I'm Jon — designer, family of five, two French Bulldogs, Ho Chi Minh City. I write about Vietnam, crypto, and product design.

Wander Saigon is a dispatch from the city I landed in twelve years ago and never left — a long run of mornings on a plastic stool, a city I didn't expect to love this much, and a few things I wish someone had told me on my first morning here.

Design work at Yodl, this guide, and a slow notebook of Saigon field notes that might become a second issue. If you want to work together, the contact block is below.

This began as an X thread — Living Cashless in Saigon — written from a café in early 2026. This is the longer, quieter version: a field guide for anyone landing in Ho Chi Minh City with a laptop and a few weeks to kill.

Published on no schedule. Revised when someone tells me a place closed, a price drifted, or an agent retired. If a recommendation goes wrong for you, write.

A note on Yodl. I'm involved with Yodl — the QR-payment wallet mentioned throughout the guide. It's what I actually use here, and the recommendation is personal, not sponsored. The guide would read the same without it; I'd just tell you to find another way to scan local QR.

Corrections, tips, and "that place closed" notes welcome.

X · @jonmyers