Ho Chi Minh City – Vietnam

Recently I paid my third visit to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) for the 3rd time, as the destination is not exactly a hot tourist spot, I decided to introduce the place to you.The skinny:

• Vietnam is the 13th largest nation in the world with some 83 million people
• HCMC is the largest city in Vietnam
• Way too many motorcycles
• Traffic is at a constant state of controlled chaos
• Chicks are cute
• Food is excellent
• People are friendly
• Things are generally cheap

Currency is Vietnamese Dong but USD is often preffered. US$1 is currently about at 15800 Dong.

The following photos will give you a better sense of what HCMC has to offer.

Traffic:
The traffic is generally very chaotic to foreigner, honking sound can be heard every 5 seconds. However, it seemed relatively safe at the lower speed of flow and people aren’t so full of rage like them road bullies you find in Malaysia.

lotsa motorcycles, and helmet is an option, not a must

Viet chicks on bike, you see that alot

more bikes, with valet service too

Food:
Being in South East Asia, the flavor of food does not vary too much from Malaysia or Thailand, and best described as a mixture of both with a hint of Chinese. There are very few fastfood restaurants around, and their beef noodles (Pho).. yumm.. ooooo yummm..

pho, comes with basil, bean sproud, and jalopeno pepper on the side, excellent

kerang bakar (grilled clam) is served here too

steamboat fish in slightly spicey soup base, plenty of vege on the side

mixed rice buffet style, similar dishes to Malaysian food

Cool Restaurants:
Despite being a relatively poor country, there still plenty of people with decent spending power, hence, fancy eat-outs. These places, however, are relatively cheap compared to Malaysian restaurants. For example, a decent meal for 4 fetches US$20

one of the cafes, better decorated than Starbucks, which they don’t have btw

another restaurant with nice rain forest theme

my favorite pho shop, a meal costs less than US$2

War History Museum:
The war history museum is a must-go place to get the perspective of Vietnamese side on the war that killed so many.

plenty of photos taken during the war

recreation of POW cells, and how Faggot will look like if he’s ever incacerated

more war remnants

Shopping:
What is a city without places to shop? They’ll just instantly lose 50% of visitors. You know which gender I’m talking about anyway. HCMC has all that covered, there are plenty of places selling everything from handbags to wooden decorative boats.

pottery and more

scaled wooden boats, these are from less than US$10 and up

MAS has 2 daily flights to HCMC. If you plan to go to Bangkok for the 2nd time or more, I suggest you might want to give HCMC a try.