Pham Ngu Lao

Living in Saigons Backpacker's Quarter

this is an article of me, published in last weeks saigon times...uncensored... enjoy!!!

"Motorbike, Massage, Marihuana," this is the calling, day and night whispering around the Backpacker's Quarter, to the local's better known as Pham Ngu Lao. It's the small but crowded area around Bui Vien, De Tham and Pham Ngu Lao streets, east of downtown in HCM City's District 1.
Even if the first impression of this area might be sleazy, and definitetly not all of the above mentioned three M's may be recommendable, they show one thing: Everything is possible in this part of town.
For travellers coming from Cambodia, Pham Ngu Lao is usually their entry gate to Vietnam, their first contact with this multifaceted country. To most people coming from the north it's their last contact with Vietnam.
Packed with almost 100 hotels to stay, the Backpacker's is an El Dorado for budget travellers.While at the beginning of the 1990s, prices for accomodation could easily go up to US$50, nowadays the average is at US$5 to US$15 a night, depending on if you want a double or single room, aircon or fan.
Very different from Bangkok's Khao San Road, a place well known to almost all backpackers as it is their main gate to Southeast Asia, Pham Ngu Lao managed to preserve its local charme, despite all the Western influence.
While in Khao San Road, fast food chains and symbols of Western imperialism like McDonalds, Burger King, Starbucks and SevenEleven are door to door, and kick out more and more local businesses, in Pham Ngu Lao all business is local.
In the early morning hours, just after sunrise, when most of the travellers still sleep, the atmosphere in Bui Vien Street is somehow a timeless one.
Shy sunbeams light the street and coat everything with golden colours. Everything seems peaceful. From near Tran Hung Dao Street, one of the city's main traffic routes, connecting District 1 and District 5, or Chinatown (Cholon), the horns of motorbikes announce the morning rushhour.
Gathered around small tables, sitting on plastic stools, old and young start the day with a chat over a delicious iced coffee. A cyclo driver carries his burden slowly but steadily down the street. The air is filled with various smells from grilled pork, coffee and fresh fruits.
One by one the first backpackers start to rise and leave their hotels, glimpsing sleepily into the sun, searching for a proper breakfast in one of the inummareble restaurants.
Santa Cafe in the middle of Bui Vien Street is always a good one. With a broad range of Vietnamese and Western food, it offers something for every taste. The "Ultimate Omelette" and the excellent iced coffee should not be missed.
After recharging your batteries with food and caffeine, it's time to explore the city or the surrounding areas. For tours through Saigon, motorbike taxis (xe om) are a good choice. A ride within District 1 usually should cost VND5,000 to VND10,000. For longer trips the average price is VND15,000 per hour.
If you want to leave the city, many travel agencies offer daytrips to the nearby Cu Chi Tunnels, the Cao Dai Temple in Tay Ninh or the Mekong Delta.
It's also very easy to spend the whole day in the backpacker's quarter. Just hanging out in one of the coffee shops, chatting with other travellers from all over the world and watching live in the streets, or going shopping in the dirtcheap CD and DVD stores are some of the tourists favourite activities.
When the sun sets and night begins, the area again changes its face. There are lots of options for dinner -- Indian, Italian and other Western restaurants, and traditional Vietnamese on-the-street eateries.
At the corner of Bui Vien and De Tham streets for example is a good eatery, which offers besides a nice atmosphere, seefood and cheap beer, a specialty called bot chien, which is fried flour with egg and green Mango.
If you feel more like Indian food, Snow Restaurant offers authentic cuisine from the subcontinent, including an excellent Aloo Massalla. For those who like Italian food, there are lots of places around, including well known Good Morning Vietnam.
But these are just some examples. Even if you stayed here for months, it would be almost impossible for you to check out all the restaurants.
After dinner it's time for music and a beer. And again there are many offers, such as superloud Go 2 Bar, Allez Boo, which has been a favorite for backpackers for years, and Guns N Roses Bar with good rock music and a pool table.
When the night gets late not only backpackers fill the quarter's streets but also many expats and Vietnamese partypeople. As most of the bars downtown close around 1 a.m., Pham Ngu Lao is HCM City's only choice to partying overnight.
So the crowd gathers in sleazy Lost in Saigon and Sahara in Pham Ngu Lao Street or the more relaxed Saigon Bar in De Tham Street.
But living in the Backpackers not only has its sunny sides. Simon Benedikter, a German intern who lived here for the last 10 weeks, says there is sometimes an agressive atmosphere between the Vietnamese and foreigners in this part of the city. While many foreigners always fear being ripped off, many Vietnamese see the tourists as living ATMs.
Even though, Pham Ngu Lao is an essential, charming and colourfull part of the city worth visiting. And if not every day at least once in a while.