I was standing beside a washing machine; a thing we were most excited about after more than a month of washing clothes on makeshift whatevers on previous hotels and lodgings. It was right on our very own serviced apartment, on a small open veranda overlooking the urban sprawl of Saigon. The view was luminously breathtaking, but really, we were more thrilled about having our own washing machine.

We started this summer’s two month backpacking trip, which we dubbed as the Same Same Summer Trip 2017 (lol), in Malaysia. It has since been exactly thirty three days, through which, we passed through Cambodia and Thailand, and we’re now on the final country of the tour, Vietnam.

THE ONE-DOLLAR 152 BUS FROM AIRPORT TO HO CHI MINH

Taking a flight from Thailand, we arrived in Vietnam just before evenfall. From the airport, we were quite relieved to find a shuttle bus that goes straight to the city center. The fare, at VND20,000.00 (USD1.00), was surprisingly low! But the best thing about it, besides having free Wi-Fi, was that its terminus was just right in front of where we were staying. Sweet.

INTERNATIONAL PLAZA BUILDING IN PHAM NGU LAO

We were lodged at one of Le Home Phuc An’s Serviced Apartments along Pham Ngu Lao Street, Ho Chi Minh’s backpacker district. Situated on the 7th and 13th floor of the International Plaza building, they have thirteen rooms on this particular property. Aside from this, Le Home also has serviced apartments on Icon 56 and Riviera Point buildings near the Saigon River.

LE HOME PHUC AN’S MINI LOBYY AT THE 7TH FLOOR

LE HOME PHUC AN’S LIVING AND DINING AREA

Upon opening the door to our lodging, we were absolutely bowled. It was just so freakin’ huge for just the two of us. It’s actually good for four persons [CHECK DISCOUNTED RATES & AVAILABILITY].

MASTER’S BEDROOM WITH EN SUITE TOILET & BATH

It has two bedrooms, one of which has its own toilet and bath, a spacious open living, dining, and kitchen area. That last one, as we expect from a serviced apartment, is fully functional and has all the pots, pans, and utensils we need to prepare a meal. Should we have decided to bring a can of maling and packets of Lucky Me pancit canton with us (which we were so craving for, by this time), we could’ve whipped up a mean pinoy merienda in no time!

IT HAS A BATH TUB!

There is a common toilet and bath to service the other room and the living hall, and adjacent to it, the area that gave us so much joy—the open laundry area. And it has quite a view too!

EACH SERVICED APARTMENT HAS ITS VERY OWN WORKING KITCHEN

Well, we didn’t have any Chinese luncheon meat with us nor packets of chilimansi instant noodles, so after messing up our apartment with our stuff, we quickly went down the elevator and hunted for the next best thing—pho and banh mi.

OUR CHOSEN DINNER SPOT IN PHAM NGU LAO

We really didn’t need to go far. Just a few steps from the door of the building we were on is a lively hem or alley filled with stalls hawking, what else, pho and banh mi! With our tummies already grumbling in protest, we wasted no time and quickly sat on the low stools, common to all street vendors in Vietnam, right on the sidewalk.

PHO AND BANH MI FOR DINNER!

CA PHE SUA DA OR ICE COFFEE WITH SWEET MILK IS DELICIOUS!

Our first meal in Vietnam was what I expected it to be. The banh mi was supremely delicious and it went really well with the piping hot pho. We finished everything off with Saigon’s extremely strong ca phe sua da (iced coffee with sweet milk) while watching people walk and dodge motorcycles roaring across the road.

OFF TO BUI VIEN STREET

The drinking street of Bui Vien was our next stop. We chanced upon this strip by accident during our first outing in the city and we just couldn’t believe how chaotic and lively this area was. Saigon’s Bui Vien Street can definitely compete with Cambodia’s Pub Street, and Thailand’s Khao San Road and Bangla Road!

BUI VIEN STREET, THREE YEARS AGO

The main difference here is that people simply place mats on the sidewalk to sit on. And that’s it! No chairs, no tables, no nothing. Just your ass right by the sidewalk, plates of streetfood on the mat, and cold bottles of Saigon beer in hand.

BUI VIEN STREET NOW. THEY HAVE LOW CHAIRS!

Okay, that was years before. We could see that things have changed now. Both sidewalks of Bui Vien were still packed, but people now sit on low stools, and they even have mini-tables with them to put their food and drinks on! An improvement, definitely, but somehow, I still prefer the old style of sitting on the sidewalk itself, lol.

GUERILLA-STYLE STREET PERFORMERS IN BUI VIEN STREET

And this whole strip was just three minutes away by foot from Le Home Phuc An. Quite convenient, since we’re here every single night and going back to our lodging was no problem at all, drunk or, errr, drunker.

HEM 353, JUST RIGHT BESIDE THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING

NOODLE BREAKFAST WITH EVERYTHING ON IT

WE FOUND RICE!

Come mornings, we’d scour the alleyways right beside our building for breakfast. And there are a lot! The narrow hem transforms into an instant market during daylight hour, and it’s such an interesting place to see locals going about their daily lives, not a few of them, wearing the traditional non la, a conical palm-leaf hat, over their colorfully match-printed trousers and blouses.

SAIGON CITY TOUR

Le Home Phuc Han doesn’t offer tours around the city, but it was easy enough for us to Google where we wanted to go, and we didn’t even have to ride anything to get there. We’ve been to the war-related spots in Saigon on our first visit, so this time, we focused on the French quarter-ish area of the city and ending our tour at the nearby Ben Thanh Market.

A quick stop at Le Home to wash up and check the laundry, and we’re back down, eating banh mi and pho in front of our lodging, then a mug of iced coffee, and finally we’re off to the Bui Vien Street for beer again. Repeat for x number of days.
~ LE HOME PHUC AN HOSTED OUR STAY IN HO CHI MINH. VIEWS & OPINIONS, ALL MINE

 

Le Home Phuc An Serviced Resisdence
Address: 7th & 13th Floor, International Plaza Building
343 Pham Ngu Lao Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Contact Number: (098) 289-9197 | (0938) 777-502
Email: lehomesa@gmail.com
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GPS Coordinates Map: 10.767232, 106.690102
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