{"id":7226,"date":"2026-02-28T00:02:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=7226"},"modified":"2026-02-28T00:02:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T00:02:44","slug":"13-ho-chi-minh-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/?p=7226","title":{"rendered":"13. HO CHI MINH CITY."},"content":{"rendered":"

Arriving in Ho Chi Minh, we flew into basically the centre of the city.\u00a0 But are we in the right place?<\/p>\n

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Despite the name change in 1976, “Saigon” remains in common use.\u00a0 It was known as the “Pearl of the Far East” during the French colonial period.\u00a0\u00a0Whatever it’s called, it is Vietnam\u2019s largest city, with a population of some nine million people.\u00a0 (Hanoi has just over eight million citizens.)<\/p>\n

It is estimated that there are around 7.5 million motorbikes in Saigon.\u00a0 Approximately 25% of the population is aged under 16 years, so there are only about 6.75 million people of legal driving age in the city.\u00a0 This means that there are more bikes than riders!\u00a0 REALLY!\u00a0 In addition, around 1.5 million motorbikes enter Ho Chi Minh City every day.\u00a0 Commuters from the surrounding “countryside”!<\/p>\n

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Vietnam\u2019s traffic fatality rates are the second-highest in South East Asia (depending on whose figures you believe!).\u00a0 For the record, we witnessed just two moving traffic accidents.\u00a0 One, where a car had run into the back of another and the second where a motorbike had done the same thing to another car.\u00a0 In the first case the two drivers were talking animatedly to each other about the weather and the price of biscuits.\u00a0 In the latter case, the car driver was taking dozens of pictures of the scene while the lady motorcyclist lay motionless in the gutter.\u00a0 I was actively encouraged to NOT get involved…\u00a0 And I always do as I’m told!<\/p>\n

Like most countries, at traffic lights green means “go” and red means “stop”.\u00a0 In Ho Chi Minh, when they spot an amber light, everyone seems to think they should actually drive faster rather than slow down.\u00a0 However, in Vietnam, deliberately running an amber light is a serious misdemeanor!\u00a0 Equal to jumping a red light!<\/p>\n

We stayed at the Novotel, close to the Re-unification Palace (aka The Independence Palace) as well as the famous Post Office and Cathedral.\u00a0 We occupied rooms on the 17th floor.\u00a0 These gave us access to the “club lounge”.\u00a0 Drinks and nibbles all day, and quite a substantial buffet from 5.30 pm.\u00a0 It would be quite possible to stay here and not wander further affield than the 20th floor!<\/p>\n

Part of the buffet and our very friendly host, Hu\u1ef3nh Nh\u00fa (we called her “New”).<\/p>\n

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We did wander out and found a couple of restaurants locally with an interestingly varied menu – to suit all our tastes (although we never did actually find chicken fried rice for Glenda)!\u00a0 We came to what appeared to be an Instagram location, with people photographing themselves outside a restaurant complex (M\u1eb7n M\u00f2i).\u00a0 We waited till all the self-important people had grabbed their “Insta-moment” – then we took ours!<\/p>\n

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We also passed the War Remnants Museum.\u00a0 All locked up for the night, but some big remnants still very much on display!<\/p>\n

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This is a Bell UH-1 Iroquois “Huey” utility helicopter, which served as the primary workhorse for the US Army during the Vietnam War when about 15,000 were made.<\/p>\n

The “Huey” helicopter nickname originates from the phonetic pronunciation of its original Army designation, HU-1 (Helicopter, Utility), which was used when it was introduced in the late 1950s.<\/p>\n

Next day we went “walkabout” in the city.\u00a0 One of the things Linda wanted us to experience was the famous money changing operation near the Post Office.\u00a0 But first, Book Street!\u00a0 \u00a0Strictly speaking Nguyen Van Binh.\u00a0 Immediately adjacent to the Post Office and leading straight towards the Notre-Dame Cathedral, it is a charming, tree-lined pedestrian street.\u00a0 A hub for book lovers featuring numerous stalls with Vietnamese and English books, cafes and, according to my AI assistant, “a quiet, cultural atmosphere perfect for relaxing”.\u00a0 AI really needs to pay the place a visit.\u00a0 There’s very little opportunity for relaxation in our limited experience!\u00a0 The street was packed!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Turn left at the end of book alley, and there we are at the front of the Post Office.<\/p>\n

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Last time we were here, we met a gentleman well into his eighties.\u00a0 He sat in the back under the domed roof and wrote letters and translated messages for locals who couldn’t read or write.\u00a0 Sadly, although he is well remembered, he is no longer with us.\u00a0 Now there is no one to help.\u00a0 Maybe it was a dying need!<\/p>\n

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There are a few small “government”, trading outlets in the post office foyer.\u00a0 One of these is now short of a silver necklace – but only after a second visit!\u00a0 (Incidentally, in this context, “government” means “no bargaining”.)<\/p>\n

Now, back to money changing!\u00a0 Banks are for normal, reserved, sensible people.\u00a0 Street trading is for the enthusiasts!\u00a0 Some jewellery shops are known for their good exchange rates.\u00a0 Ha Tam is one such place.<\/p>\n

