Just down the road from the hotel is the Zone 5 Military Museum, and it's a genuinely cool couple of hours. Unlike most museums, a lot of the hardware outside isn't roped off — tanks, helicopters, artillery, missiles — you can walk right up and get your hands on it. Inside, the war photography and exhibits give you a real "other side" view of what's called the American War here, told entirely from the Vietnamese perspective, which is worth seeing whatever your own views on it. The complex also includes a full-size replica of Ho Chi Minh's stilt house from Hanoi and a museum dedicated to his life. Barely anyone else was there when we visited. Entry only cost $4 NZD — but that's Vietnam for you, everything "only costs."
Just down the road from the museum we wandered into a stadium and caught some of the 2026 Beach Volleyball 2x2 National Championship, including a moment where someone's umbrella took off across the stands mid-point. Had a good chat with a few locals, then found a pickleball court nearby — pickleball is everywhere in Vietnam, seems like half the country's taken it up.