Meeting Kyo York - a handsome American teacher singing Vietnamese

Kyo York has gradually become more famous after appearing in Vietnamese showbiz many times, including on programs such as Tro choi am nhac (Don’t forget the lyrics), Thay loi muon noi (Let the music do the talking) and Guong mat than quen (Familiar faces), which is broadcast at 9:15 pm every Saturday on VTV3. 

“The organization board chose to invite me to Guong mat than quen because an American man speaking and singing Vietnamese attracts viewers. However, for me, it is an opportunity to satisfy my love for music as well as to raise money for charity”, Kyo shared. He first arrived in Vietnam as an English teacher four years ago. After learning Vietnamese for three years, he began to perform as an amateur singer, in addition to teaching English.

“Currently, I am spending more time singing, but I won’t stop teaching, since through this work I can help Vietnamese youths and be relaxed outside the complicated showbiz world”, he said. Asked about his disadvantages in Vietnam, Kyo said there are many. Asking for licenses from the authorities, for example, is something he has to do, and takes a lot of time. Fortunately, Kyo is always helped by his friendly colleagues and the local culture agency.

Kyo is a rare expat who speaks, sings, and lives like a Vietnamese. This Lunar New Year, he played the part of a Kitchen God, one of the Vietnamese domestic Gods that protects the hearth and family, in a special show celebrating New Year’s Eve. According to Kyo, this was a chance for him to understand more about Vietnamese culture.

Also this year, just like many Vietnamese, he visited Ba Chua Xu pagoda (the Lady of the Realm pagoda) in Vinh Te village at the foot of Sam Mountain, near the Cambodian border. “I was very happy that local people in this small village could recognize me because I know distinguishing Americans is a big problem with most Asians”, Kyo said. “There’s nothing difficult, there’s only the fear of the lack of will. I love this sentence of your country. Everyone may know it, but only some may believe strongly in it. It is one of the reasons behind all of my success”, he added. Kyo loves this country, but one problem is that he cannot sympathize with Vietnamese who litter.

Meeting Kyo York - a handsome American teacher singing Vietnamese

Hue Festival highlights - an international art feast

The 2014 Hue Festival, which opens tonight, Apr 12, and runs until Apr 20, promises to give flocking tourists a host of compelling art, cultural and fashion performances from Vietnam and 36 other countries.

From yesterday, the sparkling Hue streets have been packed with domestic tourists and foreigners, as well as groups of artists and artisans from across Vietnam and other countries. The 2014 Hue Festival, the 8th so far, attracts some 595 artists from 43 international art troupes from the five continents, along with 811 local artists.

The feast offers some 100 performances, which are strongly indicative of the countries’ and regions’ distinctive culture. The opening, which will take place at Ngo Mon Square 8pm tonight, will be aired live on VTV1 and VTV4.

Electro music feast

One of the new features at this year’s Hue Festival is the international electro music fest, set to run at the An Dinh Palace stage from tomorrow.

The fest will feature four celebrated electro music bands, the UK’s “Micachu”, France’s “Joakim Bouaziz”, German’s “Mijk van Dijk”, and Vietnam’s “Tri Minh”. The captivating performances by several world-leading DJs from Vietnam and several European countries are also expected to hold audiences spellbound.

The feast will also boast performances by Australia’s “Deep Blue”, Denmark’s Stoffer and Maskinen, Israel’s “Tararam” and Congo’s “Gasandji”, as well as shows which fuse Oriental and Western music like “Phuong Dong quyen ru” (The enchanting Orient) and “Vu cam” (Dances and musical instruments). The feast will close with a rock live show on Apr 19 evening.

Exchange of rich cultural hues

The 2014 Hue Festival, which has been chosen as “The East Asian – Latin American Cultural Exchange Forum” by Vietnam’s Ministries of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Foreign Affairs, will also highlight performances considered “cultural ambassadors” by many foreign troupes.

They include performances by Uruguay’s “Umbral Duo de Guitarras”, who seamlessly blends folk and chamber music; Argentinean artist Osvaldo Montes, who will showcase popular pieces along with excerpts from classic movies, and Brazil’s “Sururu Na Roda” band with their signature samba and choro.

Mongolia’s “Arga Bileg” band will fuse folk music typical of the prairie culture with Western jazz, while Mali singer/composer Musbaba is expected to bewitch the audiences with his combination with a Vietnamese “dan tranh” (Vietnamese 16-chord zither) artist.

The fashion spotlight

“Dem Phuong Dong” (Oriental night) has been one of the past Hue Festivals’ most-enjoyed shows.

This year’s show, to take place on Apr 13, 15, 16 and 18, will feature performances of traditional costumes from Japan, Korea, China, India, Mongolia, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Unlike in previous years when Japan sent only “yukata” (a kind of summertime, simpler “kimono”), this time the country sends over several gorgeous “kimono”, each of which costs up to some ten US dollars and takes no less than 90 minutes to don. Tourists will also have chances to don the simpler “kimonos” with the assistance of Japanese specialists.

This is the first time Malaysia and Myanmar have joined the Hue Festival.

Malaysia will showcase their 15 “baju kurum” (Malaysian women’s traditional attire), while Myanmar models will also don their traditional “thummy” at the “Oriental night” show. Other fashion highlights include Mongolia’s “deel”, China’s rare collection of time-honored costumes and Korea’s colorful “hanbok” on their iconic “oganza” cloth. Thailand has surprised the festival organizers by giving re-creations of weaving and sewing 15 new traditional costumes on a special kind of silk, which is exclusive to Thai queens.

Three renowned Vietnamese designers, Minh Hanh, Cong Khanh and Hai Long – The Huy will also showcase their stunning, elaborated “ao dai” (traditional Vietnamese long gown).

“This year’s festival has made a great stride by attracting a high number of foreign troupes, compared to the low number joining the first Hue Festival in 2000. The participating countries have seen great opportunities in showcasing their art values and cultural identities at the festival,” said Nguyen Van Thanh, vice head of the festival’s organizing board.

The 2014 Hue Festival’s main highlights: - Opening at Ngo Mon at 8pm, Apr 12 - “Ao dai” fest also at Ngo Mon at 8.30pm on Apr 14 and 17 - “Dem Hoang cung” (Royal night) at the Hue Royal Citadel at 7.30pm on Apr 15 and 19 - “Ngay hoi am sac Huong Binh” (Huong Binh music fest), which honors “ca Hue” (Hue folk singing), at Nghinh Luong Dinh at 8pm on Apr 16 - Fire installations by France’s “Carabosse” troupe on Truong Tien Bridge at 7.30pm on Apr 18 and 20 - Art street fest titled “East Asian – Latin American heritage and cultural hues” on Hue streets on Apr 13, 15, 17 and 19 - Belgium’s Merchtem stilt-walking performances and Poland’s “OSP Nadarzyn” orchestra performances on Hue’s downtown streets at 4pm from Apr 13 to 19 - Dozens of other shows and exchanges will also take place at Quoc hoc stage, Tu Tuong Park and 3-2 Park as well as other areas throughout Hue city and Thua Thien – Hue province.

