Saigon by Scooter - Day & Night

I was wrong about the bicycle rickshaw. The best way to see Saigon and soak up the atmosphere of this crazy city is on the back of a Scooter!

Today I took two separate tours with Saigon Kiss Tours which is basically a female driver/guide dressed in the traditional áo dài dress who ferries you around to different places in the city, many off the tourist path so you can get a real feel for the city and it's inhabitants. In the morning I took a 4 hr tour with a girl called 'Linda' (her western name) to some great places I would never otherwise have known to go. First stop was a local market and a great crab soup snack then onto a famous old Coffee Shop hidden away down a side street that was a place where North Vietnamese revolutionaries met in secret when Saigon was capital of the South under the French and then the Americans. Lots of hidden wall spaces and a Hidden tunnel under a wardrobe used to escape should the police raid the place. Great coffee too :-)

Then it was off to the place where the famous monk Thích Quảng Đức set himself alight in 1963 in protest at the corrupt South Vietnamese government and their persecution of Buddhists. He's known and worshipped as a Buddha now and his shrine stands by the intersection where he committed the ultimate sacrifice through self immolation.

Then on to an old complex of apartments in District 3 to see how many of the people live. Narrow bustling streets and small balconied apartments above with all the plants growing, washing hanging and baskets of garlic drying. Designed by an American architect in the mid 60's the government now wants to knock them down but they are clearly well lived and loved homes with low rents and people do not want to move.

The Scooter got a puncture here (or maybe it's passenger was just too big and heavy) so we stayed a while and had a lunch of the famous Vietnamese soup Pho; it was really delicious and eaten in a very authentic setting.

Then off to the last stop of the day at a 260 year old Pagoda down by the Saigon River. Very ornate and Chinese it is really beautiful and peaceful... just us and the caretakers, no tourists.

The night ride started at dusk in heavy beeping traffic and proceeded to some delightful street food stops. Lan Nhi picked me up from my hotel and first stop was taste of authentic Banh Mi, the Viet French Baguette then on to another market where tried the thin rice cake pizza like thing that was delicious then a flower market and yet more wonderful Vietnamese street food; before a trip under the River in the tunnel to District 2 which is very new and was very quiet and peaceful compared to the city. Final stop was for desert in District 4 before the trip back to the hotel.

All in all an exhilarating whirlwind scooter tour of this crazy vibrant city. Highly recommended if you ever visit Saigon. The best way to see and feel the beating heart of this big hearted city.Read more