The Whirlwind Tour of Saigon

Here are some places that I took Max while he was in Saigon. All said, we had about 10 days total in Saigon but a few days were jet lag recovery days for Max and travel recovery days for both of us. (And lots of snuggle time)

You'll notice a ton of these are restaurants. I must have gained 5 pounds while Max was here.

Old Places (Spots I'd Seen Before)

1. Ben Thanh Market. It's a giant squared-in market with all kinds of clothing, food, bags, trinkets, and fake cosmetics for sale. Prices are a bit higher here than other markets but a lot of the vendors accept dollars and credit cards AND speak English (catering to the tourist crowd). Max and I bought some knock-off North Face bags for next to nothing.

2. Tao Dan Park. I am in this park almost every day with my hula hoops. I brought Max here and saw it with fresh eyes. You are not allowed to walk in the grass, but there's lots of statues and gardens to look at it. I love the way Saigoneers use this space. There's fitness classes, dance troupes, and English lessons sprinkled through the park at all times. It's definitely not a peaceful place to hang out, though, since it is right by Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, one of the most nightmarishly busy streets in town.

A thing in Tao Dan Park

3. Bui Vien/Pham Ngu Lao (Backpacker Street) These streets have a bunch of hostels concentrated all in one place, as well as food, bars, and shops. The bars are popular among backpackers and expats alike because they stay open LATE while bars elsewhere in the city close whenever they damn well please. There's often children eating fire for tips, vendors walking around selling drugs out of cigarette cases, obvious prostitutes, and travelers from all over the world. As you might imagine, it is great for people-watching.

4. Le Van Tam Park. This is another great park in Ho Chi Minh, and another excellent example of a public gathering space. The middle of the park is a big, smooth concrete slab with a large statue. Around this is a network of tree-covered walkways, a cafe, and a workout space. There's always foot traffic through the park but it really comes alive at dusk. Large speakers are brought out to the concrete slab, and there are dance classes available in various styles, from hip-hop, modern, and waltz. Some renegade break-dancers also appear on the fringes. There's usually little children zipping around on light-up rollerblades and hoverboards.

5. Indika House of Curiosities. I have probably spent more time at this bar than any other in Saigon. It's indoor-outdoor and hidden down an alley in an area called Da Kao. The walls inside are all trippy and painted, and the outdoor area is great for large groups. They serve all kinds of drinks, alcoholic and not. We hold our "circus nights" here one Sunday a month, which is the night I brought Max. Lots of people played with my hula hoops and poi.

6. Nguyen Hue (Walking Street). This is a long stretch of concrete with NO BIKES ALLOWED in the middle of District 1. Like the parks, Nguyen Hue is most crowded at night. There's young people huddled in groups around the edges, and vendors selling LED and glow toys for kids. Max and I bought this LED sky-dancer sling shot thing that you shoot up into the air and it slowly glides down. Nguyen Hue is a must if you visit Ho Chi Minh. It's free to hang out there, but there are tons of cafes, bars, stores, and vendors. Happily, many of the decorations from Tet were still lit and assembled when Max visited, so the street was even more beautiful than normal.

7. The Reunification Palace (Or Independence Palace). This is an actual tourist attraction that we had to pay 40,000 VND to enter. It was the home of two South Vietnamese presidents and is considered the official site of the end of the Vietnam War. It's a pretty crazy building, especially in comparison to the city around it. Everything in it is so overwhelmingly 60's chic. There's a helipad on the roof and a bunker in the basement. The plaques at each room are informative and interesting. I was exhausted after the tour though, because it is a LOT of walking and a lot of stairs, plus Max and I fit this into a pretty busy day.

Taken from the balcony of the palace

8. 4 P's Pizza Probably one of the best restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. This place is definitely not cheap by Saigon standards, but it is a very nice restaurant. A pizza that feeds one person costs about 200,000 VND ($9) but it is AMAZING. Max and I got a seat at the location near Ben Thanh Market without a reservation on a Sunday night. The service has a more western feel (server comes to check on you occasionally, they bring water, the server does not stand over you while you look at the menu, employees won't barge past you if you are walking around in the restaurant). They also have craft beers on tap and a good cocktail list. Even coming from New York, Max agreed the pizza was amazing.

