MARCH 2014 – While Bui Vien (District 1) where our hotel is located offered a lively night life come moonlight, its artsy side takes limelight during the day as several art shops selling paintings at affordable prices can be found one after the other in the entire stretch of the street.
Approaching lunch time, we tried a famous Pho restaurant called Pho 2000, bragged as the hole-in-the-wall restaurant tried by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
It was crowded with tourists when we arrived and we had a wait for a while to secure a table. While they also serve rice meals, their specialty is the famous Vietnamese noodles, the Pho. The restaurant is located just in front of Ben Thanh Market.
One can do the souvenir shopping at Ben Thanh afterwards. Ben Thanh Market, in my opinion, offers the cheapest price and the most variety of touristy pasalubong stuffs like souvenir t-shirts, magnets, key chain and other interesting handicrafts that would remind you of your culture-filled Vietnam trip. The stall which was said to be operated by the government seems to sell the cheapest prices for souvenirs. There were also some local treats mostly preserved fruits that you can buy per kilo in Ben Thanh. Applying the same rule, do not make eye contact or inquiries for prices with the vendors if you do not intend to buy.
BITEXCO SKY DECK
We flagged a taxi (a Vinasun Taxi of course) to take us to Bitexco Financial Tower, which is the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh. It also has the Sky Deck that lets you see the entirely of the crowded city thriving along Saigon River.
Entrance to the observation deck is VND 200,000. And though you will be amazed as to how compact the city can get, the feeling was just like observing the view from a high-rise building in Makati – nothing more, nothing less. The good thing about it perhaps is it gave us a chance to plot our walking tour to see some famous sights we hadn’t covered so far.
Later that afternoon, we continued the walking tour to visit the façade of the Saigon Opera House and its famous City Hall.
Saigon Opera House
Ho Chi Min City Hall
Out of our curiosity, we ate at a food chain that all are very familiar with, a.k.a. Jollibee!
WATER PUPPET SHOW
Just in time to catch the 5pm show of the Golden Dragon Water Puppet show that we reserved with the help of the hotel front desk, we went straight to the theatre.The show ran for about 40 minutes but it was perhaps the longest 40 minutes of my life.
Though you would be curious about how the puppets were moving on top of the dirty brown water, we find it hard to grasp the entire show as it is ran in Vietnamese. Because of that, there were parts of the show that find ourselves near asleep except from the random “Oi oi oi oi oi” uttered by the dubbers that brought back to our senses. It would help perhaps to have a translation of a rather cultural show like the puppet show if it wants to attract foreigners to appreciate this kind of art that is unique to Vietnam.
That concluded our rather short but sweet visit in Ho Chi Minh City. What left me in awe of this humble city centre is the admiration for the persistence of the Vietnamese – not only from the determination you witness in its market place or in various ways people make a living to survive, nor the suffering of their ancestors in underground living quarters but also in simple corners of the city that make opportunities to its people to harness their creativity adding splashes of color and character to the busy city life that is Ho Chi Minh City.
Somehow it gives you a new balance – to keep pace with the dynamism of city life as fast and furious as raging motorbikes on its streets but also make way for some quiet time to stop for while, appreciate nature or grab a cup of coffee as you look back on life.
**Photo credits to Alyssa de Leon and Jake Gatioan
Footprints Diaries 