Enjoying delicious food, riding a double-decker bus, and watching a bamboo circus are suggestions for first-time visitors to Ho Chi Minh City.
Below is a 48-hour itinerary to explore Ho Chi Minh City suggested by Mr. Nguyen Hoang Long, a communications officer in the tourism field, for first-time visitors.
Day 1
8:00 am: Breakfast with bread
Banh mi is a name that many tourists mention when talking about the cuisine of Ho Chi Minh City. A traditional loaf of bread usually has a filling consisting of pate, assorted rolls, and sour food. In Ho Chi Minh City, visitors can also find new versions of this dish such as dipping bread, pan bread, ice cream sandwich.
According to Mr. Long, visitors can find loaves of bread with different prices, from VND 15,000 to VND 90,000. Visitors can refer to some addresses such as Huynh Hoa bread, Bay Ho bread, Chim Run bread.($1=24,000 VND)
9am: Coffee
The area around Notre Dame Cathedral, the 30/4 park is famous for its coffee shops. When enjoying coffee here, visitors will be provided by the shop owner with cardboard or canvas to spread out and sit on the ground. A few shops also equipped with small plastic chairs, but the number is not much. The price of drinks at the coffee shop is relatively affordable, from 20,000 VND to 30,000 VND.
“Sitting in a coffee shop is more comfortable than sitting in a coffee shop. This is also a central area, so it is easy to move to famous attractions such as the city post office, Notre Dame cathedral, walking street .. . is quite convenient,” shared Hieu Duy, a tourist who has experienced this activity.
According to Mr. Hoang Long, the number of visitors coming here at the weekend is quite crowded. To ensure safety, visitors should park their car in advance at the parking lot and walk through the shop. Before you leave, you should actively clean the area where you sit.
10am: Take a walk and take pictures in the city center
After drinking coffee, visitors can take a walk and take photos at some famous places nearby such as Notre Dame Cathedral, city post office, Nguyen Van Binh book street, Independence Palace… are historic, iconic destinations of Ho Chi Minh City.
If you don’t want to walk, you can also choose to walk around the center by public bicycle. There are quite a few parking spots in District 1. Visitors need to install the TNGO application to rent a car. The cost of renting a car is 10,000 VND for 60 minutes.
12h: Lunch with grilled pork vermicelli
Vermicelli with grilled meat is also a familiar dish of Ho Chi Minh City people. Hoang Long suggested that first-time visitors to the city can try this dish at the barbeque noodle bar located on the sidewalk of Nguyen Trung Truc Street, District 1.
“Although it’s just a load of goods, the number of customers coming here is still very large. A full bowl costs 60,000 VND, including vermicelli, grilled meat and spring rolls. The meat here is marinated to taste. Spring rolls are a bit stale. Most impressive. It is a cup of sweet and sour fish sauce, eaten with papaya tubers,” commented Mr. Long.
3pm: City tour by double decker bus
After lunch break, in the afternoon you can visit the city by double-decker bus. Buses operate from 9am to 10.30pm daily. There are about 22 flights per day, the time between the day trip is 30 minutes and the night time is 60 minutes. The journey time is about 60 minutes (including 3 minutes at each point to pick up and drop off passengers). Visitors can buy tickets online or at the ticket counter at 92-96 Nguyen Hue, District 1.
The car passed 30 famous works and attractions in the city center such as Notre-Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, Ben Thanh market, Con Rua lake… The car is equipped with a multi-language voiceover system to help tourists. Visitors get to know more about each place they go through. The convertible design of the car also makes it easy for visitors to enjoy the street view from above and take souvenir photos.
6pm: Snail dinner
“Different from snail shops in Hanoi, which are mainly steamed with lemongrass or boiled, snails in Ho Chi Minh City are processed in different ways such as salted egg sauce, fried tamarind, roasted with salt and chili… more diverse”, Thanh Huong, a tourist from Hanoi, commented on this dish.
Although it is not a coastal city, the snail shops in Ho Chi Minh City have all kinds of snails, snails, snails, snails with nails. Vinh Khanh Street (District 4) is a famous street with many delicious snails. The quality of restaurants in this area is evaluated quite evenly, ranging around 35,000 VND per plate.
20h: Explore Bui Vien West Street
Ho Chi Minh City is known as the “city that never sleeps”. According to Mr. Long, if you do not experience the nightlife when coming here, it is a shortcoming. Bui Vien West Street is a suggestion for tourists. This area includes three streets Bui Vien – De Tham – Pham Ngu Lao (District 1). The neighborhood began to be bustling from 19:00 until the next morning. This is also the time limit for car traffic on Saturdays and Sundays. The street focuses on many nightlife venues such as restaurants, cafes, bars, and pubs.
