First-timer’s guide to Ho Chi Minh City
Amidst the heat and noise of southern Vietnam, Sam Sachdeva finds there’s action and tranquility on offer.
When you first make your way out of the airport, the heat and hubbub of Ho Chi Minh City can lead to sensory overload.
More often known as Saigon (by locals and foreigners alike), the southern city is the country’s largest, and has an economy generating 20 per cent of the nation’s GDP.
Perhaps best known for its role in the end of the Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh City buzzes with action, noise, and a wide range of sights.
However, there’s also tranquility on offer if you know where to look and what to do:
Navigate the stream of scooters
It’s not often that watching traffic is a form of entertainment, but it’s certainly a worthwhile pastime in Saigon. The city houses about eight million people – and six million motorcycles, with a steady flow of scooters beeping and buzzing around you. It’s possible to spot as many as five people on a scooter, with children in helmets sandwiched between their parents.
The pastime moves from spectator sport to adrenaline rush when you have to cross a road as they speed towards you: just move slowly but steadily, and they’ll whip around you.
Prepare to feel rich
The local currency is the Vietnamese dong, with one Kiwi dollar worth nearly 16,000 dong. The large difference can make calculating prices a little confusing, although it’s undoubtedly satisfying to temporarily see yourself as a millionaire when making a withdrawal from an ATM.
Make sure you double-check the fine print on menus and price tags, as some places drop three zeros from the figure for brevity.
Admire the architecture
The influence of Vietnam’s French colonisers is perhaps most striking in two pieces of architecture in the central city.
The Notre Dame Cathedral, opened in 1880, is a beautiful brick church with striking stained glass windows and plaques from worshippers inside. Across the road is the Central Post Office, complete with an arched ceiling, large painted maps and wooden telephone boxes. It’s still functional: while tourists snap photos and peruse the ‘‘I heart Vietnam’’ fridge magnets, locals write addresses on envelopes and tape up their parcels.
Peruse a historic palace
The Reunification Palace, also known as the Independence Palace, was the site of history during the Fall of Saigon when a North Vietnamese Army tank smashed through the palace gates to mark the end of the Vietnam War.
The palace remains open for visitors to look at the plush meeting rooms where the government of south Vietnam plotted how to defeat the communist North, as well as the concrete bunker and escape tunnels built to thwart bombing raids. Don’t be fooled by the tanks at the entrance – they’re replicas, not the originals from the day the war ended.
Feel a sense of spirituality
Vietnam ranks among the least religious countries in the world, but there are still a number of worshippers who follow Eastern religions like Buddhism and Taoism. That’s evident at the Jade Emperor Pagoda, a Taoist pagoda built in 1909 by the Chinese community.
Inside, worshippers clasp incense sticks between their palms as the smoke swirls into the air and catches shafts of sunlight in front of large papier mache statues of gods. Outside, entrepreneurs sell turtles, fish, and sparrows, to be ‘‘freed’’ in aid of a fruitful reincarnation.
Enjoy the view (and a brew)
If the heat and humidity become too much, there’s no better escape than one of the rooftops bars dotted across the city. Sure, the drinks are a little more expensive than you might find at ground level, but it’s worth it for the cool breeze and views of the skyscrapers and scooters at night.
Just one warning: if you go up at night, some of the house bands have . . . interesting . . . taste in covers, with a mix of Lady Gaga, Latin pop and lounge music.
Pay tribute to history
It’s no light-hearted jaunt, but a visit to the War Remnants Museum is essential to understand the devastating impact of the Vietnam War on the country.
Bluntly written information panels display the number of bombs dropped on Vietnam during the two-decade battle, while a room dedicated to the effect of Agent Orange includes photos of twisted limbs and bulbous heads – the legacy of birth deformities caused by the US when they dropped the poisonous herbicide on crops and forests.
Dig deeper
The Cu Chi Tunnels, an elaborate maze of more than 250 kilometres of tunnels as deep as 10 metres below the surface, provide some idea of how the Viet Cong won the war. While the communist fighters spent up to a week below ground, you get more than enough of a taste by crawling through a 40-metre stretch, shoulders scraping the sides and struggling to see – and that’s the section widened for Western tourists.
The one-hour boat ride to Cu Chi is also a great way to see fishermen and shacks along the sides of the Saigon River.
Park paradise
If you start to tire of the concrete cityscape, an early morning trip to Tao Dan Park offers a pleasant change of scenery. The 10-hectare park is filled with joggers all running in the same direction, men practising tai chi with swords, and shuttlecocks being batted back and forth in badminton games.
If you head to the southwest corner at around 7am any day, you can listen to a chorus of valuable songbirds learning new tunes off each other while their owners sip coffee and read newspapers.
Pick up a bargain
Shopping enthusiasts and amateur photographers alike will enjoy the sights on offer at the Ben Thanh Market. Those with a strong constitution can look at the oddities on offer in the wet market section, including pigs’ brains and cows’ tails – as well as live crabs trying to make an escape.
At the heart of the market are more tourist-friendly shops with a range of scarves, vases, and other souvenirs on offer. Just mind your belongings, and be prepared for the young saleswomen to notice your weakness – on my third (or was it fifth?) loop through the narrow passageways, I was greeted with disdainful cries of ‘‘You again? What do you want?’’
Fill up on pho
The Vietnamese noodle soup may be difficult to pronounce, but it’s easy to enjoy. While the slices of beef, refreshing broth, and slippery noodles are all tasty, the best part of eating pho in Vietnam is the wide array of fresh herbs that you can tear up and throw in, depending on your taste.
The soup is most commonly eaten at breakfast time in southern Vietnam – if nothing else, it’s a distinct change of pace from Weetbix or Marmite on toast.
Cool down with coffee
A perfect accompaniment for your bowl of pho is a glass of iced coffee – Vietnam style. The coffee is brewed using a metal filter, drip by drip, adding to its potency, then mixed with condensed milk and poured over ice. The result? A potent but sweet beverage that gives you enough energy for a full day of sightseeing.
Pick up some kitchen skills
If all the tasty treats from the street corners are giving you culinary inspiration, you can put your skills to the test and pick up some new skills at a cooking class.
GRAIN, opened by VietnameseAustralian chef Luke Nguyen, offers helpful instructors who guide you through a range of recipes, including pumpkin flowers stuffed with prawn, chicken and jellyfish salad, and sea bass steamed in a banana leaf. Paying a little extra gets you wine matching for your meals – worthwhile if you want to treat yourself for your hard work.