Cho Ben Thanh Market Ho Chi Minh City

For Christmas we stayed in a snazzy hotel in HCMC courtesy of Muma Rushton (thank you). The hotel was within a stones throw of the market which kept Abs happy, particularly because it was bursting with "genuine" fakes.

The first thing we did in HCMC (that's Ho Chi Minh City for those in the know) was visit the War Remnants Museum, which …

Well the madness has begun. Adam had his first true test of driving his new ride this week and passed with flying colours. Although there are many accidents here and the traffic seems out of control, the sea of scooters, bikes, and the occasional car (we even saw a hybrid truck today!) seems to work well the majority of the time. Adam became just …

Alright, here we go. I am going to try to do this travel blog thing and try to capture my trip to Vietnam. I will start off by saying that my flight from Calgary to Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh city was rather uneventful (minus the one and only time I have been afraid of flying ... The descent into Tokyo had the plane feel like it was dropping and swaying …

After sleeping a little longer and a nice breakfast (baguette, omelette, banana and tea) I ventured out to explore HCMC in more detail. I decided to walk to get to know the city and know my way around which is simply impossible if you get taken around by any wehicle. Oh btw, they don't have the usual tuc tuc's in Saigon, they only have cyclos (well …

My first hangover in Vietnam, well sort of. Matt was surprisingly sprightly for somebody who had literally revisited his dinner all over the streets of Ho Chi Minh the previous night, needless to say he was itching to have breakfast. What better way to start off the day than a big bowl of pho. We head down to the pho place on the corner of Pham Ngu …

Vietnam is a stunning, vibrant and fun loving county, but it also has a fascinating and devastating history

We turned up in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) pretty late in the day, and so performed the classic 'check in, get out, get food' ritual, then went in search of a few friends who had made it to the city the previous day. After all, it was …

The sleeper bus ride was really tiresome. We decided to try the sleeper bus since it was so much cheaper and a lot of backpackers said it was ok. We’d come from Hue to Hoi An in a 4 hours sleeper bus and it was fine, however all night inside it on those bumpy roads was a complete nightmare! We asked for the back seats of the bus because there …

Tanks, choppers like a Huey & Chinook are displayed in the museum grounds. A bit depressing visit as you can the pictures of the atrocities and damage that happened during the Vietnam war.

Catchup with Kim L tonight, a former colleague at Bigfoot. Went to a very nice Italian/Mexican place. Ordered pizza, enchilada, baby back ribs & …

Having settled into Saigon, we were going to go exploring and see all the sights today, but first up was breakfast. Where the bus had dropped us off the night before, I had noticed that there was a bakery that seemed rather nice, and as a bonus, it was even in the right direction for the War Museum.

Once we got to the bakery, it was a …

A short flight from Australia and I was in Vietnam, not just a different country but seemingly a different world and different sort of a existence.
Vietnamese Immigration presented some immediate problems, regarding my VISA.
I was left at the back of a very long queue, awaiting Asian acceptance. The process is needlessly long and drawn-out …

... to get to the shops and stores first. Leaving without things to remember by would make the total trip a waste! I headed over to the Cho Ben Thanh Market at the west end of Le Loi, I noticed the clock tower and headed on to the small aisles of vendors and ...

Today we had several places we wanted to visit, so we dragged ourselves out of bed early and visited the Cho Ben Thanh market early in the morning. There were more touristy items for sale on the inside building that was closed the two nights before when ...

... . One place claimed to be one of the most popular Pho places around, so we ate a bowl each. Our next stop was the Cho Ben Thanh market. We had actually been there the day before, but it was too late then and most things were shutting down. Today the ...

... to a more economically prosperous Vietnam. First stop was a tour of the city. This tour took in a Chinese temple, the Cho Ben Thanh market, a local coffee place selling weasel coffee, the Reunification Palace, and of course the War Remnants Museum. The ...

... ’s beloved Uncle Ho. Day One began with a delicious bowl of Vietnamese Pho before walking around the city past the Cho Ben Thanh Market and the stately Reunification Palace. We decided to visit the War Remnants Museum first where we ended up ...

... this is Crazier! It was thrilling yet worrying. Haha. After checking in my bags and ready to tire myself out, I head towards Cho Ben Thanh market. I was told this is one of the most interesting places in the city. It was like pasar malam but BIGGER with ...

... fascinating to just sit and watch. After checking in, we stepped out into then madness for the first time. First stop was the Cho Ben Thanh Market, a huge indoor market place in the centre of the city, where the now familiar cry of "Hello, Sir, Madam ...

... ; Our entire lunch for two cost us a whopping $3.47!  We spent some quality time in the crowded stalls of the Cho Ben Thanh market bargaining for some new clothes that we thought we could wear for the next few days in case our suitcases didn't ...

... what you pay for. If you get a cheaper tour don’t expect good food or detailed descriptions.   Around Cho Ben Thanh market there’s a lot of nice places to buy souvenirs. Near the entrances there are some sales banks with fixed ...

... a lot sights contained therein. In a search for much-needed footwear, we walked a good 30 minutes to the Cho Ben Thanh Market. The market was sweltering in the 34 degree weather and could get claustrophobic for some older folks. The market's content ...