Watch This BEFORE Visiting Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon 🇻🇳 (Vietnam Travel Vlog)
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- Опубліковано 4 лис 2023
- I share my experiences in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City in this travel vlog from Vietnam. I visit a lot of the famous areas of the city and give my opinion on whether or not you should travel to Saigon, Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Vlog
Saigon Is Such A Disappointment. (Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam Vlog)
My Saigon Experience: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Is Saigon Actually Worth Visiting? 🇻🇳
Saigon, Vietnam Is Such A Disappointing City 🇻🇳
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video was shit
Gonna give my 2 cents here.
- Saigon is the economic engine of the country. It's not the most "interesting" or geographically aesthetic city, but it is the largest and most modern with so many migrants moving there and adding to the fabric. This has created a chaotic phase of development over the past few decades with everyone trying to eke out a living in such a confined space. This has led to lots of pollution and poor urban planning.
- People come to Saigon mainly for the history, food and nightlife.
- There are plenty of food markets around, they're just not all congregated in the touristy areas. Locals don't go to places like Ben Thanh.
- Numbeo is a terrible source for data and I'd take it with a grain of salt.
- The War Remnants Museum is obviously biased in favour of the Communist Party's views. They never showcase the atrocities they themselves committed.
- Obviously the city, as with the rest of the country, is still in the process of developing after all the shit to do with colonialism and wars with the US, China and Cambodia, not to mention the US' trade embargo.
- Saigon was once a much more relaxed, better planned city but that ended with the war and the chaotic development phase that took place after.
Moving forward, it will continue to develop, people will have more disposable income, the city will become more modernised and clean with more things to see and do. That's just a by-product of the massive growth that has taken place there. Heck, I remember being in Saigon in the early 2000s and it was way worse back then.
I think Hanoi would be a more suitable city to know more about Vietnamese history
Vietnam is composed of three pretty distinct regions. I think it would be a mistake to say any one city can represent all three regions.
History is written by the victors!
Thank God the Americans didnt win.
Dude, did you not do any historical research on Saigon? The architecture is French colonial because is was controlled by the French for years before the U.S. came in. In Viet Nam it's not the Viet Nam War, it's the American War. Duh?!?!!?
@@WheresWes I love your videos and you're normally a lot more careful than this. But, this country has some history and for a travel vid, not a good look to go around scratching your head. I wish you'd have put as much effort into this one, yeah I get it you weren't impressed but...., as you did your series on Columbia.
@midtwnscott I was in Colombia for 3.5 years and I spoke the language, so obviously it's gonna be more in depth.
I'm traveling so much bro i don't have time to get into the history of every place I go. I just go and make observations based on my experiences.
Most people don't know too much nor care about history either to be fair.
In America it’s called the Vietnam War.
It should have been called the Mienbac War. America was fighting for Vietnam not against.
@@WheresWeslol that is outright disrespectful saying that nobody cares about history when Vietnam is still recovering from imperialism and the US war. It’s called being respectful to the countries you visit. “You must be fun at parties” 😂😂
Brother you can be respectful and be fun at parties at the same time. Who woulda thought?
I totally disagree that Saigon is skippable. To me it's a quintessential Vietnam experience. That said, it's not a must-see place, either. Personally I wasn't impressed with Da Nang but Hue and Hoi An are great. If possible, try to get to the Mekong Delta and rent a scooter to explore the jungle. The city of Saigon is not exceptional but the Mekong Delta, jungles, and tunnels outside the city are nice.
Interesting. I personally wasn't impressed by Hoi An but I didn't go at night time. Bana hills was pretty underwhelming too
It's obviously subject to personal preferences and views. Saigon is the economic engine and largest city in the country. Hanoi is the oldest and capital. Danang is the largest city in the Central region blessed with a beautiful geographic setting. Hue was the imperial city and more laidback than the others. Hoi An is quite touristy but still worth visiting for anyone coming to Vietnam. My family is from the Mekong Delta and although there isn't as much to see and do there, the people are extremely friendly and welcoming.
@@WheresWes People go to Hoi An and Bana Hills for the photo opportunities. I find that other Asians tend to like these places more than Westerners (and Westernised Asians). I thought Bana Hills was pretty cool (no pun intended). The cable car ride itself was nice, it's the 3rd longest in the world behind one in South America and Phu Quoc, also in Vietnam.
