First impressions of Ho Chi Minh City

I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City a week ago and I want to write about some of my first impressions of the city and Vietnam itself. It’s funny because I was happy to leave Cambodia but now I have to say that I do miss it a bit. Phnom Penh is quite a nice city and its size is a lot more manageable than Ho Chi Minh City. I’ve seen signs referring to the city as Saigon but it seems that the locals pretty much all call it Ho Chi Minh City.

The first thing I noticed was that Vietnam is definitely more developed than Cambodia. The roads are better and the streets are full of life and businesses which signify to me the robustness of the economy. Ho Chi Minh City is quite massive and is a bit overwhelming at first but I’m used to big cities now and it is actually quite smaller than Manila. There are also far more tourists and other foreigners walking around which is good and bad. I’m glad that people are attracted to Vietnam and bring their money here. The tourist industry seems to be thriving. However, there are obviously things about touristy places that get one my nerves, for example getting ripped off on random things. It’s really the same as the Philippines. You just have to be savvy for how much things actually cost. Most of the time it is pretty innocent but once I settle here I’m going to learn how to handle these situations. I sympathize with the Vietnamese since a lot of people seem make their living overcharging foreigners but if I live and work here than I don’t want to deal with this kind of bullshit.

One thing I noticed right away with Vietnam is how good the food is. I feel bad saying it but the quality of food here is just better than in Cambodia. The Vietnamese know how to make good food and there is a wide variety of stuff to choose from. There aren’t only noodles but the noodles are pretty awesome. The stomach problems I was having Cambodia stopped immediately once I got here which is nice. I have to learn more about Vietnamese cuisine and understand what the names of things are so I can know what to order. Vietnamese menus are pretty intimidating if there’s no English and a lot of times the translations they give aren’t really that helpful and are sometimes pretty ridiculous. I saw “snail porridge” on a menu and I don’t know it could be alright but it just sounds disgusting. I can pick up on some French influence with the food and how much Vietnamese people like coffee. Pate is widely available and so are nice baguettes. I like the Vietnamese culture around coffee.  There are people up and down the streets that sell good ice coffee. People chill on the sidewalk with little chairs and hang out with friends or play some chess. It’s a nice atmosphere. Actually, the whole atmosphere of Ho Chi Minh City seems friendly. It’s not as intimidating as Manila could be at times. Vietnamese people have been really nice with me. I’m sure there is some anti-American sentiment in some hushed conversations but it’s not obvious.

I haven’t really had time to do a lot of sight-seeing here but I did stop by the Notre Dame which is cool. It’s exactly as its name implies: a Notre Dame like cathedral. When my dad gets here on Monday we’ll hopefully go and check out some cool places. It’s quite lively at night around there. I like the nightlife here. There are plenty of bars and restaurant catering to foreigners but they are usually over-priced. I like the local style of restaurant and I like how people hang out in parks at night. It’s nice and Manila definitely lacked this aspect. Manila is a bit more dangerous I think so people are more cautious. I think too cautious but that’s just my opinion. One thing about Ho Chi Minh City that I somewhat dislike is the traffic. There are just thousands upon thousands of motorbikes cruising around all the time. It gets kind of annoying because the roads can get so backed up that people just ride their bikes down the sidewalk. You have to constantly be aware because people will honestly drive within inches of you and they can go pretty fast.

My class is going alright. I’m on track to finish this week and I’ll get my TESOL certificate. I’m planning on heading north with a couple guys who also want to work in Hanoi. I’ve been job hunting a bit and I haven’t got any prospect as of now but I’m not worried. There is a ton of demand for English teachers now so I’m sure I’ll find a job. Whether or not it’s my ideal job is another story.