SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM IN SAIGON (Part 5): Hanging on for dear life on the bike

I was looking for some local food tours to join for this trip, and saw some websites for motorcycle tours. There are two companies that appear to stand out, Vespa Adventures (yep, all their bikes are of this iconic Italian brand, so if you are too poor to own one, sign up now! :D) and XO Tours (whose unique selling point was that they were the first, all-female motorbike tour company). My interest was piqued with XO. Imagine, a female driver wearing the traditional ao dai at the wheel, vroom vrooming around town.

So, it came to pass that on a Friday late afternoon, my driver Yen, wearing a blue-and-white ao dai and a white XO tour helmet, picked me up at my hotel.

Oh, i must mention that at this point, i have never ever ridden on a motorbike in my entire life. So i was filled with apprehension ("is it safe?" / "what if we collide with another bike or a car?" / "does my travel insurance cover this?" / "what if i fall off the bike and get squashed by a bus?" / "i don't want to be a headline on Saigon Daily - 'Fat tourist run over by car'") and worry (and trepidation and anxiety....you get the drift).

So i climbed into the back seat and Yen helped me strap on the white helmet and pointed to the handles where i can hold on to. She did say there was no need to hold on, just maintain balance and relax. 

Fortunately, our meeting point (and first food stop) was just nearby - a few minutes away. There we met up with the other tourists taking the foodie tour, and our tour manager Tai, who proved to be a congenial, articulate person and soon put everyone at ease.  

At this noodle place in District 1, we tried this dish below. Nope, it is not pho (surprise, surprise). Instead, it is called Bun Bo Hue (rice vermicelli with beef stock). If you look closely, you will see that the noodles are thicker, so they don't absorb water and you can eat them at your leisure. 

Pretty tasty and warms the stomach. I just had to remind myself not to finish the entire bowl, lest i become too full quickly. 

Then we were off again via our motorbikes. The ride going to the next stop proved to be a long one. We passed through the backpacker district, Chinatown at District 5 where the streets were filled with vendors laying their goods on the ground, and went on major highways where motorbikes crowded together with cars. As you can imagine, i was scared shitless and had a death grip on the handles of our bike. 

"Yikes! Watch out!" i shrieked as we nearly got hit by another bike.  

"Relax! You have to trust me" Yen gently remonstrated.

But it just seemed that other bikes were always too close or coming out of nowhere; or cars were just inches away and about to hit us. One particular manoeuvre of Yen, which involved overtaking on the right without signalling, then sharply veering to the left and cutting off  a car and some bikes, took my breath away. 

"How long have you been driving for the tours?" i inquired

"Oh its my first day today!" Yen chirpily replied

"Holy f**k!!" i muttered [underneath my breath]

The next food stop was at a massive BBQ hall in District 8. We were seated at a long table, and our female drivers took charge in cooking the meats.

 

Watch the ladies in action. Totally brisk and no-nonsense :D

Tai mentioned the goat meat was a particular specialty of this place (it's the one on the bottom part of the photo below). True enough, it was indeed very tasty.

Of course, when in Saigon, one has to drink Saigon Beer! :D





Yen took the opportunity to mention that she had actually been on this job for 7 months already. She had been putting gullible me on! Tsk.

By this time, the atmosphere was convivial as everyone was eating to their hearts' content. To ratchet up the experience further, "happy tea" was brought out. 

Everyone was obligated to drink it. But before drinking, one had to say "YO",  the Vietnamese word for 'cheers', as long as one could. So all of us cheered "YYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" :D 

Then bottoms up! (of course, one party-pooping slacker did not bottoms up, and just took a slip. Uggh, vile liquid)

Yen whispered to me that the "happy tea" was, in fact, banana rice wine.

Can you take a guess what this is? Sirit na? Frog meat. Tender and juicy and tastes like chicken :D



Here's a look at Mr. Froggy in complete form:

                                     Photo credit: Tai Dang
                                      
Then we were off to our next stop. We passed by the "new" part of Saigon, District 7, where most of the expats lived (known as 'Koreatown'). It looked quite modern and had a lot of American restaurant chains.

                                     Photo credit: Tai Dang

At this point, I had gotten used to riding on the bike and was much more relaxed. Still hanging on the handles for not-so-dear life, though. Yen and i chatted quite a bit, which greatly helped in making me feel at ease. She had heard of Boracay Island, and was keen to go there. I mentioned the usual touristic blurb that it was always voted one of the best islands in the world by travel magazines; that the white sand was so fine, one could walk barefoot without getting burnt, yada yada. I didn't have the heart to tell her the island was over crowded and haphazardly developed, and was one giant shit hole and will probably sink under the weight of all that concrete in a few years. Hehehe!!! :D 

Last food stop for the night was in District 4, one of the poorest parts of HCMC.  Tai mentioned it had the best seafood as well. 

We duly disembarked at a street full of roadside eateries. The scene was vibrant and full of energy.

First up was some crab, with pepper and coriander. It proved to be quite spicy, but very fresh. Very good indeed!

