Loving Saigon and Leaving Vietnam

ANOTHER super livable big city?! And in Vietnam?! It’s true.

It’s taken me this long to figure out that I kinda love big cities. I’ve said it before, but maybe spending the majority of my life in a one-stoplight town has caused me to be in absolute awe of places where you can eat, drink, and buy anything you might ever need within a few blocks’ walk.

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly and more affectionately, succinctly (and easily) known as Saigon, was our last stop in Vietnam. And we’d only left ourselves five or six nights to explore the city before the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was going to force us to either get out or overstay our 30-day visas… and I’m not quite sure what happens if you do that so I didn’t take any chances.

But it was tempting. None of us were ready to leave.

Saigon is huge and sprawling, and damn it’s hot there. Everybody seems to make this comment, but you have to be careful of the absolutely crazy traffic when crossing the street (as with Hanoi), mainly due to the endless stream of motorbikes. Crossing with confidence and without hesitation is your best bet. It’s really part of the fun, especially when half of your group makes it across, leaving the other half stranded on the other side.

It’s been a while (as I am clearly so atrociously behind on blogging) since I was in Vietnam, so I had to think hard about what exactly we did in Saigon. And the answer is not a whole hell of a lot. Because the city is so giant and steaming hot (and because we unwittingly limited ourselves to a week there), we were barely able to cover District 1, which is where most hostels and all things backpacker-y are located.

So what did we actually do?

We went to the War Remnants Museum, which as an American makes you feel terrible, but it’s incredibly eye-opening and a must-do in order to help you understand both sides of the Vietnam War. The Agent Orange exhibits are particularly disturbing.

Also, the moment I’d been waiting for: trying out the street food of Saigon, which included lots of flavorful soups filled with diverse ingredients that we shared from bowls in small alleyways. It turns out that three is a magic number when sharing foods. (Of course, I welcome others to come join me on my travels so that we can order ALL THE THINGS and try them!)

Nat, Josie, and I had one bowl of bún riêu filled with snails instead of the usual crab and then directly afterwards, we had another bowl of soup next door, which was topped with meat that um, looked like turkey, but maybe it was pork?

I’d read it before, but it turned out to be true that the flavors of Saigon are different from those of Hanoi, and I’m still trying to decide which I liked better, though I’m leaning toward Saigon. They just seemed a little more, well, complex (does that make me sound super douchey? Terribly pretentious? I’m sorry!). The food of HCMC just had a little more seasoning, more spice, more something than the simple, clean flavors of the north.

But to be honest, I never had a bad meal in Vietnam.

Finally, after a month of searching for it, we were able to try bánh cuốn, a delicious breakfast food of steamed soft rice paper rolls filled with minced pork and mushrooms, topped with the ever-present fried garlic and scallions and accompanied by a very popular Vietnamese mystery meat (still don’t know what it is, still don’t hate it). One of my fave dishes in Asia so far.

There were just SO many street food stalls within a five block radius of our hostel that a quick wander equaled a purchase of too many dishes to finish. Oh, but we tried.

Nat and Josie also discovered an excellent lunch spot, 94 Thuy, famous for its crab. We ordered the morning glory with garlic to fill our vegetable quota for the day and then the crab noodle salad which was filled with seafood, but um, for some reason that didn’t get photographed. Those crabs though, they make an appearance…

Just after we arrived in Saigon, it happened to be St. Patrick’s Day, so we rested up in hopes of celebrating all day at an Irish pub in an expat section of town.

Typically this would be an all day drinking event – oh and it still was, for us – but it seemed that most other people around the city, aside from our small hostel group, didn’t get the memo that you’re supposed to show up at the bar in the AM. That didn’t stop us though, and things escalated quickly as soon as we discovered the much, much cheaper beers at the mini-mart across the street, which so graciously did not kick us off the steps right outside their door where we sat to drink them and eat peanuts.

Also, we took this big city time to go to the movies! When they cost $3, why the hell not? There were two movie theaters super close to our place and we visited both of them. And Zoolander 2 – umm, so much better than expected.

And then suddenly it was time for us to part ways. I was crossing into Cambodia, and Nat and Josie had a flight to Myanmar. As a celebratory final dinner together, we treated ourselves to a fancy meal at The Refinery – bottles of red wine, a cheese platter, hamachi crudo (oh, the things you miss while in Asia) – which turned out to be a real deal compared to what it would cost at home.

That night then spiraled into drinks at the rooftop bar of our hostel, followed by more drinks, tunes, and new friends at a strange bar/attempt-at-a-club on the water called The Observatory. We capped off the night with a 2 AM dim sum dinner at a restaurant which was surprisingly crowded for the late night hour.

We spent our final day in the city eating street food, finally finding the Saigon equivalent of Hanoi’s crack-like bún chả. After our delicious meal at a cheap local market, I then personally spent the rest of the day suffering from some bon voyage food poisoning. (I blame the ice in the tea I ordered out of hungover desperation… because neither Nat nor Josie got sick.)

And just like that I was saying goodbye (in between bathroom breaks and sweat-filled naps in my dorm bed) to some of the closest friends I’d made on my trip. I have no doubt we’ll see each other again, but for the time being, I was headed to Cambodia… destined to not eat for 48 hours, because you know, long bus rides and squat toilets and all that.

But seriously, this is one big city where I’d love to rent an apartment for a month and really check out all that the different neighborhoods have to offer, not to mention all the street food I have left to try…

Oh, Saigon, can we go back?!

Where I Stayed: Vietnam Inn Saigon. Great location, free breakfast, solid dorm rooms, and an excellent rooftop bar for meeting people. Book it in advance because it’s popular and awesome.

Where I Ate: Street food all around District 1, especially in the alleyways around the two nearby movie theaters. The Refinery for a fancy splurge of a meal. 94 Thuy for a dank crab lunch. (Links posted above)