Start out in Ho Chi Minh City’s backpacker district: Pham Ngu Lao, District 1. Begin your day with a French style croissant or bagette (most often served with Laughing Cow Cheese). 
Walk North along the main road until you get to Ben Thanh market. Cross the road carefully! Enter the market and do some exploring. 
Smile politely and shake your head at the masses of tiny women who will beckon you closer to their wares, answering personal questions about where you’re from, if you’re married etc. 
Don’t buy the Weasel Special coffee…instead check out the navajo and asian style bangles and bracelets. 
Marvel at the lush greenery covering all possible space. We visited Vietnam in October and saw a bit of rain but not enough to ruin our trip, but enough to make the city seem like a tropical paradise.
Arrive at the Reunification Palace and walk around the grounds. It was about $3 each for entry to the palace. 
Dotted around the palace grounds are several items of war memorabilia, fighter planes, tanks, just your usual mass murder decorative features. 
The inside of the palace is decorated with beautiful pieces and art. In the centre of the palace is an open air square with a very peaceful tropical garden.
Make a point to stop at any of the restaurants close to the Palace. They all serve Vietnamese spring rolls, which are incredibly delicious, especially with the traditional fish and chilli sauce.
Stop by the post office. You don’t need to go in, the building itself is impressive enough to walk round. 
Ho Chi Minh City’s Notre Dame Cathedral is a must see. It isn’t as impressive as the one in Paris, but the waving palm trees and bright blue skies add a certain ‘je ne sais quoi.’ (The Diamond Plaza Mall behind it is also fun if you want to check out some brand named swag.)
Next, follow your map (hopefully you are using a map), and walk about 25 minutes to the Saigon Museum, conveniently located next to the zoo. We had a look at the zoo because the museum is closed (just like in France!) for lunch for 2 hours. The zoo isn’t that great because the animal’s enclosures aren’t that big, but they have a good reptile house.
The museum itself is a beautiful old building, with statues, pottery and boutique shops. 
One of our favourite Vietnamese meals was the one we had in the museum restaurant. It was a bit more expensive, but the pork claypot was totally worth it! They also had prawn crackers and an amazing mango salad.
End your day with a stroll back through Saigon’s streets. 
Look around you at the local people. Notice their bright outfits, people in South Vietnam are much more fashion concious than in the North. 
K and K around the world 
Love the elephants! Thanks for sharing!
I love them too!! I boycotted riding them though, but I’d love to know what its like!