In March of this year, my husband, Kyle, and I and our friend Rheanna snagged cheap tickets to Vietnam on China Eastern Airlines. We had never been to Southeast Asia, but were excited to jump in starting with Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon). Since we were arriving in the middle of the night, we booked a hotel ahead of time. The Ailen Garden Hotel, located in District 1, was a great fit for us. Much like the hundreds of other budget friendly hotels in the area, it had a private bathroom, wifi, air conditioning, and no view. At $36USD a night for a triple room, it was definitely on the expensive side for our trip. Booking ahead of time definitely raised the price.
We spent the first few days wandering around the city trying not to get hit by motorbikes and cars. We visited the Ben Thanh Market, which was more touristy than we had hoped, and the Chinese Market, which ended up being more of a wholesale market than we thought it would be. We also checked out the War Museum and the Ho Chi Minh City Museum.
When we needed a break from the heat, we visited one of the local breweries in town. Pasteur Street Brewery Company offers six beers served in a small upstairs bar. We ordered the flight of beers and for around 175,000VND. It was expensive but tasty. We also visited The View Rooftop Bar on Bui Vien. The bar and restaurant has multiple floors, good drink prices (around 45,000VND for a mixed drink and 12,000VND for a local beer during happy hour), and cool breezes to help you unwind.
While in the city, we spent most of our time looking for delicious food and then eating that food. We didn’t have to look far when it came to street food and small restaurants. When choosing a place, we looked for busy spots and always asked for the prices up front if they weren’t posted. We ate phở, bún, meat on a stick, and every rice and meat dish we could find. We could usually find dishes between 25,000 and 45,000VND. When in doubt, we would check out the small streets (like alleyways) for delicious food. We ate a few times on one specific small street; To find it, look for an Indian restaurant called Taj Mahal . We ate at Taj Mahal one night when we needed a break from Vietnamese food, and then headed down that alleyway and ate whatever we could find that tickled our fancy already back in the mood for a local treat.
At night when we were ready to grab a drink or two, we headed to Bui Vien street. It’s a backpackers haven and a great place to find cheap drinks, but be cautious. We stuck to the small bars and restaurants with listed prices and red or blue chairs out front. There are definitely more expensive bars on this street and they are looking for a way to separate you from your money.
frugaltravelbug 