After spending nearly a week in Da Nang, Vietnam, it was time to visit the largest city in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, formerly named Saigon. Our visit was a bit different than to Hanoi or Da Dang. We had come to Vietnam because our daughter-in-law is Vietnamese. Her home town is actually south of Ho Chi Minh. Initially we planned to visit her home town as her parents have built a home there. Her parents planned to be there during our visit. However, as the trip took shape and changed over the planning time, a visit south became less likely. Our visit to Ho Chi Minh became more an acknowledgement of her family than a chance to explore the city.
Our flight from Da Nang didn’t leave until 1:30 so we had a slow and fairly quiet morning. The weather was wet so we didn’t go for a walk. Everyone else had left earlier. We were the last ones to leave. We got lucky at the airport. When we arrived, the line for checking in was going outside the roped area. We got in line expecting a long wait. However, a few minutes later a worker told us to go to another area where they were just opening up new windows to help. We went from the end of the line to the front of the line and finished checking in very quickly.
The flight was fairly uneventful and short. Arriving in Ho Chi Minh we immediately noticed the weather which was hotter and more humid. We had a car pick us up, and it was a nice car provided by the hotel. It had three rows of seats. We sat in the second row, and the seats reclined back significantly. It was a very comfortable ride to the hotel. It was also very long. Traffic was horrible. It took us nearly an hour.
Our first impression of Ho Chi Minh was that it is a more modern city than Hanoi. The streets seemed wider and more functional, and the buildings seemed newer. There were a lot more skyscrapers in the skyline.
We arrived at our hotel and shortly left to find some dinner. We enjoyed an excellent meal at an Italian place. However, it was on the pricier side of the meals we had eaten in Vietnam. On the way back to our hotel we took a different route and ended up passing by the Opera House. An event was just letting out.
After breakfast the next day, our first task was to find a place to do laundry again. We headed for a place that had good reviews online. When we arrived, it was a somewhat hole-in-the-wall place, but we left our clothes with the guy. It cost about the same as it did in Da Nang. However, he said he couldn’t have it done until late in the evening. The good news was, he would deliver them to our hotel.
As we had walked over we had passed the Bitexco Financial Tower, currently the second tallest building in Ho Chi Minh City. They allow visitors on the 49th floor. Since we had no specific plans for the day, we decided to go back and check it out. The price was reasonable so we went on up. We had a good view from the 49th floor. We could walk all the way around the floor so we saw all directions of the city. Fog/smog was somewhat of an issue, however, as well as some dirty windows. While we could see some distance, it was definitely not a clear view in the far off distance.
From this height we could see the flow of the Saigon River which is the main river that flows through the city. There are some other rivers that flow into it as well. On one side we could see many of the tall buildings in the downtown core. In another direction we could see the rooftops of the apartment buildings where it seemed many people lived. There was also an area that had some of the more historic buildings as well. It definitely gave us a nice perspective of the city.
Back on the ground we started to walk over to find a Starbucks we had passed earlier. On the way over we had one of those great serendipity moments when traveling. We heard some drums beating quite loudly. We were looking around trying to figure out where they were. Then we saw some people in costumes dancing to the drums. We wandered over to see what was happening. It turned out to be the grand opening of a small Mr. Waffle store. The dancing characters looked like dragons. After the entertainment they had a ribbon cutting ceremony. It was fun to see them and the young people who were beating drums and cymbals. One of those great unplanned cultural moments.
We found Starbucks and had some lunch and drinks. We then walked towards one of the historical buildings we had seen from the business tower, City Hall. This was a rather ornate building which was quite interesting. However, here we didn’t have such good luck. When we arrived, a crane was in front of the building with men being lifted up to pressure wash the outside of the building. Not exactly what I wanted in my photo. I did mange to grab a photo when the crane turned so that very little of it was showing.
In front of City Hall is a statue of Ho Chi Minh, the city’s namesake. Saigon is the name I heard during the news reports of the Vietnam War. However, after the war the government changed the name to honor Ho Chi Minh who had died. Despite this, the name Saigon is still commonly used for various things. For example we spent some time in the Saigon Mall. I wonder if the people in the south resent the fact that the government renamed their city after the leader they had fought against.
This part of town is also the location of the Opera House we saw the night before as well as a fountain with a lotus flower in it. The lotus is very symbolic for the Vietnamese.
The day was becoming quite warm and humid so we sought some relief at the aforementioned Saigon Mall. This was a large mall with quite a few floors, typical in parts of Asia. The top floor was mostly restaurants, and there were a lot of people eating there. It was clear that some people in Ho Chi Minh have money. This busy mall carried many top tier brands.
We returned to our hotel to cool down and rest some. We had expected to spend time with our son and daughter-in-law. Unfortunately Michelle had become quite ill. In fact they had taken her to the doctor, and she ended up in the hospital. Fortunately she was with her parents so they were able to take care of her. Aaron got a ride into town after lunch. It took him nearly four hours to get here. He was leaving the next day to go home while Michelle stayed to recuperate. He didn’t show up until after 7:00 pm.
Since they weren’t coming, we decided to go explore the nearby waterfront of the Saigon River. There seemed to be paths along the river we could walk. The challenge was getting there. The main road running along the river was packed with traffic on a Saturday evening. It was crazy. We finally saw a stoplight so we went there to cross the road. The traffic actually stopped as we crossed. That felt a lot safer for us than the way people crossed the crosswalk in Silvette’s video below without a light even though it was marked. (double click the video to make it fit your device)
The riverside was not quite as interesting as I had hoped. The paths were blocked off in one direction. It seemed they were setting up for an event. We walked the other direction and took photos of a bridge and some of the tall buildings in the area. Many of them had interesting lights on their exteriors which made them stand out. We also saw huge lighted billboards on the other side of the river.
Returning to our hotel we had a little bit of time with Aaron. After that we began to pack up to leave. While our trip to Ho Chi Minh has been brief, it did give us a sense of the unique nature of this city. We would be heading out of Vietnam tomorrow. Check back next week to see where we land.