I found DaNang to be a city beyond tourisim, whereas I only liked HoiAn when everything was closing. Beautiful architecture being used to sell trinkets. Bus groups as well
vietnam lost its culture in the last 10 years.i agree w wes and im vietnamese. overrated
knowing the reasons behind (like history) is not sugarcoating guys 😢 it’s just respect for a different culture. When we know more, we just make more respectful opinions 🤷🏻♀️
You visit Saigon for historical places, diverse and yummy food selections, and for services. But you must do your research and have an idea of what you want to do. You may also enjoy the city more if you have a partner. It's a big city so one could be very lost of knowing exactly what to do while in Saigon. 😊😊
When you come back to Saigon, I hope you also visit the Westerner expats town in district 2 and Korean expats town in district 7.
Good Video. I'll travel a lot around Asia about 6 months out of the year, usually staying in Cebu City in the Philippines look forward to hearing your thoughts about the Philippines.
As a Saigonese i kinda agree with you. Saigon is just so so. I tried walking in the center around 2 hours i went everywhere. The sidewalk is not good. The service not too many. So many thing to improve. However it’t easy to eat or play in Saigon because people is more lively. Hope Saigon can change in 5 years so you can impress more
I am not a huge fan of big cities! I feel you on that, my girl and I will be visiting Saigon soon, this video was very helpful. Thank you
If you are bougie, Vietnam is not for you
Thanks so much, Wes, and BTW, I love NYC! Was there in early 2010s. I booked SGN for April to May, as I've already done Asia (SE Asia), 4 x, most recently Bangkok in '22 & '23, and I wanted to try somewhere different. Appreciate your honesty, and you were very objective with what you rated and your reasons. If I am disappointed, I'll stick to Thailand in future, but of course it's the essence of life to try new places. I am staying in Quan 1 - Ben Thanh ward, very near D. Bui Vien, and am hopeful of a nice holiday, but if not, at least I tried a different country! Thanks again. Kisses to the Big Apple and US. Make America Great Again, lol! Best regards, Miles - Brisbane QLD. xo
Dude can you make a vlog of how and what documents needed to travel to Vietnam.
Also which city would you recommend for a noobie like me to visit. I love to go where locals go to eat.
NICE :)
I appreciate your candid views. Keep it up!
thanks for honest views...very helpful :)
Cheers bro
🔥🔥 I Appreciate your channel bro! Motivated me to start traveling and start my own UA-cam channel documenting my journey 🙏
Great video bro, thank you!
Fantastic Vietnam People
Amazing
I love Sài Gòn. I like its chaos, its dirt, and its crazy. It's not an ancient city, but it has its own style, and the people there have a lot of character. It's really not a good sex tourism destination, though. Go to Thailand or the Philippines for that.
Waaah,hahaha there are more prostitutes in vietnam than in philippines
Exactly.. Well he is honest abt his opinion but he obviously didn't make a research about Sai Gon at all
@@Nhu_like_neu Most people that are less than 2 years typically praise Saigon and Vietnam, after 3 to 5 years most of those same people left becasue they can't stand it no more.
Vietnam is a fun short term visit but long term, not even
There is a reason why More Vietnamese apply for tourist visas than any other country in SE Asia per year
Even they want out
@@EndlessTravels or maybe people just want to travel...i agree that saigon is not good for long-term stay but other cities like da nang are better for long-term stay compared to saigon. to say that vietnamese people dislike living in vietnam just because they apply for the most tourist visas is ridiculous. first it probably has to do with visiting overseas communities, vietnam has a huge diaspora compared to every other southeast asian nation. two people are getting richer and they want to travel. you're drawing conclusions based on nothing
Very good video! Very honest on your thoughts!
Great Video. ...but that Museum is incredibly one sided view, I saw the same in Laos. That traffic is insane.
What hotel did you take?
Ya got me bro, got a vietnamese woman from there, top pick bro 💪
Your feeling is quite similar to my feeling when I came back Vietnam in the first time after leaving there 2 years. It's noisy and polluted. I had no words but I felt much better after living there for a few days.
❤
In central Saigon ,house prices are like $1 million usd for an average house.
Thanks for a solid travel review video which covers important topics.
Cheers bro
Hi! There I hope u can respond I was wondering how was the flight there! I live 11/12 hrs away from Japan and 18 from Vietnam and is there a lot of turbulence!? And is it fun cus I am going 17 of December till the 31!
There wasn’t much on my flight earlier last year ! How was your trip? The worst part about Vietnam for me was leaving 😭 I miss it so much.. America just seems so sad now that I’m back
It felt so short but I’m grateful I got to stay 4 weeks.. did you go anywhere else? I would actually go insane if I only got 2 weeks to do everything in Vietnam
@@mawnnsval we did a lot! But not all of it. It was amazing! And Saigon wow was a mess for sure!
I love how you're not sugarcoating Saigon like most travelling UA-camrs do.
