Ho Chi Minh Trip 2016

Our trip to Ho Chi Minh a 3 night 4 day stay and is the 3rd country in Asia that we travelled for the year. We did not have much of itinerary for this trip, we just wanted to explore Saigon or widely known as Ho Chi Minh City and get a taste of their culture, local food and some tourist spots within the city.

We boarded Jet Airways from the Changi International Airport and arrived at the Tan Son Nhat International airport around noon time. They're one hour behind Philippine time just like Bangkok, Thailand.

Here are some snaps at the Changi airport and inside the plane. We only have one carry on as we were only staying for a few days and just packed shorts as the weather in Ho Chi Minh is really hot.

Snaps at the plane:

Aerial view of Ho Chi Minh City:

As soon as we landed, we grabbed a quick lunch at Burger King as we were already starving. It's located at the right most side when you exit out of the airport. We also wanted to get change for our 200K VND so we have change for our fare.

As per our research, the cheapest way getting to the city is through airport bus 152 for only 5000 VND per person and per luggage. The bus stop is located just across Burger King outside the arrival exit.

The trip took 30 minutes to get to Ben Thanh Market in District 1. There were no signs where to stop as everything was in vietnamese language. So to be sure not to get lost, we told the driver to drop us off at Ben Thanh Market. Aside from that, I've also researched a photo of Ben Thanh Market beforehand to know that we're on the right place.

Here's how Ben Thanh Market looked like:

At the bus stop in Ben Thanh market, we couldn't figure out where to board bus 45 and so we asked around. Unfortunately, none of the locals knew how to converse and understand English. So we asked a policeman which bus to take and showed him the address of our hotel. He told us to go straight ahead the Pham Ngu Lao road. So instead of taking the bus, we walked on foot under the heat of the sun and walked towards the Pham Ngu Lao road. We would ask police officers every once in a while and were told to just to walk straight ahead. The sun was up and it was blazing hot. We felt lost and thought we were getting farther to nowhere, we decided to get a taxi instead. We took the Vinasun taxi as they were known to be legit and wouldn't scam tourists. The driver was kind enough to give us tips on being careful of our belongings and mobile phones. The taxi fare costs 40,000 VND including tip.

It was only later that we found out  from the hotel's receptionists that we were already on the right track earlier and were only a few blocks more to the hotel. Also, that we could have taken airport bus 109 (yellow bus) getting to Thuy Tien Hotel since the bus terminal was located right out front. We could have saved the 40,000 VND we paid for the taxi. Well, we'll charge it to experience as what they say.

Here's a detailed info on how get to Thuy Tien Hotel.

So on our first day, we walked around to find restaurants as we were starving again. When we turned to the left side of the hotel, we only found a flea market and tons of coffee shops and grocery stores. We bought drinks and toiletries and went back to our hotel.

In the afternoon, we turned right this time and found a lot of restaurants we could dine in and massage spa's along the way. There's Burger King, Subway and more. We just walked through out the stretch of Pham Ngu Lao road until we reached McDonalds, cross the road, walked past Cho Ben Thanh market and went ahead Saigon Square.

It was only then that we found out that we could reach Cho Ben Thanh and Saigon Square on foot from Thuy Tien Hotel. 

Here's a map to help you out:

To Cho Ben Thanh:

To Saigon Square:
You will be able to pass by  Cho Ben Thanh when going to Saigon Square.

I think that's a good thing about walking around your hotel on the first day. You'd get to know the place better and you'd be surprised on what you'll find.

The one thing you got to be careful though is crossing the street. It can be very pretty scary during your first time as most vehicles don't follow their traffic rules.

Also, be watchful of your belongings like your phone and wallet for snatchers and  make sure your bag should always be placed in front of your body.

Here's how Saigon Square at night:

After checking out Saigon Square, we had a quick bite at McDonalds before heading back to the hotel. 

Here's Ben Thanh Market at night:

The trip definitely got us exhausted from getting lost and walking around under the heat of the sun. All we wanted to do was rest and go into deep slumber to regain our energy for the next day's set of activities. 

So when you're traveling to Ho Chi Minh, make sure you apply sunscreen to protect your skin from the blazing heat of the sun, bring your sunglasses, umbrella and keep a bottled water in handy to keep yourself hydrated.

Up next, check our city tour in Ho Chi Minh.