TAKE-A-NAP SAIGON GUIDEBOOK
Welcome manual
Address : Unit 4 - 5th Floor 14 Nguyen Thi Nghia Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
Contact : G e t - to - k n ow t h e h ouse, d i s cove r s e c r e t s p o t s & i n si d er favori tes
P : +84 90 486 2424 (Katie) P : +84 98 481 1311 (Nam) E : huongthaotran.vn@gmail. com W:
G’day, mate! Hi, thank you for choosing us to take-anap during your trip to Vietnam. We’re Katie & Nam, both originally come from Hanoi and have been choosing Ho Chi Minh as our second nest for the last 3 years. Hey it’s me Katie. I’m 28-year-old girl who always thinks she is just 18 l(llol). A marketer, a dreamer, a wine lover and a wanderer are the best words to describe me. I like the smell of rain, the touch of sun, the taste of kisses, the sound of jazz, and the feeling of being fully alive. As a part-time traveller, I do understand the needs of staying at a cozy place and exploring the local culture while travel. I’d like to make Take-a-nap an authentic yet homelike shelter when you’re in Vietnam. Facebook
@thaotranhuong
@hthaotran
Call me Nam (in Viet-Nam). As a freelance cameraman, I meet diversified people and travel a lot. I visited nearly every province in Vietnam so don’t hesitate to ask me anything like the best time to discover Northwestern part of the country or the most beautiful route to go through Vietnam by motorbike. To me, after a long work day, nothing beats a cold crafted beer and a Pink Floyd rythm to dig into. Welcome to my property! Make yourself at home, feel free to relax and put up your feet.
2
@loiz0m
@loiz0m
ABOUT LIVE LIKE A SAIGONESE IN THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WITH THE ENORMOUSLY PANORAMA CITY VIEW. Easily access from the airport at low cos via 3 bus routes, taxi or Uber | Grab within 20 - 45 mins. In the neighborhood of must-see attractions and sights. - 150m to Phu Dong Roundabount - 200m to 23/9 park - 500m to famous backpacker street Bui Vien & Pham Ngu Lao - 500m to Ben Thanh market - 800m to Ho Chi Minh Art Museum - 1km to Tao Dan park, Independence Palace. - 1.5km to Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica Uncountable restaurants, cafe shop, local food stalls, cuisine town and 24/7 convenient stores nearby. Private & chilling balcony with an extraordinary view to iconic Phu Dong Roundabount, 23/9 Park, New World Hotel & AB Tower. Live among the local in the colonial building, feel the busy-as-a-bee daily life and the chaos.
3
Amenities
The Space
House Rule In order to ensure a wonderful guest experience,
Essentials
Accomodate: 3
please read the following house rules.
High-speed Wifi
Bathroom: 1
1. Turn off all lights, electronics & A/C after use and
Shampoo
Bedroom: 1
2. Prostitute are not allowed
Closet/drawers
Bed: 1
4. Please do not smoke inside the house (balcony
Cable TV
Couch: 1
5. Please return all furniture to its original position
Air Conditioning
Open Kitchen: 1
6. Check-out at 11am and check-in is after 2pm. If
Light Snack
Balcony: 1
7. Please lock all the door and close the window
Bottled Water Coffee & Tea Iron Hair Dryer Private Entrance First Aid Kit Safety Card Fire Extinguisher Laundry - Washer Parking
4
before you leave the house 3. Kindly remove your shoes while inside is allowed) before check-out you need early check-in please let us know ahead. when you go outside. 8. To prevent A/C drain, please close all the door
WIFI: Bi Ngo Pass: alo1234567
and window when you use A/C. •We only provide amenities when you check-in once, if your stay is 1 week or longer we will provide more.
5
Getting Here VIA AIRPORT TAXI Find “Vinasun” taxi (white car with green & red lines). Show the address in Vietnamese as below: 14 NGUYỄN THỊ NGHĨA, phường Bến Thành, quận 1 (gần ngã 6 Phù Đổng - đối diện khách sạn New World)
VIA UBER OR GRAB Open your Grab or Uber app. In the destination type “14 Nguyen Thi Nghia” You can also show this to the driver: 14 NGUYỄN THỊ NGHĨA, phường Bến Thành, quận 1 (gần ngã 6 Phù Đổng - đối diện khách sạn New World)
Duration: 25 minutes (45 minutes in rush hour)
Duration: 25 minutes (45 minutes in rush hour)
Cost: VND 100,000 ~ $5
Cost: VND 150,000 ~ $7.5
Highly recommended
Quite difficult to get due to limit quantity
Fastest Way
Alternative brand: Mai Linh, Airport Taxi
Nearly 24/7
24/7
Please ask us about recent promo code
6
Take-a-nap Saigon is located 7.5km taking you 25 minutes in average from the Tan Son Nhat International Airport.
