4 Days in HCM 🇻🇳

This hotel is located just beside the Fine Art's Museum and only a few minute's walk from the nearest convenience store. The hotel provides a la carte free breakfast and free drinks (including beer! We're not sure how they break even like this) and snacks. Our room had a cute little swing and the bed was pretty comfortable. They have self-service laundry on the roof which is a nice touch too. At night, the roof is cooling and has a nice relaxing vibe, perfect for chilling with friends over cold beers and soju. I highly recommend this hotel!

Maintwo is mainly unisex windbreakers, graphic tees, casualwear. It's quite curated so you would find lots of Tommy Hilfiger, Wrangler and other well-known brands. It's hidden in a small alley, next to small concept store and another vintage store.

Mayhem is one of the bigger thrift stores, has a mix of used and new items and a wider variety of style and sizes so you could have more luck here. This store has more accessories and items compared to others.

Just below Mayhem is this cute little resturatant that serves yummy pancakes and other dishes. We ordered the Vietnamese pancake with shrimp and pork, stir-friend morning glory with garlic, friend rice in coconut with mixed vegetables and caramelized pork in claypot.

Retro also is a mix of new and used items. Level 1 is under construction now so just walk past the construction dudes to level 3 HAHA. This store is my favourite as it has more unique and interesting finds and more accessories.

Mập Thôn is known more for their reworked items. The prices are higher but still reasonable. This hidden gem is tucked away on the 4th floor of a dodgey building but definitely worth the effort to find!

Located in District 10, this food street has affordable and delicious food. We had no idea what the names of the foods we bought were but they were all delicious and comforting.

An adorable little cafe that serves different egg drinks. They serve egg matcha and egg mocha as well which I don't see at other egg coffee joints. I ordered the original hot egg coffee and it was just what I needed to start the day. The foam was sweet and flavourful, and the coffee and nice and bitter. Come with friends to try all the flavours they offer.

Took a long GrabBike ride to District 2 to check out the concept stores here. The items sold here are on the pricier side but would make for good souvenirs and gifts for friends. Bonus: the facade of the shop is adorable for taking OOTDs.

Another cute place to get knickknacks. This branch has more affordable stationary items.

An adorable little store (remember to remove your shoes before entering!) with 100% pre-loved items.

Didn't get to pop in as they only open at 2pm 🥺 But this charity shop shares the same street as thenormal_thriftshop and seems to have promising finds.

This concept store sells very unique clothing at a premium price. The clothes are not for everyone but I got to rest a little over a refreshing cold beverage after the long walk.

I had a spare hour and chanced upon this place. I got an express gel manicure here for around $15 and under and hour. Very quick and no-fuss.

Took a GrabBike back to District 1 for lunch at this cafe. The the cafe is a feast for the eyes and the owner is a friendly and passionate guy. They gave us an English menu, which we learnt had fewer items than the Vietnamese menu. We ended up using Google translate on the Vietnamese manu and ordered the smoked duck, tofu and rice pizza. It was more filling than it looked. If it weren't 4pm in the afternoon, we would have tried their specialty coffee and beer. We also bought some organic coffee grounds from him as souvenirs.

We headed this this shopping area after lunch. The basement has more trendy fashion, but don't skip on the other stores upstairs in the old building. The building hosts many vintage stores, boutiques and cafes.

This Bún Chả joint is located in the middle of a street bustling with nightlife. GrabCar-ing into this street was a whole experience. We ordered Bún Chả, lady's fingers, fried spring rolls and fried banana for dessert. It really hits the spot. Great place to end the day (or fuel up before heading to a bar next door).

Expect a thorough, informative and extremely solemn recollection of the years of war that affected Vietnam. Going through the galleries really left me feeling quite emotional. Everything is well translated into English and the price of the tickets were reasonable.

This branch is just a few minute's walk away from the Ben Thanh market. Here's where you can buy more coffee grounds and beans. If you want, they can grind the beans for you as well. They have a seating area upstairs as well if you're not having your coffee to-go.

I was most excited about this museum. The facade is modern and unassuming but it hold an 19th century building on the inside. I recommend renting an Ao Dai to wear to take photos at this beautiful place. Else, you can also try on the costumes for free (but they are not in the best condition). We did a medicinal foot bath and they served us tea at the end of the visit. The staff are helpful and the museum has heaps of infomation and artifacts. It's a bit far from the city centre but worth the trip down!

This cafe serves home-style Vietnamese food. But more importantly, this cafe is actually a museum that used to be a secret bunker during the war. we weren't able to explore the bunker as it was closed on the weekends so take note 🥺

This is an iconic building in HCM. Most cafes do not put their menu outside for viewing so do have a cafe in mind before visiting or you'd be spoilt for choice on the spot.

24/7 Áo Dài Rental

I REALLY wanted to go here but unfortunately, it was a bit out of the way.

I didn't go on a tour to the tunnels this time round as I've been there before a year years back. But it's definitely an experience I'd recommend. You can get to shoot a live gun as well!