Hue Festival highlights - an international art feast

Budget spending in Vietnam - easy and tight

Vietnam is one of the most popular budget travel destinations in the world.  Although one can have a very lavish vacation in Vietnam, it is still quite easy to travel on a tight budget.  The easiest way to travel frugally is to know how and where to find the bargains!

Food and Drink

Relatively speaking, food in Vietnam is cheap, especially if you avoid expensive restaurants which are generally targeted towards tourists.  One of the cheapest meals you can find is banh mi (a Vietnamese sandwich).  They are filling, non-fussy, and tasty!  Another budget food option is to visit a Com Binh Dan – a type of street food establishment with a wide array of dishes.  For less than 50000 VND, you can have a hearty and authentic lunch.  Less than $2 will also get you a hot bowl of pho, a cold glass of Vietnamese iced coffee or fresh cut fruit at the market!  The great thing about eating on a budget in Vietnam is that you don’t sacrifice taste and quality.  If you’re looking for cheap international eats, the backpackers’ area of Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi is the place to go.  Many small establishments and restaurants cater to the tourist crowd and provide no-fuss basic international meals at a very low price.

A streetside food joint, a Com Binh Danh is a popular lunch place for locals. Look for a place that is packed with people, indicating that the food turn over might be high!

When purchasing bottles of water, try to buy them at small stores or stands.  Bottles of water at hotels or restaurants can be very expensive.  Another cheap option to hydrate yourself at a restaurant is to order tra da, or iced tea.  It’s very refreshing on hot days and usually safe.  A glass of tea will cost much less than bottled water.  Although alcohol is very expensive in Vietnam, beer and vodka is quite cheap!  Beer costs less than what it would cost in the US or Australia – $0.50USD can buy you a big bottle of beer!  Even some imported beers are inexpensive.  As a contrast, wine is incredibly expensive as Vietnam is not known for producing wine.  Most wines are imported into the country primarily for tourist consumption so the markup is very high.

Transportation

It is common knowledge that planes will be more costly than buses and trains but if time is of short supply and if there are many destinations on your travel schedule, planes may be the best option for you.  Vietnam Airlines is the national airline company and although they have seat sales sometimes, they are not a budget airline.  That being said, Vietnam Airlines offers huge discounts if you book tickets during the last five days of every month (you don’t have to travel on the last five days, just book them when the discount is offered).  Alternatively, Air Asia flies to many destinations in Vietnam and is a pocket-friendly airline.  During busy season to a popular destination, we have found that there is little difference in price between the two airlines.  In these cases, and if demand for seats is high, booking early can sometimes be beneficial as prices may increase closer to the flight date.

For those with more time to travel by ground transportation, open tour buses are an excellent way to get from one destination to another.  Open tour buses are those that operate independent of an organized tour.  They are, by far, the cheapest way to travel longer distances in Vietnam.  For instance, you can take a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Mui Ne (a 4-7 hour drive) for $6USD.  Or, for around $50-60, you can stop at multiple destinations along your journey and stay as long as you want (as long as you give 24 hours notification before boarding the next bus).  There are many different companies that operate long distance buses – the tickets can be booked at a travel agency or at the actual company’s office.  In the backpackers’ areas, the offices are lined up one after the other.  The buses are assigned seating so it may be a good idea to get tickets early in order to get a seat that you want.  Trains are also a popular mode of transportation for long voyages.  On one train, Vietnam Rail operates the majority of the cars but many other private companies operate tourist cars on the same train.  The private companies are targeted towards tourists but Vietnam Rail cars are generally $7-10 cheaper than the tourist cars.  To save money, you can travel on night buses or trains and save a night’s accomodation!

While in the city, the choices for transportation are the city bus, xe om (motorbike taxis) and taxi.  City bus is generally the cheapest but certain places in the city can be less accessible.  Taxi fares in the city are relatively high and it can add up quickly!  A practical and economical alternative to the city bus and taxi is the xe om, which translates literally to ‘hug taxi’.   A xe om is easily identified – you will see many people waiting on their bikes on street corners looking to give a lift to a tourist.  They can be quite cheap assuming you will negotiate a price down.  Of course the price depends on where you want to go, but if you are going from one place to another in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, a xe om should cost you no more than 20,000 VND.  As a comparison, a short taxi ride within District 1 may be roughly 30,000 VND.  If you want to venture into some of the other districts that are farther away, hiring a xe om is not only more economical but also a great way to experience the city!

Xe om drivers are found everywhere and are generally eager to give you a ride, if they aren’t taking an afternoon nap…

Lodging

Budget lodging options are plentiful in Vietnam!  In the cities, many of the tall and narrow homes have been converted to guest houses or small hotels.  Although there is quite a range in price from city to city, it’s very easy to find a room for $10-30 a night.  Most will also have some sort of included breakfast – eggs, pancakes, bread, butter, tea, coffee, juice and more!  Finding a hotel with an included meal may save a lot of money in the grand scheme of things.

Many of the tall narrow houses in Vietnam have been converted into hostels or budget hotels.

Homestays have become an increasingly popular form of lodging, especially in the smaller towns in Vietnam.  Not only are they budget-friendly, it’s a great way to understand a little bit about daily life in Vietnam.  Most homestays are booked through travel agencies, except for tourist villages like Sapa where you can walk up to the many homestays advertised.  In Vietnam, one requires a license to host travelers in their home.  Homestays turn out to be an excellent bargain!  Meals are also often included and although they are not fancy, they are usually more than sufficient.  We recommend buying water and any other drinks that you might need beforehand at a store or street vendor rather than at the homestay – the markup for bottled water is very high.

Another type of lodging option that may be of interest to you is ‘couchsurfing’.  This phenomenon has been a part of Vietnam travel for a long time and is becoming increasingly popular among backpackers in the country.  If you are not familiar with that term, couchsurfing is a means for people with homes (and couches) to connect with travelers who need a place to crash.  The biggest appeal of couchsurfing – it’s free!  If you are traveling on a really tight budget, we recommend that you check this service out (www.couchsurfing.org).

Activities and Shopping

Activities and attractions are usually the biggest expenses during your stay in Vietnam.  Places like the Cu Chi tunnels or various monuments can charge an entrance fee and if these are places you’d like to visit, there isn’t much you can do about it.  If you are fond of tours or attractions while traveling, we recommend factoring this into your budget.  It can be an excellent way to understand the culture and you can trim your expenses in other ways.

When shopping for souvenirs or goods, avoid tourist markets like Ben Thanh Market.  It’s very tempting to shop in such places because of the convenience.  But simply go outside and visit the street vendors.  The prices are much lower and they are more open to bargaining.  If you are able to, visit Cho Lon market in District 5.  This is a wholesale market and you will be surprised at the price difference in goods between District 5 and District 1!

