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Published: March 14th 2011
Toiling Away, Vietnamese Style.
Traditional Farming Scene at Hoi AnOn arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, it was quite apparent that this was very different from the other South East Asian countries we have visited. Due to the French colonial influence, there are lots of grand, baroque European style buildings dotted about. Also, as a result of the French influence there is a vibrant coffee culture, leading to an abundance of coffee shops, serving up locally grown fresh coffee & warm, fresh baguettes.
But the main thing that strikes you is the sheer volume of motor-scooters everywhere. Apparently there are 6 million people in HCM & up to 4 million scooters!! Crossing the road is a hell of an experience - the only way to do it is by walking straight out into the road, and letting all the scooters weave around you! It sounds mad, but it actually works. If you waited for a gap in the traffic you would never get anywhere. If you stop or hesitate then you probably would get run over! Not an experience for the faint hearted...
The main sights of interest in HCM were the Reunification Palace & The War Remnants Museum, which give a terrifying overview of Vietnam's history. The
Cao Dai Holy See
Prayer time at this very colourful church. exhibition & photo's detailing the Vietnam War and its aftermath was truly haunting & horrifying. Its really awful that the effects of such a senseless war are still continuing for the Vietnamese people.
We had a day trip out to the Cu Chi tunnel complex, which is a vast underground network of tunnels used by the Viet-Cong in the war against the Americans. There are over 200km of tunnels measuring about 600cm x 800cm. A fascinating place, but oh so claustrophobic - even Andrew (with his bulky body) struggled to move through them.
Hue, the ancient capital was a complete contrast to the hustle & bustle of HCM. The old town was a haven of tranquil lakes, pagodas & temples – a lovely place to just wander around for a few hours.
Hoi An was definitely the highlight for us - an old market town set along the banks of a sleepy river. Fortunately cars & scooters were banned from the central area, so you could easily walk around everywhere. The place was full of traditional shop-houses & temples.
We also hired bicycles for the day (at the grand expense of $1 per day) and cycled
Ho Chi Minh
The Man Himself out along the country lanes, past brilliantly green paddy fields and into the local villages. To top it all there was even a lovely beach nearby. Just perfect!
Our trip has not been without its amusing moments: We were browsing in a bookshop when Andrew took a book from the top shelf, only for the next half a dozen or so books to start falling onto the floor, followed by a few on the next shelf, then the next & next & so on & so on. Luckily, as this was Vietnam the bookshop owner was all smiles & we did buy a book at least! Then there was the time we were locked in our hotel room as the lock had jammed. Of course Andrew was panicking in case there was a fire or something. We were 'rescued' by the odd-job man who had to climb in through the window and unscrew the door & lock to let us out!!
One of our favourite characters was Mama Luong who ran a small restaurant near one of our hotels in Hoi An. She was absolutely barking mad, always screaming at you to come into her restaurant. Unfortunately her
Viet Cong Soldier
Soldier emerging from the Cu Chi Tunnels English wasn't that great, so once you were inside instead of her saying 'welcome' she would say 'see you later - goodnight' - all very confusing!! She was also very tactile - her hands were all over David (very understandable of course). But my God - the food was fantastic.
The trip ended in Hanoi. Unfortunately, although the capital, the city itself was a bit of a disappointment. Like HCM it was very frenetic with scooters zipping about everywhere, but it just lacked something - it was also much colder, requiring us to wear a fleece! However, we finished off with a bit of culture by going to a performance of the Hanoi Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hanoi Opera House - all very sophisticated of course and a good way to finish our first trip to Vietnam.
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Gilly Creamy
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Hey fellow travellers!
Vietnam sounding awesome - really interesting - sounds like somewhere we would enjoy. LOL at Andrew in the bookshop - I can picture it now, I bet that was hilarious!! Crossing the road sounds a bit frightening, but hiring the bikes sounds like fun - very up D&Gs street. We're currently in Utah, Ogden - about an hour from Salt Lake City enjoying Snow Basin and Powder Mountain - had a great days boarding today with fresh snow coming down all day - visibility was zero which makes boarding very interesting since you can't see any undulations in the snow or any bumps, or even where the edge of the piste is, and you have absolutely no sense of what speed you're going either since there is no point of reference! Very odd and very fun!! Pow pow!!! Loving it. Off for some huge American portions of food now!! Enjoy your trip ... sounds awesome ... where are you off to next? Look after yourselves both of you. Thanks for the card ... haven't opened it yet ... saving it for the big day!!! Where will you be on your birthday Dave? Take care! Love DnG xxx