Ho Chi Minh City: The Saigon Experience

Ho Chi Minh City

Saigon

            The smoke from the driver’s incessantly lit cigarette poured into my face in a thick, steady, smoky stream mirroring the twists and turns of the nearby Saigon River as he weaved nonchalantly throughout Ho Chi Minh City with one hand on the handlebars of the motorbike. This true devotion to the cigarette is run-of-the-mill here in Vietnam, as we were soon to find. Nothing Interrupts a Smoke: perhaps an inherited philosophy leftover from the times of their French colonization, but who knows. We were picked up on a median wedged in the middle of a dizzying amount of traffic about one kilometer outside of the airport. Traffic moves differently here; in the same space that we would consider to be 4 lanes of car traffic, you can fit nearly 12 lanes of motorbike traffic – which is Saigon’s claim to fame, and also what is likely to be the first thing you’re really struck by when visiting the city.

While traveling with another person and initially landing in what is known to be the craziest of cities in the foreign country of your choice, your instinct may typically be to stick together, use the buddy system, and not split up until you’ve at least found yourselves at the hotel. But that is only in theory, and in practice you may be a victim of circumstance, as we were. We were only able to hail two separate motorbike taxis in order to transport us and our stuff from Point A: the airport, to Point B: the hotel they pretended to know the location of. We could tell by the shallowness of their affirmative nods and the banter between the two of them that they really had never heard of it and didn’t understand my handwriting… but in these situations you have to understand that they’ll do nearly anything to keep from  losing your business (that includes modifying the price). They don’t skip a beat in coercing you: hop on – hop on – hop on! They’ll find it. And after a couple turn-arounds, helpful side-street vendors, and the eager-to-help receptionist at one of the other 2 hotels baring the same name, somehow Bob and I actually ended up at the same, correct place.

This introductory trip through the city gave us a quick glimpse into the people, food, and good old fashion Vietnamese rain showers that would accompany us throughout our month-long stint here. It also guaranteed us that Vietnam was something different than what we’ve experienced so far; we’ve made the right choice in temporarily leaving our beloved Thailand – where we’ve grown comfortable, familiar, and confident among the people, culture, and language – in order to continue to experience the New and Different that surrounds us on this side of the world.

We arrived at Minh Chau Hotel to be welcomed warmly by the hotel owner, Phu (Foo), and a fellow visitor named Dan. Dan is originally from Vietnam and a veteran from the war; he has resided in California for the bulk of his life since then, and was in town visiting his homeland for some time before returning back to the West Coast of the States. We enjoyed his happy-go-lucky demeanor and will remember him as the first person we met in Vietnam.

Behold! The very first photo that I took in Vietnam

Phu instantly welcomed us with a map and a smile, eager to help form our stay here into the most enjoyable trip she possibly could. It is really special to meet people who are clearly fulfilled by utilizing their ability to help others. That is truly what Phu loves to do. So if you are looking to travel Vietnam and experience Saigon from outside of the spotlight; if you want a helpful new friend to ensure that you are getting around to where you want or need to be; if you want a peaceful rooftop garden restaurant with amazing food (cooked by none other than Phu herself) paired with an enjoyable view of the city; and if you want to have the perfect chance to get to know some of the colorful locals on a quieter, more intimate block, then I highly recommend that you stay here -- and when you get there, please tell Phu that Bob and Emily say Hi.

Bob and I have become quite used to long days/nights of travel. In this case, the affordable and sensible choice was to fly to Vietnam, something that is not usually an option for us. We were a little thrown off when we got to our hotel and checked in around noon with the whole day ahead of us, and with time and energy to explore and seize the streets of Saigon. No sleep-deprived delirium induced by spending the night on a sleeper bus; no stiff necks from long, cramped local bus rides – just a quick and easy flight, followed by an exhilarating motorbike ride, and BAM! We were there. We headed up to the rooftop for lunch with our first taste of bread in AGES, (baguettes, no less!). Phu was not particularly thrilled with our simple choice of egg sandwiches, as she was eager to cook us something a little more exotic and impressive, but we had gone so long without a breakfast sandwich that the temptation was too tantalizing. Despite the simplicity of our request, she added some true pizzazz with a wildly tasty Mango Milkshake. We agreed to order something a little more impressive for dinner on one of the following nights (which we did – and I highly, highly suggest you go here to try the pumpkin soup and whatever beef dish she tells you is the best, because it’s the truth; it will be amazing). After that we were off to explore the concrete jungle.