 

Budget spending in Vietnam - easy and tight

Travel by bus in Hanoi

Scam free, cheap but a bit difficult to comprehend at first, buses in Hanoi are relatively fast and comfortable. Pick up a map with printed bus lines at the Trang Tien street (the book street by the Opera house) or download a map via the link below and spend a few minutes to identify the over 60 bus lines, find your bus stop, wait for the bus, pay VND5,000 or 7,000 and off you go!

 

Hanoi Bus Map

Get around

You should note the following points:

GET AROUND

• Selecting travel time to avoid overcrowding and long wait. The appropriate time is from 5-6am, 8-11am and 1-5pm.


• Do not carry a lot of valuable belongings with you. In case you do, put them inside your bag and hold in the front. If the bus is too crowded, choose taxi or other means of transport for safety.


• Make sure to inform the conductor where you want to get off. As most conductors cannot speak English, you should write down the exact address or name of street you want to get off or ask some young people on the bus to help.


• If you get on the wrong bus, show the bus conductor the address you want to go on the map and ask him to show you where to get off and catch the right bus. You may ask a youngster to help you to translate as well. Most young Vietnamese can speak English quite well.

Buses from the airport

Public buses to the city centre from Noi Bai airport take about 1.5 hours.

BUS FROM THE AIRPORT

• Bus #07 crosses the Thang Long bridge and goes to Cau Giay bus stop on the western part of Hanoi


• Bus #17 crosses the Chuong Duong bridge and goes close to the Old quarter, to Long Bien (just a few blocks from Hoan Kiem Lake – the destination of most tourists).


• To catch buses 7 or 17, exit on the arrivals level and keep walking right past the taxis and minibuses, past the coaches and to the buses which are at the end of the car park. However, baggage is not permitted aboard the buses, so you may need to pay for the baggage as well.

We hope the above information is useful for your trip in Hanoi and wish you a fabulous time!

- See more at: http://hanoikids.org/travel-by-buses-in-hanoi/#sthash.INkpladI.dpuf

Travel by bus in Hanoi

Hanoi"s street drink-beer and coffee

1. Hanoi Street coffee

While young people prefer the noisy and busy atmosphere of modern and luxury or pavement cafes, old ones love cafes which have been around for a long time, located in old streets or inside deep alleys. Office workers like cafes with romantic and quiet styles like those in Phố Cổ (Old Quarter).

Though you won’t find a Starbucks in Hanoi, there is no shortage of a variety in Hà Nội’s cafes. Besides the standard four coffee drinks — hot black coffee, iced-black coffee, hot coffee with milk and iced coffee with milk — available in any cafe, there is hot coffee with a raw egg beaten into it, with or without milk, which tastes a bit like flavored meringue. With sugar, it is practically a meal.

Taking over a legacy from bygone years with the involvement of an irresistible French factor, the Vietnamese have embraced café culture in a great way. There are so many famous coffee shops in Hà Nội, like Năng Café (No. 6 Hàng Bạc Street), Nhân (No. 39D1 Hàng Hành ), Quất (Quán Thánh), Quỳnh (Bát Đàn) and Lâm (Nos. 60 and 91 Nguyễn Hữu Huân) and so on.

For many people, a cup of coffee is simply a crutch for the sleep-deprived but Vietnamese coffee, on the other hand, can teach you the feeling of linger. Hanoi’s coffee culture calls on coffee addicts from every corner of the globe!

 

2. Biahơi – Bottoms up!

In Hanoi, you can find the simplest corner bar on Earth with tiny plastic stools on the sidewalk, small tables on the ground, laden with glasses of beer. Come to Vietnam to try Vietnamese beer and see how men drink beer with favorite refrain such as “yo yo yo”, “drain your glass of every drop”…

Bia hoi (draught beer) is one of things you should not be missed when you come to Hanoi. There are plenty of local as well as imported beer brands in Hanoi such as 333, Carlsberg, Hanoi, Tiger, Saigon, LaRue, San Miguel and Heineken. However, bia hoi is the most popular beverage throughout the country and the cheapest beer in the world (5,000 VND for a glass only). Of course, it is an unpasteurized beer with low alcohol content (approx. 3%) that is sold in mugs in simple street restaurants.

Vietnamese tend to drink beer in large quantities. It is not uncommon to see a group of four or five men with 24 empty bottles on their table at lunchtime. Humorously speaking, as well as their drinking capacity increase, their business prospects seem to be bright. Despite all the changes in Vietnam’s beer industry, the most popular drinking establishment remains the traditional bia hoi. These ubiquitous establishments are always on the sidewalk where customers sometimes will raise their voices over the din of motorbike traffic or the clouds of diesel belch over the plastic tables from a passing bus. The customers have no need for the sleek furniture and fancy entertainment that they might find in a brew pub. Nobody minds if the tables are dirty and the sidewalk is littered with paper napkins. This is simply the place where everyone comes to unwind – from truck drivers returning from a stressful shift to college professors who use bia hoi as a sort of street-side salon.

 

Now, wandering on a certain street in Ha Noi, you can accidentally hear the sentence “Bottoms up!” and question yourself “what is the only thing that will make these men forget their wives and their homes?” The answer is “beer only”!

Hanoi"s street drink-beer and coffee

The appeal of Conical Hat - Just wear it backwards!

 

Nothing portrays iconic Vietnamese fashion more than the long flowy dress and the conical hat, otherwise known as the Ao Dai and the Non La.  To many, it may just seem like a hat people wear in this part of the world, but the non la is more than just a functional headpiece – it’s a symbol of Vietnamese history, art and culture.  But how much do you really know about the conical hat?  In fact, many tourists see the hat worn everyday and even buy it as a souvenir, but as we said before, it’s more than just a hat!  Let us tell you a bit about what the conical hat truly represents and enrich your cultural knowledge of Vietnam.

The Trong Dong Ngoc Lu drum with intricate carvings depicting characters wearing the conical hat.

A Brief History

The exact origin of the non la is hard to pinpoint but legends and stories dating back thousands of years talk about the conical hat.  The hat is depicted as a drawing on two famous ancient relics, the Trong Dong Ngoc Lu (a drum with an intricate pattern carved onto it) and the Thap Dong Dao Thinh (a decorated bronze jar from the Dong Son people).  Both these relics are between 2500 to 3000 years old, indicating that the non la is at least that old, if not older.  What is for certain is that the hat has been an essential part of Vietnamese culture.  Farmers to labourers to ordinary men and women have been using it for utilitarian purposes and will continue to use it for many years to come.

 

What’s it for?

Vietnam is a sub-tropical country so it gets quite hot – upwards of 40 C in the summer!  The hat provides good protection from the sun and heat.  During the rainy season, the hat is a good shield for the rain.  Farmers often wear it when they are in the sun for extended periods of time.  But nowadays, it’s also a fashionable accessory and a great souvenir!

People aren’t the only ones that wear the ‘non la’ in their everyday lives.

