Saigon – Night Foodie Tour

We were looking forward to once again experiencing Saigon at night with Vespa Wanderers. Initially we planned the tour for just the two of us, but ended up inviting a few couples from the ship to join us – 11 of us in total experienced this crazy adventure.

It was a progressive dinner, starting with a stop to pick-up a Vietnamese Sub which we ate at a historic cafe, next dinner at Gam followed by dessert at a local “sweet” shop, and the evening ended with drinks at a speakeasy/bar. These stops were not close together, so we had fun rides on the vespas travelling between stops. We were picked up at 6:30 and returned to the ship at 11:30.

We read that there are over 8 million motorbikes in Saigon, so travelling the roads and alleyways at night is exciting. Even though there were cars and motorbikes all around us, it never felt unsafe – somehow it all works.

It is hard to capture the experience in photos, especially when on the vespa, but the following will give you a glimpse of our adventure.

Before 1975 the Do Phu – Dai Han Coffee Shop was a simple eatery, but in 1975 it became one of the secret operating bases of the Saigon Special Forces. The house was used by the revolutionary side as a place for meetings, exchanging secret letters and documents, and hiding officers. Much of the main floor has remained the same which is a reminder of those dark times.

Next stop dinner at Gam. The food was plentiful and there were so many choices – all really good.

Our final stop was a Speakeasy/bar. We all said that we would love to go back on the weekend and enjoy the entertainment – but it will have to wait until next time. In addition to our drivers we had two knowledgable guides who were lots of fun.

At the end of the evening, each couple received a photo book and note to remember their time with Vespa Wanderers.

It is always a risk inviting others to join a tour, especially on the back of Vespas at night when the city comes alive with a dazzling display of lights and noise, and you are travelling in dense traffic, with a seemingly endless flow of motorbikes, cars, and buses filling the roads. So, did the others like the Vespa tour? Bev called it “brillant” and Josée wrote, “Between day one and day two, we experienced so much of traditional foods and some activities typical to Vietnam. Vespa tour though to me was the most amazing thing we have done so far. It was so wild and so exciting, I can’t find the words to say how much we loved it. It was freaking amazing 🙌🏻🤪”. So the answer is a resounding “yes” and sharing this adventure with others made it even more enjoyable for us.

To travel to Saigon is to experience a meeting of old and new cultures, a bustling metropolis of skyscrapers and traffic juxtaposed with traditional markets and alleyways lined with local coffee shops and street stalls. It was so different than the other ports we visited. Thank you Alice for making our time in Saigon so special.