All my life I've dreaded the sound of - well no sound - silence. If I were to be more honest, I'd probably replace dread with horrified. So by now, you can take a well educated guess and conclude that I am not one to love being by thy - lonesome - self. Although I don't exactly love embracing loneliness, I do love me a good adventure. So, why not just book a solo trip to HO MINCHY?
This trip (1) I travelled to meet some locals, (2) live a day, kinda, in their shoes, (3) and to dedicate a full day to pampering. That being said, due to time constraints I pretty much skipped all tourist attractions and went straight to the locals.
District 1 - where I spent majority of my time - is the core area of Saigon, much like what most would associate as the 'downtown' area. I particularly enjoyed cafe hopping, eating and wandering in the northern area of D1. Compared to Ben Than, it's certainly much quieter, filled with schools and unique cafes and restaurants, definitely a much less basic area. Some other areas I enjoyed hanging around was at the hidden market 3A station and around Saigon Outcast in D2.
And the MOST important reason to why I decided on travelling to HCMC - coffee. Every single cup of joe certainly took my taste buds on a roller coaster. Hands down, my favourite has got to be from Heritage Coffee & Clothes. A full bodied bold, but not burnt, roast with a hint of lingering coconut after taste - divine. Well of course the coffee was amazing, but what really made it for me was the whole vibe of the cafe and learning about Vietnamese history and upbringing of the owner.
Finally, I conclude that the pho in Canada is heaps better (in my opinion) than any regular street stand or even the best pho in Saigon. Therefore, if you're tight on stomach space for meals, skip the pho.
That shall be it for now. Signing out. See you on my next adventure.