How’s it Made

You may find the design very simple, but the construction is far from it.  Remarkably, all the conical hats in the world are hand made!  There is no machine dextrous enough to create this work of art.  The hat is made from two materials – bamboo and the leaves of palm trees.  The frame is made from 16 concentric rings (after much research, 16 has been found to be the magic number!) joined by perpendicular bars of bamboo.  The leaves are then sun-dried, ironed very strategically, and then precisely sewn and woven into the frame.  The needlework required to make the non la is also very intricate and takes years of experience, not to mention extreme patience and dextrous hands.  There are entire villages in the northern part of Vietnam where every person in the village is dedicated to the manufacturing of conical hats!

Workers in the Chuong village creating the hats by hand.

Regional Variations

As if the construction of the hat wasn’t complicated enough, hat makers have found ways to make it even more intricate.  Specific regions have their own way of making the hat unique.  For instance, the people from the Lai Chau region make their hats flatter than the regular non la.  In our opinion, the most beautiful variation of the non la comes from the Hue region.  Hue is the ancient capital of Vietnam and is an incredibly romantic and artistic city.  It is the birthplace of many famous Vietnamese poets.  So it’s only fitting that there are verses of poetry inserted between the layers of leaves as a sunken design so the words are only visible in sunlight!

Beautiful ‘non bai tho’ with poetry and images imbedded within the leaf layers, visible only in sunlight.

The conical hats in the Lai Chau region are a variation on the regular ‘non la’ shape.

 

Some things you should definitely know…

• The non la is a serious fashion statement on the runways.  Designs like Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton have used the conical hat in their shows! 
  

  

  
  

  Many fashion designers have used the hat in Asian-inspired shows on the runway, and supermodel Kate Moss wore it in a magazine shoot!



• The fashion trend has now trickled down to mainstream stores!  American Apparel sells the hats (paddy hats, as they call it) for only $15.99.  
  

  

  
  

  Far away from Vietnam, ordinary people have taken up the trend!



• If you’re wondering how one would store such a unique shaped hat, you can purchase this beautiful case for it, which just happens to be 10 times the cost of the hat that goes in it! 
  

  

  
  

  A beautiful leather hand crafted box to store your palm leaf hat!



• Celebrities just love it!  Even Lady Gaga has invented a very unique interpretation of the conical hat.  
  
  
  

  The one and only Lady Gaga recently wore the ‘non la’ during a public appearance, but of course she put her own spin on it.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  xotours blog

  
  

The appeal of Conical Hat - Just wear it backwards!

Renown New York Chef made review of Vietnamese ""Foodie""

Here is an excerpt from the food diary of Mario Tolentino, a New York Chef and season winner of The Food Network’s show “Chopped”.  Mr. Tolentino, a street food fanatic, decided to take part in our “Foodie” tour on August 6th, 2011.  He was kind enough to send his review of “The Lunch Lady” and our very own “Foodie” tour to me, and to say that we are flattered and ecstatic about his remarks would be an understatment!  Thanks Mario!

Here is what he wrote:

Nighttime foodie tour

I want touch on 2 eating experiences

1- lunch lady day 2

I started my day at the War Remnants Museum, it was a big eye opener to not only see the Vietnamese view of the war but also just to learn about this epic failure of a war, the parallels of our current Afghan war are undeniable. As they both were wars against terror, meaning only terrible things happen. I left the museum shook, sad and disturbed so there was only one remedy, LUNCH LADY!!

I arrived right at 11am, when she begins serving and there were around 10 people waiting for her “secret ingredient” soup. She greeted me with a huge inviting smile I almost felt like she remembered me from the day before. I take my seat and it was like she was sending me an amuse for having to wait and the fresh shrimp spring rolls hit the table with it’s sweet spicy peanut sauce. The roll itself has vermicelli rice noodle, a herb called morning glory, garlic chives, cilantro, lettuce and steamed shrimp. The peanut sauce is not like the kind you get in the states with your satay. It is heavy with the tamarind paste and has pickled carrot & daikon, crushed peanuts and crushed chilies. Great start!! Since I arrived last of the early guests I observed what the soup contained a Thick “macaroni” like rice noodles with a pink hue in a light but flavorful pork broth, blood cake, sliced ham, steamed sausage, pink plump shrimp, quail egg and various herbs. The ecoutremants are lettuce leaf, and this very light, airy and crisp fried breadstick, intended to be used to sop up the broth, lime and fermented spicy shrimp paste.  Absolutely ethereal! The pork and shrimp combination is very common in SEA and the rich porky broth only enhances this combo. The blood cake is much more mild then I anticipated and the irony slightly bitter taste actually serves an important purpose to cut the intense flavor. I throw in the “croutons” and they soak up the liquid like a sponge while still retaining it’s texture and integrity. Slurping up the thick noodles also give the soup a fun aspect. At my feet are exotic chickens and rooster, I look up and take notice to something, what’s that I hear?!? NOTHING! Only the quiet slurping of soup and noodles. Fully satisified I pay my tab and zoom off. Already thinking about my biggest treat of my stay, a night time foodie tour.

The company is called XO tours and is rated number 1 in every genre for things to do in Sai Gon, My guide Nga, pronounced Nee-yah promptly arrives at my hotel to pick me up. It has been raining for the past 3 hours and I considered canceling but decided to man up and brave it in the rain. It was cool to be on the back of a moto and not have to worry about navigating. I jump on with a plastic poncho and off we go into the smoky soaked Saigon  streets.

Our first stop is laterally 2 blocks from my hotel!?!! I was like, what the hell!?! Great another SEA scam, they’re not going to take us anywhere good! But they served us a bowl of soup, it was good, but nothing compared to my earlier experience with the lunch lady. As I’m slurping away the other guests on the tour arrive, I can’t remember their names but it was a British couple and their two Vietnamese scooter hostesses and the owner of the company Tung. They sit down we introduce ourselves and I can’t believe my ears, Tung has an American accent! He grew up in Texas it was actually comforting as traveling alone I really haven’t met or spoken with many ppl from the states.

Side note – travelers I have met and chatted with German, British (largest group), Thai, Canadian, Dutch.

My hostess Nga, confessed that Tung was very nervous for me to go on the trip, I asked why? She said, oh he looked you up and say you very famous chef. I laughed!! I said no I’m not famous, just a chef. Actually, when I first booked my reservation Tung was adamant about clarifying that this wasn’t fancy food and we would be dining on street food. I replied to him yeah I know that’s what I’m looking for! I always forget about the auto signature at the bottom of my emails.

Ok back to the food tour, it was fun to be on the back of the moto, I was able to take videos. Our second stop is in Chinatown, it was raining so we weren’t able to get the full experience of the night market but it was cool to ride thru, Nga told me how everything is on sale at this night market and only on sale at night. It was about a 30-40min ride from stop 1-2. Tung, then told us that are next stop was going to be a popular hotpot spot that is only frequented by locals.

