My Saigon: The Local Guide to Ho Chi Minh City

Skip the Tourist Trail. My Saigon is Your Local Key to the City.

Coming to Saigon (or "Ho Chi Minh City")? Thats awesome! But are you ready to see the real city, the one that most guidebooks miss?

Those other books are great if you want to stick to the same old tourist traps, overpriced junk, and government propaganda.

This isnt that kind of book.

Im Elly, and this is My Saigon - updated for 2025.

Im your Saigonese friend whos super excited to show you around. Ill tell you where actual locals go with their friends on a free day, the places with the good stuff that rarely make it into those other guides. Were talking about experiencing Saigon like someone who truly knows it, getting a way deeper understanding, and finding all sorts of cool things you probably wouldnt discover on your own.

Well ditch the tourists and their conical hats. Ill teach you navigating the city (map links and QR codes for every listing! ), understanding the latest visa rules, amazing food way beyond pho (though Ill tell you where the good pho is too!), staying safe, and even a bit of Saigonese street talk. Its all the stuff Id tell my own friends or family if they were visiting.

This 2025 edition has the same Elly quality, the same (or maybe even improved) Elly jokes, and lots of all the great new places, with none of the noise.

Dive into this multi-layered, thrilling city and come out smelling only a bit like fish sauce.

Youll love it, I promise.