Happy Early (or late) Christmas from Phu's roof!

            Finding your way gracefully on, around, under, and through the bumpy, broken sidewalk bricks uprooted mostly by mammoth tree roots can be an arduous challenge. When you tack on the street food vendor’s glass display cases, the array of salespeople and happy, no-longer-hungry consumers that aid in congesting the sidewalk, obtaining a graceful street presence becomes an art-form. Not to mention that the sidewalks here seem not to be designed for walking; they are more frequently utilized as motorbike parking lots. But this is all just practice and training for what inevitably lies ahead on your way to get anywhere by foot: the need to cross the street. The patience, agility, and Spiderman-like heightened attention that you have been rehearsing while walking along the side of the road are nothing compared to the intensity that it takes to cross it. If you psych yourself up too much and think too hard about it, or if you try to map out a full plan of attack beforehand, you’re likely to panic if anything changes or doesn’t go according to your very methodical calculations.  Collect yourself and find an appropriate starting point. If you sense an opening in the traffic, know it will be fleeting and short-lived, so don’t second-guess or hesitate – just step off the curb right into the midst of the madness.

Bob crossing streets left and right with snacks in hand and blurry face. 

With enough focus and concentration, the blurred headlights, the buzzing whir of the engines, and the indecipherable, incessant beeping and honking all start to make sense. The chaos subsides once you become a part of it, and you grow to understand how things work in what from the outside looks like shear pandemonium. Once you’re out there you’ll find how quickly everybody zooming around you adapts, collectively. Don’t move too brashly or quickly; just keep a steady pace and stay alert, letting all the traffic work itself around you as you move predictably forward.

This guy is escaping the hustle and bustle in his ergonomically-designed break-time moto-lounge chair

            
Bob and I spent the first afternoon in Saigon walking around our nearby districts (10, 3, and 1 I believe), getting a feel for everything. After lots of walking, we decided to stop for a coffee. This was confusing. The Vietnamese word for coffee is easy: “CaPhe,” so we figured there was really no room for error there. But then we were left wondering what these tiny glasses filled with ice and half an inch of black syrupy liquid that smelled like chocolate liqueur that sat in front of us were? I hesitantly and weirdly enjoyed it. But that doesn’t mean I understood it. I was half expecting to spend the rest of the afternoon walking around loopy and dazed from whatever potion this bamboo dive that claimed to be a café just served to me... But that didn’t happen.

Imagine the Tim the Tool-Man Taylor sound of surprised confusion here.

Our next stop was our first taste of Vietnamese cuisine: Pho (if it’s okay with you, I’m not going to count our rooftop egg sandwich). This is potentially Vietnam’s most popular dish. It is pronounced “Fuh,” and your tone should rise as you say it – almost like you’re asking a question. It rules. It is a delicious bowl of rice noodle soup, usually served with beef or chicken, and herbs. It’s all about a good broth, though. Good Pho Stands can warm your soul and your belly. Vietnamese cuisine is similar to Thai food in the respect that they lay down the basics for you, and then provide you with a plethora of spices, chilies, sauces, and herbs/veggies for you to customize your meal to your liking. In Vietnam, fish sauce is king. In Thailand, fish sauce is also pretty omnipresent, but it’s saltier. Here in ‘Nam they go wild with the stuff. Sweet and sour fish sauce, fish sauce with chilies in it, fish sauce mixed with fermented peanut sauce, you name it. Alongside the fish sauce at the table of condiments, there is often chili powder; a jar of pickled garlic; a bowl of Serrano Chilies; a couple of indiscernible, fishy, paste-like substances that I am yet to have the ability to explain or describe to you; as well as some pickled vegetables (like carrots and tiny, baby eggplants); and also a plate of some greenery (mint, basil, lettuce, mustard leaves, other cool things I don’t know the names of). Needless to say, our first Pho experience was a success, despite the fact that the 10-year-old that tried to take our order couldn’t understand us and had to run upstairs and find somebody else to attempt the task.