And all 3 of us are excited. As I’m riding along, Nga is very informative, bright, funny and witty! She tells me about all the things we are riding by. We also talked about other foods and she mentions that one of her favorite things is bulot! (Baby chicken embryo) **edit: it’s actually duck embryo**.  I asked her if I would have the opportunity to try it. I think the girl thought I was kidding but I didn’t let up and after riding for 30-40min she pulls over to a small cart on the side of the road and gets 2 chicken eggs and 2 quail eggs! We ride another 5 min or so and we arrive at the spot. We are noticeably the only westerners in the place, as the moment we duck under the tent all eyes turned too us. Especially the British couple the lady was tall, blond hair, blue eyed and stuck out like a sore thumb. But they quickly put our table together and bring us beers, set up the little habachi grill and load the table with their specialty goat. Yup goat, not lamb, not mutton, straight up goat! But before I can dive into the specialty of the house I must eat the quail egg and bulot while it’s still hot. Quail egg is no problem because it is so small, so on to the next.  Nga gives me a demo, first you take a spoon and crack the wider end of the egg and peel away just a bit of the shell and drink the liquid inside. Ok…… so I go for it and it was absolutely delicious!! It tastes like chicken consommé light in texture and heavy on chickeny flavor. Well this is a great start!! My beer arrives right on time! Moments before it is time to tackle the rest. Nga sets me up with a mixture of salt, pepper, crushed chilies and lime juice also thai basil and a commonly used  amazingly complex herb named morning glory (it has a minty, cilantro, lemony, bitter taste) I begin to peel away the hot shell and can see the chick clearly now take a spoonful of the mixture and take a bite……not bad, got a good amount of yolk, familiar taste, and a livery type tast, also familiar. But I still have a large amount to go, take a bite of basil, morning glory and a swig of beer to prepare for the next bite. There is no real way to take a bite, I douse it in salt mixture and pop the whole thing in my mouth!! WOW!! Flavor this time is more livery and the texture is of rubber!! And since I took such a large bite I had to stop take a breath, stuff basil in my mouth… man up and chew, and chew, and chew half way thru I’m like what have I gotten myself into!! I take another spoonful of salt mix and a few more herbs and finally get the rest of it down! This was the only time I can remember in my life that I ate something that gave me that level of adrenaline! I conquered it the table applauded and I’m ready for my goat! The flavor o the goat is odd not at all like lamb, but unmistakably red meat. It actually had almost a bacony type quality and of course the char was my favorite part.  Tung explained to us that this is the breast of the goat.  They also brought us shrimp in a delicious chili marinade. We set off to our next destination.

Our ride continues off into areas unknown to most foreigners. Another 30min until we reach our next destination. Tung explains that this place has his favorite dessert, we would be sampling 2 types. 1 – coconut gel served in the shell. 2- a creme caramel with ice and Vietnamese coffee. The coconut dessert had two layers, the top was white thick fatty and rich, while the bottom was very dense and jelly in texture but clear and light in flavor. I love coconut so this dessert is right up my alley. I love flan! An this creme caramel was no exception what made it unique was the crushed ice and strong coffee. I must also note the the silky, creamy texture, was perfection and a obvious expert created this dish, I loved them both but preferred the flan.

Tung informs us too save room we still have our seafood stop!! We enter the next district and it is back to the densely packed streets. We arrive at a our place and we are all excited for what is to come. Oh yeah, after hearing Nga speak so highly of her favorite dish I have requested the grilled chicken feet, common in these parts. The first dish is chili crab, small fresh water blue crab claws, wok fried with a lot of chilies and garlic!! Perfect!! Then we get a steaming pile of small razor clams in gravy with the sauted stalk of the morning glory! Unbelievable taste, as this surf clam has the intensity of the sea, mixed with the richness of the gravy, and complex herbaceous quality of the morning glory. Another home run!! Then my favorite dish of the evening, small scallops grilled in the shell, with butter scallions and crushed peanuts!! This dish had it all buttery scallop, bright oniony flavor, great texture with the peanuts, simple but so incredible!!  I turn to look at the grill an seeing the cook fanning and stoking the coals and meticulously rotating the chicken feet to grilled perfection. I’m not kidding, these feet blow chicken wings out of the water!!! I’m going to make this when I get home to eat, it’s the best part of the chicken, it’s basically grilled chicken skin, gelatinous fatty minute amounts of meat and just an intense chicken flavor. I could taste the marinade which I deduced was the same chili marinade the other place used on the shrimp so it must be standard.

This tour has been one of the highlights of my entire trip! They really bring you to tucked away hidden gems you would never know to go and definitely wouldn’t be able to reach on your own. The guides, mine in particular, are charismatic, funny, informative, personable and safe easy drivers! Tung has hit a home run!! Put it all together and it is no surprise that it has been so well received. It really doesn’t matter if your a newbie trying to push your boundaries, a hardcore foodie, or even a highly trained chef, this tour can and should be enjoyed by all!!

Mario Tolentino

Can Cook Cuisines

Renown New York Chef made review of Vietnamese ""Foodie""

Tips of living in Vietnam

Vietnam has become a popular destination for not only travel but for living as well.  Due to the increase in prominence of Vietnam on the global scale, many expats call Vietnam their home.  Currently there are roughly 90,000 foreign nationals living here.  Living in Vietnam is a unique and enriching experience, but it can also be daunting when you don’t know what to expect.  Even securing the opportunity to work and stay in the country can be challenging at first glance.  The Vietnam travel tips we’ve given you already apply to many aspects of life here, but we also want to give you some general guidelines on how to secure a job, how to stay and work in the country, and what life in Vietnam is like.

SECURING WORK 

The tourism, finance, and manufacturing industries are seeing rapid growth here and there are jobs available for foreigners in these industries.  By far the biggest job search repository for jobs in Vietnam is VietnamWorks.  There are also a handful of other sites that recruit people for the Asia Pacific region as a whole.  Another good resource is the classifieds section of local news outlets – try Tuoi Tre or Lao Dong.  Another excellent resource for both information and sometimes job opportunities are Expat groups on Facebook.  There are many local businesses that have a need for foreigners and advertise on expat groups.

Many native English speakers are also able to work here as ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers.  Keep in mind that although English teachers are in high demand, Vietnam has recently cracked down on teachers without proper certification.  Most agencies that place teachers in Vietnam will only recruit teachers with a CELTA certificate and with the correct number of hours of experience.  But, if you look for jobs independently, the only way to teach without the right credentials are by private hire.  In order to teach at international schools, you would need to go through international job fairs or create a contact within the administration of the school itself.

PERMITS TO WORK/STAY IN VIETNAM

If you plan on working here for a very short period of time, you or your employer can apply for a business visa which allows you to visit Vietnam in a business capacity.  To live and work here for longer than three months, your employer will have to apply for a work permit for you and prove your skills and qualifications.  Note that there are additional requirements for people who work in the health care industry in order to ensure that the workers meet strict qualification guidelines.

