Ho Chi Minh City - Vietnam time!

Vietnam time!!!

After a 16-hour overnight journey from Siem Reap - with a change of buses in Phnom Penh - we made it to Ho Chi Minh City. This bus was one of the more comfortable ones we’d taken, and we both managed to get some decent sleep. The border crossing into Vietnam was smooth, too - no visa needed for UK or Swedish passports, which made things easier.

We checked into our hotel and headed out to explore right away. Bill had already visited Ho Chi Minh earlier in his trip, so he became my tour guide for the next few days.

Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s largest city and a fast-paced mix of modern skyscrapers, colonial architecture, buzzing street life and hidden alleyway cafés.

On our first night, we went to Bros Korea for Korean BBQ - so good, and we ate so much! The next day, we explored the city. One stop was a shop that sold old propaganda posters. We both picked up a few prints to take home.

We also visited the Central Post Office, a beautiful French colonial building still in use today. We sent off some postcards to our families - no idea when they’ll arrive, but Annie + Papa and Mum + Dad, keep an eye on the post!

Right across the road is the Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, which (like every Notre Dame I’ve seen, including Paris) is currently under construction haha!

Food was a big part of our time here. We ate our way through banh mi, pho, and bun cha, and tried almost every type of Vietnamese coffee we could find: salt coffee, cream cheese coffee, coconut coffee, and of course, the classic egg coffee. I love the coffee here hehe!

We also did a bit of vintage shopping and, on our last day together, took part in a jewellery-making workshop where we made silver rings. It was such a fun experience and a really lovely momento from our time together.

After three weeks of travelling together, we said goodbye at the airport - Bill heading to Singapore and me flying north to Hanoi.

Loads of fun memories, new places, great food, and a lot of laughs. Ho Chi Minh City was the perfect place to wrap it all up <3