Hi Everyone, 

If you were following me on my Instagram you already know I started my adventure in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam formally know as Saigon. I never took my big Canon camera with me because I just hate hauling it around everywhere, even though it does take great pictures. I really have to force myself to take pictures or else I forget lol. We didn't do A LOT of tourists things because we had other reasons to be there so we stuck to more of the local stuff there. 

Ho Chi Minh is such a fascinating place, your brain will be OVER STIMULATED there is no doubt. If it wasn't for my husband I'd still be trying to cross the street. When it comes to cars there is literally no rules, it's wild. Ho Chi Minh has a New York Times Square feeling to it, a Beverly Hills vibe, while still maintaining Vietnamese culture. If you are deciding to visit Ho Chi Minh as a Muslim, the food selection is quite tough because everything has pork in it. The other thing that I struggled with was the quality of air, there is a lot of pollution. Make sure you are holding your purse/backpack in front of you at all times because there are a lot of pick pocketers. Also be careful you aren't using your camera/phone too close to oncoming traffic because they will grab it from you while on their motorcycle. Make sure you are always drinking bottled water nothing from the tap.

The Pros about Ho Chi Minh are way too many. First of all they have AMAZING COFFEE, it was an elite level of coffee. Everyone is SO NICE, and humble. They had some of the nicest evening gowns I have ever seen in my life, they were unique, modern, and aboustely gorgeous. For the most part everything is quite cheap. They have quite a cool subculture there, a lot of cool hidden gems that blew our minds. We really didn't want to leave Ho Chi Minh. I will list my fav places as well as hotels and districts. 

Our hotel: Fusions Suites this hotel is situated in District 1 and is close to everything. It is a bit pricey for Vietnam hotels BUT we wanted to stay in something at least 4-5 stars. The perks with this hotel: GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE, Free breakfast (which honestly was amazing), also you get a free massage everyday, whether it was a full body, foot, or face massage. 

Places to Eat: Since we were worried about the food and the amount of pork they use we only ate halal. To be honest we were eating basically only eating french fries haha. But we found a couple awesome spots. One is called Saigon Green House  and the other one we found on our last day had probably one of the best falafels I have ever tried in my life, its a Turkish restaurant called Pasha. 

Coffee Shops: Vietnam is known for their coffee and they are damn good at it. There are tons of them around the city so don't worry you'll never have a shortage lol. The first coffee shop we went to was called Trung Nguyen Café Legend, they are everywhere, they are basically our equivalence of Second Cup. One of the best Matcha/coffee/heaven drinks I have ever had was at a French cafe in the Dong Khoi area called L'amant. Lastly, one of the COOLEST coffee shops/clothing stores was hidden in an alley you had to go up a flight of stairs and there was one of the neatest places I have ever been to it was called L'usine. I think there are a few of them around Ho Chi Minh but that defs was the coolest location. 

Shopping: This all depends on what you are looking for. If you want souvenirs and fake stuff you can go to the Ben Thanh market (but I absolutely hated it). People were pushy, annoying, and rude. If you want higher end stuff like Gucci, Chanel...you go the Dong Khoi area. Also Dong Khoi had Zara, H&M and all those big stores we all know of. One of the coolest experience we had for shopping was again in Dong Khoi, we went down a ramp which led us underground to a bunch of young entrepreneurs with such unique designs and concepts. I bought an outfit from Nha Kho Liti for 23 Canadian dollars and not going to lie it was LIT lol. 

Second Outfit 

Overalls: Simons Hijab: Afflatus Hijab (dark grey jersey) Plaid Shirt: Forever 21 Shoes: Converse 

Thank you for coming to my Blog and reading it. I hope it helped out! 

Afflatus Hijab xo