The Perfect 3 Days Culture Trip in Ho Chi Minh City!

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Vietnam was my second destination in my 2 months trip in South East Asia right after my 5 days Singapore trip. It was my first time visiting this country and I absolutely loved it! I’m also very happy that I chose Ho Chi Minh City as the first city I’d visit in Vietnam. So rich in culture, vibrant city, and amazing food! This was the start of my two weeks trip with my friend which was Vietnam and Thailand. We wanted to spend a lot of time in Thailand but we wanted to go to another country that’s close and would give us a great travel experience. Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam came up and it became our first destination for 3 days then the rest in Thailand.

This was our first destination and we only have 3 days so we decided to leave it to the local experts. We booked tours during the day to get to know Ho Chi Minh City and the best places. All our tour guides spoke very well English and had no problem with communication. The night we left to explore on our own and it was bright and busy because of the holidays coming up.

You can do these things by yourself and plan the transportation on your own. The city is very tourist friendly anyway. My friend and I wanted to do explore Ho Chi Minh and the surrounding area in an organized way plus we only have three days so we decided to leave the planning to the experts. We booked yours that we were interested in and would show us the main attractions. The three guided tours definitely gave us the full culture Southern Vietnam experience. These are the best things to do in Ho Chi Minh City.

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Blue River 2 Hotel Stay

My friend and I stayed at Blue River 2 Hotel at District 1. Located at 54/13 Ki Con, Dist 1, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. We chose this hotel because it was conveniently located in District 1 where all the tour offices and meet ups are walking distances as well as Benh Thanh Market and the bustling street of Phố đi bộ Bùi Viện (Bui Vien Walking Street in English). Hotel pickups are also in District 1.

Day 1 – Ho Chi Minh City Day Experience

We booked a student-volunteer city tour run by OneTrip Group from 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm. You will have a local student as your tour guide and you can choose how you want to go around whether by motorbike or taxi/walking. Definitely the motorbike experience and go around the city with the mob of locals with the motorbikes.

From this tour, I learned that motorbikes do not really go as fast so you the eye perceives because they can actually stop when someone crosses the street as long as you are committed to crossing and have your hand up to stop traffic. My tour guide’s speed was between 25-35 km/h.

The first stop was lunch at restaurant that serves Hue style noodle soup. What a treat that I get to eat a central Vietnam cuisine even though I’m in the south.

We continued the tour going to great sites such as the Saigon Central Post Office (I mailed a post card here), Independent Palace, Reunification Palace, and Turtle Lake. There were many important religious sites like the Notre Dame cathedral, St. Francis Xavier Church, , Ngoc Hoang Pagoda, and Nhà thờ Tân Định (pink cathedral).

Our guides shared information about the attractions and their importance to Vietnamese culture. I was surprised how there were so many colonial French buildings in the city and churches too.

We took a break at a local grocery store and had traditional Vietnamese dessert soup Chè. They called it dessert soup but I think in simpler terms it’s shaved ice with those jelly fruits from jars with syrup.

My favourite was when they took us to this very cute street called Ho Chi Minh City’s Book Street. A street dedicated to book stores, cute cafes, and artistic vibes. Totally my type of scene and this street is a popular hangout spot for young locals.

Our tour guides did a really good job in showing us around and were very knowledgeable so we gave a good tip at the end of the tour.

At night, we went to Bui Vien Walking Street for some dinner and relaxation. Ate at a local restaurant and planned on what to do after the tours for the next two days.

Finally, it’s not a Vietnam trip without foot and spa. We pampered ourselves from head to toe for about two hours at Coco Care Spa. Got our nails done for a very reasonable price we could afford here but would never do the same thing in Canada.

Day 2 – Mekong Delta and Buddhist Pagoda

An excursion day trip! We booked a tour that took us outside the city and explore the famous Mekong Delta. Mekong Delta is the region in Vietnam that has parts of the Mekong River. It is one of the trans-border rivers in South East Area. The Mekong Delta Guided Tour from Ho Chi Minh city with Vinh Trang Pagoda & Lunch is a really good tour for a good price. The tour includes all transport, activities, entrance fees, lunch, and snacks. I enjoyed the pagoda destination and the inclusive lunch that was part of the day trip.

The first destination was the largest pagoda in the Mekong Delta region Vinh Trang pagoda. Located in the town of My Phong on the way to Mekong Delta. It was really fun to walk around seeing many Buddha statues for one hour.

Next was the city of My Tho where all the Mekong Delta experience happened. My friend and I boarded a motorboat for a brown muddy cruise along the Mekong River. Why is the river brown? This is due to the many sediments in the river and the fast flow of water creates the brown colour.

We went inwards the river and transferred to a small rowing boat. This experience is truly a cultural experience. The rowing boat took us to smaller canals of the river through Mekong Delta scenic views, floating houses and rows of water coconut palm trees. Lunch was at a family restaurant and they had hammocks that you can use to relax after good Vietnamese food.. We spent some time at a local Vietnam family home for some fruit and tea break while listening to Vietnamese folk music performance.

We also stopped by a coconut planation and factory in Bến Tre. I got to try local coconut candy at the coconut candy-making shop and learned the process of making coconut candy. After the coconut planation, it is time to return back to the city. I boarded the rowing boat and transferred to a motorboat back to My Tho.

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Day 3 – Vietnam History Lesson at Cu Chi Tunnels and Benh Thanh Market

More culture experience on the third day and this time a history lesson! We toured the Cu Chi Tunnels during the day. The famous Cu Chi tunnels is a network of underground tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam war.

There’s this really great Cu Chi Tunnels half day tour from Klook with a good time slot in the morning. It was a fully guided tour inside the facility and you go in and out the tunnels. Very educational tour. The tunnels were built and used during the Indochina conflict. Again in the 1948 French air attacks and in the Vietnam war until 1975.

Each tunnel shown to us were different from the other. They showed us underground kitchens, bedrooms, school rooms, meeting rooms, and dining rooms. I learned a lot about Vietnam history and experiences what it was like to live back then in the tunnels. You get to go underground and walk (even crawl) in those super small tunnels.

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We had lunch in the city after the tour. Curious about the Vietnamese menu, my friend and I looked for McDonald’s. We also went to Starbucks to try Vietnam/ South East Asia exclusive drinks. I actually like going to the multinational chains in the countries I visit. I think these chains do a very good job catering to the locals by providing local menu items and vibes.

We spent the afternoon walking around and checked out Benh Thanh Market, another famous market and very touristy. Beware of scammers, sellers pulling you to their stalls, and don’t be afraid to bargain.

We used up most of our Vietnam Đồng for shopping and had enough for two platters for dinner. We ate like locals and found a restaurant on the street. The table beside us were two Malaysians from out of town here. I mentioned my upcoming Penang trip. One of them them recommended to visit Malacca, Malaysia since we’re into food. I said maybe next trip. I always down to eat Nyonya food.

Had a good night sleep on this last day and went to the airport Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport (SGN) the next morning. Arrived with good time to eat breakfast at the lounge before boarding the flight to Thailand.