Saigon, Vietnam’s largest metropolis and the former capital of South Vietnam, is known as the most modern (and Westernized) city in the country. Now formally named Ho Chi Minh City, but still referred to as Saigon by locals, the city features more skyscrapers, shopping malls, and diverse restaurants than the city of Hanoi (Vietnam’s second largest city and capital). However, there is still plenty of street food to eat and cultural landmarks to explore, and the Mekong Delta is an easy day trip from Saigon. We had no problems filling our time with interesting activities.

Day One: Flight to Saigon, Lunch at Cyclo Resto, Night Street Food Tour

The flight from Da Nang to Saigon took ninety minutes and was quite pleasant, just like our prior Vietnam Airlines experience. We booked a Grab from the airport and headed to our hotel, Park Hyatt Saigon. While our room wasn’t anything overly luxurious, it was plenty nice, and the property felt grand yet modern.

By the time we got settled in at the hotel it was nearly 1pm and we were shockingly hungry again. Somewhere I had read about a highly-recommended casual restaurant called Cyclo Resto. It was only a twenty minute walk from the hotel, so we decided to walk and see a bit of the city.

Cyclo Resto offered four different set menu options, all very reasonably priced.
I chose the vegetarian menu, which got me spring rolls, soup, vegetables, tofu w/ mushroom, and steamed rice.
The walls were COVERED with notes by previous guests that had visited from all over the world

We had some time to kill before our street food tour in the evening, and wanted to work up an appetite to eat again, so we wandered around the city a bit in the afternoon.

This is Book Street, an entire street dedicated to selling – you guessed it – books. As an avid reader, I appreciated that such a place exists in the world, especially in this day and age.

Before we knew it, it was time to start eating yet again. We had booked a private evening food tour with Street Food Man – actually not just one man, but a tour company with many different guides. We saw numerous tours led by locals wearing matching T-shirts advertising Street Food Man throughout the night. A couple things I liked about this particular tour/company: 1) All the tours were private, so we didn’t have to navigate through a crowded city with anyone else, and 2) We chose a walking tour, which was much needed given the many courses (nine!) we’d be consuming throughout the four hour tour. They also offer motorbike tours.

First up: more banh knot! These mini crispy rice pancakes and their larger sibling, banh xheo, had become some of my favorite dishes in Vietnam.
I was going to miss all the fresh herbs in Vietnam

As we walked, we chatted with our guide, a young guy from a small town nearby, who had moved to Saigon for university. When we told him we lived in New York, he became very excited. “Have you seen John Wick?!” he asked us animatedly. Neither of us had seen it. “It’s my favorite movie. Keanu Reeves is my favorite actor. I learned English watching John Wick!” Wow. He learned to speak English from a movie? And a Keanu Reeves movie, nonetheless. Maybe I’d have to watch John Wick myself.

We felt very special in our VIP seats at the next stop
The chef at this stand has been making bot chien for more than twenty five years. Bot chien is essentially crispy fried rice flour bites served with egg, green onion, green papaya, and a sweet chili sauce. SO GOOD.
Bringing the concept of a chef’s table to a whole new level
I had gotten used to seeing entire families piled onto the motorbikes in Southeast Asia, but this was the first time I saw not one but two dogs happily perched on a speeding bike.

As we walked, our guide told me he had a question. Okay… “Your hair. Is it real?” HA. I tried to discern exactly what he was asking. “Well, it’s my own hair, so in that sense it’s real. But I do get it colored every few months,” I told him, figuring that the term “highlights” probably hadn’t been covered in his English class led by John Wick. “Why do you ask?”

He responded, “Well, I just don’t see hair that color very often.” I felt that I needed to clarify. “As a child, my hair was even lighter than this, but it started to get a little darker as I got older. I do get some color added now, but it is very much my real hair.” My initial answer seemed to satisfy him, but I wanted to be sure he knew that I hadn’t made THAT drastic of a change to my natural hair color.

