Good Morning Saigon!

Your guide and driver will pick you up as early as 06:30 to catch the first rays of the sun and a chance to see Saigon waking up. Your local form of transport (an open style van with no air-con) will allow you to be fully immersed in the atmosphere of the city.

The first stop is ‘Tao Dan Park’ where locals practice their morning exercises – Tai Chi, aerobics and badminton. Stroll around the park to a small pagoda where you are likely to see locals performing daily prayers. Buddhism in Vietnam has had a symbiotic relationship with Taoism, Chinese spirituality as well as aspects of indigenous Vietnamese religion. You will also have the unique opportunity to enjoy a café sua da at the birds’ club located at the end of the park. Local people gather here with their birds to relax, talk, enjoy a morning coffee and compare their birds.

Continue to a local wet market where shoppers haggle over the fresh produce on offer. Wander through the stalls where vendors are selling everything from live seafood to dried meats, fresh seasonal vegetables and home ware goods.

Take a break for breakfast. Alongside the locals you will sample of bowl of Vietnam’s national dish - pho noodle soup at Pho Binh. This local eatery is also called the Peace Noodle Shop. During the war opposing North and South of Vietnam, Pho Binh was a secret base for Vietnamese resistance fighters (Viet Cong).

Around 10:00, transfer back to your hotel.