Chapter 42 - Vietnam - Part 4 of 4 - Saigon - Scooters, Skinned Knee & Mini New York Feel (12/15/25 - 12/18/25)

 

Corp in front of Independence Palace.

December 15 – Hello, Saigon

We flew to Saigon (also referred to as Ho Chi Minh City), and what should have been a quick, easy one-hour flight turned into a test of patience. Two separate delays stretched the day, and to make matters worse, a group of very rude men from India cut into the boarding line with their family of 20+ people. After enough was enough, we teamed up with two Russian couples in front of us and collectively shouted a firm “NO!” when yet another attempt was made to budge to the front. Not the smoothest travel day, but sometimes international teamwork saves the day.

We stayed in District 1, which is the busy, energetic downtown of Saigon.  It mixes luxury hotels and high-end shopping with street food, markets, historic sites, and chaotic traffic. We found it lively, dense, and constantly in motion.

December 16 – Sightseeing & Scraped Knee

We kicked off the day by stopping at the cutest bicycle/coffee cart for a cup of Vietnamese coffee.

The coffee was delicious!  I think I would stop there everyday if I lived there.

Next stop, the Jade Emperor Pagoda, built in 1909 and famously visited by Barack Obama. 

It didn't measure up to some of the stunning temples we have seen elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

On our way to the Saigon Central Post Office, I managed to trip—twice. 

The second fall earned me a scraped knee, which sent Corp on a pharmacy run for peroxide, ointment, and large bandages. After a short recovery break, we continued sightseeing.

The Saigon Central Post Office was designed by the same architect who designed the Eiffel Tower.  

Exterior of the Saigon Central Post Office.

The post office was beautiful inside, with vintage wall maps and still-working mail counters. 

Outside, I spotted a vendor selling cut-out Christmas cards—the same ones I’d bought in Hanoi and regretted not buying more of. 

I was so excited when I saw these cards again.  As we were deciding which ones to buy, people were coming up and we were helping the vendor sell them.

The next stop was Independence Palace, the former presidential residence of South Vietnam. Preserved exactly as it stood in 1975 when tanks rolled through the gates, it offered a glimpse into Cold War–era architecture, underground bunkers, and a detailed exhibition on the Vietnam War.

Corp with one of the tanks.

Preserved Jeep from the Vietnam War.

Communications room in the bunker.

Lots of typewriters in the bunker.

The plush Presidential Conference Hall was a stark difference from the stark bunker.

We wandered through Saigon Square, which felt a lot like a smaller version of Times Square in New York City.

Saigon Central is home to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Building.  It was originally a hotel in the early 1900s, but now is a government building.  Unfortunately, it was not open to the public. 

Next, we saw the iconic Café Apartments, an old building stacked with tiny cafés and boutiques. 

This is one of the most photographed buildings in Saigon.

Then it was off to Ben Thanh Market, Saigon’s central hub for souvenirs, clothes, and street food—very similar to many of the markets across Southeast Asia.

We stopped at Little Hanoi Egg Coffee, which I was told had the best egg coffee. 

I liked it, but wow—it was rich. Dessert disguised as coffee.

The inside of the Little Hanoi Egg Coffee shop was cool.  It took us awhile to find it because it was tucked back off an alley.

That evening, we experienced Bui Vien Walking Street, Saigon’s neon-soaked nightlife strip. 

Bui Vien Walking Street was loud, chaotic, energetic, and packed with people from all over the world.

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It was pure sensory overload!

And a great place for people watching.

December 17 – Parks & Goodbyes

We started the morning at Tao Dan Park, a small city park where we chatted with a kind Vietnamese man who walks through the park daily, tucking bread crumbs into tree bark for chipmunks and squirrels. He whistled for them as he went, though none made an appearance while we watched.

There were some pretty big trees in Tao Dan Park.

The day also marked Corp’s final Mixue ice cream cone of the trip—just 10,000 dong ($.38 USD).  

This was the smallest Mixue we went to for ice cream.  The shop couldn't have been over 15 feet wide.

December 18 – Homeward Bound

From the moment we left our hotel to the second we walked through our front door, the trip took 25 hours—a big improvement over the 37-hour marathon it took to get there.

Miscellaneous random cute/funny/interesting/weird pics/videos below…

We came across this very picturesque alley.

Vietnam is know for their beautifully decorated Christmas cakes.  It would be hard to cut into one of these beauties.

This lady was carrying her dog in a front backpack.  It was almost as big as she was.

We couldn’t pass up a photo like this. This bar had the most expensive beer we found in Vietnam—75,000 dong (about $2.85 USD).

Now this is a lot of cases of beer.

More street eating on little chairs.  We saw this all over Saigon and Hanoi.

These were the largest Christmas trees we saw in Vietnam.

Happy New Year Vietnamese-style.

Video of the traffic in Saigon.  It was much crazier than Hanoi.  

We hope you enjoyed Chapter 42.  Vietnam didn’t disappoint, and we will definitely visit again.  One lesson learned: November and December bring more rain than we’d prefer. Next time, we’ll visit between January and March.

Until next time - happy adventures!

Corp and Tammy

NOTE: The flight cost was $2,038 for both of us. We couldn’t pass up the cheap airfare. Average hotel cost was $57 per night.