Although there are many people who work here for an indefinite amount of time or retire here, Vietnam currently does not offer a long term or retirement visa scheme.  The only way to work or stay here long term is to renew a tourist or business visa continually as it expires.  At this time, the maximum length of a temporary resident permit is 3 years (recent reports suggest this may change to 2 years in the near future) and the longest tourist visa available is for 3 months (6 month & 1 year are said to exist, however we don’t really know of anyone that has been able to obtain one recently).  Another option that may be available to you is a 5 year Visa exemption which is given to people whose parents were born in Vietnam or are married to a Vietnamese citizen.  Fortunately, these visa related tasks are relatively easy to take care of while you are abroad through a travel agency, through your company’s HR department, or on your own at the embassy in your home country.

COST OF LIVING

Housing

Foreigners who are residents of Vietnam can purchase a condo or apartment in Vietnam but are not allowed to own the land.  At this time, the process of purchasing property as a foreigner is quite cumbersome but the rules may change in the coming months.  Nevertheless, most expats prefer to rent homes in Vietnam and they usually have a plethora of choices available for every budget.  In Ho Chi Minh City, most expats live in Districts 1, 2, 3 and 7 and rental properties in these areas can range from $250 USD per month to upwards of $10,000 USD per month.  You can rent a decent fully furnished apartment for around $500 in District 7 but the same apartment would cost more than $2000 in District 1.  In comparison, $4000 is usually the starting price for bungalows outside the city centre in District 2.

Groceries

The cost of produce in Vietnam is quite low.  Assuming a family shops locally for fruits and vegetables, spending less than $10 a week on produce can be expected.  Local foods such as rice or noodles are cheap as well.  Even meat is much cheaper and more affordable than in other countries.  Foreign goods, however, come at a major premium!  The markup can be more than 300% on international household goods.  Of course, grocery stores that cater to the expat community have a much higher markup than local shops that sell the same foreign goods, and it is a price that one pays here for convenience.

Many imported foods can be found here but at a very high cost! In contrast, local foods are quite cheap.

Restaurants 

If you eat at local restaurants, the prices are astoundingly low in comparison to cheap meals elsewhere in the world.  It is entirely possible to purchase a hearty and complete meal for less than the cost of fast food.  Western or higher end restaurants are more expensive in comparison to local eateries but most of these restaurants are still considered cheap by international standards.

From fancy restaurants to local eateries to street meals, Vietnam offers a unique dining experience in every price range!

Schooling

Some of the international private schools in Vietnam are among the best rated in the world and fare really well in rankings each year.  Vietnam also has a variety of options to choose from.  Whether you want your children to go through the International Baccalaureate program or the British system, you can have your choice.  It does come at a cost – tuitions at some of these schools can be more than $20,000 USD per year!  Fortunately, many companies pay for employees’ children to attend private school.  If not, local schools are an option as well.  The public schooling system in Vietnam functions quite well, as the literacy rate of Vietnam is over 90%!  However, the public system does suffer from underfunding and lower exposure to the English language.

LIFESTYLE

Health

Pollution increases in Vietnam day by day as the society becomes more industrialized and as cars become a more affordable mode of transport.  However, many people have remarked that in comparison to other cities in South East Asia or even in North America, the air pollution is hardly noticeable.  If you spend a lot of time on a motorbike or in traffic, a mask may help to protect yourself from exhaust fumes.  Water contamination and food borne illness is always a concern in this part of the world.  For people who plan to live here for an extended period of time, investing in a filtered water dispenser is a good idea.  Even local people drink boiled or filtered water.  But brushing your teeth or washing vegetables with tap water can help in getting accustomed to the local bacterial flora.

Air and water pollution are serious concerns for people living in Vietnam. Wearing masks and drinking filtered water are just two ways to counteract that problem.

Domestic Help

Labour is quite cheap in this part of the world.  As a result, many foreigners who live here employ domestic staff, sometimes multiple people.  You can expect a housekeeper to do cleaning, cooking, organizing, and even looking after children.  You may even see many nannies on vacation with the families that they work for.  Many foreigners are successful in teaching their housekeepers to make western food so it is possible for you to have a similar diet to what you are accustomed back home!  The price per month for a housekeepers varies a lot but someone who takes care of household chores and cooks can cost an average of $200 per month.

Safety

Vietnam is an incredibly safe country.  For a city as large as Ho Chi Minh City, the crime rate is very low, especially violent crime.  Petty crime can be an issue here but if you walk about the streets smartly and don’t act flashy, you are likely not to have a problem.  The freestanding homes and bungalows usually have a security booth and many of the occupants hire a private security service.  These homes that are independent of compounds tend to have a really high wall as well to deter thieves.  That being said, homes, both in and out of compounds, can get broken into so any precautions you would take in your home country most likely also apply here.

SERVICES

Language

Vietnamese is a difficult language to learn and understand for native English speakers.  Vietnamese is a tonal language so it is particularly hard to hear the differences between similar words.  Fortunately, many people in Vietnam speak English, especially those connected with the tourism industry and people who are in contact with English speakers on a regular basis.  The average English proficiency is actually quite low throughout the country so you may face communication issues while traveling in the country.  However, people travel here and live here without knowing a word of Vietnamese and get by just fine!

The Vietnamese language is quite complicated in some ways because it uses tones to differentiate between words and meanings. Just a slight tonal difference gives the word a completely different meaning!

Telecommunication

Most parts of the country have excellent mobile network and 3G coverage.  You may experience little or no 3G coverage and a poor mobile signal in more remote areas.  Even internet coverage is quite good for regular browsing and moderate amounts of downloading although you may find it slow compared to North American internet speeds for heavy downloading or streaming.

Health Care

Vietnam has made considerable advances in health care in the recent years and there are numerous hospitals and clinics set up to meet the needs of expats.  If you have any special conditions or ailments, we suggest that you visit the websites of some of these clinics.  The experience and specialties of the physicians on staff are usually described well.  For serious illnesses, surgeries, and sometimes childbirth, many expats fly to Singapore or nearby countries for treatment.  Dentistry is also fairly advanced here and there are quite a few international initiatives aimed at providing quality dental care in Vietnam.  In fact, some routine cosmetic procedures such as teeth whitening are considerably cheaper here than abroad.  Most medicines are also available here, both name brands and generic versions at a fraction of the cost.  Getting general medications and even antibiotics is a much easier process here whereby you can simply walk into a pharmacy and ask for the medicine you want without getting a prescription from a doctor.

xotours blog

Tips of living in Vietnam

A Guide to Custom Tailoring in Vietnam

If you haven’t already heard, Vietnam is a superstar manufacturing country.  In the last several years, many multinational companies have created manufacturing facilities in Vietnam, solidifying the country’s superstar status.  The direct consequence of this is a huge reservoir of skilled and knowledgeable workers who can do everything from shoemaking, jewelry making, dress tailoring, suit craftsmanship, and more.  The most unique thing to come of this is that custom made things for normal folk is readily available!  So down to business… We bring you one of the most important (and fun!) Vietnam travel tips.  The where/when/how of custom tailoring in Vietnam!

USEFUL TIPS

How much does it cost?

