Earlier last year, I had the thought of going to New Zealand in April. However, due to the absence of direct flights from Jakarta to any city in the country, and the fact that it would coincide with Easter holiday which, according to what I read on the internet, would mean the temporary closure of some businesses in the southern Pacific nation, I decided to look elsewhere. Some of you might still remember that in the end I went to the southern-central regions of Vietnam, where James and I based ourselves in Quy Nhon to explore the ancient Hindu temples in this part of the country. As opposed to 2011, there are now direct flights between Jakarta and Saigon, making it a lot easier for Indonesians to visit Vietnam, and vice versa. However, we would have to transfer in the southern Vietnamese city first before taking the flight to Quy Nhon. So, we thought why not stay a few nights in the former? This would allow us to rekindle our memories of the place and see how much it has changed since our last separate visits.
On a fine Friday afternoon, our Vietnam Airlines plane that departed Jakarta three hours earlier was making its final approach from the east to land at Tan Son Nhat Airport – Saigon’s main gateway to the world located directly to the northwest of the downtown area. The sun was already low on the horizon, casting its soft and warm rays upon the city’s skyline. I felt lucky to be seated on the port (left) side of the airplane, for it afforded me a magnificent view of Saigon’s glistening skyscrapers. The city has definitely grown a lot since my last visit!
On this trip, we actually went to Saigon twice: first at the beginning when we stayed two nights in the city, and again right at the end when we spent another two nights before flying back to Jakarta. Despite the short stay, what I found was completely different from what I remembered from that first trip twelve years prior. The Saigon of 2023 was an interesting and relatively walkable place, none of which resembled what I experienced in 2011. Probably staying in the city center allowed us to enjoy Saigon better, with tree-lined streets and decent sidewalks making a morning or an afternoon stroll reasonably pleasant despite the busy traffic. I even dare to claim that the downtown part of the city is more pedestrian-friendly than most parts of Jakarta, a megalopolis that has sadly been transformed into a place that prioritizes cars over humans – though fortunately things are gradually changing for the better.
The 19th-century Tân Định church near the park
The city hall of Saigon, built in the early 20th century in French colonial style
The city hall viewed from the lotus pond
The Temple of Hùng King, a 20th-century structure dedicated to ancient Vietnamese rulers from more than 2,000 years ago
Sketchers in front of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History (formerly the Musée Blanchard de la Brosse)
However, Saigon is far from perfect, and the city still has a lot of homework to do to make it a much more livable place. The traffic is one of the most obvious things the city government should work on. It was bad in 2011, and it still was in 2023. But it was very encouraging to get a glimpse of the city’s first ever metro stations, part of a megaproject funded by Japan (similar to the MRT in Jakarta) which should begin operations sometime this year. Further to the east outside the city, a new and much bigger airport is being constructed. Upon completion, it will replace Tan Son Nhat which, based on my observations, was clearly handling more passengers than what it was designed for.
But today’s Saigon is not just about major constructions. Amid the rapid growth of Vietnam’s economy, the city has not given up its leafy parks for property development projects – at least not yet. And tucked away in the busy District 1 were local, no-frills food joints serving delicious Vietnamese dishes to hungry Saigonese and visitors alike, from bún đầu cá Châu Đốc (rice vermicelli served with snakehead fish that comes from a region near the border with Cambodia) to gỏi trái vả mười khó (a local fig salad) and a delicacy made from cá bống (goby fish).
While it is apparent that in many aspects Saigon seemed to be moving in the right direction, our positive experience of the city was also attributed to the fact that we were accompanied by a local on our final day there. Some of you know him as Len Kagami, a Saigon-based blogger whose photos never fail to make me dream of visiting the places he has been. With him, we explored the Cholon area which is considered Saigon’s own Chinatown, sampled some local dishes at a restaurant we would have otherwise not have known about, went to the city’s fine arts museum which occupies a grand mansion formerly owned by a wealthy local family, strolled around the downtown area, and had interesting conversations over iced tea to wrap up the day. Having a local to show you around really is one of the best ways to enjoy a city.
I came to Saigon for the second time with a much more open and a lot less judgmental mind, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well the city treated me. From the scenes at Lê Văn Tám Park where men and women, old and young, came to this public space to get some exercise with their friends and family, to little things like this delicious cheese ice cream that we bought from a convenience store across the street from where we stayed, Saigon was a perfect stopover we wished for. I won’t be surprised if one day I find myself booking another flight to this Vietnamese city, whether to stay longer, or to explore other parts of this endlessly captivating country. Until then, à bientôt, Saïgon!