Notre Dame Cathedral at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I once shared last year that I went to Taiwan because I needed a break from work (and from life in general). But a trip abroad wasn’t enough to relieve me of stress. So what did I do? I went on another trip! LOL. Only this time, I was with my closest barkada (a group of friends). The destination? Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC or Saigon), Vietnam.

This trip is memorable to me for two reasons. First, it’s my barkada’s first trip abroad. Actually, it’s our first trip together. We’re always incomplete when we travel locally. I guess an out-of-the-country trip has more power to complete the barkada.

Secondly, we had so much fun and laughter at this trip. That’s what I needed! One of our funny moments was when we got scammed. We were on our way to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum when we encountered a coconut vendor. He was friendly and he even let one of us carry his yoke so we can have a photo with it. Then immediately, he opened up 3 coconuts and sold it to us. The price for those coconuts? VND200,000! He told us that it’s cheap.

Let's make this scammer (middle) famous! LOL

We tried bargaining for the price and one of us even thought that we got the better side of the deal. But when we went away from the vendor, we realized that VND200,000 is roughly P500! Instead of letting it ruin our day, we just laughed so hard about it. (Since that day, we were suspicious of any vendor. We were scarred for life! LOL.)

A good dose of laughter is good for a weary person :)

But why Vietnam? Aside from the interesting attractions and amazing dishes (banh mi and pho!) one can try, the prices in Vietnam are incredibly cheap! Excluding our personal expenses, each of us just spent roughly around P15k for a 4N/4D stay. That already includes our Airbnb, airfare and Philippine Travel Tax!

So if you want to go abroad without breaking the bank, then Vietnam is an option. Let me recommend five activities that you can do in (and near) HCMC.

1. Do a Motorbike Tour

A common mode of transportation in Saigon (and in the whole of Vietnam) is the motorcycle. You’ll find swarms of them in the streets. And what better way to explore the city than by riding one?

My friends and I availed a tour via Klook. In just half a day (approximately 4 hours), we covered a lot of places, including (in the order of our visit): Thich Quang Duc Statue, War Remnants Museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Central Post Office, Saigon Municipal Opera House, the City Hall, and Walking Street.

Our friendly guides dropped us at Banh Mi Huynh Hoa, which is a famous banh mi shop and probably the best in Saigon. What a way to end the tour!

2. Learn About the Vietnam War

Vietnam has a long struggle against foreign powers, first with the French and most recently with the Americans. It’s war against the latter is a dark chapter in its history. While Vietnam won militarily, we all know that no side really wins in a war.

To educate people (and hopefully the education will teach humanity not to repeat history), there are museums and tours about the Vietnam War. One is the War Remnants Museum. This museum features exhibits that show the atrocities committed by the Americans. The exhibits show the Vietnamese side of the war, so obviously it will be biased and even propagandist.

At one of the galleries of the War Remnants Museum

Another popular tour is the Cu Chi Tunnels tour, which is outside the city proper. This attraction. This is a tunnel network used by the Viet Cong to combat enemy troops.

What I liked about this tour is that visitors get to go through a portion of the tunnels themselves and try food eaten by the guerillas.

Stay tuned for my entry on the Vietnam War.

3. Cruise Along the Mekong Delta

When the late Anthony Bourdain visited Vietnam, he made a visit, as any typical tourist in HCMC would do, to the Mekong Delta, a network of distributaries south of the city. While at the Delta, the host of A Cook’s Tour and No Reservations tried the coffee and noodles at the Cai Rang Floating Market, the largest one in the Delta. So I knew what to do.

Typically, tours to the Delta starts off from the city of My Tho. But since Cai Rang is located at Can Tho City, I booked a 7-hour private boat tour from there instead. I thought this was better because we got to avoid the “touristy tours”. But I have to be honest that I was underwhelmed by it. Except for coffee, I didn’t get to try other dishes at the floating market. In fact, there were only a few vendors selling cooked food.

Still, the mighty Mekong Delta is still worth a visit. You just have to find good tours. Maybe the touristy tours are better on this one.

4. Get a Panoramic View at Bitexco Financial Tower

The Bitexco Financial Tower is the second tallest skyscraper in the city and it used to be tallest in all of Vietnam one back in 2010. Designed to resemble the national flower, the lotus, the skyscraper consists of 68 floors and 3 basements, towering 262.5 meters (861 feet) high.

At Bitexco Financial Tower (Will I find the one in Saigon? LOL)

What’s fascinating about this tower is that it looks like the Stark Tower from the movie The Avengers because of the helipad at the 52nd floor. Unfortunately, the helipad is off limits to the public.

At the 49th floor of the skyscraper is the Saigon Skydeck, an observatory with a 360-degree view of the city. It’s a perfect spot to catch the sunset. Admission fee to the skydeck is just VND200,000. But for an additional of VND50,000, you can already enter The World of Heineken, which is an interactive tour of the beer maker’s history and brewing process.

5. Do a Food Trip!

Of course, you can’t leave the city without trying what is probably the best banh mi, pho, and other Vietnamese dishes you can ever try.

Stay tuned for my entry on Vietnamese dishes to try at HCMC.

Bonus: Visit the FITO Museum of Traditional Vietnamese Medicine

Located outside the city center and tucked away in a quiet neighborhood at District 10 is this interesting museum. The museum showcases the world of Vietnamese traditional medicine, which is heavily influenced by the Chinese. Its 18 exhibition rooms are spread in a 6-floor building, designed in different Vietnamese architectural styles.

The traditional medicines at FITO Museum

Visitors can wear a traditional pharmacist’s outfit:

Among all the museums we visited, this is the only one offering a free guided tour. The tour ended in a sampling of an herbal tea:

Have you been to HCMC? What else should I experience in the city? Comment them below!

Other entries in the Gone to Saigon series: Eating Banh Mi, Pho, and Other Vietnamese Dishes | Learning About the Vietnam War | Modern Vietnamese Cuisine at Anan Saigon

Gone to Saigon: A Throwback to My Ho Chi Minh City Trip