Well, this is tricky.  If you walk into 5 different tailor shops (and this applies to clothes, shoes and jewelry), you will be quoted 5 different ranges in price.  You can expect to pay a higher price for more experienced tailors and much less at less experienced ones.  On the other hand, if you walk into some tailor shops in touristy areas, you will pay a serious premium just for using their business.  The big appeal of these types of tailors, aside from the convenience of being in a tourist area, is the quick turn around time.

The Proper Strategy

It’s very important to have the right knowledge and strategy before even walking into a tailor shop.  If you go the tailor unsure of what you want, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.  The first step is to research what dresses, shoes, jewelry or shoes you want and printing out pictures.  Good pictures are key!  For shoes and jewelry, it’s more simple because you can basically just walk into a shop and ask them to make it for you according to the picture.  Although you can buy leather and other material, shoe and bag makers usually have better resources and it’s best to leave the materials shopping to them.

For clothes, in most cases it is best to buy the fabric before going to the tailor.  It may even help to understand the difference in fabrics – jersey, knit, chiffon, net, wool, cashmere, cotton, linen, silk, silk chiffon, silk crepe, cotton silk, polyester, poly blends, etc.  It sounds tedious, but if you want to achieve a certain look, a lot depends on what fabric you choose!  Make sure you get a chance to feel the fabrics and drape them, stretch them, crumple them, just to gain an understanding of how it will behave once it is sewn.  Remember that the raw materials are never prewashed, not even denim.  If you purchase cotton based fabrics, make sure the garments are sewn a little bit longer than what you want it to look like.

Fabric shopping is important for suit making.  If you are going to wear the suit in a tropical climate, you need different weighted fabric than if you wear the suit in a cold climate.  Or, did you know that cashmere blends don’t hold creases as well as other types of wool?  Or that silk wool blends are all the rage this season for wedding suits and tuxes because you can get a softer and more natural sheen than polyester fabric?  Do your research! 

After you have all that settled and you have purchased the fabrics and materials, find a tailor that is right for you.  You can go into high end tailor shops where the track record is more established to increase your chances of getting what you want.  But remember that no matter how much experience the tailor may have, there is still a chance that it may not work out.  Some pricier tailors in the city also carry their own selection of materials and will not allow outside material.  For example, some specialty suit tailors have couture fabric from Zegna, Cerruti and more.  They will only use those fabrics in order to uphold their reputation.  Beware of frauds, however – a lot of ‘Italian made’ fabrics are actually made in Thailand and just given an Italian name.  It’s also very easy to replicate the embroidered labels on the fabric.  That being said, if the name brand is not important to you, we have seen fabric made in Thailand that competes with the best Italian imported fabric, so make quality a priority!

You will also have to choose the right kind of tailor for the type of item you are trying to make.  For instance, for expensive materials like silk, you should go to a tailor that specializes in it because it’s a very difficult material to work with.  Once you have all of this done, the most important thing is to leave yourself some time.  Although there are a bucket load of tailors who will turn around items in 1 or 2 days, it is much more risky and the craftsmanship may not be as good.  The town of Hoi An in Vietnam employs thousands of tailors and the custom tailoring aspect is a large part of the economy there.  Their turn around time for shoes, clothes, suits and jewelry is a day or sometimes even part of the day.  But remember, many times if you go to a tailor that promises something back in a day, it looks like it was made in a day!  If you want simple shirts and dresses, they are usually not a problem to whip out quickly but don’t expect to get anything complicated made.  And if you feel like getting suits made in a day, we suggest having lower expectations!  

Shoes and Jewelry

There are certain things to watch out for when getting custom shoes made.  The major problem with custom shoe making is that the shoemakers don’t make their soles but buy them instead.  If your foot does not fit diagonally on an A4 (8.5”x11”) sized paper, chances are you are out of luck!  This is also why shoes with padding and proper foot support are really hard to make because the soles are pre-purchased.  For example, you can get shoes made that look like Cole Haan dress shoes on the outside, but don’t expect them to have fancy cushioning technology on the inside!  Bespoke shoe making is another thing to leave some time for because many times you will have to get the shoe makers to re-do the shoe because it will just look shabby or have wonky stitching.  These are things that foreigners tend to value and is an unfortunate annoyance when creating custom items – you are your own quality control department!

As for jewelry making, many of the jewelry stores in the city will make almost anything for you.  For jewelry made from precious metals or precious/semi-precious stones, we suggest going to proper jewelers who specializes in bespoke jewelry.  For simple costume jewelry, almost anyone can do it, and well at that!  All of the raw material for fake jewelry, at least in Ho Chi Minh City, comes from the same place.  As long as they have a good picture to work with, they can make you your desired piece with no hitches!  If you want to have more control over the process, you can just as easily go and pick out the items yourself and just give it to the shop owner to assemble.

The basic strategy to get anything custom made in Vietnam. Seems arduous, but worth it if you can get your desired items made to your specifications!

WHERE TO GO

** Please note that the following  list  of shops and tailors are places that we have had good results at.   HOWEVER,  we cannot guarantee your success at these places!  **

Raw Materials

- Fabric Street – along Hai Ba Trung street around Tan Dinh market; almost any kind of fabric you can find; the shops inside the Tan Dinh market are generally cheaper.  At first glance, it may not seem like the selection is as great, but the market is a lot larger than it seems.  Here’s a tip – when you walk into the main entrance of the market, turn left right away to get to denim heaven!

- Soai Kinh Lam Market – 545 Tran Hung Dao, Q5; this is a huge wholesale market in Ho Chi Minh City, mostly for fabric.  If you are making a wedding dress or something else that takes a lot of fabric, this is a great place.  Otherwise, the stall owners are hesitant to sell smaller cuts of fabric.

- Craft Market – at the corner of Tran Hung Dao and Chau Van Liem, Q5; this is another wholesale market with everything from lace to ribbon to jewelry chains to accessories for clothing.  They have it all!  They also have the best selection of embroidered lace – a must see for wedding dress enthusiasts.  And for those of you wanting to make that ‘Hermes belt’ or the ‘Tory Burch handbag’, find the goods here! 

Custom Shoes

- Tran Quoc Lan – 97 Le Thanh Ton

- Any of the cobblers sitting along Le Thanh Ton – you’ll be surprised!  Many of them have their own shoe making businesses and will make your shoes for much cheaper than the stores.

Custom Suits

- Tricia and Verona – 39 Dong Du; they also ship overseas if you don’t have enough time in the city.

- Dung Tailor – 221 Le Thanh Ton; best selection of linen fabric in the city (they also own the fabric shop next door).

- Nhut Tailor – 232 Le Thanh Ton

- H&D Tailor – 76 Le Lai St; great selection of high end fabric, but the prices are high end too!

- Viet Thang Silk Tailors – 129 Le Thanh Ton; very fast turn around time.

Custom Swimwear

- All the shops around 185 Ly Tu Trong – our favourite is the store called Ly Ly.  Choose your fabric right there!

Custom Jeans

- Huong Tailor – 48 Ly Chinh Thang – this guy is a jeans magician!  He has a shop full of denim wear and he specializes in jeans.  Buy the fabric beforehand though because denim has such a huge range in terms of feel, stretch, and wash that it’s really hard to tell what you want from a photograph.

