 | ||||||
| Ho Chi Minh City Hall |
 | |||
| Notre Dame Cathedral |
 |
| Cyclo |
 | ||||
| Old General Post Office |
 |
| Night Life at Bui Vien |
 |
| Botanical Garden |
 | |
| Bahn Mi |
 |
| Ben Tanh Market |
There’s
always going to be a first time in travelling. During my first visit to Vietnam,
I got scammed. Getting scammed is sometimes part of the adventure. It’s also an
eye opener that you should be careful at all times especially when you’re
travelling in a foreign land. We got scammed with our ride from our Airport to
the hotel. The taxi driver asked 30 USD instead of just paying him 10 USD. In
addition to that we only found few taxis roaming around the airport since we
landed at around 2 in the morning. We did not realize we got scammed until we
googled the information at our hotel room. The driver did not even bother to
turn on the meter of the taxi. We got pissed off and just decided to sleep and
prepare for the next day.
Come
Morning we decided to tour the City of Saigon. We thought that the tourist
spots were far from each other, so we rode a Cyclo to have the ultimate Vietnam
experience. The driver told us that we would only pay him 50,000 Dong to the
destination that we wanted to go, but instead he took us to a half day city
tour. After the 3 hour tour he asked 1,500,000 VDONG or 70 USD to us. We
thought that was expensive we gave the money to him and then he left us at some
random destination. We got so angry because when we googled it we should have
only paid him 300,000 VDONG or 15 US. That’s quite a lot a money for us since
we were just backpackers travelling with a budget. We got so angry with all of
the things that happened to us that we just decided to take a walking tour of
the city. Then we realized that every destination was just near to each other
we did not have to take a cyclo, a motorcycle, or even a taxi. We just did a
walking tour of the whole city of Saigon from 3pm till 7pm. Then we experienced
the night life at Vietnam. It was really fun since the night life in Saigon was
very simple, we ate street foods like grilled squid, octopus and chicken, served
with cold beer along the side streets of BueVien. We enjoyed the night life
there since it was fun to people watch and sit at their small chairs while
gossiping with your friends. The next day we just ate breakfast at the
botanical garden. We packed our things and left since our flight for was
at 11 in the Morning.
Even
though I got scammed in Vietnam, I will still want to go here again since I
love the place and next time I’ll make sure to myself that I will not get
scammed. I fell in love in this place since I realized that is like
the Asian Version of Paris. You would see so many similarities of their
infrastructures which was inspired during the French
Colonialism. Saigon now has the image of Paris since it has a Notre
Dame Cathedral; Opera House; Hotel de Ville; botanical gardens; parks; tree
lined boulevard and a Café Culture with an Asian Twist. I would
definitely recommend this place to my friends since the attractions are nice,
the food is great and commodities here are very cheap.
Getting There:
BY
AIR: Cebu Pacific Airways and Philippine
Airlines flies direct from Manila to Ho Chi
Minh City
Tips:
You can get cheap flights as low as 100 USD roundtrip to 200 USD ;
just wait for online seat sales so you
can get the best deals .
Where to Stay:
Pham Ngu Lao (backpacker area)- you can find cheap
accommodations from $10 to $20, this is also where you can find most of the
travel agencies in Saigon
Dong Khoi-this
area is where you can find more luxurious hotels which price ranges from $20 to
$100 USD per room per night.
Getting Around
The
best way to see Saigon is to walk.
If
you want to go from one place to another is by Cyclo (1 USD )
Rent
a scooter for $10/
Day
You
can also find metered taxis that can be found anywhere
Rent
a car but this is not available which would cost you $30 a day
Must See Tourist Attractions
Notre
Dame Cathedral; Reunification Palace ( Old General Post Office); Ho Chi Minh
City Museum; Ben Tanh Market; War Remnants Museum; Ho Chi Minh City Hall;
Municipal Theater; Botanical Gardens; Independence Palace; Cu Chi
Tunnels
Must Eats
Never
leave Vietnam while not trying the famous Banh Mi ; Bun Cha;
Cold Coconut Water served in a coconut shell;
Pho; Grilled Octopus; Fresh Fruits; Brewed Coffee; Spring
Rolls
Shopping
For the
shopaholic who wants to find the best bargain in Saigon you might
get awesome deals at the Ben Tanh Market and Thai
Binh Market.
Night Life
Bui Vien Street-
is the perfect place to chill and meet new friends, eat the local street food,
drink cold beer and do some people watching.
Travel Tips
-Get
a Tourist Map at the Airport
-Know
the plate number of taxi you’re
riding.
-The
best way to see the city is by walking. Just be careful when you’re crossing
the
street.
-Before
going here, make sure to have a photocopy of your passport in your
email
-Be
careful of your belongings since there are many cyclo thieves
roaming around the
city.
-Get
Lost. Have Fun. Do something crazy. Make friends. Always Trust your
instinct. Explore always.
Saigon 3 Days /2 Nights Itinerary and Budget
Day 1
|
Cost in USD
|
City Tour (Walking)
|
Free
|
Shopping
|
$40
|
Food
|
20
|
Nightlife (Street food and Drinks)
|
10
|
Day 2
|
|
Chichi Tunnel
|
40
|
Day 3
|
|
Last Minute Shopping and Food Trip
|
40
|
Roundtrip Airfare Manila-Saigon
(Promo Fare)
|
125
|
Hotel Accommodation ( 2Nights)
|
40
|
Total
|
$315
|