For me, the star of the night was this dish below. Scallops with peanuts and green onions and sweet sauce. Simply fabulous! I ate probably around 10 pieces, and stopped only lest the tourmates think i'm an absolute glutton. Hehe :D



As Tai had forewarned, balut (duck embyro)  that had been steamed, and then stir fried, was served as well. Of course, the Westerners were egged on to try this exotic delicacy (some of them had seen it in shows like Fear Factor). 

This lady looked a bit discombobulated at the sight of the embryo! Hahahaha!



But her friend ate it with gusto. Mucho delicioso!!!



Some rice cakes in different colors for dessert.



Then, the coconut jelly, which was very light and refreshing; and was the perfect way to end this meal.



     Photo credit: Tai Dang

Here it is up close. Yen commented it was actually quite easy to make at home.



It was time to call it a night. District 4 turned out to be rather near (15 minutes away) my hotel in District 1. I'm proud to say that i finally relaxed and let go of the handles during the final trip back to my hotel (okay okay, i confess, during the last 20 meters to the hotel. Hahahaha!!! *facepalm*)

I heartily recommend this tour - great way to see places in Saigon outside the tourist bubble of District 1, and try out really good food with good company. Experience Vietnam on two wheels indeed!

SECOND TIME'S THE CHARM IN SAIGON: (Part 1) What To Do

Just got back last week from Ho Chi Minh city (more charmingly known by its old name Saigon). Had a blast! Lovely city, with a great variety of food options.

 First-time visitors usually stay for a few days and do the rounds of the usual tourist spots such as Ben Thanh market (say: 'rip-off'), War Remnants Museum (too macabre), Post Office, Reunification Palace, Notre Dame Cathedral (definitely not copied from the one in Paris :D), Cu Chi tunnels, Water Puppet show (haven't tried it though - did hear it's nothing special),  etc.

So, for second-timers like me, what exactly is there to do? Well, aside from hanging around cafes and eating street food all day long, here's some suggestions:

1. Join a local walking tour 

If you're the type who likes walking around and having an in-depth knowledge of the city, this is the perfect thing to do. 

 
      Lovely post office building

I tried the Tales of the City tour by Old Compass Travel, and highly recommend it.  The guide, Ms. Duong, proved to be interesting and passionate with sharing history, but without making one's head spin with too much info. She specialized in showing photos on her tablet of how buildings looked in the past, and what they were used for, compared to present day. 

This walk does NOT enter any museums (perfect for those allergic to museums, hehe! :D). 

I also tried the Graffiti and Street Art walking tour of Detoured Asia. It turned out to be less about graffiti and street art (i think we only had 2 stops of it), but more of checking out interesting spots such as the Cafe Apartment at Saigon's walking street Nguyen Hue [more on this on a separate post later on], a local market (yes, Ben Thanh is for tourists who want to get ripped off :D), etc. 

 
    Street art off Le Than Thonh St. 

And the guide Dao was such nice, charming company. She studies Tourism in university, and does tours on the side. I was actually sad our tour had to end. 

Another option for art lovers is the acclaimed Sophie's Art Tour,  which melds art and history.
 


2. Join a motorcycle tour 

I'm sure friends of mine are laughing, since they know i don't know how to ride any type of bike; and that i have never ever ridden a motorcycle. 

Well, when in Saigon, do as the Saigonese do, diba? :D Despite my fears of falling off the bike (or getting hit by a car or another motorbike), i sucked it up and join the Foodie Tour of XO Tours. Why them? Well, the foodie tour takes you to different districts of Saigon you would not normally go to (most tourist sights / malls / restaurants / hotels are in District 1). 

 



      Random customer hanging on for dear life 

The unique selling point of XO is that all their drivers are female (hold those jokes, okay?!), wearing the traditional elegant ao dai. I'll write about the experience in a separate post, so stay tuned. 

Another reputable motorbike tour operator is Vespa Adventures, for those folks who want to experience scooting around on a, yes, Vespa. 

3. Go to L'Apothiquaire Spa

Lots of spas (some legit, some dubious-looking) in District 1 area, near the hotels. But for the full spa experience, nothing beats the main branch of L'Apothiquaire at District 3. 



Enter the tree-lined path and you'll reach a colonial mansion set on sprawling grounds. A oval-shaped pool is available for those wanting a dip. Inside, as one walks to the treatment rooms, one can't help notice the graceful stairs and elegant floor tiles. 

 

Address: 64A Truong Dinh, District 3. 
Tel: +848 3932 5181

4. Go further afield 

Vietnam is obviously much more than Saigon. So time (and finances) permitting, exploring other parts of the country such as Hanoi, Hue, Hoi An, Phu Quoc, etc. are great options. Check out the comprehensive site Rusty Compass for independent reviews and recommendations -- for Cambodia and Laos as well. 

In our next post of this series (yikes, i just realized i'm committing to write a number of posts hehe :D), we'll talk about some essential info, such as where to stay, how to get around, etc.