Custom Dresses

- Huy – 237 Trang Quang Khai, Q.1

- Lan Vy – 217 Le Thanh Ton, Q.1

- V&H Tailor – 98 Le Lai (the entire block is 98 Le Lai, so just find their V&H yellow and black sign); the ladies here also have connections with embroiders so if you want something hand or machine embroidered, they’ll get it done for you! 

Custom Wedding Dresses

- Ho Van Hue St – Phu Nhuan District; several shops that make custom bridal wear.

- The One Couture (www.theonecouture.com) – online store; a very creative Vietnamese American girl in Ho Chi Minh City runs this business for overseas clients wanting their Vera Wang or Vivienne Westwood dress at a fraction of the cost!

Custom Jewelry

- Therese Jewelry – 147 Dong Khoi; specializes in gold jewelry or silver plated with gold as well as precious stones

- La Hand Made Jewelry – 323 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Q3; go here for all your fake jewelry needs!

- The many jewelry shops along Nguyen Trai – for custom costume jewelry, almost any of these shops will do it for you.

 

 

xotours blog

A Guide to Custom Tailoring in Vietnam

A one-day-round Saigon

If you had unlimited time in Vietnam, you would surely be able to explore every facet of what makes this country unique.  Unfortunately, many people who travel here have limited time and want to make the most of it.  As part of our new “Custom Itineraries for Vietnam” series, we will guide you through the various cities in Vietnam and help you experience the country to its fullest.  We will also show you how to get off the beaten path and see the country in a unique way.  The first of our “Custom Itineraries in Vietnam” series – Ho Chi Minh City!

Tourists often transit through Ho Chi Minh City before moving on to a packed itinerary in Vietnam.  Though Ho Chi Minh City has a lot to offer in terms of attractions and cultural experiences, it is difficult to take part in everything when you have limited time here.  We have compiled a thorough itinerary that helps you maximize your time here.  If you only have one day in Ho Chi Minh City, we recommend that you…

Eat Soup for Breakfast


Vietnamese people love their noodle soup dishes.  You may already be familiar with pho, but there are countless more noodle soups that are in fact not pho!  What’s more, with a generous helping of various meats, veggies, and noodles, these soups are a breakfast of champions.  So start your day off Vietnamese style and devour a bowl of Pho, Banh Canh Cua, Bun Bo Hue, or whatever the guy next to you is having.

Recommendation:  Ben Thanh market has a huge section in the middle with food stalls.  The turnover is quite high here so it is usually a safe place to eat.

Visit Ben Thanh Market

Ben Thanh market is the iconic central market in Ho Chi Minh City.  It wouldn’t be a complete trip to the city without seeing this wonder.  They sell everything from souvenirs to kitchen supplies to groceries and meat.  It’s a one stop shop!  Or, just a great place to people watch.  This market is not air conditioned so it gets hot and muggy here during the day.  And the sellers can be quite aggressive with both tourists and locals – that’s just the nature of this market.  Having said that, it’s important to give this place a chance.  It is more than just a tourist grab.  Even for people who live here, the market sells things that are ordinarily hard to find otherwise.  The market is a lot bigger than it seems so make sure you leave some time to navigate through and really explore all that it has to offer.  Be aware that the prices here are very marked up so be sure to negotiate.  If a sign says ‘fixed price’ and the seller is hesitant to budge, you will most likely find the same items at another stall.

Marvel at the Architecture

The architecture in the city is a mish mash of new skyscrapers, old tube houses, and French colonial buildings.  The old colonial buildings in the centre of the city have a lot of character and hold a lot of history.  Fortunately, they are all quite close together so a short walk offers you the opportunity to enjoy most of them.  If you walk between the Notre Dame cathedral and the Saigon River along Dong Khoi street, and wander around Nguyen Hue and Le Loi streets, you will be able to appreciate many of the beautiful old buildings of downtown Ho Chi Minh City.  If you have time, walk into the main historical post office for a closer look at colonial style architecture at its best.

Sip Some Coffee

Vietnamese people really pride themselves on their coffee and there is no shortage of coffee shops in Ho Chi Minh City.  Coffee culture was huge here well before Starbucks and other big name coffee brands arrived.  If you’ve been walking around the city for a while,  sipping on coffee and people watching is the perfect break from the hustle and bustle.  Fortunately, most coffee shops have excellent regional fare.

Recommendation: One of the coolest coffee shops in the city is L’Usine at 151/1 Dong Khoi.  The entrance is through an alleyway and up two flights of stairs.

Get a Massage and Hair Wash

Ho Chi Minh City may be chaotic but Vietnamese people sure do know how to provide a serene escape to the chaos.  Cheap foot massages can be found everywhere and for $5-10, you can achieve complete relaxation for an hour to 90 minutes.  If you are in the mood for a more authentic spa service, get a hair wash (Goi Dau).  This isn’t a regular run of the mill hair wash – a proper Vietnamese hair wash includes a head massage, face wash and mask, and a shoulder massage!  They will even blow your hair out and style it for you after.  Read our blog on massages in Vietnam to understand the ins and outs of getting a massage here.

Recommendation:  Get a 70 minute foot massage at 118 (adequately named since its address is 118 Pasteur) for $7 including tip and then go around to Jasmine Spa (45 Ton That Thiep, at the corner of Pasteur and Ton That Thiep) for a relaxing hair wash.

Go on a Motorbike Tour

Soon after arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, you will notice that motorbikes are the vehicle of choice.  What better way to see the city than to experience it on the back of the bike?  XO Tours is a leading motorbike tour company in the city.  We have a range of motorbike tours to suit your taste, but by far our most popular is The Foodie.  Not only does it take you to several different districts of the city that are not generally visited by tourists, you will also have the opportunity to try the best street food Ho Chi Minh City has to offer.

See the Backpackers’ Area

Ho Chi Minh City is a popular destination for backpackers because it is relatively cheap to travel around here.  Over time, this small area around Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien streets has become a magnet for budget accommodations, colourful restaurants, and lively watering holes.  Even if you aren’t traveling as a backpacker, this particular area in the city is a tourist attraction in itself.  It is quite lively at night when hundreds of people sit on child sized plastic stools, drink local beer and mingle with the crowd.

Get a View

The city has very few tall buildings so going to the top of one of these buildings gives you an excellent view of the city.  Luckily, there are a handful of bars on really high floors so you can enjoy the view and sip on a drink at the same time.  After a long and activity filled day in the city, this is the perfect way to end your night.  It is mesmerizing to look out onto the streets hundreds of feet below and truly appreciate how the city moves.

Recommendation:  The Heli Bar in the Bitexco tower (52nd Floor, 2 Hai Trieu) is one of the highest viewing points in the city, but the perspective is much better from Chill Skybar (AB Tower, 76 Le Lai).  Both these places have a strict dress code and shoe policy.

A one-day-round Saigon