Thu Duc City

(In the Best Way – rain, unfinished metros, and the best bánh xèo of my life)

📍 HCMC (but not really) · ⏱️ August 2024 – rainy season chaos · 5 days · $197 · 8 wrong turns

📋 Jump to... (my brain is all over the place)

→ How I ended up in Thu Duc → Hoods: Linh Trung vs. Hiệp Phú → Food that broke me (bánh xèo 46A!!) → Tourist crap vs. actual gold → Getting around – bus, Grab, sweat → Where I crashed (Good, Bad, Gecko) → What surprised me → What I actually spent → My screw‑ups (don't be me) → Day by day chaos → Practical stuff (no lists, just stories)

How I Ended Up in Thu Duc City

Honestly? I only came because my friend Lan finally moved into her new apartment near the Metro depot, and she kept sending me photos of these insane food markets I’d never heard of. Also, I’d been living in District 1 for two years and was so tired of the backpacker noise and the constant smell of burnt coffee from that one tourist roastery. I wanted to see where Saigon was spilling over. So I booked a Grab – typed "Thủ Đức City" and the driver called me, confused: "Chị đi đâu? Có 4 quận lận." (There are four wards). I didn't know what I was doing. Classic me.

First impression stepping out of the Grab at the intersection of Kha Vạn Cân and Võ Văn Ngân: the SMELL. Not bad, just different. Wet concrete, fried shallots from a nearby hủ tiếu cart, and that specific dusty-electric scent of the Metro viaduct being welded together. It was 3pm, August, rainy season – the sky was the color of old silver. Within 30 seconds I was sweating through my linen shirt. A xe ôm driver yelled "em ơi, đi đâu?" and I said "không, cảm ơn" with a confidence I absolutely didn't feel. He laughed. I laughed. I had no idea where my homestay was.

What went wrong immediately? I typed the address into Google Maps and it took me to a completely different street – same name, but in Linh Xuân instead of Linh Trung. I walked 15 minutes in the wrong direction, past a row of motorbike repair shops, a pagoda under construction, and a woman selling dragon fruit from a basket. I was lost, but also kinda… okay? The light at 4:30pm was hitting the half-built metro columns, casting these long, striped shadows. I bought a dragon fruit for 10k, sat on a curb, and recalibrated. That’s when I noticed the graffiti: a stylised phoenix with the tag "KHOI" – I saw it again on three different walls in Thu Duc. It became my unofficial guidepost.

💡 Tip I learned way too late: when booking a Grab in Thu Duc, use the ward name (e.g., "Linh Trung" or "Hiệp Phú") or you'll end up in Bình Dương. I nearly did.

The Neighborhoods: Real Talk

LINH TRUNG – my favorite, and it's not even close. This ward is like someone took a sleepy suburban town and injected it with student energy (VNU campus is right there) and construction adrenaline. At 8am, the sidewalks on Võ Văn Ngân are packed with bánh mì carts and students in ao dai on motorbikes. By 8pm, it transforms into a river of plastic stools, ốc stalls, and that one guy who sells grilled rice paper with quail eggs. I walked the entire stretch from the Metro depot to Cầu vượt Linh Trung three nights in a row. There’s a coffee shop called Song Hanh – looks like someone’s garage, but they roast their own robusta in a wok. The owner, Cô Lan (70ish, missing two front teeth), told me: "You want the good stuff? Come back at 6." I came at 5:50. She handed me a phin filter coffee with condensed milk that could raise the dead. 12,000đ. I went every morning.

🚫 TRASH ZONE: Phước Long B – the new "urban area". It’s fine, I guess, if you like identical high-rises and VinMart+ on every corner. I went there to see the "famous" Phước Long bridge at sunset. The view is okay. But the vibe? Soulless. No street food, just air-conditioned restaurants with laminated menus. I paid 120k for a mediocre cơm tấm and the rice was cold. Skip it. Go to Hiệp Phú instead.

