Let’s turn your trip into a treasure hunt you’ll never forget! My husband lived in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for seven years. When he took me to Vietnam last year for the first time, I was thrilled to travel there and equally delighted to bring back a luggage of goodies. However, I wasn’t super excited to bring back any more magnets or keychains. I wanted something a bit nicer than the average tourist souvenir.
Luckily, my husband had a few gems up his sleeve, along with a few stores we had discovered along the way. This is not your average backpacker’s souvenir. You can easily find plenty of cheap souvenirs — like t-shirts, simple scarves, and other knickknacks — at the markets in either country. Instead, we wanted to focus on unique, high-quality items. Please consider these gifts if you’re thinking about what to buy in Vietnam or Cambodia on your next trip!
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Vietnam
During our trip, we passed through Ho Chi Minh City, Hue, Hoi An, and Da Nang. On our next summer trip to Vietnam, we plan to explore Hanoi and Sapa. I’ll update this post if I find more goodies in those areas! As always, if you have anything else you’d like to add, please feel free to comment on this blog post with your suggestions.
We still came back from Vietnam with a bunch of lanterns. When in Hoi An, these little lantern shops are everywhere, and they’re inexpensive to pick up. I already hung a few around the house to add a pop of color!
OHQUAO Concept Store
If you’re looking for beautifully designed stationery and small goods, OHQUAO Concept store delivers. I picked up many postcards, notebooks, and stone coasters for our home and gifts.
Metiseko
I had a lovely experience at the Metiseko store in Ho Chi Minh. I initially bought a solid-colored, periwinkle blue kimono when they offered to add a closure. Unfortunately, they found that the kimono was damaged and suggested an exchange. I realized I would prefer the embroidered orange kimono I saw on the Metiseko website. When I inquired about it, they told me it wasn’t in stock in their Ho Chi Minh store, but they would phone to see if it was in any other city. Luckily, I was on my way to Hoi An, and I could drop in and pick it up in person, where they added the sparkling embroidery for me. I was so happy to receive the orange kimono because it ended up being absolutely GORGEOUS.
Metiseko is located in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hoi An. You can find their Ho Chi Minh City location below.
Dominique Saint Paul
My husband insisted we stop by Dominique Saint Paul as he knew them well when he lived in Vietnam. We stopped by to take a peek at their luxury leather shoe collection. I did have to talk my husband out of some of the more ostentatious colors — maybe in a different life, he could have pulled them off — but he was pleased with the details and the quality. Beyond shoes, they also sell women’s handbags and wallets.
Hanoia House
When my husband mentioned Vietnamese lacquerware, he knew to take me to Hanoia House. There, I picked up the most gorgeous deep blue jewelry box. They’ve also expanded to handbags if you’re hunting for a luxury souvenir from Vietnam. They’re not cheap, though. This insanely cool jewelry hook — shaped like a venus fly trap — will set you back about 19,150,000 VND (about $756 USD) while this small red lacquered tray will cost about 7,500,000 VND ($293 USD). It’s definitely not bargain basement hunting, but the quality of the pieces is truly beautiful. If I could take the whole store home with me, I would.
Maison Marou
If you’re a chocolate lover, Maison Marou should not be missed. Due to the climate in Vietnam, I find that the chocolates we tasted had much more of a tropical, fruity taste with a higher acidity. They have 15 stores around Vietnam (as of this blog post).
L’Usine Shop & Cafe
Though famed as a café, we popped in to check out their gift shop. As a tote bag hoarder, I did not skip their giant logo tote.
Gingko T-shirts
My husband likes the t-shirts from this brand and raved about the quality. Though I’m not at all a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal, we stopped by Gingko T-shirts to stock up on shirts for the kids, which he said would last. We also grabbed a few more for him to wear on the weekends. I admit that the print quality is excellent. Personally, I just can’t get behind wearing a t-shirt!
Réhahn Gallery
My husband loves this photographer so much that we have a few massive prints hanging on our walls—including the smiling lady below! We also have a signed photography book from Réhahn that my husband bought many moons ago in Vietnam. Whether or not you love the photography so much that you want to hang it on your walls—I’m still on the fence about that one—I still think the galleries are worth a visit. We visited two studios on our last trip, one in Ho Chi Minh City and another in Hoi An. The Hoi An location also includes the Precious Heritage Museum.
Reaching Out Tea House
Located in Hoi An, Reaching Out was founded to provide jobs and teach new skills to local people with disabilities. It has a really cute teahouse inside, and you can often see someone working inside, making the items for purchase. We bought this lotus leaves brooch for my mother-in-law and an assortment of home decor.
Mekong Quilt
Mekong Quilts is run by an NGO that supports underprivileged women in Vietnam and Cambodia. They have two stores: one in Ho Chi Minh City and one in Hanoi. I found their handmade baby quilts very charming, and we bought a few extra baby bibs as gifts for friends with newborns. My husband also has a king-sized quilt from his time in Vietnam.
Cambodia
I truly loved Siem Reap for its rich history, nature, people, and beauty. While shopping at the different markets, I was also blown away by the craftsmanship in Cambodia. We only spent a few days in Siem Reap, but I wanted to buy everything.
Eric Raisina
I picked up the Eric Raisina Devi/Angel scarf in black ($395 USD) at Satu—a multi-brand store mentioned below—because I couldn’t find the exact color I wanted at the flagship store. Despite being utterly predictable when buying black, I found the texture of the scarf to be most interesting. The color palette for most of the pieces is bright. If you’re not afraid of color, go for it.
Satu Concept Store
We had a tuk-tuk driver take us to Satu because I wanted to ensure they had the Eric Raisina scarf in stock. I was a woman on a mission. If you’re looking for fun, locally-made products like this woven cross-body bag or a bottle of Mekong Orange Liqueur, then it’s worth a visit.
The Fair Trade Village
The Fair Trade Village was wonderful. There was a massive selection of locally made products, and we had a lot of fun perusing the aisles. You can find anything from wooden statues to fine silk scarves. The shopping areas are divided into wood, ceramics, silver, natural fiber, stone, leather, brass & bronze, jewelry, masks, and textiles.
Satcha – សច្ច: Cambodian Handicraft Center
We had Satcha on the backburner if we could find the time, and I was glad we did! It ended up being one of the highlights of Siem Reap as we could see the care and attention put into handcrafting each item.
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