Day 2
8:00am: Breakfast with Nam Vang noodle soup
This dish originates from Cambodia. The noodles are freshly cooked, served with shrimp, minced meat, quail eggs, pork liver, heart, vegetables, bean sprouts and chives. The broth is rich, with the sweet taste of dried shrimp. The price of Nam Vang noodle soup ranges from 40,000 VND to 100,000 VND per bowl.
Some reference addresses: Nam Vang Thanh Dat noodle soup, Nam Vang Lien Hua noodle soup, Nam Vang Nhan Quan noodle soup…
9am: Racquet coffee
According to Mr. Duy, flat coffee attracts visitors because of the interesting feeling when sitting and drinking, and racket coffee attracts visitors because of its unique way of brewing. Coffee powder is put into a cloth bag like a sock, dipped in boiling water, waited for the coffee to run out and then poured into a cup. Coffee racket has the aroma of pure coffee and the fat sweetness of milk.
Mr. Hoang Long suggested 2 places to enjoy racket coffee in Ho Chi Minh City: Racquet Coffee (Phu Nhuan District) and Ba Lu Coffee (District 5).
10am: Walking around Ben Thanh market
Ben Thanh Market is one of the oldest markets of the city, operating since 1914, is a famous attraction, attracting both domestic and foreign tourists. The market sells many items, from clothes, crafts, jewelry to attractive street food. In addition to shopping, visitors can also try some specialties of different localities such as Hue cake, vermicelli, vermicelli.
Visitors Thanh Huong commented that the market was clean and quite cool. What impressed her the most was the foreign language ability of the small businesses here, they can speak many different languages.
12h: Lunch broken rice
Broken rice is one of the must-try dishes when coming to Ho Chi Minh City. Not only breakfast, this dish is eaten by locals at all times of the day. A plate of broken rice usually includes a portion of broken rice, grilled ribs, cucumber and pickles. Tender ribs, seasoned with spices and grilled on a charcoal stove. In addition to ribs, diners can also choose from a few side dishes such as omelets, skins, and egg rolls. Fish sauce with broken rice is sweet fish sauce, cooked with candy and moderately spicy.
Visitors can visit Ba Ghien broken rice shop, Dang Van Ngu, Phu Nhuan district. The shop is the only broken rice restaurant on the Michelin Bib Gourmand (affordable restaurant) list. A full plate of rice here has a price ranging from 100,000 VND or more, featuring a large and firm grilled rib.
14:00: Visit the Fine Arts Museum of Ho Chi Minh City
In addition to modern destinations, historical sites are also one of the addresses that tourists should not miss when coming to Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Long expressed. Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum is located on Pho Duc Chinh Street (District 1). This place was originally the home of one of the four giants of Saigon in the late 19th century, Mr. Hua Bon Hoa. The museum was built in the French architectural style, combining some features of oriental architecture in decorative details, roof tiles, columns…
Not only attracting tourists, the museum is also a favorite destination of young people who like to take pictures in Ho Chi Minh City on weekends. The museum has also served as the setting for many famous music videos. The museum closes at 5pm.
17h: Dinner with Chinese food
Cho Lon area, district 6, district 11… in the city is home to the Chinese community. Chinese cuisine has gradually become a distinctive feature of Ho Chi Minh City. “If you haven’t been to Cho Lon to eat Chinese food, you haven’t gone enough of Ho Chi Minh City,” said Mr. Long.
The characteristic of Chinese dishes is that they are richly seasoned, combined with healthy spices and quite a lot of oil. Some typical dishes can be mentioned such as stewed soup, dimsum, roasted duck, fried noodle soup. Visitors can enjoy Chinese dishes at some addresses such as Ai Hue restaurant, Baoz Dimsum, Tan Hai Van restaurant.
6pm: See the bamboo circus
A O Show is a “new circus theater” performed at the City Theater, one of the ancient architectural monuments of Ho Chi Minh City. Using professional circus techniques and props made of bamboo, the artists told interesting and bold Vietnamese stories. The show takes place at 6pm, ticket prices range from VND 700,000 to VND 1,600,000. Visitors can update the show schedule and buy tickets online at the organizer’s website.
In addition to enjoying the performances of artists, visitors also have the opportunity to admire the impressive architecture of the theater.
Photo: Internet (Vinlove.net)