I finally rode the Saigon Metro this morning, and I have to be honest, my mind was a little bit blown. Not because a metro is some miracle of engineering in 2026, but because I kept thinking back to 2006-2010. If you knew this city back then, you know what I mean. The idea of gliding under Saigon in a clean, air-conditioned train would have sounded like science fiction. And yet here we are.
I walked into Ben Thanh station, which is Station 1 on the line, and it looks like any other modern city’s underground station. Bright, clean, well organized. Well done, Saigon. Genuinely.
The ticket machine was easy to navigate. A one-way ticket to Thao Dien, Station 6, cost me 22,000 VND. I put my cash in and out came a plastic card, not a paper ticket. Tapped the card at the gate, headed down to Platform 1, and caught the 7:36am train.
About ten minutes later I was in Thao Dien. Ten minutes. I remember when that trip meant a sweaty, honking crawl through traffic that could eat an hour of your life.
Here is what surprised me at the exit: they did not keep my plastic card like they do in Bangkok, where the machine swallows your token as you leave. Instead, I just tapped it again and walked out with the card still in my hand.
I turned right, purely by luck. There were no signs for Xuan Thuy street, which was my destination, so I was flying blind. But the metro gods were kind this morning. I had picked the correct exit, and within minutes I was standing on Xuan Thuy.
Now, about this plastic card. I would love to keep it as a souvenir. A little piece of the new Saigon in my pocket. But let’s see what happens on the return trip. My guess is I do not have to top it up and can just buy a new card to go back, which means this one might get to stay with me after all.
Fingers crossed. Some souvenirs cost 22,000 VND and ten minutes underground, and honestly, those are the best kind.
Found out:
The deposit on the single-journey card is 15,000 VND, and the card is valid for one journey on the day it’s issued. You can return it at a Fare Adjustment Machine (or ticket vending machine) at the end of your trip to get the deposit back. You insert the card into the “Card Inlet,” the screen shows the refund amount, and the cash comes out of the Bill Outlet tray with a receipt.
This actually explains your 22,000 VND ticket: roughly 7,000 for the fare plus the 15,000 deposit. They let you walk out with the card because it’s your deposit on the line, not theirs.
Which means keeping it as a souvenir costs you 15,000 VND, about 60 US cents. Honestly, not a bad price for a keepsake from Saigon’s first metro line.
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