It was 2pm when I arrived at Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam from Phnom Penh, Cambodia. After sitting in a bus for more than 8 hours, there’s nothing more inviting than a nice, cozy, comfortable bed. I would’ve easily surrendered myself but sleeping wasn’t an option then. I was flying back to the Philippines at 11pm the following day.
33 hours. That was all the time I had to explore the city, get to know the people, and get a sense of their culture.
33 hours. That was it.
To have a quick rundown, here’s what I did.
TIME CHECK
14:00-18:00
HOURS SPENT
4 hours (29 hours left)
WHAT I DID
Explore, write, and drink coffee.
Everyone I know who has been to Vietnam raves about how good Vietnamese coffee is. Being the coffee addict that I am, I wasn’t going to miss out on tasting it for myself.
In search for a nice café to settle in and do my mandatory writing session, I was also able to squeeze in a little exploring.
TIME CHECK
18:00-03:00
HOURS SPENT
9 hours (20 hours left)
WHAT TO DO
Eat, drink, and eat.
When in an unfamiliar place by yourself, you make friends with strangers. That’s the beauty of solo traveling. Apart from having full control of your time, you’re flexible enough to meet and mingle with new people.
For my one and only night in Ho Chi Minh, I had dinner with my roommates from the hostel.
I’ve heard about this place from fellow backpackers I met in Cambodia. I had to see it for myself. After dinner, we were off to have drinks at Bui Vien, the famous backpackers strip in Ho Chi Minh.
TIME CHECK
03:00-06:00
HOURS SPENT
3 hours (17 hours left)
WHAT TO DO
Sleep.
There ain’t no rest for the wicked! Being pressed for time, I had to sacrifice sleep.
TIME CHECK
06:00-15:00
HOURS SPENT
9 hours (8 hours left)
WHAT TO DO
Cu Chi Tunnel
I had 8 hours left in the city and I wanted to see at least one tourist spot. After asking around, I decided on going to Cu Chi Tunnel.
TIME CHECK
15:00-18:00
HOURS SPENT
3 hours (5 hours left)
WHAT TO DO
Eat, walk, and eat.
After going around and immersing yourself with locals, how else can you get to know a place’s culture? EAT. EAT. EAT.
Since I couldn’t go too far, I asked around for the nearby food place. All locals pointed to Ben Thanh Market. There, I stuffed myself with scrumptious local Vietnamese food. And no shame about it, I can barely remember how much I ate!
TIME CHECK
18:00-23:00
HOURS SPENT
5 hours (0 hours left)
WHAT TO DO
Wait and board.
And that was it. Before I knew it, it was time to leave.
All I had was 33 hours in Ho Chi Minh City. Was it enough? Yes! Every minute was well spent. (Because I spent most of my time eating. Ha!)
(Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam | January 2015)
@samanthaawrites 
