Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) Energy Drink Trip 2019

Exploring the Streets of Ho Chi Minh

There was a convenience store under the hotel, so I decided to take a look. They had Monster and other Southeast Asian energy drinks in stock.

Monster Energy was more than double the price of local energy drinks. That’s a bit too expensive!
Let’s just keep entering stores whenever we spot them while sightseeing. This time, I’d be happy if I could grab the two Mutant flavors of Monster Energy.

Ho Chi Minh has heavy traffic everywhere, and almost everyone riding a bike wraps a towel around their face. It's funny seeing people fiddling with their phones while riding.

For tourists, it's best to avoid walking and use the ride-hailing app "Grab" to get a car. There’s also the cheaper "Grab bike," where you ride behind someone on a motorcycle, but that’s a bit much for me (^_^;)

Next, I headed to the Saigon Skydeck to get a view of Ho Chi Minh.

The skyline here could easily make you forget that you’re in Vietnam.

That said, the streets are full of motorcycles, the air is polluted, and there are food stalls, markets, and old apartments. The contrast between the developing areas is what makes Southeast Asia so chaotic and fun.

This time, I didn’t eat at any street food stalls or too local of places. Instead, I enjoyed Vietnamese cuisine at a slightly more stylish place that would look great on Instagram.

The interior of the restaurant had an exotic, stylish vibe that I liked. I prefer these more casual, charming places over super fancy and uniform restaurants. As for street food and food courts, I’ll save those for next time.

Walking the Streets and Hunting for Drinks

I had visited most of the major tourist spots and shopping areas, so now it was time to go hunting while strolling through the streets.

Convenience stores, especially Circle K, are everywhere. You can find them all over the place.

At this Circle K, they were holding a special promotion for the newly released Coca-Cola Energy.

There weren’t many stores that had both Mutant flavors I was looking for, and most of the places only had one of them.

It seems there aren’t that many stores carrying Mutant drinks. Have they been discontinued? The price is lower than Monster Energy and more in line with local, cheaper drinks. I guess it’s hard to sell them at Monster prices.

HOT6 is available in every country. In Vietnam, it’s imported from Korea, but it’s displayed alongside local products. Come to think of it, STING is also doing quite well in various Southeast Asian countries.

I hope Japan can treat its products more carefully and spread them overseas rather than just producing enough for domestic sales for a year. "Make only what you’ll sell in the country for a year and then stop" lacks excitement.

I also wanted to visit a 7-Eleven in Vietnam, so I finally found one.

A convenience store for energy drink travelers!

For some reason, there were sandals left at the entrance Σ(´∀｀；)

There are so many curious things overseas.

Inside, I was looking for energy drinks...

For some reason, they had an American Red Bull Pac-Man edition. It was an imported product. It’s interesting because you occasionally find these surprises. This was the only store I saw this overseas Red Bull in.

Grab is so cheap and convenient, making sightseeing enjoyable. With air pollution and the hot temperatures, if I have to walk for 10 minutes, I’d rather use Grab. The environment isn’t one where you feel like strolling around and enjoying the town. I’d been visiting only convenience stores so far, so I decided to check out a large supermarket further away.

It was a clean store, much like a Japanese supermarket, with a great variety of food products. The upper floors had household items, clothes, a food court, and a game center. It reminded me of a 30-year-old-style Jusco.

Energy drinks were stocked up. Like in the convenience stores, STING was very popular.

You can always find both cans and bottles of it. Monster Energy wasn’t available here.

Honestly, it seems like Monster Energy may not be in high demand in Vietnam. If there were more flavors available, that might be different, but personally, I think STING is more than enough. So, it’s interesting that Mutant has appeared (I really like that expression), and there are lots of discoveries to make when you actually visit the place, so I highly recommend it.

Ho Chi Minh: Fun All Night Long

It’s getting dark now. Is it rush hour? The central area is packed.

Walking along Bui Vien Street at night.

Actually, I had already finished dinner before coming here, so this was more of a light stroll. There were a few convenience stores around, so I decided to stop by.

At a MiniStop, I finally found Monster Energy Ultra.

I’d been looking for it and finally found it in this store, though it was kind of pushed to the side. It’s a bit sad (^_^;)

On another day, I visited a local grocery store in addition to the national chain convenience stores. There, I found Samurai in bottled form. I got lucky as both flavors were in stock!

The Southeast Asian colors are really bright and bold! I’ve only seen these here. They blend in really well with the local market, and they’re very affordable, costing around 40 yen per bottle.
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Finally, I found a store that had both Mutant flavors and looked like it would make a great shot. Unlike other stores, this one had a display that gave off a more "international" vibe. (*´艸｀*)

There weren’t many stores with so much Monster Energy. On the far right, you can see the Coca-Cola Energy in a mini 250ml can. So that’s how my energy drink hunting in Ho Chi Minh came to a successful end.

It was my first time in Ho Chi Minh, and I had a great time. I managed to wrap up most of the hunting this time, so next time, I’ll be able to focus more on sightseeing. I’m looking forward to visiting again soon. Next time, I want to enjoy the latest massive shopping malls that are so typical of Southeast Asia.

Vietnam doesn’t have too many types of energy drinks, so the bulkiness of my luggage didn’t get out of hand, and I was able to enjoy a light hunt while also taking in the chaotic vibes of Southeast Asia. I highly recommend it!