It was cloudy the day we first descended onto Ho Chi Minh City. Even from the plane, the vibrant character and colours of the city stood out. The excitement of being in a foreign land buzzed amongst the group of three travelers.

We decided to board a bus, the most humble and direct form of transport from Tan Son Nhat International Airport to our hostel in the backpackers’ area, Pham Ngu Lao. It was a journey that perfectly introduced this unique city to us. The sheer number of scooters fighting for space on the roads, the incessant honking, the number of pagodas we passed along the way. This was it. This was Ho Chi Minh City.

With its warm yellow bricks, clean environment and friendly staff, a warm feeling was apparent from our hostel, Hong Han Guesthouse, from the very start. Putting our backpacks into our room, and trying our best to ignore the comfortable looking beds, we geared up to explore the city on foot.

A visit to Ho Chi Minh City would not be complete without a taste of its political and military past. The War Remnants Museum, with its collection of war machines, vehicles, photos and stories, would be a good start. The halls of the simple building are one marked by a solemn, quietly respectful nature. There is also a slight tingling of mourning in the air, a feeling of horror emanating from the viewers of its galleries. This portrayal of the atrocities of the Vietnam War is definitely not one for the faint hearted.

It was still drizzling as we set off from the museum, and with the rain, more of the city’s resilient character came to life. The roads never seemed to mind the rain; they never slowed down, never lost its life. Scooter riders all appeared in unison in dark green or blue raincoats, and it wasn’t uncommon to find the pillion riders sharing the same raincoat, often hiding their whole bodies under it in the process. It was a rather comical yet wondrous sight to behold.

For a further delve into Vietnam’s political history, visit the Reunification Palace. It was the site of the handover of power from South to North Vietnam in 1975, and remained the presidential palace for some years thereafter. Today, it is an extravagantly restored, chandelier filled tourist attraction. Guided tours are provided within the building itself.

Architecturally, perhaps the most famous building in Ho Chi Minh City is the Central Post Office. Designed by Gustave Eiffel in the 19th century, it is a piece of French colonial style right smack in a South East Asian city. As you enter the building, intricate designs above and beneath you jostle for the attention of your senses. Both the ceiling and the flooring boast colourful patterns and a huge portrait of the father of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, is present in the middle of the building.

Just across the street from the Post Office, near a road charmingly named Cong Xa Paris, is the Notre Dame Cathedral. Officially called the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral Bascilica, it is another French legacy still standing in the city. The deep red bricks were imported directly from Marseilles in France, and the church built in a Neo-Romanesque facade with gothic elements. This place of worship for the Catholics residing in the city is indeed one of the most outstanding and beautiful buildings in it.

After a day of architectural and historical appreciation, the time to satisfy hunger pangs finally arrived. Roadside stalls, local eateries, and western restaurants are all readily available and affordable options. We decided to seek out a particular eatery that serves Vietnamese beef noodle soup at 260C Pasteur Street, from a friend’s and travel guide recommendations. Little did we know that because of the lack of details in the map, we would have to walk on and on not knowing where our destination was for one hour before we would finally reach it! We started our journey from around the middle of this incredibly long Pasteur Street and thank goodness we chanced upon the right direction. Our luck definitely served us better than the map because it sure did not indicate where 260C was!

After a long hard day of walking and a famished and uncertain last hour of searching, the feeling when we finally got our huge steaming bowls of noodles was truly once in a lifetime. The fragrant garnishes, smooth noodles, tender chunks of beef were gladly devoured. It was like nothing we had tasted before.

The next morning, we were greeted by another quintessentially Vietnamese food experience; breakfast on our open-air guesthouse terrace. The local traffic ploughed on along the street below us as we lazed in the terrace soaking up the warm Vietnamese sunshine. Breakfast provided includes egg with capsicum and French loaf with jam. The French loaves are one of the best things about this city!

For short guided tours out of the main city centre, one can make a booking with a local travel agency at low prices. Two popular tours are the Cu Chi Tunnel tour and the Mekong Delta tour.

The Cu Chi area hides an immense network of tunnels that were the Viet Cong’s base of operations during the Vietnam War. A portion of it has been preserved by the government and turned into a tourist attraction. The Cu Chi Tunnels provide another peek into Vietnam’s stormy war past. There are many booby traps on display, and tourists are invited to crawl through some of the tunnel systems. Tourists can also try their hand at shooting a selection of rifles for a few US dollars per bullet.

The Mekong Delta guided tour is a comprehensive and enjoyable one day tour. To get around the region, you get to have a taste of three modes of transportation: motor boat, row boat and pony-drawn carriages. That’s something you don’t get everyday, in the span of a day! Tourists will also be introduced to the local produce such as coconut candies, rice paper, fruits and bee-produced honey. For western tourists who are not familiar with tropical fruits, the array of papaya, jackfruit, banana, longan and dragonfruit is indeed an assault to their senses. As a Canadian tourist put it, “this is a paradise!”

These guided tours are not for the independent traveler who does not enjoy following a guide and being shown local products after local products. It is indeed a little repetitive and forced at times, but a good break from the city and good insight into Vietnamese livelihood.

Back in the city centre, the avenues for some shopping and leisure are aplenty. Night markets and shopping centres are chock full of vendors selling tourist goods and clothes. Bargaining is a tricky business though, as vendors tend to be savvy and reluctant to lower prices. Still, it is possible to make away with reasonably priced fashion and fun buys like sunglasses.

For massage services, head on over to the Blind Association of Ho Chi Minh City. Provided by blind masseurs, a decent rub-down only costs about US$3 per hour. Not only will your tired body be getting a well-deserved reprieve, you’ll be providing the blind folk with a livelihood, which is always a good thing. The surroundings are spartan and it could be a little difficult communicating with the blind masseurs if you have requests. So it is best to equip oneself with very basic Vietnamese!

The backpackers’ area, Pham Ngu Lao, teems with life when the sun sets, with bars on every other street corner. Bars with their distinct characters scream out to passers-by, drawing them in. The bigger nightclubs send out eloquent young workers who try their hardest to charm tourists into their clubs. Drinks are cheap in Ho Chi Minh City and there is a sizeable array of beers to choose from, but of course one should try the local beer, Bia Saigon.

We settled in the largest, newest nightclub in town, Crazy Buffalo, on our last night there. The inside of the bar could be like any other in the world, with its basic interior, football playing on an LCD screen, and sea of westerners having a drink and smoke. The music though, is clearly pirated and the drinks and cigarettes are too cheap to make you mistaken you’re anywhere but here.

Ho Chi Minh City hardly seems to sleep. Shops stay open way past nightfall, scooters buzz down the streets at any time of the day. The park opposite the popular tourist market, Ben Thanh Market, is just a passing route in the day, but a flurry of people at night. Lovers embracing on their scooters, families playing badminton or capteh, groups of middle-aged people sitting and talking, it is a scene that could come from anywhere in the world. It reminds us that while we are all the same, our cultures are so incredibly uniquely different.

Our final day in Ho Chi Minh City was spent making some last minute buys and having a last taste of Vietnam. We said goodbye to the place we called home for the last five days, and off to the airport and up on the plane we went. And in just two hours we were back home. Two months on, the essence of the city still resonates in me.