Pizza #1, chorizo and sausage pizza. Pizza #2 not shown.

9. Propaganda This is an upscale-ish restaurant near the Reunification Palace that serves traditional Vietnamese food like spring rolls, pho, and rice. The inside is pretty cool looking and the food is good, if a bit expensive. Definitely check it out if you are in town, even if it is just to get a photo with the murals.

Max waiting for food at Propaganda.

10. Cuba la Casa Del Mojitos. Max wanted cocktails to change it up from drinking Saigon Specials (crappy beer) so we went and got the best mojitos in town. The happy hour is pretty amazing: buy one get one from 5 to 7. The mojitos only cost under 100,000 VND to begin with.

11. Quan Ut Ut. This place is a gut-buster and it is down the street from my house. It's an American Barbecue, and another pricier-than-average restaurant but it is so worth it. Max and I got a sampler which had tons of sausage, wings, ribs, pork belly, and okra with their sauce. It was our most expensive meal, clocking in at a whopping 1.2 million VND ($52!) but thats including 4 of the most expensive craft beers on the menu. I try to imagine what a restaurant would cost in NYC. There's 2 locations, and one is within walking distance of my apartment.

New Places (Well, new to me!) 

Me, Max, and passed out pug at Hachiko
(photo by Maxim Orlov)

1. Hachiko Cafe. Max found this cafe on Tripadvisor and we tried to research it on the Facebook page (which I have linked). Check out the reviews; their translations from Google Translate are pretty hilarious and confusing.

Anyway, Hachiko Cafe is a dog cafe with signs everywhere that says "Dogs Are Friends, Not Food." It's two floors with generally smaller dogs downstairs and big dogs upstairs. It smells pretty terrible in there and I am skeptical as to how ethical the place is. The dogs go to the bathroom right on the hardwood floor and they all seem really lazy and understimulated. I originally suspected that they were drugged from how disinterested a lot of them were, but after seeing them perk up and lavish one of the staff members with attention, I think they are simply tired of being touched by strangers. Also, once in a while, this trouble-making chowchow would go to the window and bark, which would set ALL of them off.

I had fun. A lazy fat pug fell asleep on me, and I got to pet a whole bunch of dogs. The drinks aren't even expensive.

One of the residents of Ba Bo Cafe (photo by Maxim Orlov)

2. Ba Bo Cafe. So as questionably ethical as Hachiko Cafe seemed, I definitely felt bad going to this place. Ba Bo is a "reptile cafe" hidden down an alley in Tan Binh district. I didn't feel so bad for the various reptiles in cages, or the big lazy iguana casually lumbering around openly inside the cafe. I did feel bad for the two live owls that lived there. One of them was chained to a post and stared at me with angry yellow eyes and screeched piercingly every 30 seconds or so. The other one looked like a fluffy Furbie. It wasn't tied to anything, but it also got around by hopping on things, so I think its wings were clipped. The guy working there spoke very little English but he was very sweet and tried to communicate with us through Google translate. I do think he loves the animals, for what its worth. He let Max and I hold a burmese python.

Max looking out the window. 

3. Bitexco Tower, HeliBar.  The Bitexco Tower is the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City. There is a big lip sticking out on it, where a helicopter could land if only helicopters were allowed to fly over Ho Chi Minh City. There is an observation deck at the 49th floor that costs 200,000, but there is a bar 2 floors above that where you can pay 210,000 for a mojito and have the same view. We opted for the bar. We lurked about until we got a seat near the floor to ceiling windows. The view really was breathtaking and totally worth it. The place was very crowded with tourists of all ages and there was this weird band playing covers of classic rock. I probably will not go back here to hang out, but I am glad that I went.