Then it was time for banh mi!
Getting nice and comfy sitting on mini plastic furniture
Next stop: BBQ Seafood. We were definitely stuffed at this point.
Fortunately, we got a break from the onslaught of food with a walk through the night flower market
This sweet lady gave us lotus flowers and taught us how to fold the petals, a practice intended to enhance the natural beauty of the flowers. I proved to be a bad student, as she kept grabbing the flower from my hands and correcting my technique. I’m embarrassed to admit that this wasn’t my first rodeo – the same humiliating thing happened when I attempted to fold lotus flower petals in Thailand.

Our final stop was at an ice cream shop. I didn’t want to be rude, as the ice cream was quite good, but I was SO full. After a few bites, I deemed myself finished for the night.

Day Two: Motorbike Tour, War Remnants Museum, Pedicures, More Food

Even though our tour the following morning began at 8am, we forced ourselves to get up early to hit the gym in a woefully inadequate attempt at damage control. At this point, I’d probably need to run multiple marathons (ten? twenty?) to work off all the delicious food I’d consumed in the past week, but every little bit helps, right?

I had found this Saigon city tour on Airbnb Experiences, which would take us to all the main sights in Saigon, while also zipping us around on motorbikes. Our guides, two local students, picked up us at the Park Hyatt and we headed on our way.

Of course we started with breakfast. This was actually the first time I had pho in Vietnam (it was delicious).
Can you spot Vicki in the crowd of motorbikes?

After breakfast, we headed to the Jade Emperor Pagoda, a Taoist temple visited by President Obama during his visit to Vietnam in 2016.

Outside the Jade Emperor Pagoda, where incense wafted through the air
Inside the temple, we were inundated with a vast array of impressive statues and intricate woodworking
The next stop was the Central Post Office, designed to resemble a train station
You can really see the train station inspiration when inside the Post Office. I couldn’t imagine actually wanting to go to this post office for any reason as a local – it was overrun with tourists.
Just two of the many tourists visiting the Post Office during their visit to Saigon
Oh, there we are again! This is Notre-Dame Cathedral

The cathedral was built in the 19th century by French colonists using only materials sourced from France and has remained a popular attraction in Vietnam. Unfortunately, we were not able to enter the basilica since it was under construction for at least another eight months.

Here’s a fun fact: back in 2005, the statue (Our Lady of Peace) depicted on the left side of the picture was the subject of much attention when visitors claimed to have witnessed the statue shedding a tear. Thousands of locals and tourists flocked to the statue, causing a major clusterf***. Nobody has reported seeing a repeat of the miracle since, and the Catholic Church of Vietnam refuted the claim.

Next stop: The War Remnants Museum

I found the War Remnants Museum to be one of the most interesting (albeit depressing) stops on the tour. The museum mainly focuses on the Vietnam-American War, but also contains exhibits around the French-Indochina Wars as well. It’s difficult to see many of the tragic displays about war crimes, and the museum certainly does not paint the U.S. government in a positive light, but it also tells the story about the growing dissent amongst American civilians against the war.

There are exhibits about the advent of war journalism, as many U.S. journalists risked their lives (and some died) in an effort to tell the true story about the war. Other displays tell horrific stories about members of the U.S. military abusing their power in shocking ways, but also points out some heroes that acted as whistleblowers and/or saved innocent Vietnamese women and children from dangerous soldiers. I’m just scraping the surface, as there is much, much more to see and learn.

We walked out of the museum with somber looks; I felt similar to how I had felt after visiting the Hiroshima Peace Museum. “What did you think?” our guides asked us (they had waited outside while we toured the museum on our own). “It was depressing,” we told them. “But important to see.”

“Yes,” they said. “Don’t worry, there are no hard feelings. We’ve fought in lots of wars and we’ve always won.” This seemed to be the consensus from the Vietnamese people; we had heard similar sentiments multiple times during our visit, regardless of where we were in the country.

