Ah, much better. I woke up this morning without any GI pain or issues, just a throbbing headache. I'm going to play it safer here in Saigon with the food. I took my sweet time in the morning to pack my things, stretch, and meditate before disembarking from my 4-star hotel to a much cheaper 2-star hotel.
With dong in hand, I found a Banh Mi sandwich food stall beside a nearby park. The sandwich cost 25,000 dong, or about $1. One dollar for lunch! I could probably get all my calories in with 3 of these. So, theoretically, for $3 a day I could eat here in Vietnam.
I'm surprised everything is still cheap in a well-developed city like Ho Chi Minh. It feels like a real city, like Bangkok. I think it has a slightly cleaner feel than Bangkok though. It also has a much bigger coffee culture and European feel, probably thanks to the colonization of the French back in the day. Fun fact: Vietnam is the second-largest exporter of coffee beans behind Brazil. And there are plenty of ways to try Vietnamese coffee, from the classic iced coffee with condensed milk (Cà phê sữa đá) to egg or yogurt coffee.
I decided to knock off the number one attraction for my first day, the War Remnants Museum. I think a nickname for this museum is the Museum of American War Crimes. It details the atrocities committed by the French and US against the Vietnamese from First Indochina War in 1946 to the fall of Saigon in 1975. The museum focused heavily on war crimes and the many civilian murders committed by the US, as well as multiple exhibits showing the devastating congenital disorders caused by the spraying of toxic chemicals and defoliants like Agent Orange. These exhibits were emotionally overwhelming, and I found myself tearing up at times.
For dinner, I found a nearby Vietnamese place and had a decent bowl of Pho. The meat tasted a bit dry, but the broth tasted great. I'll be seeking out more Pho soon.
Other notes:
I should have clicked the "Read more" link on Booking.com because it would have shown the obvious con of staying at the hotel I'm at. The hotel is located in an alleyway right off Bui Vien Street. Like Khao San Road in Bangkok, this is the "Backpacker" nightlife street in Saigon. There are bright lights and loud music coming from giant, open-air clubs as you walk down the street. From my hotel bed, I could still hear aggressive dance music with heavy bass as I fell asleep around 1:30 AM. The earplugs surely help block some of the noise, although you can still feel the bass. I'll just have to wear myself out during the day so I can fall asleep quickly and soundly at night.
Other than this issue, the hotel is fantastic. This "hotel" seems to be run by a small family and has everything I need for the 3 nights I'll be staying. The AC unit blows directly on the large bed, which I appreciate, and the shower has a great shower head with good water pressure and hot water. It even has an elevator.