VIA SHUTTLE BUS 109 When you walk out of the terminal arrival, turn right and walk across the median where the car pick up lanes are and you will see the Vietnamese and English signs pointing your way. Leave at final stop (23/9 Park). Turn right and go straight Le Lai street. When you see KFC, turn left to Nguyen Thi Nghia and find 14 Nguyen Thi Nghia (next to AlFresco Restaurant)
VIA SHUTTLE BUS 49 Buy ticket at bus counter: Column 12 (International Terminal), Column 18 - 19 (Domestic Terminal). this is the pricier airport shuttle compared to the yellow Bus 109 is that they will drop you off directly at your hotel in the city. Ask the driver to inform you when the bus stop at Nguyen Thi Nghia stop, then make a few steps, the condo is located next to Alfresco Restaurant.
Duration: 45 minutes
Duration: 30 minutes
Cost: VND 20,000 ~ $1 (no luggage charge)
Cost: VND 40,000 ~ $2 (no luggage charge)
The bus leaves every 15 to 20 minutes
The bus leaves every 20 to 30 minutes
Cheapest way
Stop in front of the condo
Operation Hour: from 5.30 am to 1.00 a.m
Operation Hour: from 5.30 am to 0.30 a.m
Hotline: +84 913 805098
7
Welcome to Ho Chi Minh City! H O C H I M I N H C I T Y I S B UZZING WITH E NE RG Y F ORM E R NAM E
Saigon K NOWN AS
Energy, chaos, discovery S E AS ON
Rainy: May to late Oct Dry: Dec to April
8
AS S TATE D I N L O N E L Y P L A N-
E T Ho
Chi Minh City (HCMC) is Vietnam at its most dizzying: a high-octane city of commerce and culture that has driven the country forward with its pulsating energy. A chaotic whirl, the city breathes life and vitality into all who settle here, and visitors cannot help but be hauled along for the ride. From the finest of hotels to the cheapest of guesthouses, the classiest of restaurants to the tastiest of street stalls, the choicest of boutiques to the scrum of the markets, HCMC is a city of energy and discovery. Wander through timeless alleys to incense-infused temples before negotiating chic designer malls beneath sleek 21st-century skyscrapers. The ghosts of the past live on in buildings that one generation ago witnessed a city in turmoil, but now the real beauty of the former Saigon’s urban collage is the seamless blending of these two worlds into one exciting mass.
9
Insider Favorites - EAT
ASIAN FOOD TOWN
BEN THANH MARKET
VND 20,000 - 300,000
VND 20,000 - 300,000
Located just 200m away from Take-anap. All you need to do is turn right, cross the street, turn right again and keep walking until you meet the sign board. This is Vietnamese and Asian street foods in one place with shopping mall and bookstore next to at unbelivablly reasonable price.
Ben Thanh market is within 500m away from your doorstep. Although it is famous as a market for tourist, don’t ever underrestimate attraction of the food stalls here. The price is not cheap compared to common local food stalls in other market but worth-to-try.
Katie’s secret: - The Pizza Company’s set lunch is available everyday from from 10 to 14 (excluding Wed and Weekend) at only VND 59,000+ & they have Buy 1 Get 1 on Wed. - Don’t forget to visit Taka Market at the same ground to get exporting clothes of famous brand at reasonable price (Please bargain!)
Katie’s secret: - Try “Banh beo Hue” - VND 18,000 for a dish combining different kinds of rice cakes with salted shredded shrimp and delicious sauce. - If you love to have very-Ho-ChiMinh soup in local way (sitting on a small, tiny chair on the sidewalk), go ahead with 30 year old “Bun Rieu Ganh” at 4 Phan Boi Chau St. It will cost you VND 45,000 for a bowl.
4 Pham Ngu Lao St | Zone B 23/9 Park
10
Quach Thi Trang Square
RESTAURANTS AT AB TOWER
In the opposite of Take-a-nap at 76 Le Lai St, Dis 1.
Ho Chi Minh City has a multinational cuisine due to its past and present. A set of fresh and juicy seafood slices as well as other Japanese dish and the extraordinary city view is waiting for you at 24th floor of AB Tower in Sorae Restaurant. While sophisticated Chinese cuisine is located at the Ground floor under the brand San Fu Lou.
Katie’s secret: - Other option for Japanese food: Hokkaido Ramen - 121 Cống Quỳnh, Dis 1 or Nhân Sushi - 62 Ngô Đức Kế, Dis 1. - Other option for dimsum thing: Phat’s Dumpling House - 44 Đông Du, Dis 1. - Uber cool with a stunning view of downtown Saigon, Chill Skybar is one of the most popular nightspots in the city. on the 25th floor of AB Tower. Dresscode: formal.
