Waking up early to go for a walk, sitting with coffee, and watching the street on the day of the change of season, Minh Hieu found Saigon different.
Tran Minh Hieu, 27 years old, is working as a tour guide in Da Lat. Hieu loves to move, loves to take pictures. His photos often record the daily life of people in the places he passes.
At the end of September, Hieu had 15 working days in Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first time he has stayed in the city for a long time. The weather here at this time has begun to change the season, and has just ended the peak of summer tourism, so it is not too crowded. “I thought, why don’t I try to live like a Saigonese, before every time I came, I was in a hurry, in my memory there were only cars and traffic jams,” Minh Hieu shared.
After finishing work, Hieu spent two days off to explore the city. He got up at 6 o’clock, walked around the area of Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon Post Office… This is when Hieu saw the most different Saigon, no traffic, not much noise, only a few people walking and cycling. doing morning excercises.
The cafes around the Saigon Post Office area open from 5:30, still not crowded. Each cup of coffee costs from 12,000 VND to 15,000 VND. Visitors to the bar are given the latest newspaper. Visitors can sit on plastic chairs to enjoy coffee like how Hanoians drink iced tea on the sidewalk.
The pigeons at Notre Dame Cathedral currently have about 400, cared for by Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Quang Thanh (46 years old, District 7). Visitors can bring their own food or buy from Ms. Thanh a food bag of 10,000 VND, including rice and green beans with shell.
“Early morning on Dinh Tien Hoang Street, District 1, working people went to work early in the morning with a piece of bread or a bowl of hot vermicelli and pho placed on plastic chairs. The market is open to welcome vegetable and fish stalls. , groceries… At about 7 o’clock, the street began to be bustling,” Hieu said.
At the end of September in Saigon, sometimes there are some sudden showers. The temperature ranges from 24-33 degrees Celsius.
Minh Hieu walked around the downtown area, enjoying the deserted space before the flow of people poured into the street to go to work or school.
Pink sunset on the Saigon River taken from Thu Thiem 2 bridge. Visitors can experience many different activities on the river such as: SUP paddling, which costs about 250,000 VND per person, watching the sunset, having dinner on a cruise. Boat fares from 260,000 VND to 1.3 million VND per person.
Minh Hieu suggested, if you want to take photos with Landmark 81, you can go to places like the pedestrian bridge, the giant Starbucks arch, or go to the rooftop bars around Binh Thanh district.
The last day in Saigon, the 9x boy went to visit the Zoo and Botanical Garden (Ben Nghe ward, District 1). This place is preserving and nurturing about 1,300 animals, 2,500 trees and more than 900 species of plants. The entrance fee is 50,000 VND per adult.
Photo: Minh Hieu