@@GuitarPlayerNoah Yeah a few comments also pointed out how little research he did on Saigon.
In my opinion, there are a lot of things you can experience in Bangkok that are similar to Saigon (except for the culture and food), while getting a much better service out of it. That's why many Vietnamese people that I know prefer to travel to Bangkok
I find most sugar coat Vietnam as a whole, most do not live out here past 18 months for a reason
Vietnam is a gerat place to visit but to live long term, it'll break you down and apart phsyically and emotionally
@@GuitarPlayerNoah For real, going into a Vietnamese hospital with the cold you'll most likely going to walk out with the Flu or worse
To each his own, I love Saigon. Been going there every year since 2008. I guess it helps to have relatives that live there.
Also I see on Expedia for a package for hotels and they mention location like District 1,2,3. Could you explain what it means?
District 1 = cbd
District 2 = rich area ( I heard there are more new nightclub now or something 🤔)
Distric 3 = shops/restaurants
Is there a ba na hills videos?
for sai gon, it's best to go to can tho and do the mekong river tour
I filmed but didn't like it. Idk if there's an audience for it tbh. Imo it was overrated like hoi an.
@@WheresWes I am surely not a audience of amusement park or places like Bana Hill.
@@WheresWes I'd argue there is an audience for everything; as someone planning to travel in Vietnam very briefly (I only have less than a week) I'm trying to figure out where to go, so posting good and bad experiences is valuable. I found this video useful for the honesty, i'm sure other people would find a ba na hills video useful too. But I guess you don't want to put too many negative videos in a row since people prefer hearing positive things about where they are going/from rather than negative.
Impressive there’s a global village scenario going on modernity has reached almost every corner of earth
You should give it more time. Districts 2, and 7 are nicer and cleaner. To the tourists it's chaotic but to the locals it's order.
Am in Vietnam right now as a tourist, we went to Saigon Square just this afternoon. One of store where bags are being sold, we ask the sales lady how much the price of the bag were interested in, she replied are buy buying, we replied can we ask the price first? Then she told us if you don't buy I will not say price. Really?😢😅 I mean other than her the other girl where we bought sweets and coffee was very nice and friendly😊.
Saigon is dirty, chaotic , noisy and hot but its fun to visit for a few days .
Is it like Bangkok just too city like Manila too
What hostel did you stay at? Would you recommend?
Saigon Authentic Hostel and Meander Saigon. Both nice, different vibes
Saigon used to be known as East Paris by the way, don't know what's known as East Paris nowadays
Spectacular Vietkongs
District 5 is not really a place for tourist. Thao Dien in district 2 and Phu My Hung in district 7 are places that are more foreigner-friendly.
As a vietnamese myself i kinda 90% percent agree with you about pollution, entertainment, trafic congestion, horn noise,etc. 2 big city in vietnam ha noi and hcm city, beside visit historical building, try some local food, there's not much to do as a tourism
Hcmc is one hell of a city and cheapest for sure. Never bored here after 1 year. D1 expensive area is extremely cheap
This guy had provided his observation about the city/culture but is not very observant in his understanding
Agree with you. he's boring and has a narrow perspective
Have a great day thank you for sharing this video Im glad im here hoping to watch more videos from you. Kapiso Mo Vlog 9:18
30 dong? 10 cents us?
Go eat Pho Le and go check out District 5!
Ho Chi Minh Wonderfull
nice. been following you for over a year now. i wanted to meet you in da nang which ill be there november 8th. my birth and hometown is near hi an. ha noi is more crowded and old building. saigon is my favorite city or mexico city. those 2 are my fav
Spend a couple of days, get a hotel with a rooftop pool!!
Look mom, I featured in a youtube video! 🥰😂 It was a lot of fun to meet you and the rest of the gang at the hostel, Europe next? 🌝
Absolutely bro, nice to meet u man!
Thanks you just created a new passport bro movement to vietnam...here come the trans hunters
it's already been here bro. Viet women don't care for foreigners much tho tbh, Asians are still their main preference.
I hope they do something with the pollution and traffic
Filling out my evisa. Its asking me the province in Saigon? I don't know, it's my first time. I want to go to the tourist spot. How much are the hotels?
The honesty is very helpful. I'm going to Vietnam for the first time in like 50 days and Da Nang and Hanoi always looked more interesting, but your video kind of seals the deal. If time isn't too limited I hope to visit Saigon for a quick trip.
Which do u prefer Thailand or Vietnam?
Vietnam
Saigon is a jewel
how do you make friends when you go to a place like Ho Chi Minh City?