HIỆP PHÚ – old-school Thủ Đức, pre-city makeover. Narrow streets, low-rise houses, and the best bánh xèo I’ve ever had (more on that later). At 5pm, the market on Đặng Văn Bi spills onto the sidewalk – piles of morning glory, live crabs in Styrofoam boxes, a lady sharpening knives with a foot-powered wheel. I spent an hour just watching. An old man selling fried chả giò offered me a sample. I bought 200g. We couldn't communicate, but he smiled. That's the real Thủ Đức.

Linh Xuân? Too far, too industrial. I only went there because I got on the wrong bus (see transport section). Ended up at a huge cemetery and a weirdly good bún bò Huế cart. Not a neighborhood I'd recommend for hanging out, but if you're lost, you'll eat well.

Food That Made Me Emotional

1. Bánh xèo 46A – 46A Đường số 9, Hiệp Phú. Fight me, this is the best bánh xèo in all of Saigon. Not the touristy one in District 1 with the shrimp the size of your pinky. No. This place is someone’s front yard, six plastic tables, a woman in a conical hat pouring batter onto sizzling cast-iron. The crepe was impossibly thin and crispy, stuffed with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts, folded like a perfect golden envelope. You wrap it in mustard leaf, add mint and starfruit, dip in a fish sauce that’s balanced like a zen koan. I ate four. 45k. I went back two days later. The owner, Bà Hòa, remembered me: "em lại hả?" (back again, sis?). I nodded, ashamed and proud.

2. Bún bò Huế – cô Nga, xe đẩy trước chợ Hiệp Phú. I almost walked past because it was just a cart. A man in a raincoat was slurping loudly. I sat down. The broth was deep, lemongrass-forward, with a dark orange sheen of satay. It came with a thick pork knuckle and a cube of congealed beef blood – I was scared, but the lady mimed "good, eat". It was silky, earthy, perfect. 35k. I messaged my brother a photo and said "I’m eating blood at 9am and it's amazing." He didn't reply. His loss.

3. DISAPPOINTMENT THAT STILL BURNS: "Phở Phượng" on Kha Vạn Cân. It has good reviews on Google, so I walked 25 minutes in the rain. The broth was sweet – like, dessert sweet – and the beef was chewy. The waitress asked if I wanted "phở đặc biệt" (special combo) and I ended up paying 89k for a bowl with a single sad meatball. Locals next to me were eating phở tái, clearly not the special. Should've just ordered what they had. Regret.

⚠️ HANGOVER CURE (I wasn't hungover, just emotionally drained from the phở): cháo vịt – duck porridge from a cart on Võ Văn Ngân near the flyover. The lady uses leftover duck bones for the broth, tops it with shredded duck and fried shallots. 25k. I ate it at 10pm, sitting on a curb, watching motorbikes splash through puddles. Instant serotonin.

4. Street food that scared the hell out of me (then I fell in love): ốc hương hấp sả – periwinkles steamed with lemongrass. A group of students at the ốc stall on Đặng Văn Bi saw me staring at the menu, confused. One of them, a girl named Trâm, waved me over. She taught me how to use a toothpick to extract the spiral meat, dip it in salt-pepper-chili. It was like the ocean, but better. I bought her and her friends a round of iced tea (trà đá) – 3k each. She said "chị dễ thương" (you're cute). I blushed. I'm 34.

5. Expensive mistake: A "craft beer" place in the new Phước Long B complex. 140k for a local IPA that tasted like dishwater. The view was nice, I guess, if you like staring at a parking lot. Never again.

Tourist Stuff vs. What Actually Ruled

🔥 HOT TAKE Skip Suối Tiên amusement park. It's 200k+ entry, far from the city center (though technically in Thủ Đức), and the "cultural village" feels like a fever dream of concrete dragons and empty pools. A guy at my homestay went and said the water slides were closed. Save your money.

