Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) offers bustling streets, amazing walks, too-hip-for-you cafes, rocking music clubs, luxurious salons, explosively delicious restaurants, and indoor cat zoos. Saigon is Vietnam. It's young, practical, crowded, and a little bit brash.
"My Saigon" is the detailed local lowdown on Saigon, full of the places, the tricks, the stories, and the nuances that only a seasoned Saigonese local would know.
Unfortunately, most visits to Saigon are limited to the same boring "attractions" a few unimpressive buildings, a few overpriced markets, and a few propaganda bits about the War.
Saigon has so much more to offer, but it's largely undocumented in English-language travel guides.
"My Saigon" documents what knowledgeable Saigonese people know: the most amazing experiences, the funniest stories, the best coffee, the best food (far beyond pho), the go-to shops, the best hangouts, the coolest stuff to see, and hipsters, hipsters everywhere.
"My Saigon" includes tutorials on basic Vietnamese language, history (that Vietnamese tour guides are forbidden from mentioning), Saigon street characters, urban navigation and transportation, internet and phones, money and prices, avoiding scams, making friends, and meeting love interests.
Saigon is a wealth of sights, sounds, smells, and experiences. "My Saigon" is a guide, a love confessional, an instruction manual, and an ode to the city.