Top 11 Things to do in SAIGON (Ho Chi Minh) VIETNAM

Yo what's up everybody. Welcome to our top things to do in Saigon episode. We are currently here at Vinchang Pagoda. But one of the most popular things to do when you're in Saigon is to go a little bit outside of Saigon to check out the Mekong Delta and that's what we're doing today. That's right. Let's head on out. Just arrived on the Mekong Delta. We're heading over to Turtle Island. There are multiple ways to enjoy this place. You can either go on a one-day tour which will get you over to the Mekong Delta and also the island which is what we're doing today. Otherwise you can stay overnight and you'll be able to see the floating market which is only open in the mornings. There are multiple providers but we've gone with Klug again because the price was pretty decent. We'll leave the details in the description below but for us it was only about $25 per person for the whole day. That's nine hours. You'll find as a part of a lot of the day tours here you will get served all the meals as part of the package and we've got a light lunch here which is just some pork, egg and rice. And consistent with pretty much every meal that we have in Vietnam. This tastes pretty good especially considering it's just a light meal. So the Mekong Delta River is fed by the melting snow waters of the Tibetan Himalayas. It starts from China, runs through six countries and ends up here in the last spot, Vietnam. We're just about to go on our final boat cruise now. This one's a little rockier than other ones we've been on before. Okay what do you reckon? It's pretty cool but in the distance I can hear like disco music. We're surrounded by all these coconut trees and yeah Vietnamese people love their karaoke. So I reckon that's what's going on back there. Just finished our little boat ride. It was maybe about a 10-15-ish minute ride and this is quite a long day. It's about nine hours total but that's because it takes around about two hours to get out to this area and there's a couple of different activities and stop offs along the way too. Overall nice relaxing day and definitely something that you can try out when you're in Saigon. Another one of the things that you're going to want to do when you're here in Saigon is check out Artemis 3D Art Museum. Right now I feel like all that I've seen is a trident. The tickets are 220,000 dong per adult on the weekdays and on weekends just be aware it's 270,000. It's a bit busier then. It's an interactive art museum with over 100 different paintings. I just want you guys to know that not all of these are pictures. This is actually real life for me. I got a little bit hot in here and took off my shirt. There are multiple sections in this museum and the idea is to stand at certain points and they even suggest the way that you should pose with the art so that it makes a 3D image of the light. Some rooms and paintings are more interactive than others like this one. I can show you the world. One of these rooms you need at least three people. Someone to take the picture and then two people to act it out. So unfortunately it's only Kendra and I. We can't quite do what we're supposed to do. Go stand on the table Geek. Yeah now come into the shot. Okay you're standing on the table. So that wraps up our time here at the 3D Art Museum. We weren't too sure at the start about how it would be but as we moved along we really enjoyed the larger paintings and these interactive rooms. No idea how this looks at the moment so I hope it's interesting. We definitely recommend coming here on a weekday. It is so much quieter, not busy at all and maybe we reserve around about two-ish hours depending on how many photos you want to take a little painting. Another top thing to do is come visit the Saigon Opera House and catch a show. Today we're going to be watching the AO show. Ticket prices are split between three different zones. The cheapest is $700,000 per person. The second which is the O Zone which is where we're going to be is $1.15 million per person and then the most expensive which is the Wow Zone is $1.6 million per person. You can buy your tickets online or you can come straight to the Opera House and buy your tickets at the counter right over there. AO show is about the transition from rural to modern Vietnamese life. They combine acrobatics, theater, dance and traditional Vietnamese live music. It's been running for about seven years and normally you can't film or take photos during the performance but we reached out to the team and they very graciously invited us to come watch their backstage performance where they're doing all their practicing. And the main prop used inside the show is bamboo which is a core feature of Vietnamese rural life. We're really excited to watch the show. We can't wait. Our session is at six o'clock and something to note is that it's not a fixed schedule but it runs roughly about four times a week and they alternate with another show called Ted Da. So the show has just wrapped up. That was an hour-long performance and it was brilliant. There was so much energy from the performers. You can just see the amount of hard work and talent that this crew has and it was just such a creative use of all the props and the lighting and the music. It was a really great show. Well done guys. Another one of the top things to do when you come to Saigon is visit the Gu Chi tunnels. You can come here by yourself and it's about 110,000 Vietnamese Dong. Otherwise we booked again through Klug and we got this special for 300,000 Vietnamese Dong and it comes with the transport here as well as the tour guide. These Gu Chi tunnels were first built in 1943 for the war with France and then later on they were extended almost to about 250 kilometers for the American wars. The Vietnamese had to be a little bit crafty because they weren't as technologically advanced as Americans and so they needed to rely on guerrilla warfare which involved psychological warfare and also being hidden. So what you can expect when you come visit the Gu Chi tunnels is a lot of the remnants from the war. You can also see the different booby traps that they created and used and you can even go down the tunnels and experience what that was like for them too. Something that really surprised me about this tour was that they show you that the tunnels go down four different tiers and they have different functions for them. So they have ones for meetings, cooking, sleeping and even