After the intense visit to the museum, it was time to lighten the mood with a visit to a local coffee shop before returning to our hotel

When we got back to the Park Hyatt it was only noon. I felt like we had seen so much already and we still had most of the day ahead of us. We didn’t have specific plans and we weren’t yet hungry, but we also couldn’t think of a lot more that we wanted to see.

“I know this may seem weird,” Vicki started, “But would you want to get a pedicure? I desperately need one.” Great idea! Vietnam was an excellent place to get a pedicure. We found a highly-rated spa a short walk from the hotel and settled into one of the best pedicure experiences I’d had in a long time (and at an amazing value). If you ever find yourself in Saigon and needing a beauty treatment, head to MERCI. They do nails, hair, waxing, and they have a beautiful cafe/bar on the ground floor.

Then we still had more time to kill. Vicki was flying out later that night, so I wanted to be sure she wasn’t missing out on anything she really wanted to do. She confirmed that she wasn’t, so we decided to spend our last afternoon/evening together with a drink (Pasteur Street Brewing Company), then some food (Pizza 4Ps), then some more drinks (2 Lam Son), and some more food (Secret Garden). Geez, I really feel like an overindulgent pig as I write this now. But who knew when we’d be back in Vietnam?

The name Secret Garden was appropriate – it was hard to find. We eventually spotted a building where diners appeared to be coming and going, and trekked up the stairs, passing residential apartments until we reached the rooftop above.
Behind Vicki sat a chicken in a cage. Probably the first time I’d seen that at a restaurant.
We ended our trip together back at 2 Lam Son for a nightcap. Vicki’s flight was delayed and the bar was on the ground floor of our hotel, so it seemed like the sensible thing to do.

As we sipped our cocktails, the couple seated next to us at the bar piqued our curiosity. The older white man was almost definitely American, and he had his arm wrapped around a younger Vietnamese woman. They were certainly in a relationship, as we heard the man telling the woman, “You don’t have to worry about your mother anymore. I have money. You have the power now.” We couldn’t tell exactly what was going on, but it creeped us the eff out.

Then it was time for Vicki to leave for the airport. I was sad to see her go, as we had such a fun time eating our way through Vietnam (while sporting all kinds of headwear). But, she had a job that needed her, and a husband that missed her, so I hugged her goodbye and made my way upstairs to get some rest before my final day in the country.

Day Three: Biking & Kayaking Through the Mekong Delta

My last day started chaotically. I had booked a bike tour that started at 7am, and somehow, after all the drinks to celebrate Vicki’s last night, I had forgotten to set my alarm. Miraculously, I woke up at 6:40, but still needed to get to the meeting point (about ten minutes away). Plus, it was raining. Things were not off to a good start.

After scrambling to get ready as quickly as possible, I rushed out the door of the hotel a little after 7pm, praying that the group would wait for me. Then the sky opened up and the light rain turned into a torrential downpour. I had no umbrella and no raincoat. Things weren’t getting any better.

As I neared the Opera House meeting point, I saw a van waiting on the side of the street. YES! I had made it. Then the van started to pull away. “WAITTTTT!” I yelled as I ran toward the van. It was no use – I was still too far away for them to see or hear me, especially with all the rain.

I ran up the stairs to the Opera House, where I’d at least have cover from the rain while I assessed my next steps. Pulling out my phone, I saw that I had just received a message from the guide, Quang. “Hello Andrea, we are waiting for everyone at the Opera House.” Ha. Not anymore. I responded right away, “I’m here! Where are you?” Thankfully, he agreed to come back to get me after picking up a couple more guests. I stood in the rain and felt guilty for the next ten minutes. It was not like me to be this irresponsible and keep others waiting; typically I was the one judging other travelers for being late or standing up a tour without any notice.

Finally, I saw the van pull up to the Opera House again. I ran down the stairs and climbed into the vehicle. “I’m so sorry!” I told everyone. “I somehow forgot to set my alarm and I think I got here right as you were pulling away. Thank you for waiting!” Everyone gave me polite looks and I settled into my seat, determined to redeem myself. We were going to be spending the next ten hours together, so I had plenty of time.