BÁNH MỲ STALL
323 Pham Ngu Lao, Dis 1.
5 BOYS NUMBER 1 SMOOTHIES
VND 30,000
VND 40,000 - 66,000
VND 20,000 - 40,000
Being considered as the best “banh my” in town, banh my at 37 Nguyen Trai diferentiate itself by the signature charcoal grilled pork and mouth watering sauce. Always surrounded by crowd front out, Banh My Huynh Hoa at 26 Le Thi Rieng delivers insane quantities of pre-sliced cold cut meats in the roasted barguette.
Occupying a bustling corner on Pham Ngu Lao, this place is regularly packed out. As well as regular pho, it specialises in pho bo kho, a stewlike broth. This restaurant opens late until 12 pm which is the best remedy for you after absorbing alcohol from Bui Vien street.
It’s the best juice stand on the planet, simply scribble down your fruit of choice, fork out some dong, and minutes later you are sipping on the most delicious thing you’ve ever placed to your lips.
26 Le Thi Rieng & 37 Nguyen Trai, Dis 1.
Katie’s secret: - 37 Nguyen Trai opens only from 5 to 7.30pm daily but sometimes the owner opens from 4.30pm. It cost you about VND 16,000. It located - Banh my Huynh Hoa is somehow the most expensive banh my in town that cost you VND 30,000 but the size win it all. - Both is located just 190m away from Take-a-nap
PHỞ QUỲNH
Nam’s secret: - Besides “bo kho”, give “nuoc tiet hot ga” a try - eggs yolk boil in the blood soup. - You can easily walk here as well since it is located 600m away from Take-a-nap.
84 Bui Vien, Dis 1.
Katie’s secret: - At night when they pull out a small broiler and grill up pork, octopus and chicken feet, as well. - Give tropical food a try since Ho Chi Minh is the paradise of them.
11
Insider Favorites - EAT
THE LUNCH LADY
SECRET GARDEN
HUM VEGETERIAN
VND 30,000 - 40,000
VND 65,000 - 110,000
VND 100,000 - 300,000
Undeniably, one of the most famous street food stalls in all of Saigon is the legendary Lunch Lady. The Lunch Lady specializes in serving noodles, noodle soups to be more specific. She has a “rotating menu” daily. Everything tastes good at cheap price.
This is the homecooked Vietnamese restaurant. Totally a hidden gem, amazing food is served within a zen atmosphere with a lovely view of the rainswept Caravelle Tower.
Whether you are a vegeterian or not, you will still be delighted by the peaceful atmosphere, charming service and fabulous food. Great variety of vegeterian food and even the drinks were all very healthy and freshly made.
Katie’s secret:
Katie’s secret: - Look out for the address , Pho24 out front, then go through the right side driveway of the building where all the motorbikes are parked, back stairs. Enter to a roof top garden restaurant - Must-try: fried lotus root, Secret Garden salad, lemongrass grilled pork, lemongrass tea.
23 Hoang Sa St, Dis 1
She has a “rotating menu” as below: Mon: Bún Thái (Thai fushion noodle) Tue: Mỳ Quảng (Quảng noodle) Wed: Cà ri gà (chicken curry) Thu: Bún mắm (fish paste noodle) Fri: Bún bò (beef noodle) Sat: Bánh canh cua (crab noodle) Sun: Hủ tiếu Nam Vang (Nam Vang noodle) I strongly recommend Bún Thái. Don’t forget to try summer rolls at the nearby stall.
12
Top Floor, 158 Pasteur, Dis 1
32 Vo Van Tan, Ward 6, Dis 3 2 Thi Sach, Dis 1
Katie’s secret: - Must-try: detoxifying waters, fresh spring rolls, Pad Thai, roasted mushroom, papaya salad., home-made tofu/
SPICE BISTRO 2 Thi Sach Dis 1.
PIZZA 4PS
8 Thu Khoa Huan, Dis 1. 8/15 Le Thanh Ton, Dis 1.
VITTORIO 137 Bui Vien, Dis 1.
VND 50,000 - 200,000
VND 250,000 - 500,000
VND 50,000 - 200,000
Their dishes are all simple, honest to their freshness and a unique feel of provinciality. They are served in a contemporary space adorned with delicate melancholy to create a bistro quiet enough for visitors to feel like they are escaping the urban chaos to have a good cozy meal.
Pizza 4P’s is an Italian Japanese fusion restaurant located in the center of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Based on “Farm to Table” concept with homemade cheeses freshly produced in Da Lat farm and a hand-built wood-fired oven, serveing classic Naples style pizza as well as Japanese inspired fusion cuisine.