Hostels is easy, alot of solo travelers that also want to meet people, but if not staying at hostel, then you need to approach people more with a good friendly vibe, but its more difficult. As i mentioned hostels you are pretty much guaranteed somebody talking to you asking you where your from, and then it goes from there.
@@maromorostar6621 thx man that’s a really good idea with the hostels!
I agree..i wasnt bothered by saigon personally..the rest ofcthe nam i liked
Going to places where you live in the US! Where homeless people & junkies are hanging around! Isn’t it messy?
Is it worthy to go visit America? YES!
We travel to other countries for experiencing other cultures, without any expectation that they should live to ours norm in ours head! Wise guy! 😅
clean is Saigon, u probably havnt venture outside Dist1, which is tourist backpack area. Saigon gas many districts btw
Lmao Saigon is not clean at all wtf
Great video,
Is Saigon more Touristy than Hanoi?
Cheers
I'd say it attracts different kinds of tourists but I didn't go to Hanoi
I see what you mean now lol@@WheresWesWhat is the best place for foodies in Vietnam?
@@julioc4978 Saigon is more westernised than Hanoi
Depending on if you want local food or the Vietnamese version of western foods
Love your content brother but we will have to agree to disagree here. I prefer 'HCMC' to Bangkok. I stayed mainly in 'Thao Dhien' i.e. district 2 aka 'the white mans part of town' - despite being a brown man! Its a highly 'marked-up' part of town, with luxury restaurants, cafes, malls, apartment blocks and even its own 'casa del habano' but still much cheaper than London but then which place isn't?! For a city of 10 mil+ people, I found HCMC to be full of remarkably friendly yet busy people and I found it easy to make friends and the average woman to be very beautiful and easy to approach - seriously wasn't expecting Vietnamese women to be so beautiful but I'll be ready for next time. District 5 'Cho Lon' was an interesting part of town, as was 'Phuong nga' or district 9. I encourage you to give it another try!
If u see that big blue building in district 5 that was my grandpa home worth 2 million USA but after the Vietnam war it was invaded n my mom n grandfather was force to burn all the currency or give it away when the communist took over.
Currently in Saigon. Much nicer than Manila but not as nice as Bangkok. I liked Da Nang more than Pattaya though. Off to Kuala Lumpur next then Hanoi. So far the only city I could live comfortably in would be Bangkok.
Go film ho chi Minh slums dude
you are the most honest travel vlogger i have ever seen. you say it how it is rather than trying to please everyone for extra views.
Cheers bro thats the goal
Actually … real or honest videos still get a lot of views, even more 😂😂😂 It’s just psychological effects. so I believe knowing the stories behind a different culture is a way to show respect, not sugarcoating or only to get views. Don’t get things wrong. I’m working in Marketing too.
Good video. How would you rate Da Nang and Hanoi out of ten?
Check out my da nang video. Da nang was 9.5
I think saigon is famous for the foods, but if you want to see more culture, you should go to the North!
I would recommend reading history before visiting saigon . Its not easily digestible if your from the west . I found myself in tears wanting to find somewhere more civilised and refined (am from chelsea in london)
This guy said he's not a big fan of big cities and then visit one to tell us he doesn't like it. Imagine if I said I don't like beef and then I go to a steak house.
Good video. I guess it's all about expectations and perspective. I had a terrific time in Saigon a couple of weeks ago. But, I also hired a personal tour guide and stayed at the best hotel in the city. You get what you pay for. I had a great experience from start to finish. Da Nang was a whole different level. Stayed at the Intercontinental resort in a 5,000 sq. ft. villa with a butler. I guess when you get to be my age, you will see Vietnam differently.
I agree I have been all around vietnam and saigon is messed up. It's also the only place i've seen multiple crimes happen
To each their own and all, but I found Saigon more enjoyable and more authentic than places like Hanoi and Da Nang
You not harassed because you blended in, local assume you one of us DuMa from the States. If you white, good luck with the vendor 😂 wish you happy journey
gotta respect the viets on their amazing development. a country that has recovered from multiple wars.
4:38 why you gotta show the one Black guy in Vietnam when talking about s*x tourism? LMAO
Lolol pure coincidence
I am in Colombia now and have made up my mind that its not a " wifey country". Not a country to go look for wife, but to have fun😜( you knw what I mean ? Leaving in January for Greece.
a whole country of women not "wifey" material lol
Yeah exactly. I'm planning on going to Eastern Europe to find a relationship cuz they're more serious minded there.
@WheresWes most of eastern Europe is EU now. It's more Western than it was 20 yrs ago. As an Asian guy you'll find it tough to find a relationship there regardless. If i was you, id just go to phillipines. .
Greece is a 1000 times better than Colombia
@@MrORANGEMAN1966 esp with all the migrants landing on the beaches
@WheresWes damn dude, youd have thought you ran over a puppy the way people are crying on here. Good stuff though. Keep on keepin on.
The Vietnam war is intersting but many do NOT understand it, i say this as i read your comments about it
I always ask the question when people debate on this
"Who was America truly attacking?"
than a follow up
"Who won the war?"
At this point people typically say "Vietnam won", than you go talk to a South Vietnamese and ask them the same thing and the answer will not be anything like "Vietnam won"
Fun fact, many VIetnamese still go with the ideas of the tribes of the "Three stick people"
There is a reason why some Vietnamese call Saigon, saigon and others don't.
VN war was a proxy war, and American lost a lot sure, and did a lot of bad but they were not the ones that truly lost..
Again "Who was American truly attacking?"
It wasn't ALL of Vietnam, they were trying to stop SOMEONE, i won't say who...but y'all know :)
On the side isn't it funny in China they put General Mao on all their money? I wonder how the 80+ million Chinese back 110 years ago would have felt about that
Please can you let me know how much is the salary for a fresher data scientist in saigon ? I have a Master degree in computer science and and will get a college degree from Canada in machine learning and ai in the end of the year.
Thanks a lot.
any job in Vietnam will have you earning drastically less the only way to live like a tourist is to have a remote job which is only possible if you have a tech/design job
I've lived in the US and many other countries in the world, including Spain, the Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia, and I must say that Viết women are the *hottest*.
French influence in their building architecture.
You should do some researchs on the country first.
lol, yeah those girls in the Japanese district get very edgy, even if you're just holding your phone while walking through. That was my first clue that I'd accidentally stumbled into some sort of red light district.
Also the war "museum" was just garbage communist propaganda.
But yeah, agree with all your takes and conclusion re Saigon. I wouldn't be in a rush to go back
saigon is horrendous after about 3 days if your just travelling.... but after about 3 months, after you learn the traps and find alot of the actual amazing spots and can venture otuside the tourist trap of bui vien.. after that period of time it you discover theres a certain magic to it, and you have so much to do you will never be bored. its probably the best place to smoke a fat blunt and just walk around high as shit lol... but the pollution never gets old and is by far the worse thing about saigon!
Well you are a tourist that is inexperienced so that’s why you don’t know where the best spots are.
Ho chi Minh✌✌✌
Need a little bit of research regarding the Vietnam conflict. A lot of what you see there is communist propaganda. Communist north Vietnam took over the more capitalist, American back South Vietnam. In the US, go to any Viet communities and shop and you would never see the official communist Vietnam flag hanging around. There is a lot of untold story in that museum. As far as your opinion about Saigon, I got no problem with it. Everyone's experience is different. I been there once and I was just cultured shocked just because I am a Viet from the US. Street vendors are mostly located within local neighborhoods and not in the main tourist area. With any big cities there will be dirty and eye sore areas. Vietnam has come a long way and is one of the favorite place that people are now recognizing as a tourist destination. Very proud of my native country. Haven't been there since 2009 and it seems to look better now.
You need to stop comparing Vietnam with Thailand. They do not share any history together. Thai is indigenous, while Vietnamese are direct descendants of Han Chinese. The first emperor of Vietnam came from Beijing. The first King of Thailand came from India who married a Cambodian Khmer girl. The languages are also very different between the two. No relation between the two. Learn your history, brah.
😄 if you're looking for China culture in Vietnam, you'll get disapointed
Totally agree saying VIetnamese culture, manners, and living standards are the same as China
The Philippines is not that developed. I did not like it....not for me.
Worst country on earth
you never do your homework before u travel.
Nope, spontaneous travel is more enjoyable. You get to enjoy the moment more
My eyes burned just to walk around the city, and I inhaled the pollutants air.
that's what I'm sayin
V handsome
I’m scared eat street food
I’m sure you’ll get sick
Terminator 8.
SAIGON? It's called Ho Chi Min City!
same same potato potato
Most people I have met in Vietnam still talk about Saigon rather than Ho Chi Minh City.
Only kids call it Ho Chi Minh City.
If you lived in HCM city or in the Southern areas of Vietnam when you were young, or you born here, you will call it Saigon!❤ We don’t call it HCM City that often unless we are doing paperworks!
It sounds like you find Vietnamese women more attractive than Thai women?
Because they are
100%
Been to Thailand myself and found Vietnamese women are more attractive ( personal view)
👎 overall. Btw all major cities have nicer and more rundown areas 🙄
🤮
Too messy