Oh my Saigon! Day one

Ho Chi Minh City, more familiarly known as Saigon, is the crazy bustling commercial capital of Vietnam. Crossing the street is a leap of faith. Little street eateries dot the streets with people cooking next to tiny tables and stools for their patrons. It is a loud, dirty, crazy, and active city. A bit of a shock to the system after weeks of island life and retreats. The first thing that happened to me was getting ripped off, but happily, things improved from there.

Accommodation

I stayed in District 1, the financial and commercial hub of Saigon (where tourists will spend the majority of their time).

The concept of my “hotel,” Christina’s, was geared around providing “experiences” and “social accommodation” vs. just a place to sleep. My room was adorned with guitars and homey plants and touches, including the types of shampoo bottles you would have at home. The common spaces were stocked with fruit, and the building had several kitchenettes. Not bad for $35/night!

Day 1

I woke up at 4am as per usual and waited for the rest of the world to stir a bit and for the sun to come up.

7am: 1-hour harrowing morning run around Saigon

8am: Street food breakfast of champions, a Vietnamese coffee, and mango smoothie

9:30am: $1 30-minute UberMoto trip across the river to get my $25 haircut at Concept Coiffure

12pm: Lunch at The Deck overlooking the (polluted) Saigon River

1pm: OneTrip City Tour (free scooter and sightseeing tour led by students)

I took a few trips with OneTrip, the tour company arm of my hotel. They run well-curated private trips to the Mekong Delta, the Cu Chi tunnels, and a food tour around Saigon. We visited the Independence Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral and surrounding area, a pagoda that Obama visited during his recent trip to Vietnam, a 19th century post office, a local market, and the War museum during our free city tour. I had serendipitously made a friend I had at Vagabond Temple (Jen), and she joined me last-minute.