Maxims | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Saigon HCMC South Vietnam 2015

January 17, 2015 by David Herd

Just an amazing city.

Saigon HCMC South Vietnam

Saigon HCMC South Vietnam in 2015 was quite different to my previous visits in 2003. More cars, not quite so many bikes, lots of high rise buildings & good taxis.

The old & traditional is far more charming

Later in the day this coffee shop will be packed.

Coffee shop close to Saigon Apartments

Good coffee here on the corner near Saigon Apartments.

Roland and I at our local coffee shop

My friend Roland Bonicci is a Sydney barrister who absolutely loves Vietnam, I’m sure sometime in the future he will probably retire here.

Saigon Apartments

Great value and a good location in District 3. Only $68 per night if you book through this AGODA link. Both bedrooms have en-suite bathrooms and there is an excellent kitchen and large lounge room with a balcony.

Shri, rooftop restaurant

Set atop the new Centec Tower, Shri Restaurant & Lounge offers unparalleled panoramic views from nearly every table in the restaurant, whether it be in the modern Internationally styled Dining Room, with its very clean simple lines, on the stunning alfresco Garden Terrace.

Pasta at Shri

The pasta was a very reasonable price at only $13 usd.

Roast pig at Tram Chim

This restaurant is very popular, not so much for the food but for the attractive waitresses who flirt with you while you dine. 🙂 In fact the waitresses are all worth the visit, they peel your prawns cut the pork and even massage your shoulders while you eat.

Peel the prawns then warm in the coconut

They tasted every bit as good as they looked.

Our personal prawn peeler

Now this is the only way to eat prawns, have somebody peel them for you.

Tram Chim sexy waitresses

If you want to really enjoy your dining experience this is the restaurant for you. The food is not bad but you don’t go there for the food. They have some of the most attractive “waitresses” in Saigon for a restaurant. Beautiful girls who are friendly and give very good service as well. The food is ok, the beer is cold and the waitresses are hot! Enjoy the place but don’t take your wife. 🙂

Let’s go upmarket to Maxim’s restaurant

It feels like you have stepped back in time to the 1930s. Maxim’s restaurant is like entering a time warp. It actually opened in 1925 and I swear they have changed nothing since then. 🙂 Food is excellent and reasonably expensive along with the wine. Worth a visit before going upstairs to their very classy upmarket night club.

Now let’s go really upmarket to Maxim’s night club

As you can imagine the drinks are rather expensive.

Gorgeous girls at Maxim’s

Famous as an important part of downtown Saigon since 1925, Maxim’s Club has been known as THE entertainment venue of business people and social elites since last century.

Gorgeous Russian Singer

Not only does she sing but plays a mean violin as well.

Maxim’s is magnificent

Yes, it is upmarket and expensive but a great venue for music and gorgeous girls. One huge negative for me is they smoke in the club.

Maxim’s Club 13-15-17 Đồng Khởi, District 1

The Russian girl may be beautiful however this guy can really sing, check him out if you get a chance.

Chill is a great rooftop bar & restaurant

A great bar and not as expensive as similar Bangkok Sky Bars.

Chill rooftop bar

The bar itself looks stunning from the floor above.

Breathtaking view from Chill

The ever changing Saigon skyline is quite breathtaking.

A favourite photo

Calm waters of the mighty Mekong River.

A great place for a long lazy lunch.

A terrific place to sip a cocktail and watch the world go by.

The famous Cho Ben Thanh Market

Located in the centre of Saigon this is one of the cities best known landmarks.

Cho Ben Thanh Market

To me the market kind of marks the very centre of Saigon. Adjacent the New World Hotel is in a great location in the centre of the city, for a discounted room rate book through THIS LINK.

At Phatty’s watching the Asian cup

One of the many excellent Saigon sports bars.

Wayne, David, Roland and Pat at Phatty’s

Here we are enjoying the atmosphere at one of Saigon’s best sports bars.

Bitexco Financial Tower

A stunning building with a huge heliport and a roof top bar.

ALTO ROOFTOP BAR

Breathtaking views from Alto Heli Bar on the 52nd floor of the ultra-modern Bitexco Financial Tower is by far the highest spot in Saigon to sip on a cool drink and admire the cityscape.

52nd floor of Bitexico tower

Apologies for the rather poor quality selfie.

Mai, a lovely French girl at Maxim’s

A gorgeous French mademoiselle.

Terrific singer at Maxim’s

This little girl could really belt out a song.

Saigon HCMC south Vietnam

Taken from beside the river.

Saigon HCMC south Vietnam, lunch is served

Lots of street food similar to Thailand.

Summer rolls & coconut only $4

One of my all time favourite dishes.

With Roger at the Buddha Bar

We drank 3 bottles of wine for lunch Two hours after I arrived I met Roger for lunch at Jaspers where we proceeded to drink 3 bottles of wine before moving onto several bars where more alcohol was consumed. Roger works for an upmarket wine distributor so he probably feels it’s part of his job. 🙂

Ciao Bella an excellent Italian restaurant

This very quickly became a favourite restaurant.

Roland enjoys a Ciao Bella feast

A great seafood salad, Roland is a Sydney barrister and really loves his food.

Best Saigon taxi company

Stick with this company or Mai Linh for clean honest low priced taxis.

Don’t under any circumstances use the company below.

They, SaigonTourist tried to charge 1,150,000 dong for a trip to the airport that should coast 150,000 to 200,000. After a brief argument I paid 300,000 and stormed off. It was my own fault completely as I broke my own rule of only using Vinasun and sometimes Mai Linh.

Tequila bar

One of the better bars with attractive ladies and good music.

German beer and Chinese food

A very good combination, German beer and Chinese food.

Jaspers restaurant

This lovely lady is Ly, she works at Jasper’s.

Saigon HCMC south Vietnam, street lights to celebrate Tet.

This is without a doubt one of South East Asia’s most exciting cities.

Saigon school kids

School-kids always look cute all over the world.

Saigon school kids part 2

Saigon traffic is chaotic

Dancing in a beautiful Saigon park

Watch this video on YouTube

Here are some more posts to check out

Pattaya Hilton

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposte the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.