Saigon

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We stayed in Saigon (preferable to Ho Chi Minh City for a few reasons) for a few days - 6 nights total. We had the immense fortune of meeting a friend from home, Andy, a former part-time employee of Pho Pasteur Saigon who was in Viet Nam for 6 weeks on a vacation with his wife. We got to spend a fair bit of time with his brother (Huy) and sister-in-law (Trang) who were indefitigable in their pleasantness.

We tried to hit many of the local Saigon sites whilst in the city and did knock off quite a few. Saigon is a bustling place of over 7 million where the vast majority of traffic is by motorbike, the people are quite friendly, the food is varied, many buildings are 5 stories high and 5 metres wide, there is still a bit of resentment about the way the war ended, traffic has no rules, and the atmosphere is of capitalism.

Andy and his family made this stay in Saigon easier and very pleasant, allowing us to see things and spend time with people we normally wouldn't have had the chance to.

Sights

We did see many sights in the city that aren't listed below like the Ben Thanh Market, Notre Dame Cathedral, lots of Cho Lon (China Town), the riverfront, and loads of walking around. Spent a good amount of time on the back of motorbikes (prefered transport) and a couple of rides in cyclos (rickshaws).

Reunification Palace
Comments: Definitely late 50's early 60's architecture and decor. This place could have been right out of Southern California. Was originally the palace of the President of South Vietnam but was converted to a special government building after the fall of Saigon.
Cost: VND 15K
Worth it?: yes

War Remnants Museum
Comments: A museum about the war, with remnants of US/French ordinance and machinery. Loads of graphic photos and agent orange babies in medical sample jars - many parts of this weren't for the faint of heart. The best part of the whole visit here were the photographic essays by people of varying nationalities, especially the war journalists exhibition. We also go to view a documentary on the Japanese anti-war movement in the 60s and 70s - presented very well. The strangest thing though were the Zippo lighters and watches from American GIs for sale in the gift shop display case - the engraved captions alone diverted us for quite a few minutes. Nothing mentioned how they arrived there and whether they were willingly given or not. Overall if you looked at it as horrors of war, not just the nasty things that Americans did, it was easy toget past the blatant propaganda.
Cost: VND 15K
Worth it?: definitely

Jade Emporer Pagoda
Comments: A Cantonese Buddhist/Taoist temple. The statuary and wood work here were amazing and well worth the stop. Have to say though we're never really sure the details of comportment in foreign temples so don't stay to long for fear of screwing something up.
Cost: nothing
Worth it?: possibly

Vietnamese History Museum
Comments: Excellent selection of artifacts and really good presentation, though the guide that I bought was out of date for the organization of the exhibits. Stuff ranged from prehistorical to very recent and tended to focus on southern cultural history and artifacts.
Cost: VND 15K, VND 45K for out-of-date English guide book
Worth it?: quite

Meals

Not all the restaurants we went to in Saigon got noted, though we did enjoy many great meals with Andy, his wife, Huy and Trang, including Bun Bo Hue and of course Bun Cha and Bun Gio - mostly all had at nicely hole-in-the-wallish places. The fish in fish-sauce soup was dynamite, along with the cane juice and shakes in general. The live frying of jumbo shrimps in a Cho Lon riverside restaurant was an experience.

Hoa Vien
Comments: Met the owner Sovia Leung and the manager David. Food (western and VN, with nice specialties) and service were really good - kinda pricey - but the experience was talking to her (lived in Ontario for 20 years, from Hong Kong) about her arrival and business experiences. Learned loads about the logisitcs of doing business in Viet Nam.
Cost: $45US/night

Accomodation

Riverside Saigon Hotel
Comments: Something right out of the 60's - must have been a very nice hotel in the day. Reasonably well kept up but unremarkable. Stayed one night until we moved to Mai's.
Cost: $45US/night

Mai
Comments: No real name on the guest house but the proprietor is named Mai. Andy got us set up here and helped us get a good rate. The room was nice sized, the bed was comfortable and the place was very clean. Just off Vo Van Tan about 15 minute walk from the Reunification Palace. Stayed here 6 nights.
Address: 287/40 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Plauong 5
Cost: VND 100K/night, with VND 100K for unlimited laundry all week.

Shops

Booked a couple of short trips through the pervasive Sinh Cafe, and actually ate at the cafe a couple of mornings before heading off on the bus. The street that Sihn is on (De Tham) also is in the misdt of lots of western friendly restaurants and shops.

Did get the experience of a lifetime at a barber shop of Vo Van Tan - full shave, trim, ear and nose trimming, shoulder massage, and a a very creepy ear canal dewaxing - total VND50K. The tools got in so deep that Todd actually coughed numerous times cuz it tickled his throat.

Sinh Cafe
Comments: Very organized with a load of activities and tours. The tours themselves mostly consist of sitting on a bus or boat, but they are very reliable and not once did we have a problem with them. 1 day to Tay Ninh and Cu Chi - $5US. 2 Day to the Delta - $15US. Open ticket to Hue - $18US.

Xuan Thu
Address: 185 Dong Khoi St, Q.1
Comments: Lots of English, French and Vn books. Got a couple of books on linguistics, VN history, many nice cards, and of course 3 Asterix. Well laid out with very helpful staff.

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Updated: Apr-20-10

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