Quang spent the first hour telling us about himself and the day we had ahead of us, as well as asking each of us about ourselves. He was quite enthusiastic and a budding comedian; since we had an Aussie couple onboard, he had to tell us his raunchy Qantas joke (it took about ten minutes, so I will spare you the story here). In addition, every time he referred to the bathroom, he called it the “happy place.” I mean, I could think of a lot happier places, but I guess if you really needed to go, it would be a happy event. Eventually, Quang stopped talking and I was able to nod off for an hour or so (the drive to/from Saigon was about two hours each way).

Once we got to the shop in the Delta, we collected our bikes, helmets and green-and-white gingham scarves (to help protect us from the sun, although that didn’t seem to be necessary on this particular day).

Fortunately, it has stopped raining by the time we got out of the van. I wasn’t complaining about the overcast skies, as it would help to keep the temperature mild.
Me in my gingham scarf and matching green helmet. I was sad to no longer have Vicki, aka my protective headwear travel buddy with me. The cute schoolchildren would yell, “Hello!” to us as we passed them on the streets, so we would yell back and wave.
Jackfruit trees

One comment that I’ll make about biking on the paths around the Mekong Delta: it didn’t always feel that safe from an infrastructure standpoint. The narrow, arched bridges sometimes required us to build up quite a bit of momentum to get over, and they had no railings.

Once, I chickened out as I neared the peak of a particularly steep, narrow bridge and simply walked my bike the rest of the way. I had no desire to lose my balance and crash into the muddy waters below. In addition, some of the paths weren’t maintained very well. At one point, we rode over a path with a gaping hole in the middle of it. I managed to safely swerve to avoid the hole, but the poor guy behind me wasn’t so lucky and ended up losing his balance and falling into a mud pit. Thankfully he half-managed to catch himself, so he avoided an injury, but made a big mess of himself and nearly lost his shoe in the deep mud. Quang and I rushed to pull him (and his shoe) out, then ran him into a neighboring home to wash off.

Next, we stopped for lunch at a local “restaurant” (it felt more like a Buddhist community center, but the food was still excellent), then we were set free to explore the surrounding temples.
The complex included numerous temples and shrines, such as this one

After lunch, we cycled to the pier to board a boat and experience the Cai Be Floating Market. Unfortunately, I think the market is liveliest in the morning, and by the time we arrived in the afternoon, we didn’t get to see much action.

One thing I haven’t pointed out: most of the boats in Vietnam have eyes painted on the bow.

I wasn’t given a definitive reason for the eyes on the boats, but some of the theories are:
1) To help the boats find their way back to land
2) Scare off sharks or other dangerous water creatures
3) Bring good luck
Whatever the exact reason, my takeaway was that the eyes are essentially there to help keep the boat (and its passengers) safe. They also looked pretty cool.

After the market, we got back on our bikes for a bit, then turned them in for a new mode of transportation: kayaks. I hadn’t kayaked in years, but I figured that if I had managed to navigate a basket boat, I could handle a kayak.

I had a hard time not soaking myself as I paddled along the river, but I didn’t capsize or encounter any scary sea creatures, so I considered the 30 minute ride a success.

Our last adventure of the day was to take a water taxi back to the shop to drop off our bicycles and head back to the city. The captain let some of us take turns driving the boat, which seemed like a questionable idea, but I wasn’t going to turn down the opportunity.

Captain Andrea, at your service
Do I look like I know what I’m doing? Thankfully, there were plenty of life jackets for all of the passengers (but they weren’t needed because I was clearly an expert at navigating all sorts of sea vessels at this point)

After another two hour drive, that was it. My trip to Vietnam was quickly coming to an end. While I still had time in the evening if I wanted to go out and do something, I was exhausted and had a long day ahead of me, so I opted to stay in and get some rest. Next up? My first visit to the Philippines!

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