Old Saigon Walking Tour

Monument of Ho Chi Minh
in front of the People's Committee
Building (City Hall).

Our starting point for our one-month trip through Vietnam is this bustling, sprawling metropolis in the southern part of Vietnam called Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formerly Saigon.  It's a big city divided into 19 urban districts with even more new developments underway.  We are staying in the historic district, also the backpacker district 1, where it is still known as Saigon. 

One of the best ways to get to know a city is to explore by foot.  We decided to follow the path of Lonely Planet Vietnam's self-guided Old Saigon walking tour that covers 4 kilometers and approximately 20 sites.  The book said it takes 3 hours, but it took us more like 5 hours for a couple of reasons.


First, being a pedestrian in HCMC is a risky, slow-going, mentally draining activity on its own.  For starters, the sidewalks are more like parking lots, relegating pedestrians to walk on the edge of the road.  Also, stories of crossing the streets in HCMC is of legendary proportion.  It's definitely a real-life version of the frogger game.  By waiting around, you will never get to the other side since there are no breaks in the traffic and no cross walks.  Even if there were stoplights, motor bikes take exception anyway.  So, plunging into the stream of traffic full of cars, motor bikes, bicycles, carts, etc. is an act of faith but there are a few rules that will keep you alive.  Go slow and be confident - the cars and motor bikes will go around you.  Don't make any erratic movements or stop suddenly as this will surely cause a collision.  Follow a local's lead if you must.  Most importantly, once you step off the curb, be committed - don't ever turn back. 

Resting at a beer garden

Second, it's November and it is still 90 degrees with almost 100% humidity.  Not exactly an ideal climate for walking.  We had no idea we could sweat so much from places never sweated before.  Naturally, this requires plenty of hydration breaks along the way.  This probably contributed to our 5-hour walking day!

As a former French colony, one of the most striking features of HCMC is the influence of French colonial architecture and city planning with wide tree-lined boulevards, parks, and roundabouts that gives this Asian city a unique east-meets-west vibe. 


OLD SAIGON WALKING TOUR

Largest roundabout in HCMC that we had to cross to get to market.

Ben Thanh Market, known to the French as Les Halles Centrales, is an icon of HCMC.  There's plenty of souvenirs, clothes, and food that are sold here in aisles and aisles of claustrophobic maze.  It's a huge tourist attraction, and quite possibly, one can find bargains on just about anything here if they can get past the very aggressive vendors.  In all of the bustling markets we've been to around the world, we've never had vendors hold our arms and shoulders back while blocking our paths so that we cannot get through...until now.  Never in South America, not in Tangier, not even at the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul...wow.  If that kind of 'hard sell' works, good for them, but we were completely turned off by the whole experience. We did enjoy the produce and seafood stands outside! 

Outdoor produce and seafood market 

Mekong River catfish, still alive. 

Crabs and squid.  Small river crabs in far bucket. 

Clams and snails anyone? 

Snails crawling around.  

Next, we played "frogger" across the largest roundabout in HCMC to get to the statue of Tran Nguyen Han in the middle.  He was a general of the 15th century leader, Le Loi. 

View of new skyscraper being built.  Nice contrast to the old French colonial building in forefront. 

Close by was a quaint street called Antique Alley, full of...you guessed it...antiques and probably some junk as well.  One guy was selling the Iraqi currency with Sadam Hussein on it.  He was also selling US $2 bills (wonder how much he was selling those for!). 

Ton That Dam street was a more quiet market with locals shopping and more our speed. 

We then walked through the financial district of HCMC.  Currently, there's a few skyscrapers but more being built in this area.  We just hit lunch time where massive groups of workers in suits and office attire poured out of the buildings, looking for their noontime meal.  Lunch break is a 2-hour affair where everyone leaves and businesses are actually closed during this time. 

We walked along the Saigon River and came across the Majestic Hotel, a beautiful building that the Japanese requisitioned in 1925 for use as military barracks. 

Much of the riverfront is built up with docks for boat tour operators so it was difficult to get close to the river.  At the same time, we wanted to get away from the constant barrage of touts selling boat tours.  Finally, across from the statue of Tran Hung Dao, there was a quiet area looking over the river where we could relax without the harrassment.  An office worker must've also agreed.  He was completely passed out for a leisurely nap under some palm trees during his 2-hour lunch break.

Walking along Dong Khoi boulevard, we started entering the glitzy area of Saigon full of designer stores and high-end hotels. 

The Caravelle Hotel's original curved corner section housed the foreign news bureau, Australian and New Zealand embassies, and members of the press corp during the Vietnam War (or what the Vietnamese call, American War).  The 5th floor was bombed, so the hotel spent the rest of the war with its windows taped up.

Beautiful buildings in HCMC like the Municipal Theatre (formerly, Opera House) made us wonder if we were in Paris for a moment. 

Overlooking the theatre was the Continental, HCMC's most famous hotel as a favorite press corp hangout during the French War.  It was also the hotel featured prominently in the movie based on Graham Greene's book, The Quiet American.  He was a regular guest in room 214.

Across from the theatre was Lam Son Park.  We saw beautiful photographic displays of hilltribes and their environment from northern Vietnam. We can't wait to get up there and explore. 

One of the most popular attractions was the statue of Ho Chi Minh in front of the People's Committee Building (City Hall), formerly Hotel de Ville.  Again, another beautiful, ornate renaissance French building.

Notre Dame Cathedral.  No, we didn't suddenly forget where we're at.  We are still in HCMC and they have a Notre Dame Cathedral.  There is quite a large catholic population here. 

Sticking with the French theme, even the Central Post Office was designd by Gustave Eiffel (you know...Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty guy).

Past the cathedral, the large tree-canopied park was a nice welcome from the heat.  We strolled through the park to get a glimpse of the Reunification Palace.  We didn't tour the interior, but it is one of the most famous sights where the first communist tanks crashed through the gates of the palace to take over South Vietnam.  We may have to find time to visit the inside because from the description, the second floor sounds reminescent of Elvis's pad, complete with shaggy carpet, leather banquettes, barrel-shaped bar, weird animal wall hangings, three-legged card tables, cinema, roof top nightclub and helipad (wth?).  May we remind you that this was a presidential palace.  Apparently, these presidents knew how to have a groovy time.

After 5 hours of roaming around, we were very glad to be approaching our final stop, Turtle Lake.  It wasn't a lake at all, nor any turtles in it.  Simply a man-made pond in the middle of a roundabout with a weird communist-era, concrete, flower-like sculpture in the middle.  However, we were pleased to see a lady with a cooler selling ice-cold water, so we sat down and took a rest before hailing down a taxi to take us back to our hotel. 

We also found this banh trang nuong vendor by the pond (it's not a lake) making these snacks that looked like rice-paper quesadillas.  The rice paper was filled with pork, scallions, ham, chili sauce, and a quail egg; which was smeared around on the paper while toasted on the charcoal grill.  He was a pro at getting just the right amount of crunch and grill marks.  It was a delicious Vietnamese snack!

Overall, the walking tour was a great way to get a general sense of this thriving city and we highly recommend taking the route if you are ever in HCMC.