So, this will mark my last stop in Vietnam in my Southeast Asian backpacking journey. Today, it’s to the country’s former capital, Ho Chi Minh City (known as Saigon for the locals).
And so, the journey began with me taking the usual SinhTourist bus service from Mui Ne. The bus leaves at their ticket office (Sinhtourist always leaves at their ticket office) at 0800 hours. The ticket costs VND 129 000. Remember to book them earlier!
Journey to Saigon will take 6 hours. Surprisingly, the journey was a smooth one as the roads were in good condition.
So, 6 hours later, we reached the Sinhtourist office at De Tham St, in the backpackers district of Pham Ngu Lao. I booked a hostel at Mimi Backpackers Hostel for USD 10/N. There are many hostels and budget hotels in the Pham Ngu Lao area that you can find and most are going for about USD 10- 13 per night.
A word of advice: Navigating around Pham Ngu Lao district can be a pain in the A$$. I got lost there for a good hour before finally finding a local understands the address I’m heading too!! The address of the hotel you’re gonna stay don’t really tally with the layout of the street, so it’s best to ask locals for direction!
Saigon is really a busy city, even busier than the capital, Hanoi. Here, you can see many many pushy peddlers, motor taxis and even trishaws all bugging you to ride with them! Another word of advice: AVOID the trishaw at all cost!!! A fellow traveler was conned for VND 200 000 for a 10 minute ride.
The Pham Ngu Lao area is really busy with lots of tourist offices, restaurants, cheap eateries and even bars. It really gets lively in the night, closely resembling the nightlife in Phuket, Thailand. Upon reaching, I booked my Chu Chi tunnels half day tour for the following day and my bus tickets to Cambodia.
For those heading to Cambodia, I’d strongly recommend to get your tickets under Mekong Express Bus Service. It will cost USD 13 to Phnom Penh.
So back to Saigon, the city don’t really have much to offer, unless you’re in for museums and the busy traffic. I decided to do a free self-guided city tour. Just armed with the city map, I visited these attractions:
1- Reunification Palace. This palace used to be the working place of the President of South Vietnam back in the Vietnam war. The palace can’t be missed as it’s just north of Ben Thanh market. Tickets are at VND 30 000. Guided tours are available but are subjective on certain time slots.
To be honest, touring this palace without a guide sucks. There’s no any visual or verbal explanation going on, so it’s more like a photo stop here. I’d strongly recommend to go for the guided tour to better understand the place.
2- War Remnants Museum. This museum is dedicated to the events regarding the Vietnam war and it relates more to the American actions in the war. I would say the amount of propaganda here, well, you just need to be here and see it for yourself. War Remnants Museum is in close proximity to the Reunification palace and tickets are at VND 15 000.
The exhibits are explained in English and Vietnamese. However, they do portray some gruesome images of the war and a good dose of propaganda. Overall, worth a visit.
3-Notre Dame Cathedral. This is a French-built cathedral which kind of resembles the Notre Dame De Paris, in Paris. It’s a good stop for some photos and to just admire the architecture. The Notre Dame Cathedral is just beside the Saigon Post Office.
4- The Saigon Central Post Office. This post office actually became a tourist attraction due to the way it’s French-like architecture. It was actually designed by Gustav Eiffel. The post office is a nice place to check out for a photo stop. It’s located in close proximity with the Notre Dame Cathedral.
All these major attractions were all in close proximity to each other. You can’t get lost finding these. Just remember to get your free map from your hotel and you’re sure to find these places.
Now, for the Chu Chi Tunnels tour. You can find it through out the travel agencies in Pham Ngu Lao. Most agencies will sell you the half-day trip to the tunnels for USD 5-7 depending on the season. I got mine at USD 7, due to them claiming that they’re having a public holiday on that day. If you are going to pay more than that, probably you’re being ripped!
And do note that the price you pay is actually for the transport to the tunnels and the tour guide. You WILL have to pay a separate fee for the entrance to the tunnels once you reached there. I can’t really recall the price but it’s nowhere more than VND 100 000 per person.
Okay, now for the trip. The trip starts with you going down to the tour office that you booked that tour with. For USD 7, I don’t think you will expect a hotel transfer service. You get for what you paid for anyway. I began boarding the bus at 0830 local time. The bus is quite comfortable with a tour group of 20-30 tourists. A bottle of drinking water will be provided for everyone.
The journey to the tunnels will take approximately an hour. And don’t worry, the tour guide speaks good English.
Upon reaching, the tour guide collects the entrance fee to the tunnels and allowed us for a short toilet break. Then, we all proceeded to the entrance, where the guy there will paste a sticker on our shirt to indicate that we already paid for the entrance fee.
The tunnels area is in a remote forest-like area. Along the way, the tour guide will explain on how the VietCong soldiers survive, build traps, communicate, battle during the Vietnam War. It’s quite impressive on how they can actually build this network of tunnels during that time even with a lack of technology. There are also some small entrance doors to the tunnels and they are really small! Not for those who are claustrophobic.
Here are some pictures
The picture of the man entering the small hole is one of the entrances to the tunnels. Most of the entrance holes u see now are being designed to be bigger to accommodate western tourist, so you can actually imagine how small the entrances were actually are during the war!
Don’t worry about the booby traps too. They are all in an enclosed area and your tour guide will definitely demonstrate on how these traps work.
And so, after about 1-2 hours touring the tunnel complex, we reached this range-like complex. Here tourists can fire a range of weapons used in the war for a small price. If you don’t like the sound of guns, here is not your place then. There is also a small shop selling some tidbits, water and some souvenirs.
We continued the tour and this time, entering the tunnel complex itself! This activity is really not for those who are claustrophobic! You can actually choose not to try this activity if you don’t want to. But if you do, Â be prepared to sweat all over and duck-walk for some distances! A good stretching will actually help!
Just spending a few minutes in the tunnels is enough to make you sweat all over. The feeling is best described like being trapped in a small sauna. Actually, the tunnels have been made wider and taller to accommodate tourists. One can imagine on how those soldiers actually lived through those times in such conditions. That short “walk” in the tunnels really made me ponder for awhile.
After that, we were supposed to watch a propaganda video on the tunnels and the war. But on that day, the video system broke down and it’s time to head back to Saigon. We boarded the bus and went back to the same tourist office.
Overall, the trip is good. It’s cheap and really gives you a practical glimpse on how the conditions were like during the war. It’s really worth going when you’re in Ho Chi Minh City. Just remember to book your trip the day before!!
So that concludes my post about Ho Chi Minh City. Overall, it’s worth a stop if you’re travelling in Vietnam on a North-South route. And many backpackers will actually use Ho Chi Minh City as either a starting point or an ending point for travelling in Vietnam.
Prices wise in HCMC are reasonably cheap for a city. A night in a backpackers hostel with breakfast can cost up to USD 10/night. Most are located in Pham Ngu Lao district. Food restaurants be found easily. You can eat out at USD 2-3 per meal.
As for me, I budgeted USD 18 per day and it’s more than enough for me.
This will be my last stop in Vietnam. Be sure to follow up my next stop, the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh!
Redd Wanderlust 