You’ve found Ho Chi Minh City’s best banh mi, best pho and best egg coffee, so now what?
So you’ve been doing some research on what to do in Ho Chi Minh City and it’s turned up plenty of info on where you can find the best banh mi, the best pho and the best egg coffee (it’s a Hanoi thing by the way).
But it’s either not your thing or you’re looking for something a little different from the norm.
Well, if you call pro-wrestling, worshipping whales and dining in a war-era bank vault a little different, then this list might just be for you.
Attend a pro-wrestling “fight night”
Vietnam’s better-known for more high-brow cultural events for tourists, like the Teh Dar Show at the Opera House or tours on the back of motorbikes driven by young ladies in ao dai – Vietnam’s national dress – and no, that doesn’t make this list!
But pro-wrestling? No way.
Somewhere in the back blocks of District 7, an outer southern suburb of Ho Chi Minh City, you can find pro-wrestling events held throughout the year in a hangar-like structure on the lot of a local film studio.
It’s dark, it’s gritty, and it’s sweaty, but best of all, it’s highly entertaining.
Local stars with names like Rocky Huynh, Sid Nguyen, Venomshank, and The British Horror (among others) throw themselves at each other in the ring and out of it, all the while urged on by more than 300 of their adoring (and equally as sweaty) fans sitting ringside in what is a pulsating display of guts and stupidity in the name of entertainment.
Tickets to bouts are highly sought-after with tickets selling out quickly after release.
If you’re planning on being in town on May 4 (2024), get online now and secure a ticket for a night of fun rarely experienced by travellers to Vietnam that also provides an opportunity to mix with the locals.
But remember – what happens on fight night…
Visit a whale temple
This one will take you out of town on a day trip, but it’s still technically in Ho Chi Minh City even though it’s around 50km south of the city.
Can Gio is one of 24 districts that make up Ho Chi Minh City, but it’s the only one that can lay claim to having a UNESCO listed mangrove forest.
How the mangrove forest came into being after the war is a story in itself for another time, but it’s the rather unusual whale temple in the district’s largest town that makes this attraction interesting.
In the small seaside fishing village of Can Thanh there’s a whale temple that the fisherfolk of the local area regularly come to visit and pray at for good luck and safe passage during the fishing season.
Inside this temple is the intact skeleton of a small whale that washed ashore back in the 1970s.
Fishing communities along the southern coastline of Vietnam worship whales.
Long story short, legend says that a Nguyen Dynasty-era emperor got caught in a typhoon while out sailing one day and was saved by a whale.
Since then, they’ve been revered.
During mid-autumn each year around September, the people of Can Thanh hold a festival in the whale’s honour with a street parade and festivities after a flotilla of local fishing boats decked out in colourful paint, flags and banners have returned from paying their respects to the whales – both real and mythical – offshore in the East Sea.
Dine in a war-era bank vault beneath the city
It doesn’t sound overly romantic I know, but you have to admit this one’s intriguing.
The Nguyen Thai Binh neighbourhood is one of the oldest and most historic neighbourhoods in the city and it’s also what you might call the “top end of town” owing to it long being the financial centre of the inner city.
There are banks all around here, including the imposing building of the State Bank of Vietnam constructed in 1928 on the site where Indochina’s first piastre note was issued way back in 1891.
Which brings us to The Au My Wine Cellar right across the street from one of the old State Bank buildings.
In fact, The Au My Wine Cellar occupies one of the State Bank’s old bank vaults from the time before Vietnam’s reunification in 1975.
From the front entrance, guests descend two flights of stairs and then proceed into a short tunnel that acts as a cramped (but spacious enough) dining area.
The tunnel also leads to three bank vaults (there are four in total) that can seat approximately 20 people inside.
If you’re prone to feeling claustrophobic, then this establishment might not be for you.
And if you’re wondering just how “safe” (wink wink) things are – especially given that Saigon is said to be sinking – the walls were constructed with metre-thick concrete and reinforced with steel.
For dining with a difference and what some may call “investment dining” this one is on the money!
Gorge yourself on dumplings in Chinatown
For whatever reason, this street in Ho Chi Minh City’s “Chinatown” district doesn’t gain much attention on travel pages and YouTube.
Perhaps it’s because you need to venture off the usual well-beaten tourist trail out of the city centre to find it.
Ha Ton Quyen Street is solely dedicated to sui cao which are dumplings that are incredibly hard to stop yourself from gorging on!
Here you can get them fried or steamed, in noodle soup or with dry noodles.
Thien Thien is probably the best known joint along this strip, but you could probably just about go anywhere along here and find a winner.
Tour the city’s only gin distillery
This is another one that’s a day trip outside the city centre, but it’s still technically in Ho Chi Minh City.
Cu Chi is one of the 24 districts that make up the city and it’s famous for the war-era tunnels and shooting range around 50km away.
But now, it’s home to Ho Chi Minh City’s first and only gin distillery called Lady Trieu Gin.
And the cool thing about it is the crew at Lady Trieu are able to organise visits to their distillery by appointment, so if you’d like to check it out, get in contact with them directly.
The trip includes a boat ride along the Saigon River to and from the distillery (with beverages onboard of course) which gives you a great insight into life on the river that you might not otherwise experience, along with a fun tour of the distillery with plenty of tastings.
Click on the image below to direct you to the full list of details
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