Good food at a good price but portion size could be a bit bigger. Real wood fired brick pizza oven as others have noted leads to authentic pizza in the backpacker ghetto where most establishments lack in most respects.
Katie’s secret: - It has the same owner as Hum Vegeterian so the peaceful atmosphere is similar. - Must-try: Grilled port in ground roasted ricerice (served with sticky rice), spicy duck curry, banana icecream, sugarcane pandan.
Katie’s secret: - Must-try: every kind of Burrata Pizza. - Because this restaurant is always crowded and full so you have to make a reservation. Please call this number (to book at least 1 day ahead) - + 84-283622-0500 but if you want to get a lucky draw, just come anytime, they migh have available slot in the last minutes.
Katie’s secret: - Must-try: Pasta & Pizza Prosciutto Di Parma. - Avoid: Vietnamese dishes
13
Insider Favorites - DRINK There are endless options for bars, nightclubs, coffee shops and lounges in Ho Chi Minh City. Coffee shops are everywhere and they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. You will find both international chains like Starbucks and The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, and local ones like Highlands Coffee, Trung Nguyen and Phuc Long. You also have some more secret and artsy coffee shops that only a discerning eye can find. A night out drinking in Vietnam used to mean one thing: sipping Bia Hoi, a local draft beer with 3% alcohol content, from a tiny stool on the sidewalk. The country’s craft beer scene is booming, having welcomed more than a dozen micro-breweries in the past two years.
01
MAISON MAROU
167-169 Calmette St, Dis 1. If you’ve ever splurged on a good bar of chocolate in this city, chances are you’ve heard of Marou. The independent Saigon-based chocolatier is responsible for a series of hand-picked, single-origin artisanal chocolate bars from various provinces in southern Vietnam. “There is nothing unusual, not in this era, about being a tiny, artisanal, single-origin chocolate maker. But the artisanal, award-winning chocolate” - New Yorrk Times.
14
02
TRACTOR COFFEE 98 Le Lai, Dis 1.
Super tiny place with the great coffee and is 3 min walk from Take-a-nap. They ground and make fresh coffee from fresh local coffee bean everyday. It is available to take away as well. Well worth a visit especially if you want to get away from the larger chains.
03 L’USINE Must try EVERYTHING. Yes, I mean everything
70B Le Loi, Dis 1. 151/5 Dong Khoi, Dis 1. 19 Le Thanh Ton, Dis 1.
including drinks and cakes,
More than just a fashion boutique,
even the chocolate bar or
café and evening bistro, L’Usine is a
freshly-made chocolate
contemporary
bites. Don’t forget to bring
ence. Inspired by the timeless ele-
some home!
gance and enterprising industry of the
Vietnamese
experi-
Indochina era, L’Usine’s founders have designed a space that not only showcases global fashion but celebrates modern Vietnamese creativity.
15
Insider Favorites - DRINK CR AFTED B E E R PL AC E S BIACRAFT - ARTISAN ALES 1 Le Ngo Cat, Dis 3 90 Xuan Thuy, Thao DIen, Dis 2 EAST WEST BREWING CO. 181 - 185 Ly Tu Trong, Dis 1 (450m away from Take-a-nap) PASTEUR STREET BREWING CO. 144 Pasteur St, Dis 1.
16
Yes, this is the place to be for entrepreneurs and adventureus brewers. The market is booming and changing rapidly. If you are interested in crafted beer, don’t hesitate to ask Nam for more hidden spots. We might drink together, for real! Pasteur Street Brewing Company (PSBC) started with the simple idea to combine American craft brewing techniques with fresh and exotic Vietnamese ingredients to create amazing craft beer. It is one of the first brewers in Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam and has many awarded beer. Nam’s secret - Jasmine IPA, Saigon Saison and other seasonal beer. East West Brewing Co. integrate both European and New American brewing traditions, along with the brewing styles of Eastern cultures. They are the first in-house craft brewery and kitchen concept with nice deccoration and amazing beer. Nam’s secret - Summer Hefe Weizen & East West Pale Ale. BiaCraft is Ho Chi Minh’s most extensive selection of locally brewed and imported craft ales with 100+ brand. You can give it a try first to select the most loved brand for you. Nam’s secret - Try Platinum Golden Ale, Hervelee Belgium Witt and their BiaCraft owned selection (they have cool names through)
17
Don’t forget to review & give us 5 stars
Thank You & See You! Address :
Contact :
Unit 4 - 5th Floor 14 Nguyen Thi Nghia Ho Chi Minh City 700000 Vietnam
P : +84 90 486 2424 (Katie) P : +84 98 481 1311 (Nam) E : huongthaotran.vn@ gmail.com W: