A new experience for Ho Chi Minh City...and us

Ho Chi Minh City, Day 48

After yesterday's walk, during which we discovered the location of a couple of metro stations, we thought it might be a good idea to see if we could use the metro to visit somewhere or something of interest to us.

But before we get to the metro, we discover a few wee gems that catch our interest. The first was an unusual roman catholic church. Huyen Sy Church (official name: Church of Saint Philip the Apostle ) is a Catholic church that is over 100 years old. This is the church of Cho Duoi parish under the Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City.

The church was not too far from the next place to catch our attention, the Central Market (or Central Market Shopping Centre). It is also sometimes called the underground market. This shopping centre is a lot less chaotic than some of the other shopping centres that we have seen, and it may be more aimed at tourists than locals. It sells all the same sort of stuff that you can get at the other markets (i.e. most fake items), and it has a very good food court yard area that has a nice vibe and ambience to it. We were in about lunchtime, and it wasn't too busy, but I can imagine it is probably very busy in the evenings.

This is where we experienced our first bánh mì or banh mi (baguette sandwich). We both got a beef version of this, and it was really very good. The bread was light and crunchy on the outside but lovely and soft on the inside, and the beef and salad filling was set off with a lovely sauce which wasn't spicy. Note: We have noted that a lot of the Vietnamese food is not as spicy as that of Thailand, which suits us fine.

After lunch and a look around the stalls in the centre, we finally head to the nearby metro station.

The metro is a big thing at the moment, as it is brand new to the city. The system currently consists of one operational line, Line 1, which opened last month (on 22 December 2024) and which runs from Ben Thanh Market to Suoi Tien. Additional lines are currently under construction or being planned.

The elevators are quite steep, but there were plenty of staff and helpers on hand to help everyone. As part of the launch, the trains are all free for the first 30 days, so there were loads of people trying out these new trains and this new transportation system. Looking at the planned full system, I do think this is very badly needed for the city as the city is just overrun with vehicles, particularly scooters and motorcycles, as it's the main way of people getting about, but it's total mayhem! The air must be quite polluted from all these vehicles, and even whilst we are here, we can observe a sort of haze in the sky. I think the new metro system will be of central importance to the city for the future, and hopefully it will also bring economic growth if it attracts more business and tourists, because it will have a more sensible and acceptable transportation system.

The system itself is very similar to that of Thailand's metro and BTS systems. It was super easy to board and know where you were going and when to get off, etc.

HCMC Metro Line 1 stations

[L1-01] Ben Thanh Station (Ga Bến Thành)

[L1-02] Opera House Station (Ga Nhà Hát Thành Phố)

[L1-03] Ba Son Station (Ga Ba Son)

[L1-04] Van Thanh Park Station (Ga Văn Thánh)

[L1-05] Tan Cang Station (Ga Tân Cảng)

[L1-06] Thao Dien Station (Ga Thảo Điền)

[L1-07] An Phu Station (Ga An Phú)

[L1-08] Rach Chiec Station (Ga Rạch Chiếc)

[L1-09] Phuoc Long Station (Ga Phước Long)

[L1-10] Binh Thai Station (Ga Bình Thái)

[L1-11] Thu Duc Station (Ga Thủ Đức)

[L1-12] Hi-Tech Park Station (Ga Khu Công Nghệ Cao)

[L1-13] National University Station (Ga Đại Học Quốc Gia)

[L1-14] Suoi Tien Terminal Station (Ga Bến Xe Suối Tiên)

Line 1 is 19.7 km (12.2 mi) long with three underground stations (Bến Thành, Ho Chi Minh City Opera House, and Ba Son) and eleven elevated stations. The underground stations are Vietnam's first underground metro stations. Trains are designed to travel at up to 110 km/h (68 mph) on the elevated sections and up to 80 km/h (50 mph) underground.

As part of its inauguration, nine trains will initially run from 5 am to 10 pm, with peak hour and off-peak frequencies of eight and twelve minutes, respectively. Based on the decision of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council, the metro will remain free for the first 30 days of operation.

So, after a little bit of research last night, we decided to get the train from Ben Thanh and go to An Phu as there is a Vincom Mega Mall located there. It turns out there is also another big store (Mega Market) there that is similar to a Costco or Makro type store, but you can go there also.

The mall was nothing compared to the malls of Thailand, and I also could not understand how these malls survive, as there were hardly any people in them. Most of the shops were empty of shoppers, and the staff looked bored. It was interesting to see, though and hopefully with the new metro system now running, it should see more visitors.

So after we'd had our fill of shopping, we hopped back onto the metro and back to our starting point. We were intending to just head home at this point until we saw another interesting place and had to go and investigate.

This time it was the Ben Thanh Market. The market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Ho Chi Minh City and an important symbol of the city. It is a famous destination for many local and foreign tourists from all around the world. The market operates all year round and opens at around 6 am every day until the official closing time at 6 pm. After 6 pm, the day market transitions into a night market, which runs until 10 pm.

It welcomes more than 10,000 visitors per day to shop and visit. The market has nearly 1,500 booths with more than 6,000 small businesses selling wholesale and retail items from consumables to luxury goods.

After a brief wander around here, which was a bit too busy for us as we felt like we were just getting swept up in the crowds, we made our way out and finally headed back to the apartment.

We were exhausted yet again, but after a shower and some dinner, we decided to get some washing done, and as it happens, the washing machines and driers are on the rooftop area, so we enjoyed a wee drink as we sat taking in the views and the evening until our washing was complete.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

6 January 2025