Welcome to the big city. Saigon is your dose of bustle and color. Here life is frantic and on the go yet retains its quintessential charm with modest European colonial structures blending in with architecture from the Orient. Morning is when a lot of the action happens and if you’re an early bird and itching for some authentic Saigon life, then you’ve come to the right place.

Good morning! Rise and shine. Don’t press that snooze button! Every minute is valuable here. Hit the showers and head on out right when the sun is about to rise up from the horizon. The traffic is light at this hour and your local form of transport (an open style van with no air-con) will allow you to be fully immersed in the atmosphere of the city.

Watch the locals performing their early morning routines at Tao Dan Park. Seeing these guys performing Tai Chi in perfect form and coordination is quite an amazing sight. Badminton is also a game enjoyed by the masses and you too can watch a game or two unfolding.

Here is the fun part, the morning market. You’ll really get a sense of the local atmosphere as early morning folks shop for fresh produce such as live seafood, dried meats, fresh seasonal vegetables and homeware goods. It can get quite colorful and atmospheric, but that’s how you like it, right?

Seeing all that food is making your stomach growl? And right on cue. Head over to Pho 24 Restaurant. That’s right, Vietnam’s favorite soup dish is here for you to savor. Finish up the morning with a café sua da in one of the city’s busiest coffee houses. A legacy of the French, coffee houses are a poplar meeting spot for local students, the business set, artists and the trendsetters of the city – a great place to just watch people!

There you have it, Saigon by morning. But we are just getting warmed up. And there’s still a whole day to explore Saigon. The city’s got a whole list of sites to see. And see them you can, with our exclusive Hanoi Escape tour.

www.exotravel.com/