Ho Chi Minh City Through a Digital Nomad's Bleary Eyes
first thing i noticed stepping off the plane? the heat. not the "oh it's warm" kind, more like the "someone draped a wet blanket over your entire body" kind. i just checked and it's 31.98°C right now, feels like 34.57°C. hope you like that kind of thing.
i'm here on a freelance writing gig, but let's be real-i'm mostly here for the wifi and the coffee. the humidity is sitting at 51%, which sounds low until you realize it's basically 100% when you're dodging scooters on the sidewalk. pressure's at 1008 hPa, which means the air feels thick enough to chew.
staying in district 1 because, well, it's where the digital nomads congregate. heard from a barista at *The Workshop* (tripadvisor.com/The-Workshop-HCMC) that district 2 is where the real action is, but i haven't made it out there yet. too busy trying to remember which side of the road to look when crossing.
"you haven't really been to ho chi minh city unless you've had a banh mi from that cart on pham ngu lao,"
someone told me in a hostel common room. i haven't found that exact cart yet, but i did find one that sold me a sandwich for about $1. it had mystery meat and enough chili to make me question my life choices.
neighbors? if you get bored, phnom penh and bangkok are just a short flight away. heard from a drunk australian at a rooftop bar that siem reap is worth the trip for the temples alone. also heard the same guy tried to ride a water buffalo the night before, so take that with a grain of salt.
i keep hearing rumors about the war remnants museum being "intense" and "not for the faint of heart." also heard that the cu chi tunnels are more touristy than authentic, but i'm still planning to go. someone else said the best time to visit is during tet, but that's basically vietnam's version of christmas chaos, so maybe not.
anyway, here's where i am on the map:
next stop: trying to find a coworking space that doesn't smell like instant noodles and ambition. wish me luck.
p.s. if you're into digital nomad stuff, check out nomadlist.com/ho-chi-minh-city for more tips. or don't. i'm not your mom.
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