Ho Chi Minh - at night

I must say our nights in Ho Chi Minh were very tame there are many clubs, pubs etc you can go to but just being on the street & seeing all the local people on motorbikes was enough action for us. During the days the sidewalks are full of parked up motorbikes & at night the sidewalks are full of small plastic chairs & pop up bars/cafes...

We found the best & cheapest places to sit & watch life were on Bui Vien which was very close to our hotel  you could sit and stay for just a beer or three & there was no pressure to order food. I was saddened to see that this area has become quite touristy with a lot of Western food restaurants where you are charged too much and  are served as fast as possible & they get you out. Why go somewhere & eat what you eat at home when you can get fantastic tasty local food?

We ate street food & would grab whatever went past & in this instance it was a woman with a large basket, we had no idea what was in there but was told it cost 15,000 dong (75c) it was a bag of sliced green mango with fresh chopped chilli & salt to dip it into, a perfect addition on a hot sweaty night with a cold Saigon beer.

One thing about this area is that everyone is super friendly & the people sitting next to us were expats working in Vietnam & gave us a heads up on a quiet place to have a dinner or a drink which I must say can be a lifesaver if the constant beeping & noise gets too much. Our only directions were "It's on this street keep walking & look up for light's"

We found it! It is the Duc Vuong Hotel which is lovely & quiet. You do need to get a lift up to it, which was rather funny as hubby & I were onboard & we stopped at level 3 to take on 3 more people... the buzzer sounded for overweight & one had to get off. The limit was 6 people max 400kg definately not a Western elevator. However the rooftop was quiet, had excellent staff, awesome views & Vietnamese food at a great price.

Next stop - Cu Chi Tunnels