Everybody, meet Pho.

After a big bowl of Pho, we decided to give CaPhe another go around to try to figure all of this coffee-related newness out, this time at quite an intriguing-looking establishment, with an extraordinary coffee bean display and selection. We sat down inside and placed our orders, falsely confident that this experience would be more “normal.” Instead, it unraveled to be even more perplexing than before. Two glass coffee cups were placed on the table with metal filtration devices directly on top. We sat and watched and waited as our individual coffees slowly percolated in front of us, yielding the same tiny (by mondo-American standards) half-inch of thick, strong, black coffee. At this point, it was settled: Vietnam has an incredible and exciting coffee scene. Apparently it is one of the biggest producers of coffee in the world, and, judging by the 30-second research that I just did on the inter-web, by “one of the biggest” I actually mean the second biggest, just behind Brazil. Did you know that? I did not know that. They specialize in the production of Robusta variety (very strong and highly caffeinated). Our coffee-shop visits cost us, on average, less than a dollar per cup (roughly 15,000 to 20,000 Vietnamese Dong). Visiting coffee shops in Vietnam has become a fun daily adventure for us. We’ll be sure to recommend noteworthy CaPhe shops to all of you future travelers out there who may follow along some of our routes. But now I want to talk to you more about FOOD instead!

Coffee Shop, Take 2.

The coffee-shop man was entertained by our confusion, and sent us away with some do-it-yourself supplies from his Hazernus (Hazelnut) stash.

Wowza check out those fruity hues

Mmmmm

Saigon has some pretty fun stuff going on when it comes to food. Our first night we stopped at the small seafood shop on our block, with a friendly family who was eager to cook us up some big fat snails. There was a generous bowl of them slip-sliming around, and they just pluck them up and toss them on the grill with some sweet and spicy chili paste smeared upon them. Chewy, but fun.  We had our first taste of Vietnamese beer here, also: Bia 333 or “Bia ba ba ba.” It was indescribably exciting for us because in Thailand you are pretty much limited to only 3 different kinds of beer (Leo, Singh, and Chang).

Step 1: Grill the Snails

Step 2: Apply Chili Seasoning to the Snails

Step 3: Examine the Snails

Step 4: Eat the Snails with a Tiny Fork

Step 5: Tell Emily to Stop Eating Snails so Creepily

Soon after we left whom we affectionately deemed “Snail Guy,” we met “Pastry Lady” further on down the street. She had a case set up with all of her pastry goods on the side of the street, and she quite enthusiastically persuaded us to try some of them. The Vietnamese have a pretty awesome and widely available selection of pastries. It’s very different from Thailand, where the only pastries we might eat come from a package in 7/11. This woman had banana bread that was weirdly dense and heavy, until we realized that was because there was a whole banana baked directly in the middle. Pretty innovative! We visited Pastry Lady nightly on our strolls around town.

Another key player in the “colorful local” scene of our Saigon experience was “Froggy,” the hilarious Vietnamese hard metal rocker with very few teeth and the voice of somebody who has been smoking since they were 4 (Bob dubbed him the nickname “Froggy” because his voice was identical to the “Little Rascal” who shares the same name). His face lit up to see us each night and share in some small talk (which consisted mostly of a lot of tremendously energetic charades and raspy attempts at English), and the ever-present offer to take us wherever we were heading on the back of his motorbike for “no money!”

Other things we ate in Ho Chi Minh:

-       Soft-boiled duck egg in an undisclosed alley way

Yeah, we don't understand either.

