10 things to do in Ho Chi Minh City

Tonight I'll be taking my plane back home. Don't get me wrong, I do feel very sad about leaving, but I'm so excited and motivated for all the things that are to come. There are two sorts of people, you have people who get depressed during their last week on holiday because they don't want to go back to school or work, and there are people (like me) who take their experiences home and feel inspired for the upcoming year. Before ending my story about Vietnam, I wanted to share a list with you guys of 10 things you have to do if you ever visit Ho Chi Minh, which you should.

1. Go eat streetfood for less than a euro and don't take it out but take a seat and feel like you're having lunch in someones living room.

2. Go to Bến Thành market for souvenir shopping and the most amazing springrolls.

3. Go to L'Usine for a great meal and shopping. Don't forget to try out their cupcakes. You can also get them at their cupcake shop called Sweet + Sour.

4. Go on a Vespa tour to the Mekong Delta with Vietnam Vespa Adventures.

5. Have late breakfast / lunch / dinner at The Deck. Slightly more on the expensive side, but the view is totally worth it!

6. Visit the Zoo. You will not regret it!

7. Drink Cafe sue da, all day, every day.

8. Get the green tea frappuccino at Starbucks. (We can't get them them in Belgium)

9. Try out all streetfood you come across. My favorites were: Cơm tấm, Bánh bao, Spring rolls, coconut rolls, anything that includes bananas, Lotus porridge.

10. Visit Chợ Lớn to go lantern, pen, pencil, paper and toy shopping.

Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City - 19/08/14

From all places in Ho Chi Minh City, L'Usine is the nicest but the least Vietnamese one. Apart from the staff there is nothing Vietnamese to it. It is a great concept store where you can get Comme des Garçon wallets, Karen Walker bags and so much more! I haven't bought anything in the shopping department, but don't get me started on the restaurant. 

There are two L'Usines in Ho Chi Minh. It is hard to believe that there isn't another one anywhere else than in Vietnam. I highly recommend you to go to L'Usine if you ever visit this crazy city. Although the street food is such a high quality and so cheap, L'Usine is worth splurging on.

After my super healthy fruit plate and fresh apple juice, I went for a donut. We don't have a Dunkin' Donuts in Belgium so don't judge me.

Wait, was this another post where I talked about nothing else than food?

L'Usine
Dunkin' Donuts

Vietnam, Mũi Né - Photo Diary

How come we always think we won't find a better view than the one we're having? In the end we always end up seeing prettier sunsets than the ones we thought were the prettiest. I think it is all about the moment. The feeling I had while taking this picture was so intense; The road so smooth, the sea so wild. It was worth pulling over our motorbikes to picture this moment. 

It is kind of obvious that this picture wasn't taken in Ho Chi Minh City. In fact, we took a little bus to Mũi Né. A beach where you'll find white sand at one side of the road and orange on the other. I had the time of my life.

As we were staying quite a few kilometers from the shore we decided to rent motorbikes. Although I was scared as hell and I probably burnt like a million calories every time we hit 80km/h, I have managed to enjoy myself. I didn't drive myself, but I kept myself busy sitting in the back taking photographs.

The boats are so colorful (like everything else in Vietnam) and carry eyes. Aside from being cute, the eyes are meant to watch out for sea monsters and are meant to prevent losing the way. I thought that was a lovely little story.

We pulled over at this cute café where I had a sugarcane juice and a fresh coconut. Sugarcane juice is a drink you'll find everywhere in Vietnam. Every road has at least three machines that press sugarcane creating a lovely sweet and healthy (I think) juice as a result.

People were probably wondering why I was photographing trash but, I mean, in my eyes this is art. Don't you think?

Beautiful.

I also met some lovely people here in Vietnam who made this holiday even more perfect.

I still get surprised by the way some people live. I do love how every family looks so much happier than families living in big houses. When we were driving past these houses, we always had little kids screaming and waving at us.

I had a great time. Somethimes I lifted my arms, sitting on the motorbike, and pretended to by flying. I felt so free.

Vietnam - Photo Diary

What I was wearing:
Sunglasses: Miu Miu
Necklace: Topshop
Dress: Topshop
Flask: Tiger
Shoes: Maison Empereur

Before heading for Ho Chi Minh I was a little scared that spending three weeks in the same city would get boring. Never have I been more wrong. In this city exploring never comes to an end. Even in the small streets, you would never consider taking, you'll find coffee bars and restaurants. Therefor, getting bored in Vietnam is impossible. 

Pancakes for breakfast.

