saigon shopping and sights tour - in 7 hours!

last friday, I became a tour guide for my friends around saigon. With just 1 day of training (thanks again to Soki), i was able to maximize my friends time here at Saigon. Here is the map Saigon Tour Map. The route includes Saigon's famous landmarks, sampling of Saigon's local food and shopping from bargain stalls to high end labels.

• 10:30am early breakfast @ Pho 2000 near Ben Tanh Market (Bill Clinton ate here!)
• 11:00am walk around Benh Tanh area, Le Loi street. - Saigon Square, Saigon Business Center, Tax Mall
• 12:00pm arrive at Dong Khoi - Money Exchange (good rate), Phuc Long Coffee shop and high end boutiques
• 12:30pm walk along Dong Khoi St to  Cong Xa Paris St
• 1:00pm  Notre Dame Basilica
• 1:30pm Central Post Office
• 2:00pm Diamond Plaza (coffee break or shop some more)
• 2:30pm Reunification Palace
• 3:30pm get a taxi and go to Saigon Square 2 (Ton Duc Thang St.) fare should be around 30.000 dong -- that's 60 pesos.
• 5:00pm  Snack at Thai Express at Le Thanh Ton St.

If you still have energy, you can go back to Ben Tanh for the night market which opens around 6pm. Be sure to bargain and be prepared for some drama.  Not recommended for people with personal space issues :p   But if you have more time and want to save more dong, visit Binh Tay market at Cholon . To get there, from Ben Tanh terminal, hop on to Bus # 1. :)