Vietnam: Bui Vien Street — Ho Chi Minh City’s nightlife area (for tourists)

Date: 24 October 2019

I began the day at Ben Thanh Market and Mariamman Hindu Temple in the morning, Independence Palace and Norodom Palace Exhibit by noon and finally the War Remnants Museum later in the evening. I went back to my hotel to keep my camera batteries for charging and to freshen up as I was a bit tired being out in the sun all day.

I stepped out later at night to visit Bui Vien Street, the popular nightlife zone in Ho Chi Minh City — for foreigners. I state that clearly because it’s not where Vietnamese locals frequent.

Nguyen Thi Nghia street traffic — This is Nguyen Thi Nghia street, quite a busy and crowded stretch

Cong Vien 23 Thang 9 Ho Chi Minh city — Nearby is September 23 Park, a fairly large public park

September 23 park at night Vietnam — Locals were out and about doing various activities like play badminton, exercise, walk, etc.

Central market Taka plaza Saigon Vietnam — Central Market Taka Plaza is an underground shopping center near the park

Bui Vien street nightlife district — I walked towards Bui Vien street

Bui Vien street and the neighbouring bylanes are chock-full of restaurants, hotels, hostels, tour operators, and bus services. It’s a convenient place for foreign tourists and I initially booked to stay at a hotel here. But when I read multiple reviews of hotels and many complaining about the noise, I cancelled my booking and chose to stay a bit further away.

Sara Ethopian restaurant Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam — You get food of every kind around here

Snack station Ho Chi Minh city — And most eateries aren’t fine dining. It’s very affordable.

Turkish kebab Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam — When I saw the middle eastern food stalls, I was wondering if I made a mistake by not choosing to stay here

Banh Mi Street cart Bui Vien Saigon — Plenty of famous Vietnamese food staples like Banh Mi available here

Bánh mì is literally the Vietnamese word for bread. Being a former French colony, the European colonists introduced baguettes to Vietnam and that became the staple for breads in the country. The Vietnamese banh mi are sandwiches with a wide variety of fillings. Everything from vegetables to meat and other sauces.

For example, here’s a banh mi stall I ordered from the following day:

Egg coffee Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam — I had read Vietnam is famous for egg coffee so when I saw this small cafe, I had to try it.

Egg coffee (Cà phê trứng in Vietnamese) originated in Hanoi when fresh milk was in short supply during the war era so whisked egg yolk was used as a replacement. Main ingredients are egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and robusta coffee. I forgot how much I paid but… it was just… alright.

Miss Saigon bar Bu Vien HCMC Vietnam nightlife — Back on my feet after the egg coffee, I checked out what else Bui Vien street had to offer

Bui Vien street nightlife Saigon — The main Bui Vien street is very noisey!

Walking street nightlife Saigon Vietnam — It’s full of bars and nightclubs blaring loud music left and right

Watch the video at the end of this blog post. It will show you the sights and sounds of Bui Vien.

Bu Vien junction Ho Chi minh at night — I kept walking to explore the area

Saigoneer hotel Ho Chi Minh Vietnam — Saigoneer Hotel was where I first booked but later cancelled. It’s on a lane crammed with hotels. I don’t know how well the rooms here are ventilated.

Lodges guesthouse Bu Vien street — This lane had HoLo serviced apartment, Linh Guesthouse, Urban Lodge among others

Old propaganda posters Saigon Vietnam — Shops that sell old propaganda posters as souvenirs to tourists

World crane game shop ho chi minh city — If you want some variety for fun, there’s even an arcade shop for crane games

Khu Pho Van Hoa Bu Vien Vietnam — Smaller lanes like this would be selling more Vietnamese fare

Bui Vien walking street Saigon — I left Bui Vien and walked back to my hotel

Tour companies Bui Vien street Saigon — I would later realize many buses to neighbouring provinces and tours would all start from near Bui Vien street as that’s where so many of the companies are based

Phuong trang Banh Mi 362 — There is even a major bus station at the end of September 23 Park

I guess I should have given Bui Vien street a chance. Maybe a few nights, just to see how noisey or cramped it would be. One clear advantage for foreign tourists is the sheer convenience of the area. From tours, to making travel bookings, buses, foreign exchange, and of course variety in food options — Bui Vien’s convenience is probably why there are so many hotels and hostels all crammed next to each other.

Bui Vien lane lights nightlife — This lane was pretty

Liberty hotel Ho Chi Minh city Vietnam — There’s a Citibank ATM right next to Liberty Hotel which is situated close to Ben Thanh market

For dinner, I decided to give Vietnam’s national dish Phở a try. Phở is basically noodle soup. Rice noodles simmer in a broth with cuts of beef (usually) or chicken — but there are many other varieties on offer nowadays. I just pulled up Google Maps and picked a restaurant close to a hotel that had good reviews. If the reviews were in English, I figured the eatery would have a menu in English too.

Pho Phu Vuong Saigon Vietnam — Pho Phu Vuong had a lot of good reviews on Google and was rated Traveller’s Choice on Tripadvisor and so I went in

Pho Phu Vuong menu Ho Chi Minh city — A regular bowl of Pho cost 60,000 VND (₹190/$2.6/€2.20)

Meat cuts cow Vietnamese — These are the various cuts of beef you can choose from

Beef Pho noodle soup Vietnam — The pho I ordered. Rice noodles at the bottom, slices of beef, lots of spring onions and coriander

How was it? The broth was yummy and the noodles were soft. It was certainly good but not as amazing the way Westerners make it out to be. I’ve had noodle soup in Hong Kong and Japan… and it’s not like pho was that much better than those. It’s just good Vietnamese noodle soup. So give it a try. Maybe if you keep your expectations in check, you will enjoy pho better.

And with that, I conclude day one of sightseeing in Ho Chi Minh City. I have many more posts from Vietnam to work on. It’s just that COVID-19 happened and it did cause some disruptions to my normal functioning. So that’s why I’m not able to focus on my blog as much.