Ho Chi Minh City
The flight arrived at Tan Son Nhat International Airport around 10:00 p.m., and the arrival process took nearly two hours. Immigration was extremely slow—the officer spent about a minute checking each passport, and the line was very long, which made the experience quite frustrating. That said, one advantage of this airport is its location: it’s very close to the city center, only about a 20-minute drive away.
班機大約在晚上十點抵達胡志明市的新山一國際機場，但入境花了將近兩個小時。移民官大概每個人都要看一分鐘的護照，加上排隊的人非常多，整個體驗真的不太好。不過這個機場有一個很大的優點，就是離市區非常近，車程大概只要 20 分鐘。
Communication
Grab Bike
Using Grab Bike was a great experience, especially when traveling alone. Grab Bike usually costs less than half the price of a Grab car and can even be faster during heavy traffic. Riding on the back of a motorbike and experiencing Vietnam’s motorcycle culture firsthand is definitely something you should try.
搭 Grab Bike 是一個很棒的體驗，特別是獨旅的時候。價格通常不到 Grab Car 的一半，在塞車的時候甚至還比較快。坐在摩托車後座，親身感受越南的機車文化，真的很值得一試。
That said, I think Grab Bike is most suitable in southern Vietnam, where the weather is warmer. While Grab Bike is also available in Sapa, few people use it because of the cold. In Hanoi, the air quality was quite poor, so I didn’t feel comfortable taking a motorbike there either. Overall, I highly recommend trying Grab Bike in Ho Chi Minh City.
不過我會比較推薦在越南南部搭 Grab Bike，因為天氣比較好。Sapa 雖然也有 Grab Bike，但因為天氣偏冷，實際搭的人不多；河內的空氣品質又比較差，所以我也不太想搭。整體來說，最推薦在胡志明市體驗 Grab Bike。
Attractions
Independence Palace (獨立宮)
The Independence Palace is very large and offers a paid audio guide. There is a Chinese version, but the accent was quite strong, making it difficult for me to understand. The exhibition mainly focuses on Vietnam’s modern history, especially the period around the 1950s. I would recommend having some basic background knowledge beforehand to better appreciate the visit. It takes about half a day to explore the entire site.
獨立宮非常大，裡面有付費的語音導覽，也有中文版，但口音偏重，我自己其實聽得有點吃力。展覽內容主要在介紹越南近代史，尤其是 1950 年代左右的歷史。如果事前對這段歷史有一些基本了解，參觀起來會更有感覺。整個逛完大概需要半天左右。
Saigon Central Post Office (西貢中央郵局)
This place was very crowded. There are souvenir shops along the sides, while the central area still functions as an active post office. I saw several people writing postcards there. You can also buy the famous perfume here, though they are not cheap.
這裡人非常多，兩側有紀念品店，中間仍然是實際運作的郵局。我看到不少人坐在裡面寫明信片。這裡也可以買到有名的西貢小姐香水，但價格不算便宜。
Ben Thanh Market (檳城市場)
Ben Thanh Market is a large market selling all kinds of goods. If you’re good at bargaining, you can probably get things at a low price. Personally, I didn’t try shopping there.
檳城市場是一個很大的傳統市場，賣的東西種類非常多。如果很會殺價，應該可以買到便宜的商品。不過我自己沒有實際購物。
Food
McDonald’s
McDonald’s in Vietnam is surprisingly cheap and offers many items that aren’t available in Taiwan. They even serve rice, and there are four different sauces for the fries. I really wanted to try them all.
越南的麥當勞價格真的很便宜，而且有很多台灣吃不到的品項，甚至還有賣飯。薯條有四種不同的醬可以選，我真的很想全部都試一輪。
Bánh Mì
This shop had very high online ratings, but it wasn’t really to my taste. I’m a picky eater, and they only offered one version with many different meats inside. The portion was huge—I even saw people ordering one sandwich to share among three people. It might be great for meat lovers, but next time I should probably check the ingredients more carefully.
這家店在網路上的評價很好，但我個人沒有特別喜歡。我比較挑食，而它只賣一種口味，裡面包了很多不同的肉，而且份量非常大，我甚至看到有人一個麵包三個人分著吃。可能對喜歡肉的人來說會很不錯，但下次我應該先確認一下配料。
Phở Restaurant
The pho was decent, but what surprised me most was the huge plate of vegetables that came with the noodles—for free. There were more than four kinds of vegetables, and many people couldn’t finish them. At first, I even thought it was a buffet. I feel that if the vegetables were self-serve, there might be less food waste overall.
河粉本身還不錯，但最讓我驚訝的是，店家會免費附上一大盤蔬菜，而且種類超過四種。很多人其實都吃不完，我一開始還以為是自助吧。如果能改成自取的方式，感覺可以減少不少浪費。
