Exploring Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

I spent today wandering around a bit and looking at some of the nicer parts of HCMC. Honestly, I don’t think it’s a very attractive place– one of those cities that feels crowded no matter where you go– but there’s some good parts to it.

Journal date: November 26, 2023

My first stop was The Hungry Pig, a Western restaurant with breakfast bagels (and more)! It was pretty good, but I miss Jomo Bakery from Laos— they had excellent breakfast bagel sandwiches there. However, Vietnamese coffee is probably the best I’ve ever had!

Then I went over to the historic post office to mail off two postcards to my family back in America. It was VERY busy, as the post office is a standard tour group stop, but I still managed to get my stamps and send my cards off without much issue. I recommend bringing your own pens with you to write postcards/addresses, as the provided ones didn’t work.

Next to the post office is a “book street” with several used and new small bookstores. Super cute! They had a mix of languages available, too, English and Vietnamese both. I didn’t buy anything, but I admired some of the cat-themed signage. After a bit more wandering, I headed back to the hostel to relax.

The streets in Saigon are so wide (and busy!) that I ended up taking Grab bikes everywhere because I didn’t feel like trying to fight traffic to cross the street. Luckily Grab, and Grab bikes in particular, are low-cost options for rideshare travel in most of Southeast Asia. My whole day riding from place to place cost less than $5 USD!

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More city exploration journal entries:

• Exploring Luang Prabang and nearby (Laos)
• Exploring Sukhothai’s ruins (Thailand)
• Exploring Hoi An (Vietnam)
• Two walking tours in Hanoi’s Old Quarter (Vietnam)