On my first day in Ho Chi Minh City, I woke up at about 8 AM. Recently, waking up around that time has become normal for me unless I have to take transportation that departs early in the morning. After getting up, I packed everything and left the hotel.
As usual, I was planning to spend the morning writing my journal, updating my blog, and editing YouTube videos, so I looked for a coffee shop where I could relax and settle down. I noticed that there did not seem to be as many pho shops as there were in Hanoi. I am not sure if that is actually true, but that was the impression I got while walking around the streets.
I found a nice-looking coffee shop and went inside. There are so many coffee shops in Vietnam, and being able to enjoy a cup of coffee for $1–3 is awesome. However, most coffee shops do not have much indoor seating, so customers usually drink outside, which is similar to France. The difference is that French people seem to prefer eating and drinking outside, which I will never fully understand. I am not sure if Vietnamese people necessarily prefer sitting outside. I assume that space is simply more limited in Vietnam.
Inside the coffee shop, there were only two customers. I ordered a cup of coffee. As usual, I do not remember the exact price, but it was about $1. I started writing in my journal and updating a blog entry about my time in Singapore. It took a couple of hours, and I also published a new episode on YouTube since I needed to catch up on that as well.
By the time I finished everything, it was already after 12 PM. When I left the coffee shop, there were more customers inside. I started walking again and looking for a place to have lunch. After only a few minutes, I found a food stall. I ordered what a woman who looked to be in her 50s recommended to me. It cost 60,000 VND.
Whenever I order food, I make sure to ask the price first because otherwise, I sometimes get overcharged. I also usually pay upfront to avoid any confusion. The dish that came out was something I had never seen before. Two bowls were served: one contained soup and noodles, while the other contained soup, vegetables, and chunks of meat with bones. The noodles were different from pho noodles. They were chewier. The soup was amazing. I think it was full of umami. I believe both bowls used the same broth.
Because of the quality of the food and the kindness of the staff, I paid extra. When I was about to leave, the woman noticed that I had overpaid and tried to give me my money back, but I insisted on paying more. I thanked her and left.
I have experienced two types of situations when entering restaurants in other countries. One is when they recognize you as a foreigner and try to get as much money from you as possible. The other is when they treat you like a local customer, offering great service and charging the same prices as everyone else, even though they know you do not understand their language. This food stall was definitely the latter. From the outside, however, I can never tell which type of place it will be.
After leaving, I decided to get my hair cut at a salon that I had noticed while walking around. As soon as I entered, a man who looked to be in his 40s and was sitting at the front desk asked with a gesture whether I wanted a haircut. I said yes, and he told me it would cost 100,000 VND ($3.80). I was not sure whether that was expensive or cheap compared to the average haircut price in Vietnam, but I agreed.
A girl who looked like a teenager or in her early 20s took me to a chair in front of a mirror. I thought either she or the man at the front desk would cut my hair, but instead, another woman with short hair came out from the back carrying a small handbag and started cutting it. She did not even ask me how I wanted my hair to look, which was pretty funny.
My expectations were very low. As long as my hair became shorter, I would be happy. I did not really care how it would look after 30 minutes. Since it was after lunch, I felt sleepy and ended up taking a short nap while she was cutting my hair. A couple of times, she woke me up because my head had dropped forward unconsciously.
Right before the haircut was finished, I woke up completely. Since I was not wearing my glasses, I could not see how my hair looked in the mirror. She gestured for me to wash my hair, and another girl took me to a back room where there was a flat sofa used for washing customers’ hair.
After she dried my hair, I put my glasses back on with excitement. It looked much better than I had expected. I would gladly go there even in Japan if they could cut my hair like that for the same price. I was truly satisfied with the result.
I then took a taxi to Amango Home Hostel, located in the central area of the city. After arriving, I asked a young man who looked younger than me for one night’s stay. He told me it would cost 160,000 VND ($6), and I paid.
The dormitory where I stayed was on the second floor, although the bathroom was on the first floor. I put my large backpack in the locker assigned to me and headed out to visit the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City.
The museum was a little disappointing. The exhibits felt somewhat sketchy, and the overall design was not very impressive. I spent less than two hours there before heading to a nearby coffee shop to decide what I would do after leaving Ho Chi Minh City.
That was when I decided to travel to Cambodia by speedboat. My plan was to go to Can Tho, a city south of Ho Chi Minh City, and then continue to Chau Doc, where I could board a speedboat and cross the border into Cambodia. I quickly bought a bus ticket to Can Tho.
Since I was planning to visit the War Remnants Museum the next day, I spent some time learning more about the Vietnam War (or American War, as it is known in Vietnam) on YouTube. Traveling in other countries makes me more curious about their history. I probably would never have become interested in learning more about this major historical war if I had not come to Vietnam.
Before coming here, I did not even know that Vietnam had been colonized by France. Sometimes I feel embarrassed by how little I know about history.
After leaving the coffee shop, I headed back to the hostel. Since it was already around 6 PM, I decided to have dinner at a Coco Ichibanya that I happened to find. The building also had a sushi restaurant on the first floor. Sushi sounded great, but I assumed it would be expensive, so I chose curry instead.
I took the elevator up and entered the restaurant. As soon as I arrived, the staff greeted me with “Irasshaimase” in a Vietnamese accent. I sat down, and I noticed that the restaurant was quite empty. There were only a couple of customers speaking English.
I ordered chicken curry with cheese and extra rice. It was much more expensive than local Vietnamese street food, but I was very satisfied to eat Japanese curry again. When I left, all the staff said “Arigato gozaimashita.” I liked how they recreated the atmosphere of a Japanese restaurant, where staff members greet customers when they enter and leave.
I spent the rest of the evening at the hostel. The dorm room had a small table attached to the wall, which I really liked. I went to bed at around 10 PM.