What ruled instead: Linh Phước Pagoda (aka the Dragon Pagoda). I know, I know, it's in Đà Lạt? No, there's one in Thủ Đức – on Hoàng Diệu 2, Linh Trung. It's not as famous, but it's this riot of ceramic mosaic dragons coiling around pillars, a 49m sleeping Buddha, and the light at 4:30pm hits the turquoise tiles and turns everything into stained glass. I went on a Thursday afternoon; there were maybe three other people. A monk smiled at me. I sat under a bodhi tree and listened to the wind chimes. Free. THAT was spiritual.

The Thủ Đức Prison (Di tích Nhà tù Thủ Đức)? It's a historical site, but honestly, it's kinda neglected. Small, a few exhibits, not much signage in English. If you're into war history, it's a 15-minute stop. I spent more time trying to find the entrance.

The Metro viaduct itself became my accidental attraction. You can't ride it yet (testing only), but walking along the stretch from Bình Thái station to the depot at night – the concrete pillars are lit with cool white LEDs, and the tracks glow against the dark sky. It felt like walking through a sci-fi movie. A security guard waved at me. I waved back. No one told me to leave.

Vườn Cau Xanh (Green Coconut Garden) – an eco-tourism spot in Linh Trung. It's a bit touristy, but I went on a weekday morning and had a coconut to myself, sitting on a bamboo raft. Overpriced? Maybe. 50k for a coconut. But the silence was worth it.

Getting Around: What Google Maps Won't Tell You

Google Maps said: "Take bus number 53 from Suối Tiên to Linh Trung." I waited 30 minutes at a stop with no bench, inhaling exhaust. A woman selling bánh tráng said "53, 30 phút nữa" (30 more minutes). I took a Grab Bike – 28k, arrived in 10 minutes. Bus 53 exists, but it runs on "cơn mưa" schedule (rain schedule), which is basically whenever. Also, the bus numbers in Thủ Đức sometimes change routes without notice. A local told me they've been "tạm điều chỉnh" (temporarily adjusted) since the metro construction. So, yeah. Don't rely on the bus.

⚠️ SCAM WATCH: At the big intersection near Cầu vượt Linh Trung, a guy with a fake taxi sign tried to charge me 150k for a 3km ride. I said "đi bộ" (I'll walk) and he immediately dropped to 70k. I still walked. Use Grab or Mai Linh.

I rented a motorbike from my homestay – 100k/day, a beat-up Honda Wave with a wonky left mirror. Day 2, I ran out of gas in the middle of an overpass. A xe ôm driver saw me pushing, laughed, and helped me coast to a petrol station. He refused money. I bought him a coffee. Lesson: Always fill up at the Petrolimex on Võ Văn Ngân. Also, the roads are fine, but the sudden afternoon rain turns some streets into rivers – especially near the university. I nearly hydroplaned once. Slow down.

My best transport hack: the "xe ôm công nghệ" (app bikes) are cheaper than Grab if you use Gojek or Be. I saved about 20% per ride. Also, if you're going to multiple spots, negotiate with a xe ôm for an hour. Mr. Tuấn, a 55-year-old driver I met, charged me 150k for a 2-hour tour of Linh Trung's back alleys. He showed me a tofu factory, a incense-making street, and the best chè place. His Zalo: 0908xxx. Tell him the Aussie sent you.

Where I Stayed: The Good, Bad, and Weird

Nhà nghỉ Hoa Mai – 45/7 Đường số 2, Linh Trung. I found it on Agoda for $17/night. The photos showed a tidy room with a window. The reality: the window faced an aircon compressor that hummed like a fridge, and the shower pressure was either "drizzle" or "sudden ice blast". BUT. The bed was firm in that orthopedic way, the sheets smelled like jasmine fabric softener, and there was a gecko named Gilbert (I named him) who chirped at dusk. Also, the owner, Mr. Cường, spoke a little English and drew me a map of his favorite street-food spots on a napkin. That napkin was gold.

