It finally happened! We made our way to Asia during this long trip. We have been looking forward to quite a few things by making our way to southeast Asia. The warm weather, the great food, the kind people, but most importantly new experiences. We had never been to Vietnam before. We were incredibly excited and starting off in Ho Chi Minh City was a perfect start.
Like other countries we were able to visit, this was an awesome start since we were able to connect with old friends that lived here. We were welcomed to the city by an old teacher and his family. The Wrzesinki family was incredibly gracious and helpful in our trip. Not only were they able to give us a place to stay, but also showed us around the city. Anytime you’re able to start an experience alongside friends is such a great experience. I want to give a huge shoutout to them and say thank you a thousand times over!!
Ho Chi Minh City is the capital of Vietnam and had a plethora of great history to learn from. I will say this is absolutely a city I could live in and I feel like we barely cracked the surface of this city. We stayed in the Tan Phong area of the city. It seemed to be quite Ex-Pat, and was really safe, nice and welcoming. If your looking for something that feels more suburb in the main city this may be a great option for you.
We started off our trip being toured around some great areas where quite a few backpackers visit. We were able to start in phạm ngũ lão and walked around to bến nghé. These were awesome areas to explore and walk around. You’re able to people watch, see cool shops and stop at some great hidden spots to eat. The people watching in this city is amazing! Whether its locals or other backpacking groups, there are so many opportunities to enjoy the people watching here. In the pictures below you will see an elderly man walking in his boxers through the streets just enjoying life. Secretly, those are life goals for me that Rain would murder me for.
So we ended up doing a trip advisor type exploration. It was an awesome experience that I really really recommend. It’s actually listed in our top experiences. We rode on motor bikes with different people that took us around to 5 or 6 local spots for different food and experiences. The people we went with were so nice and helpful. It really was a great experience to show you different areas of the city and enjoy cuisines that you may never have tried before. Unfortunately, I’m not able to see exactly who it was with so my apologies (message me if you recognize it!). Some of the places we stopped at are listed below. Here are a couple of the places that we stopped at along our trip! We got amazing coconut type ice cream that you can see in the picture below check out here. Also these type of egg and shrimp omelets that we had were delicious below and link here
Our time exploring the city transitioned to some of my favorite people watching on the entire trip. There is a famous street called BuI Vien that is well known known for all the bright lights, tourists, entertainers, bars, food, and fun environment. The only American comparison I can think of would be Bourbon Street in New Orleans. We didn’t really have anywhere specific that I would recommend. Just stop at a bunch of them! You’ll meet other people there, have beers or whatever else you might be into. Like anything, the later it gets at night, the more chaos ensues and entertainment you will find. This was for sure one of the highlights of the trip.
One of the bizzare things I never thought I would come across were these “Funky Balloons” that were filled with Nitrous Oxide. They bring them over for you to share with the table and it was hilarious to see alongside beers and sheesha. I wasn’t too keen on giving it a try, but some seemed to love it for obvious reasons.
The next day we went to explore the War Remenants Museum. This stop really had a big impact on us. It’s not often that you experience something like this. We were exposed to the horrors of the war and the impact as Americans we had on this beautiful country. Not only historically, but what they are still experiencing to this day. We learned that there are still active efforts to find and remove mines that have been scattered across the country. The long term impacts of the type of biological warefare that was used. It was incredibly sad and moving. We didn’t really feel it appropriate to be taking so many pictures but we included a few below.
Overall this was a perfect stop for us to kickoff our trip in Vietnam. We were graciously welcomed and really enjoyed our time here. If you are making a trip to Vietnam, I really recommend having Ho Chi Minh City on your list!
Chasing Rain 