Saigon, with no doubt, to both travellers and local residents is certainly a busy city with dense traffic flows in rush hours filled by motor bikes and cars, fast moving life pace, full of activities both night and day.
The city, however, like all other places, contains several hidden surprising corners that visitors often miss because of their ‘ordinary’ nature: early morning flower market, the typical street foods, corner café stands, and the city’s rare slow pace moments of the day. All together, create a different angle of the city life and the ordinary but precious daily life experience that surprise visitors and even locals.
5:30AM – Visit the Hidden Flower Market
Start our tour early in the morning, ride our motorbikes from your hotel to the Ho Thi Ky Flower market which is around 15 minutes from the city centre.
The first amazing view comes into our view are huge bunches of roses, lotuses, lilies, daisies and orchids being unloaded from trucks and motorbikes mostly from the highland and Mekong Delta. In the air, we could feel the eternal springtime magically created by the pleasant fragrances of hundreds of varieties of fresh flowers. A short chat with a flower seller here, we can learn the flower trading is not an easy job because the vendors have to work from very early morning until mid-nights but with their strong passion of work. Given the fast developing speed of the city, the flower market remains as the bridge to nature and countryside.
7:00AM – Enjoy Street-Food Style Breakfast
The period from 7.00am to 9.00am is really rush hours when everybody tries to escape from daily crazy heavy traffic to reach their workplace in time. After 20 minute riding in the crowded motorbike lines, we stopped at a local street food stall in Ho Ba Kien Street to order a very delicious dish named “Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả” (Steamed broken rice with grilled pork ribs, thinly shredded pork skin, and egg custard). A small bowl of sweet fish sauce mixed with ground garlic & chilly is the must-have to make this combination tasteful & more special. “Cơm Tấm Sườn Bì Chả” is considered as a very traditional specialty of Southern Vietnamese breakfast.
9:00AM – Get Into the Oldest Part of China Town
Get back on our motorbikes after the breakfast and head to Tran Hung Dao Boulevard – a main vein to enter China Town.
Our first stop on Tran Hung Dao Boulevard is at an antique Minh Huong Temple (also called Ming Dynasty Assembly Hall) built in 1789 to the dedication and worship of the Ming Dynasty. Especially, Minh Huong Temple is the remnant of Minh Huong Village – the foundation of present China Town. Here still we find architecture and hundred year old relics in the temple.
We continue on this big boulevard then off to colorful Luong Nhu Hoc Street, where many traditional shops concentrate on selling unicorn heads & royal costumes. Turn to the oldest street of Chinese Herbs & Medicine: Hai Thuong Lan Ong. The strong odors of different types of medicinal herbs impressed us as soon as we reach this street. Smells come from many medicine stores built in a mix of western and Chinese architectural elements in the mid-1800s.
Continue riding slowly on Hai Thuong Lan Ong Street, we encounter most of ancient houses & stores where patterns still remain for more-than-100years. Walk into a traditional medicine shop for a chance to see how Chinese medicine is made & used.
Next, we leave the medicine street to ride a round of Binh Tay Market to view the special structure, colorful surrounding Chinese house-shops, and vibrant atmosphere.
11:00AM - Taste Special Lunch in China Town
It’s time to have “Sui Cao” (shrimp wonton soup) - one of traditional Chinese food on Ha Ton Quyen Street for our lunch before riding back to Saigon center (District 1) to end our half-day trip.
If you are looking for the similar experience, email Vietnam Jeep Tours at adventure@vietnamjeeptours.com or call +84 909 602 370
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