Lunch at The Hungry Pig. I had a Wake n Bacon with a Vietnamese coffee. 

Yesterday I went to Cho Lon which is basically Saigon's China Town. Every little shop is stacked with beautiful lanterns, paper goods, little pens and toys.

As a banana-lover, I had to try out this sort of banana-leave a woman was selling on the sidewalk. I am now on the hunt for the recipe.

We've been so lucky with the weather. It might be raining season, but we've only had rain twice!

We visited the zoo and had such a great time! Even the restaurant in the zoo looks lovely. I mean this is nothing compared to zoo in Antwerp. Also, the entry is so cheap!

The animals are so exotic and nothing like I've seen before, which made the visit very exciting and interesting.

Here you see a snake strangling it's catch. Never have I seen so many animals in action.

The apes were crazy. We even saw two little ones escape their cage.

I loved how every animal interacted with the visitors. This one for example showed it's teeth to every single passer-by. He/She looked so proud.

This ape kept "telling" us to throw him the plastic bottles we were holding. When the guards told us we couldn't, he looked at us very sadly. So cute!

We booked a vespa-tour to the Mekong Delta (a river in Vietnam). This was one of the best experiences I've ever had. If you ever visit Vietnam, I would definitely recommend to go on a tour with this organization. Get more information here.

The vespas were gorgeous and the drivers were such gentlemen.

They literally transport ANYTHING on their motorbike.

When we had a break at a local for Vietnamese coffee, we discovered this random set-up of washing products, a toothbrush and a chili pepper. I had to photograph this. Like, what is that pepper doing there?

They dropped us of at a local market. (cutest bananas e-ver)

The fish-area of the market.

Their attempt to escape.

The kids are so cute. The moms are always flattered if you like their kids. At the zoo I had a woman handing me her kid to take a photo. I couldn't stop smiling afterwards.

Beautiful colors.

A little snack at the market which was included in the vespa tour. We got shelves with peanuts on top which was amazing!

Not only did we get to see how incense gets made, but we also visited a temple, went on a ferry, got to see how rice-wine gets made, had lunch and so much more!

Goodmorning Vietnam!

Dreams come true, they really do. I've only been here for a day so the excitement is still running wild. Our flight consisted of: movies, food (I like all food, including airplane food), 'sleeping', and laughing. Like seriously, my lovely travel partner and I cracked up when the plane took off. I guess we were both super nervous and excited at the same time. We didn't know what to expect at all, but we are both pleasantly surprised with the beauty of Vietnam. In fact, when I woke up last morning I started dancing and throwing my T-shirt around, singing "WE ARE IN VIETNAM!". And that is how I run around all day. Big smile, check, jumping around, check, saying the word "wow" at least every minute, check! 

Since I'm staying with friends who've lived here for a year now, we get to visit the best places and we don't feel like tourists too much. For lunch, we had a Banh Mi. Don't ask me what it was because I have no idea but I think describing it as a sandwich from heaven is appropriate.

Then, we went for drinks at Thuc Coffee. I had a non-alcoholic strawberry mojito which was good because it tasted like liquid sugar which can never be bad. They had a great menu, with a great number of coffees so I will definitely go back to try one of those. The only downside to this café is that you can't sleep on the table which is such a bummer. 

Although airplanes don't scare me at all, the motorbikes are scaring the hell out of me. I remember stopping before crossing the street and a friend of our friends came up to me asking if I was okay. I said I just didn't know how to cross this sea of motorbikes. And they told me I shouldn't mind them and it might look like they'll run you over but eventually they will go around you. Ok, ok, it might take a while to get used to that.

The knots in my apple earplugs make me go crazy. But. Look. at. these. cables. They make me feel so uncomfortable and make me want to entangle them so bad. Is that weird? I don't know, don't they make you feel awkward?

This lady was selling a sort of fruit I am in love with. It is called mangoustine. It basically looks like a clementine but it's purple on the outside and white on the inside. I once went to Malaysia when I was just a kid and we used to eat this every day! I remember trying to buy it in an Asian food store in Antwerp, but it was such a bad experience. Super expensive and so not tasty! I am so happy that I'll finally get to eat this nostalgic fruit again. Not only this fruit though; they have so much unknown food here. Yesterday I saw something that looked like a pear but was red on the inside just like a watermelon. I will definitely be trying that out!

Look at the colors. Need I say more?

What I was wearing:

Sunglasses: Miu Miu

Lipstick: Mac - So Chaud

Top: Urban Outfitters

Shorts: American Apparel (They were 50% off!!) 

Boots: Episode

Bag: American Apparel