The noise? At 5:30am, the neighbor started frying shallots – the smell wafted through the window, and honestly, it became my alarm clock. By day 3, I was waking up before the shallots, eager for bánh xèo.

What photos don't show: the family altar in the lobby with a jar of snake wine that had been there since 1995. Mr. Cường saw me staring and said "uống thử không?" (want to try?). I did. It tasted like rice wine and regret. 5/10, would not recommend, but I'm glad I did it.

Price paid: $81 for 5 nights (paid cash, no deposit). Worth it? Absolutely, because of Mr. Cường's napkin and Gilbert the gecko.

The Thing That Surprised Me

I thought Thu Duc would feel like a suburb – sleepy, residential, maybe a bit boring. But it's not. It's a city being born in real time. Everywhere you look, there's construction: the metro, new apartments, roads being widened. And yet, right next to a half-finished skyscraper, there's a woman selling hủ tiếu from a cart that's been there for 30 years. That juxtaposition – the future and the present, tangled together – surprised me.

Also surprised me: how friendly people were. Not in a performative way, but genuine. When I got lost, a fruit seller walked me 100m to the right street. When I struggled with my chopsticks, a student corrected my grip without judgment. I felt less like a tourist and more like a clumsy neighbor. That's rare.

And the rain. August rain in Thu Duc isn't just weather; it's an event. The sky turns greenish-gray, the wind picks up, and within minutes the streets are rivers. But people don't stop. They put on ponchos, keep driving, keep selling. I sat under a tin roof with five strangers, eating bánh tráng nướng, watching the water rise. No one spoke. It was weirdly peaceful.

Money: What I Actually Spent

I track every dong. Here's the damage for 5 days/4 nights. All in USD for you, but I paid in crumpled bills.

Category	What I Paid	Worth It?
Accommodation (5 nights)	$81	Yes, Gilbert was a great roommate
Food & drinks	$63	bánh xèo alone worth $20
Transport (bike rental, Grab, gas)	$41	Mr. Tuấn's tour = highlight
Attractions/entrance	$12	mostly coconuts and pagoda donations
SIM card (Viettel, 70GB)	$6	essential, got lost daily
Souvenirs (dried jackfruit, ceramic dragon)	$24	the dragon guards my keys now
TOTAL	$227	less than my phone bill, lol

💰 Day 1 spending was $47 because I overpaid for the Grab from District 1 (should've taken bus 53 and suffered). Day 5 I spent $13 – just coffee and bánh mì. It balances out if you're not an idiot every day.

Mistakes I Made So You Don't Have To

• ✖ 1. I packed only sneakers. August = monsoon. My shoes got waterlogged on day 2. I bought a pair of rubber sandals at a market for 80k (overpriced, should be 50k). They saved my feet. Pack flip-flops that can handle a flood.
• ✖ 2. I assumed all Grab drivers know the wards. They don't. I typed "Linh Trung" and ended up in Linh Xuân – 15km away. Cost me 120k extra. Always use the specific street name or landmark.
• ✖ 3. I got on bus number 8 thinking it would take me to Bình Thạnh. It went to Dĩ An (Bình Dương). I only realized after 20 minutes when I saw signs for Bình Dương. The driver didn't announce stops in English. I got off at a random intersection and took a Grab back. Best mistake of the trip, 'cause I found an amazing bún bò Huế cart near the border. But still, download the bus app "Tìm Xe Buýt" – it shows live routes.
• ✖ 4. I didn't bring a rain cover for my backpack. My laptop got damp. Not ruined, but I panicked. Buy a $2 poncho at any minimart.
• ✖ 5. I forgot mosquito repellent. Linh Trung has a canal, and at dusk the mosquitoes are aggressive. My ankles looked like bubble wrap. Buy repellent at a pharmacy – 35k.

