chime and ring through the plaza. Don’t miss visiting St. Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral around sunset.
DAY 2
We scheduled an old military jeep tour around the city and with a local guide who could take us to another outer ring of the city, point out sights to see, explain their culture and history to us.
The first stop on the tour was a Confucius Temple and Hanoi Temple of Literature. Confucius was technically from China, but he spent time in Vietnam. The temple was beautiful and peaceful - a popular site around the city.
After 30 minutes around the temple we went to visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We had tried to go earlier that morning but it was closed because an official from Russia had just visited to show their respects on that particular day (it may have been the anniversary of Ho Chi Minh’s passing). Oddly enough, he asked to be cremated, but for some reason they decided to leave his body in tact and bury it in a mausoleum.
The next stop was a government office where you could also see the home that Ho Chi Minh spent the remainder of his life. It was a a humble, beautiful and peaceful place.
On our way out of the park area, we visited the One Pillar Pagoda, which is where people may go to make prayers for fertility.
Last minute we had the opportunity (or idea) to go to the “train street” where you watch the cargo train run through the bustling town. We pulled over near the street, met a lady who had a shop on the “train street” and sat and drank a beer waiting for the train to pass by. The shop we went to was called Loki House and sure enough, the train tracks were 2 feet from the front of her store. When we sat down we realized the couple next to us had been waiting for 2 hours before we got there and no train had passed. Make sure to ask the right people or look up the train schedule to see when the train will come by. You’ll know a train is close when they remove the gate that blocks off the tracks/alley. It’s also unclear whether or not it’s entirely legal to do this.
We finished up our jeep tour and went back to the hotel to rest before the evening. We went to a water puppet show at Thang Long Water Puppet Theater (buy your tickets online) and saw an hour long show (about 10 different “acts”) that are all old folktales passed down from generation to generation.
After the water puppet show, we walked walk around the city at night to see how it comes alive. We came across womens organized exercise dance classes in the street, and also joined in on a latin america dance class in the plaza near our hotel. The locals were excited to have us there, took us out for a dance or two, and even shared their tea from their thermos.
DAY 3
When the Silk Road shops opened that morning Hailey went to have some clothes made by a tailor at Village Silk (@ 45 Hang Gai). The fun part is picking out the fabric, selecting the styles, and cuts, negotiating on price and a time for it to be complete.
Shortly after the clothes fitting, we left for a boat cruise tour around Ha Long Bay. On the way to Ha Long Bay we were taken to a pearl factory where you learn how pearls are made. Allegedly they use the same method that Mikimoto uses for their pearls. After the demonstration, you’re brought inside and left alone to shop at your leisure. While in Ha Long Bay we stopped off at a cave location to have a walk around. We were the only ones inside.
We chose to do a down and back visit, all in one day, but some people will go and spend the night to catch Ha Long Bay at sunset. There are even cruise boats you can choose to spend the night on overnight in Ha Long Bay. We opted for a private boat with just ourselves, which is why we made it a one day trip. You can’t lose either way.
Eat/Drink
Ate dinner at Bun Cha Huong Lien - the infamous location where Anthony Bourdain and Obama ate. In hindsight, the food was nothing different from what you would get at other places around Hanoi.
The most notable lunch we had was at Hanoi Food Culture. They had the most incredible Vietnamese dishes and everything on the menu was a hit.
Cocktails at Halfington upstairs, on the worlds 50 best bar list
We had another incredible meal for dinner at Vietnamese MET, there are several around town - they will all be delicious
Dinner at 1 Micheline star Japanese restaurant called Hibana where they served us Kobe beef, but before we ate they brought us the animals birth certificate so we could be certain about its strong pedigree.