New and old

Friday 12 Aug 2011. HCMC.

People milling about in a city park

Vietnamese lady in traditional costume

Brand new day, alone. Nice feeling. Ok ok I digressed.

Walking in this city is do-able and pleasant. I do the sensible bits i.e. bring along with me water, a cab and a light backpack.

I make my way to the area around the Rex Hotel and find a good money changer to do the necessary. I find the HCM Tourist Information Center at 92-96 Nguyen Hue St, Dist. 1 reliable and trustworthy. The office is located near the Air France city office. I also buy the bus ticket to Phnom Penh here at US$12. I am to take the Mekong Express coach at nearby Pham Ngu Lao St Sunday morning. I am happy.

The Tourist Center offers a Saigon Discovery half day tour of city at US$23 which covers Notre Dame, Reunification Palace and Ben Thanh but I know I can do these myself easily

Ben Thanh Market comes into view and I know I have been here before. It is an interesting place for seeing the sights and sounds. There is the ubiquitous hawker foods, and the fresh market. There is the touristy shops selling souvenirs, shoes, North Face backpacks, clothes, coffee beans, lingerie, and other nick knacks. There are lots to see and maybe to buy (bargain hard!) but on this day I am satisfied just to take in the atmosphere.

Ben Thanh

I took this picture of this building just outside the Market because to me it is an interesting building

I keep exploring other parts of the city and end up in Pham Ngu Lao and make a mental picture of the landmarks so I know it for my bus trip to Cambodia. I take a break there and have a coffee break at Highlands Coffee. A little more this time at VND 33,000 for an iced, milk coffee. It's ok because it is like a Starbucks with proper seats and music and air conditioning.

In a Highlands Cafe leather seat watching the people go by outside the window

Lunch is at Pho 24 near Ben Thanh which serves beautiful beef pho and broken rice. I have a Vietnamese Four Seasons which has several types of spring rolls (rice, shrimp) and different types of vegetables, bean shoots, and the iniquitous Vietnamese basil.


It is not heavy and fun to have to make your own spring rolls out of the rice papers provided. At VND 70,000 (US$3.5) it is relatively cheap. And very good. I will come back to this restaurant again.




After lunch I go to visit the HCM Museum. For history buffs it is a good stop to look at some artifacts, war related stuff, the re-unification process, the way of life before the war. I must say I am not keen on these.....

It's night fall and I am heading back to my hotel. After dinner I will explore this other Spa, the Golden Lotus Spa & Massage Club near my hotel. It offers Korea spa of sauna, steam bath, hot and cold jacuzzi pools, foot massage and hot stone back rub. And Lotus tea. Sounds inviting .....

The day ends and it is a mixture of new images and old. The forever flowing traffic of pedestrians, traders and bikes, the food, the lazy paces, the new skyscrapers, the hard working populace. More to come tomorrow.

Night Scene near Rex Hotel

More Night Scene