First off, know that I am writing this post 1.5 years late and at this point I do it more as a travel diary so I don't forget some of the best moments I had while travelling through Vietnam at the speed of light.
I went to Vietnam by myself in December 2018, right after my solo-trip to Thailand. I flew from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and needless to say that I almost missed my flight because I couldn't figure out how buses work in Bangkok (despite seeming so simple on Google Maps) and that I had a hard time to find a taxi for a decent price. Ended up taking a scooter taxi (if that's a thing) and was holding on tight to my driver while trying not to lose my hat in the wind as we were driving on the highway or not to drop one of my bags lol (cause obviously I didn't pack light enough and was carrying 2 backpacks at all times). Luckily I got to the airport in time and soon enough was on my way to Vietnam. I remember that people in line at the gate were super loud and I panicked a little because I didn't know what to expect from HCMC as it is Vietnam's biggest city with a 8.9 million population.
I got to my hostel quite late that day because I had to wait some more at the SGN airport for my visa approval (they process the visa request online but only deliver it on arrival and to be honest the whole process seemed a little shady as different companies offered visa request services online for different prices, but there were no issues at the airport). And then had to wait a bit for the check-in at the hostel and was having a massive cold that the receptionist kindly offered me a warm tea! I still went out for a walk that night to (obviously) get some snacks from the closest 7-Eleven and check the food market out. Apparently this street foot market is very popular there and it so happened to be within walking distance from my hostel. I didn't quite do a lot of research before going to HCMC as my main focus was to visit Da Nang and Hanoi, but I ended up seeing many landmarks and being busy all the time. Most attractions were within walking distance from my hostel so I can't even tell if I so happened to choose an awesome location by accident or if everything is so close in that city.
This is the famous Ben Thanh Street Food Market (26-28-30 Thủ Khoa Huân, Phường Bến Thành, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam) and it has a large variety of different Asian dishes. I wish I went there with a friend or some locals because I felt a little intimidated by all the options and different flavours it was hard to choose a meal. However, I loved their juice bars! They make it on the spot, squeezing the fresh fruits and serving them in different combinations. It was so hot that night (or maybe I was just having a fever) and drinking that lime/sugar cane cold drink felt like heaven. No joke, I went there the next morning as well to get the same drink again.
So that would summarize my first day in HCMC. On the next day I woke up super early as I only got one full day to explore the city. In the morning I went to the Saigon Skydeck (36 Hồ Tùng Mậu, Bến Nghé, Quận 1, Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam) to see the city from the top floor. It was a little pricey (around 20$ if I recall correctly) but in my opinion it was worth it, especially if you're restrained in time, because it gives you a global view of this enormous city which you might not get to explore entirely (like me).
Here are some random pics from the city without much context to them. It's interesting how many scooters people use there and how crowded their streets are. Crossing the street there by yourself truly makes you fear for your life (unless you're born there I guess) and one time I had to wait a good 5-minutes before crossing and even then I only was able to cross because I followed some fearless locals that were sliding through the cars and scooters!
In the afternoon I went to visit the War Remnants Museum (28 Võ Văn Tần, Phường 6, Quận 3, Hồ Chí Minh 700000, Vietnam) and it left me speechless. All the expositions were so touching and sad but I 100% recommend going there if you're in the area. It's a whole other level compared to the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.
That evening I had to quickly pack my bags (not that I really had the time or need to unpack them :D) and head to the airport again. So my second day in Vietnam finished with me landing in Da Nang. There, I go by myself to the Secret Garden hostel, which by the way was one of my favourites. The sleeping pods were original and comfortable + they have an insane rooftop bar and they offered us free drinks on arrival. And when I say us, it's because there I met up with two of my dear friends whom I traveled with to Indonesia and Malaysia: Ekin and Olivia. If you're reading this I really miss you girls and hope to get to travel with you again sometime!
The next day, so my 3rd day in Vietnam, we paid for a tour to the Ba Na Hills, which is technically why we went to Da Nang in the first place. I really wanted to see the Golden Bridge but turns out December is pretty much the worst time of the year to go there because of the weather. It was rainy most of the time and we couldn't see almost anything because of the fog. We still got to take a look at the French Village and have fun at their playground or attraction site. However, this day-trip was pretty expensive so I wouldn't recommend going there unless you get a super good deal or you're visiting during the summer.
And here's the famous Golden Bridge if you can see anything + cute lil me wearing a rain poncho.
That day I was a little grumpy and mad at all the tourists and the bad weather but now looking back I think it was
still a great day. And little did I know that the next couple of days would compensate from all the sorrow I had during that day-trip. That night, the three of us flew to Hanoi and stayed at the same hostel again. In the morning, on my 4th day, we got up early to have breakfast at our hostel and OH MY GOD how good it was! We then went out to explore the city and its main landmarks. We had lunch at a fancy restaurant with a gorgeous view and had fun at the local French festival (by the way I had no idea how strong the French culture is in Hanoi and was genuinely surprised to see so many young students perform in French). Also, while we were visiting a local museum, a little boy approached us and just took me by the hand it almost scared me. And then he asked me quietly what my name was. He was so shy and was trying to entertain a basic conversation in English while I was very confused about who that little boy was and what he wanted from me. Apparently, from what our guide told us, some parents bring their children in touristic spots and encourage them to go speak to tourists so they can practice their English.
On the 5th day I said goodbye to my friends as we then had slightly different plans. It was my last full day in Vietnam and I wanted to visit Ha Long Bay and bought a day-trip package with a boat tour. On that small boat I met some cool people form New Zealand, USA and Austria. We even had a fancy dinner served on the boat and a "tea party" which was so cute. The nature was amazing and I can't even imagine how much better it could have been have I visited this place in the summer. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves and I hope to one day go back there and see the views with some more sunlight.
After this trip I returned to Hanoi and walked around the hostel a bit, went to the local night market and prepared for my departure. On the next morning I had a flight to Singapore and then the day after to Montréal. My departure was quite stressful because of some visa issues and I had to buy a new ticked with Singapore Airlines. That was not according to the plan nor the budget but at least I experienced the fancy Singaporean airline!
I really hope one day I can return to South-East Asia and visit again some of these places and discover new ones!
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