#4 A street food tour, by scooter
I'm a food lover, and a food tour is one of my favourite ways to experience a new place. Food is central to culture, and a food tour often teaches you about more than just food. So, on my first night in Vietnam I went on a four-hour Saigon street food tour with Back of the Bike Tours. It was one of the highlights of my time in Saigon.
I've never been on a motorbike. They terrify me. And the traffic in Saigon is nuts. But everyone – I mean, everyone – rides a scooter or motorbike in Saigon. Women in high heels. Vendors with towering stacks of TVs, eggs, or chickens in cages. Entire families.
I put my trust in a young woman who drives me around Saigon for the night; a young couple from the UK and two other guides join us. My guide expertly zips in and around the traffic on the road, and I soon relax enough to smile, and then loosen my grip on the bike, and then have fun.
We travel all over Saigon, visiting local restaurants and street food vendors, often helping out with the cooking. We go to a rowdy outdoor BBQ joint where we cook our own food and learn how to cheer on the winning Vietnamese soccer team (chant: Mot, hi, ba, yo!).
I enjoy the DIY spring rolls, the lettuce wraps, the BBQ, the crab soup, the desserts. (I don't enjoy the salted duck fetus eggs). But mostly I enjoy the conversation. I learn my first Vietnamese words (hello, thank you, tasty) and the right way to pronounce pho: furh. ("Make it sound like a question," I'm told, "otherwise it sounds like you're saying 'prostitute'.")
We talk about men who come to Vietnam looking for sex, or wives ("A rich old man and a pretty young woman? We call that a win-win," agree our guides). We talk about communism ("it doesn't help us; the money from the rich doesn't go to the poor... we don't have good healthcare or education"), their fear of speaking out against the government ("they read our emails"), and activism ("there's no point; things will never change"). They show us some "love hotels" where married couples go to have sex because they can't have privacy at home (most people live in small homes with extended families). Above all, they introduce me to a culture rooted in family, friends, and food.
#5 Vietnamese craft beer (bia)
I visit Vietnam at the end of monsoon season, when Typhoon Usagi causes the worst flooding in Saigon's history, sending everyone indoors. Drenched and thirsty, I google "bar" and discover that Saigon has numerous craft beer establishments. I spend a soggy afternoon hopping from one to another, meeting ex-pats and locals who are happy to chat over a brew. My two favourites? Pasteur Street Brewing Company, where I enjoyed a passionfruit wheat ale, and Heart of Darkness Brewing, where I downed some Asian Wit, Vietnamese stout, and a pretty tasty banh mi.
#6 Banh mi and other street food
A food tour is a great introduction to Vietnamese street food, but it only scratches the surface. You can find street food any time, any place, all over Saigon. English isn't commonly spoken, and my Vietnamese is limited to a few words, so I do a lot of pointing and eating. Everything is delicious and ridiculously cheap. I don't know what I'm eating half the time (although pork and eggs and fresh vegetables in various forms are common), and I never get sick :) I eat banh mi from different takeout joints that appear on many "best banh mi in Saigon" lists, and decide that Banh Mi Huynh Hoa is my favourite, stuffed full of different meats, with fresh and tangy pickled vegetables.
My only regrets: not knowing enough Vietnamese to find out "what is it?" and "can I try it?" and not having more time to enjoy this true highlight of Saigon.
My only regrets: not knowing enough Vietnamese to find out "what is it?" and "can I try it?" and not having more time to enjoy this true highlight of Saigon.
