by Our first two full days in Saigon had very different moods. One was mostly rain and shopping; the other gave us sunshine and time for the city’s familiar landmarks. By this point in the journey, adapting the plan felt considerably more useful than defending it.
Day 17: Drenched but Determined (to Shop!)
Day Seventeen began with heavy rain against the hotel window. Going out for a full sightseeing round made little sense, so we changed direction: shops, shelter and air conditioning. It may not have been an adventurous response, but it was a dry one.
We went to Takashimaya, browsed the shops and investigated things we did not particularly need. There was time for clothes, gadgets and supermarket snacks. Dried mango made a convincing case for itself. A rain day can be remarkably effective at finding the small gaps left in a suitcase.
Day 18: Sunshine & Saigon Staples
The following morning brought sunshine and a café breakfast near the hotel: Vietnamese coffee and banh mi. After the downpour, simply being able to start outside felt like an improvement. We kept the rest of the day’s plans fairly modest.
We were less interested in ticking off every landmark than in seeing a few places properly. That was a decision about our pace, rather than proof that Saigon is a quieter city than Hanoi. There was still plenty of traffic and activity around us.
The Cathedral and the Central Post Office
Notre Dame Cathedral was covered in scaffolding during our May 2025 visit. We could see parts of the building, but not the unobstructed view we might have expected from photographs. Renovation schedules change, so that memory is more useful than promising a particular completion year.
Nearby, the Central Post Office offered a very different visit: high ceilings, ironwork and a large public hall with plenty of detail to notice. We bought postcards and enjoyed the slightly old-fashioned pleasure of posting something home. The building was worth our attention without attaching a famous architect’s name to it.
Ben Thanh Market
We spent part of the afternoon at Ben Thanh Market, browsing fruit, spices, clothes and souvenirs. It was busy, colourful and clearly accustomed to visitors. Bargaining supplied its own little conversations, and we may not have secured the world’s finest deal on a magnet. Fortunately, the holiday did not depend on that achievement.
Saigon After Dark
In the evening we wandered through a city changing under its lights: the old City Hall, newer towers and traffic moving between them. The mix of older buildings and modern skyline gave us something different to look at after the daytime sights.
These two days worked because we stopped insisting they should follow one fixed programme. Rain sent us indoors; sunshine brought us back out. The city supplied plenty to occupy us either way.
There were things we enjoyed here, even though looking back on the whole trip, Hanoi and Ninh Binh would remain stronger favourites. Enjoying a few days somewhere does not require declaring it the place you most want to revisit.
Our final day took us to Binh Tay Market for quite a different market experience—and one last food-and-coffee souvenir run.
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