-       Outstanding seafood at Quan Be Asoi:

Seasoned Crab Legs

Enormous Grilled Shrimp 

Cocktail Shrimp. 

 Steamed Clam Soup with Lemongrass (the chef's recommendation, and mine now as well).

There is a whole strip of seafood places that offer the same sort of spread (and far more than what I’ve listed here), but you can tell that this place is something special. Each time we walked past, the seats were all full of groups of local friends and families with big smiles and huge plates of food and a hefty number of beer cans laid across their tables. You can tell a good place by these sorts of things. This guy knew what he was doing, and the people – including us – were definitely appreciative of it.

How do you not stop in at a place like this?

The man of the hour

-       Kebabs at AKC Chicken Kebabs: This was my first Donor Kebab experience, and yes, I know that it is not traditionally Vietnamese, but they do seem to be popular here and they are AMAZING at this place:

Kebab! We forewent the spaghetti

-       Com Chay (from any street vendor anywhere): This dish derived initially from rice farmers' creativity in utilizing the "broken rice" from their crops. They are like Rice Krispies, but they are not stuck together using marshmallow… Instead they are fishy, drizzled with fish sauce and dried shrimp and scallions. I would not exactly rave about this Rice Krispies Treat, but that is okay. It’s worth a try.

Com Chay, or as I like to call it, Com Just-Okay

This is really good! We were really confused at first by these machines that litter the Saigon streets, but they repeatedly crank sugarcane through the device and make you a refreshing juice from it. 

We visited the War Remnants Museum on our second day. It's hard to describe how it feels to see all of the pictures and read all of the stories from within the country where it all happened. It's much different than reading or learning about it in school on the other side of the world. Some rooms, like the Agent Orange room, are particularly gruesome. It was hard. It is important to see. Below are some pictures from the outside of the museum of some old weapons and planes from the war.









After that we felt like we needed to do something a little more upbeat and lighthearted…so we went and saw a Vietnamese Water Puppet Show, because, when else will you have the chance to do that on a rainy afternoon? We had no idea what to expect, but the show turned out to be really well done. It is such a bizarre thing to do that it is hard not to be entertained, even though you may not understand anything the puppets say. There were live musicians playing and speaking on either side of the set, and the whole thing was really impressive. (*Side note: don’t be deceived by number 15 on the playbill; it is not in fact Unicorns Playing with a Ball. They are Dragons. This was only slightly disappointing, because you can probably imagine our excitement and anticipation at the idea of seeing water puppet unicorns playing with a ball. The dragons were pretty cool, too.)

       The following day we explored the CuChi ("Coo-Chee" – hold your laughter, please) Tunnels. Some of the Vietnamese villagers and soldiers in the south of the country had developed a network of underground tunnels and living quarters to escape from American Soldiers. You are able to take a tour around the area which lies all on top of the underground network and learn about the systems, the Vietnamese soldier’s resourceful and clever strategies, and appreciate their knowledge of their land. After that, you are given the chance to explore the tunnels yourself. They are a bit different now: They’ve been slightly enlarged and cemented inside in order to allow visitors who are not of natural Vietnamese stature (in other words: big-boned Westerners), and also to make sure they are safe and relatively snake-less.

Bob disappearing into a secret tunnel passage

                  

Yeah... Maybe it seems a little twisted considering the circumstances. I think sometimes in the heavier moments you're allowed take a break from pensive reflection and have fun.

Tapioca root and peanuts - just the thirst-quenching snack you were waiting for after sweltering through the dark, steamy tunnels!

      So that's the gist of our few days in Saigon. A big city with a lot to see, a lot to eat, and a lot to appreciate. It was the perfect place to be welcomed into a new country, while being thrown head-first into the whirlwind of possibilities that it has to offer. Don't be afraid to jump right in and try some new things here; it's all part of the experience, and to quote wise and wonderous Bob Sohigian: "Let Saigons be Saigons."

Bye for now! Check back soon for some more stories and pictures from our Vietnamese Vacation