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:
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.
