Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) > Reviews > Blackpool of Vietnam

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money
Shopping
Nightlife
Ease of getting around
Family Friendly

Advantages:	Cheap rooms and food
Disadvantages:	Tourism

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I arrived in Saigon from Cambodia having travelled from Cambodia overland. Saigon, or Hoi Chi Minh City as it was renamed after the war, is the largest city in Vietnam and has many attractions for travellers and tourists.

As Saigon is the most popular city for tourists, areas have become very commercialised which has led to a more competitive tourist trade but does detract from the overall feel of the city. It’s a good city to start off on a tour of Asia or Vietnam as everything you need is catered for. Most people in the tourist area speak enough English to communicate but this does lead to a lot of hawkers and beggars.

Even in a bar hawkers who move table to table will accost you with silk prints, cigarettes and lighters to name a few. I advise not sitting next to an open window as passing hawkers and beggars will try their luck.

The upside of this commercialisation is that this is the cheapest city in Vietnam to live. The competition has driven down cost so if your really on a budget you can say in a room for less than $5. I was travelling with a friend and we stayed in a $12 room. This was clean, it had a shuttered window and even a bar. Not a mini-bar but a full chest height bar with lighting.

Around the tourist areas the food is cosmopolitan. You can get a curry or pizza on most streets or try the traditional pho. Its good to get used to it, as you will have to hunt out western food in other areas of the country.

I found Saigon to be a bit disappointing culturally but this was the last city on my trip so perhaps I was a little cultured out by this point. I would advise going to see the war museum though and my high light was the day trip to the Cow Dai temple and The Cu Chi tunnels. Make sure you bring your camera as the Cow Dai temple is a must and the Cu Chi tunnels are a gritty reminder of the countries past. You can also shoot a M16 or AK47 if you so wish for $1 a bullet on a safe firing range.

My advise when planning a trip to Asia is to spend no more than 4 days in Saigon. Your trip will be short enough as you need a month to appreciate the whole country.