hospitals as well. And now we're going to go inside and experience the actual tunnels themselves. There are different lengths too. We're gonna try do the 100 meters. It's getting really small in here. We keep getting deeper and deeper. We went only 20 meters. It's very dark, very narrow. If you're claustrophobic, do not do this. Okay made it back to the start of the Gu Chi tour. It only took around one and a half hours and the bus ride itself was two and a half hours. So in the end of the day you're going to be taking quite a long day. Six and a half hours in total. On to our next activity. As one of the things you must do when you come to Saigon is visit District 1. There are a whole bunch of different activities but on the top of that list is getting some food. So we're here at the Ben Tan street food market. The appeal of this market is that you can get cuisines from all over the world and of course Vietnamese food too. It's a very popular place for tourists and there are so many options. So we found a place here that we're getting a combo of different Banh Cuon or rice pancakes. The prices are a little bit higher than local markets but kind of got to expect in a tourist area. Oh that's so good. I have not had sugar cane in ages and that really hits the spot. I'm now excited for this Banh Cuon, that rice pancake. It's nice and squishy even though it's got a bit of firmness to it too. You've got the minced pork and the mushrooms inside and mixed together with that sauce. That's delicious. You know the thing that I love about Vietnam, if you're at a local spot, a restaurant or a tourist spot, it doesn't matter because the food quality at all three of them is always really really good. So with our bellies full and a few minutes away from Ben Thanh street food market is Ben Thanh market, one of the largest markets here in Saigon. We're gonna go check that place now. Let's go. If you're coming to Ben Thanh market you will find everything here from textiles to food, souvenirs, flowers even. And if you're not a local remember to bring your haggling skills. Okay what did you find? I spotted some bags. I only have like this one bag with me and I wanted something light so taking a look at this. How much is this one? I want a 550. This one? I think it looks better. Peter loves tassels for some reason. What do you guys think? How much is this one? 450. We're getting it for 300. Thank you to the niceness here. 30% off for that one and that's roughly around the price that you can get. Discounts for 30 to 50% depending on your skills. And right now we are headed over to the financial tower. Just arrived at the Bottexco financial tower. We are headed up to the sky deck and it is 200,000 Vietnamese dong per hour. Wow that view is stunning guys. It is spectacular. 360 panoramic views of Saigon. This kind of activity normally costs like an arm and a leg in other countries but for here it was about $12.50. Well worth the visit. Wow I can actually see everything. Super magnified with this. Bottexco is the second tallest building in Vietnam and from it you can see the tallest building. Next up we're headed over to Ho Chi Minh Square. The architecture in Vietnam is always super cool to see because you've got that weird mix between French colonial era design and also the Vietnamese design and some of the shops are just like super quirky and amazing. You're not going to see this kind of stuff anywhere like that one right behind. If you're following our route around District 1 make sure you allow up to five to six hours and also be prepared it gets pretty hot out here. And there you have the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral. It was built in the 1880s by French colonists and it's located right here in Paris Square. And just across the road from the Notre Dame Cathedral you've got the central Saigon post office. It's quite a common misconception that it was designed by Gustave Eiffel, the guy who did the Eiffel Tower, but it's actually a French architect by the name of Alfred. Can't pronounce the surname full hold. And it's not every day that you come across a whole street dedicated to books. There's a huge range of diverse books from English and Vietnamese and it stretches 100 meters long. You can also find a bunch of really cute souvenirs, postcards, that kind of thing and just parallel down the other side you've got all the coffee shops. Wrapping up this tour of District 1 we're here at Thao Dan Park. It's a great little spot for locals and tourists alike to unwind from a day of the busy city. It's also where a bunch of festivals are commonly held too and it spreads about 10 hectares. Another one of the things that you have to do when you're in Vietnam is check out one of the museums. There's so many different kinds that there's something for everybody. But today we're at somewhere kind of unique. This is Phai To, the traditional museum of medicine. And we chose this place because it has a really cool architecture in this building that we're in. And this was the first museum of medicine open in Vietnam. Got our tickets. It's 120,000 dong per person. This place is five floors, including the ground floor. And even if you're not interested in medicine, you should come visit just for the architecture alone. It's super cool. It took 50 skillful engravers three years to finish this entire place. And that kind of shows a testament to the amount of detail that you see everywhere you look. You've got medicine from prehistoric times all the way to more traditional times. And what you'll see is not only the tools but also some of the herbs. So many interesting and fascinating things in here. Like this, there's a snake biting another snake and more snakes biting another snake. And you've got these ginseng roots up here that's got faces carved into them. If you are interested in medicine or if you're just interested in a really cool architectural house, come and check this place out. And that wraps up our top things to do here in Saigon. We hope you've enjoyed this episode. Yeah. And this isn't the first time that we've been to Vietnam. We've actually covered the north and central as well. And finally the south. We'll leave a playlist right over here somewhere. And guys, you know what to do. If you enjoyed this episode, please do give us those likes. Subscribe if you haven't already. Drop us a comment. We love hearing from you. All of that helps our channel heaps. So thank you very much. See you guys next time.