A Frizzy Weekend In… Ho chi Minh
I go-go gadgeted to Vietnam during my month-long Southeast Asia trip. I figured if I was around that part of the world why not visit. Hanoi worked out being far off my route so I visited Ho Chi Minh.
First Impressions
I arrived in Ho Chi Minh really miserable I’m not even going to the front. My plane was delayed, and when I eventually got on the plane there was some child behind me acting unruly. Plus I had been feeling sick since the morning. Potential food poisoning before a flight is stress. Whilst travelling through the city, it was way more advanced then I thought it would be.
Money
When I went in February 2020, it was 29,000 Vietnamese Dong to £1. They use notes, no coins insight. I struggled to adjust to the Vietnamese currency because rather than saying 20,000 they cut the extra so say 2,000 so I was forever left guessing.
What I Did In Ho Chi Minh
I visited the War Remnants Museum. There is some really graphic images and documents highlighting the horrors of what went down during the American- Vietnamese war. The effects of Agent Orange, you won’t be able to get out of your head!
Attempted to visit the Pink Cathedral. It was under construction when I visited so I couldn’t even get in the grounds. Across the road from the Catherdral is a sweet spot though. The Pink Moment Cafe serves fresh juice and smoothies with the best view. Each floor has a different theme. (The Cathedral visits are always to make my Ga’mama happy, I was more interested in the cafe)
Went and send postcards to my loved ones in Saigon Central Post Office. The building and architecture are beautiful.
Chilled in Cong Vien Bach Ting Diep park. The scenery is everything there. Ho Chi Minh, in general, has a lot of green space.
Haggled in Ben Thanh market. The market staff there are RUDE. You don’t have the option to look at their items, think about it and then come back later. They cuss you on the spot if you don’t buy. They take their potential sales very seriously, and their ego even more seriously.
Food
I felt so fragile when I arrived in Vietnam that I could only manage plain spaghetti on the first night. And I’m pretty sure I paid extra tax for being “a basic westerner”. I was a write off when it came to proper meals. I tried Pho, fresh spring rolls and random food at the night market and I wasn’t impressed one little bit. I’m usually a big-time foodie. The one thing I can recommend though is boiled cassava with shredded coconut on top. You can get them from stalls around the city. Sticky coloured rice is a thing in Ho Chi Minh. Anything goes hahaaa.
I’m guilty of being basic but I promise to always give it to you straight, I went to KFC in Ho Chi Minh. I was feeling so sensitive that I needed something to remind me of back home. #sorrynotsorry
If you’re feeling experimental there’s a whole leap of live seafood that you can buy from Ben Thanh Market, snails, crab etc. I saw a turtle and switched right off. I’m not on PETA level, but I think that turtles are my friends not food!
Ouuu also, if you want good dessert make sure you visit Roseice parlour. A cute pink shop that I randomly found. The layout reminded me of a scene from the Greece lightning movie. Premium gelato, boujie ice cream I’m here for all the way with the prettiest designs.
Say What Now!
One pull factor for me booking my hotel in Ho Chi Minh was the spa facilities. Swimming pool and sauna. Turns out the swimming pool had a pipe in/around it, so I swerved on that. And when attempting to check out the sauna there was a man right next to it sleeping. I don’t need that sort of stress!
I would avoid local restaurants in the party areas. Tourists that aren’t paying for the drinks of the women that work there get pretty much ignored. The woman who should have brought the drink you ordered 10 minutes ago could well be sitting on the lap of whatever westerner bought her a drink. The vibe is off. On one occasion one of the owner’s tried to stroke my hand and do the most after my meal.
Swipe Left on Cons
Learn from me not being on my A-game. I fell victim to the coconut con. It happened so fast that by the time I realised it didn’t add up it had happened and the man was gone. I was charged 150,000 Dong for a coconut (About £5.20) A small coconut as well. £5 weren’t going to break my bank, but my man legit made a nice killing, and he did it to like 4 of us at one time. It’s the principle. The taxi driver also tried to pull a fast one, but I don’t play round 2 to stupidity. The taxi fare will say like 20,000 Vietnamese dong and they will try to add another 0 to it as the fare. He got dismissed.
Wrap Up
Ho Chi Minh had some good places to visit, but the vibe just didn’t light my soul. The energy was off, and the motorcyclists were so unruly out there that crossing the road was problematic and basically a stunt mission. Unless I went with someone who was Vietnamese I wouldn’t fast up myself to visit the city again. There’s nothing magical about the city. The only great thing to come from Ho Chi Minh was my £3 hair cut. Actually and I bought some £2 jeans from a random store. They are really cute. Watch my mini Ho Chi Minh vlog here to get a proper feel of the vibe.