Also, I tried to use my card at a small coffee shop and they didn't accept it. I had to run to an ATM. Always carry at least 500k in cash, broken into small bills.

How It Actually Went: Day by Day

Monday, August 12: Meant to arrive at 11am. Grab driver took me to Linh Xuân instead of Linh Trung. Arrived 1pm, sweating, flustered. Checked into Hoa Mai, met Gilbert. Ate bánh xèo at 46A – immediately felt better. Walked along Võ Văn Ngân, got caught in a 3pm downpour, sheltered under a café awning. Drank cà phê sữa đá, watched the street turn into a river. Dinner: cháo vịt from the cart near the flyover. Went to bed at 9pm, exhausted.

Tuesday, August 13: Woke up at 5:30 (shallots). Rented the motorbike. Drove to Linh Phước Pagoda – sat under the bodhi tree for an hour. Then got lost trying to find the Thủ Đức Prison; ended up at a local market in Hiệp Phú. Ate bún bò from cô Nga. Napped through the afternoon rain. Evening: met Trâm at the ốc stall, learned the toothpick technique. Made a friend. Drove home in a light drizzle, feeling content.

Wednesday, August 14: Planned to go to Suối Tiên. Read reviews, decided it's a scam. Instead, Mr. Tuấn took me on a xe ôm tour of Linh Trung's back alleys. Saw the tofu factory, bought fresh soy milk for 5k. Visited a incense-making street – the bundles drying in the sun looked like orange fireworks. Ate chè at a spot with no sign, just a plastic tarp. The owner, an 80-year-old grandma, served me chè bưởi (pomelo in sweet coconut milk). 15k. She pinched my cheek. Best day.

Thursday, August 15: Slept through my alarm. Missed sunrise entirely. Didn't care. Spent the morning at Song Hanh coffee, chatting (via Google Translate) with Cô Lan. She showed me how she roasts beans in a wok. Afternoon thunderstorm – I sat on the homestay porch, read half a book, listened to the rain. Dinner: bánh xèo again. Bà Hòa gave me extra herbs. I felt like a regular.

Friday, August 16: Last day. Walked to the Metro viaduct at sunrise. The light hit the concrete pillars, casting long shadows. A security guard smiled and said "chào em". I smiled back. Ate one last bánh xèo, bought dried jackfruit at the market, and took a Grab back to District 1. Watched the city blur past. Felt a pang. I'll be back, Thủ Đức.

Practical Stuff (Without the Boring Lists)

This almost happened to me: A guy at the bus station offered to "help" me buy a ticket, then said the ticket machine was broken and he could get me a "special fare" for 100k. The actual fare was 20k. I said "để tôi tự mua" (let me buy it myself) and he walked away. The machine worked fine. Don't let "helpers" near ticket machines.

Health thing that went wrong: Not me, but a guy at the homestay. He ate a salad from a street cart and got food poisoning – spent a day in his room. I stuck to cooked food and fruit I could peel. Also, the tap water in Thu Duc is not potable. Buy 5L bottles at the minimart – 20k.

Thing I wish I'd packed: A portable fan. The humidity is no joke, and not every café has AC. I bought a handheld fan at a night market for 60k. It broke on day 3. Bring your own.

One random hack: The best and cheapest coffee isn't on Google Maps. Look for the lady with a silver cart on the corner of Kha Vạn Cân and Đường số 2. She sets up at 6am, sells cà phê sữa for 10k. Her name is Cô Sáu. She uses Trung Nguyên beans. I had coffee with her every morning. She called me "con gái". That's the stuff you remember.

Still have questions? Wanna fight about bánh xèo?

Drop a comment below – I read every single one. Even the guy who says I'm wrong about Phước Long B.

Last updated: September 2024 · prices probably went up (everything's gone up)

❤️ If you see Cô Lan at Song Hanh coffee, tell her the Aussie who always ordered đậm đà says hi. And give Gilbert the gecko a cricket for me.