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There are about five queues approaching the windows where exchanges occur.\u00a0 Although, which queue you are in is not clear until you are next in line.\u00a0 We have $120 US from a trip years ago.\u00a0 They need to be exchanged!\u00a0 The procedure is to hand over the notes through small openings in the windows.\u00a0 They count and sort the money.\u00a0 The count is checked by a second person.\u00a0 Calculations are made and printed.\u00a0 Checked again by a third person.\u00a0 The deal is offered and, if accepted, zillions of Dong are dished out.\u00a0 I have to say that in the crush, I did feel a little exposed.\u00a0 However, the guy in front and beside me was taking a long time, but he was changing $10,000 US in $100 notes!\u00a0 His loot was carefully inspected note by note.\u00a0 Apparently, pristine notes get a better rate than dodgy, scruffy ones.\u00a0 The stash went through the automatic note counter twice (by different people).\u00a0 His transaction was checked by three staff members, but he just accepted a plastic bag with what must have been well north of a quarter of a trillion dong!\u00a0 I guess if a mugger was going to choose him or me, I’d be fairly safe!\u00a0 While waiting in “line”, the shop took two large suitcase-sized deliveries of local currency.\u00a0 It all seemed very normal and safe!<\/p>\n

Back to reality!?\u00a0 Coffee is the most popular drink in Vietnam.\u00a0 \u00a0In Ho Chi Minh City, it is more than a beverage, it\u2019s a lifestyle.\u00a0 It\u2019s served in a variety of ways in hundreds of coffee shops all around the city but the most popular way to drink it is served cold with condensed milk.\u00a0 Like this, it\u2019s usually thick enough to “eat” with a spoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

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On Nguyen Hue “walking street”, we came face to face with the “Cafe Apartments”.\u00a0 A famous, ancient, nine story apartment block which has been converted into a collection of dozens of unique cafes and boutiques.<\/p>\n

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Access is apparently hard to find (we didn’t try!).\u00a0 The elevator costs 5000 dong but the concrete stairs are free to use.\u00a0 There are still some residential apartments – mainly on the higher floors.\u00a0 On the top floor, allegedly, there is one of these “lived-in” spaces where the resident serves coffee in her living room.<\/p>\n

I didn’t know, but there is a guideline for peak coffee freshness.\u00a0 The 15-15-15 coffee rule.\u00a0 Green beans are best used within 15 months of harvest, roasted beans within 15 days of roasting, and ground coffee should be brewed within 15 minutes to capture flavour before it rapidly degrades due to oxidation.<\/p>\n

The “town hall” retains it’s French-inspired grandeur mixing well with surrounding high-rise buildings.\u00a0 Built over 125 years ago, I wouldn’t be surprised if it outlasts the surrounding steel and glass edifices!\u00a0 (On that thought, a little research online tells me that skyscrapers are generally designed with a 50-100 year lifespan!)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Originally built to serve as the city’s administrative centre during French colonial rule, it was renamed the Saigon City Hall in 1954 and became the People’s Committee Building in 1975.<\/p>\n

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Viewed from the pedestrian precinct in front of the building, Ho Chi Minh makes an appearance!<\/p>\n

Next stop, The Independence or Re-unification Palace.\u00a0 Outside …<\/p>\n

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… and in …<\/p>\n

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Every home should have one of these on the roof!<\/p>\n

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And, maybe, a couple of these on the front lawn!<\/p>\n

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On 30 April 1975, North Vietnamese tanks came (literally) through the front gate of what was then the South Vietnamese Presidential Palace.\u00a0 This brought to an end almost twenty years of conflict in the country.<\/p>\n

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Note the tank numbers!<\/p>\n

On the walk home, in a small, beautifully maintained park …<\/p>\n

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… we found a herd of horses gambolling on the grass.<\/p>\n

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Well, it is coming up to Chinese New Year in a couple of weeks.\u00a0 Next year is the year of the horse!<\/p>\n

One final mission before we leave Vietnam is to the fabric markets which were conveniently located a kilometre down the street from the Novotel.\u00a0 Just near the local school.\u00a0 At kick-out time.\u00a0 The pick-up-by-motorbike-jam time!<\/p>\n

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Inside one of the cavernous markets were dozens of tightly packed alley-ways full of individual traders desperate to sell materials of all types and colours.<\/p>\n

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If the vendor on one stall failed to “vend” on his or her patch, they were just as happy to take us to their cousin’s\/aunt’s\/best-friends part of the market.\u00a0 We were zigged and zagged through narrow walkways between the tightly stacked bolts of brightly coloured fabrics.\u00a0 After an hour of this “exciting” mission, Glenda managed to narrow the choice to one particularly attractive kit-form dress.\u00a0 She guessed three metres would do the trick.\u00a0 But …\u00a0 not at that price.\u00a0 “Well, how much do you want to pay?”\u00a0 “Sorry, no!”\u00a0 As we walked away…\u00a0 “OK!”\u00a0 I think our bargaining saved as about 20 pence.\u00a0 But then, the total price was only the equivalent of eight pounds.\u00a0 It’ll be a really cheap dress!<\/p>\n

So.\u00a0 That was Vietnam.\u00a0 I won’t forget those slippery steps in the water park in a hurry!\u00a0 Tomorrow is Hong Kong and onwards to Australia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arriving in Ho Chi Minh, we flew into basically the centre of the city.\u00a0 But are we in the right place? Despite the name change in 1976, “Saigon” remains in common use.\u00a0 It was known as the “Pearl of the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-vietnam-and-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7226"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7259,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7226\/revisions\/7259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tappstravels.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}