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Published: January 21st 2007
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Saigon 1
Eddie gives the taxi driver a break and himself a hernia! Chau from Saigon!!
What a relief to reach this fantastic city after leaving Cambodia - I really didn't like that country much!
First things first - is it Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City? Well, originally called Saigon by the Khmer (Cambodian) people that used to colonise South Vietnam, officially it has been Ho Chi Minh City since the late 70's, when South Vietnam was liberated. It was renamed as a sign of a new era of independence and unity in the country and the name was chosen in tribute to Ho Chi Minh (founder of the Vietnam independence movement). But I've been told that the local people never stopped calling it Saigon so both names are acceptable, no-one is offended by either. Quite the historian eh?!
From the minute I got off the bus here I loved it. The city is massive and there's a real buzz about it. It's actually kind of what I expected Bangkok to be like - full of energy and people and noise. There's just a spark here that really appeals to me in a way that Bangkok didn't.
We arrived here about 6pm on Thursday night, found somewhere to stay,
Saigon 2
Although it doesn't really capture just how scary it is I hope this gives you some idea of how mental it is to try and cross the road here (there's traffic about to come from behind the camera!) dumped our bags and hit the town! This was my first night drinking since New Year (a whole two weeks - shock!) and since I gave up smoking again so as you can imagine I got pretty wasted pretty quickly - the Vietnamese rum is very potent! Brendan bailed out early which left me, Eddie and a group of Irish guys we met (those Irish really are a nomadic bunch, you meet them everywhere!) to dance the night away to some very dodgy music. Had a great laugh. On the way home Eddie decided to get a taxi (i.e. some poor guy on a pushbike with a sort of wheelchair attached to it has to cycle you home) but he ended up making the driver sit in the seat while he chauffered him around! Not a bad way for the guy to make some money!
The next day Brendan and I headed out to see some of the sights while Eddie stayed in his bed - apparently the beer that costs about 14p per can doesn't do you any favours the next day! But the day was kind of a right off because I got stuck at the post
Saigon 3
Great positioning at the War Remnants Museum. Now I see why women didn't really operate these things - beats Madonna and her cones hands down I reckon! office for about an hour and a half (all I wanted to do was send some postcards and some pics home to Jase and mum but nothing's ever easy in Asia!) and then Brendan lost his wallet so we spent another hour or so at the police station. So not quite the sights we expected to see!
We also almost got run down about a dozen times. I thought the driving was crazy in Cambodia but this is something else! Apparently there are 8 million people living in Saigon and most of them have motorbikes and there doesn't seem to be any kind of road laws that I can make out - they take unbelievably crazy risks. And pedestrian crossings don't mean a thing so you really do just have to "keep the faith", as Eddie says, and go for it. For the first couple of days I mildy hyperventelated every time I tried it but I have now managed to reduce it to continuous swearing until I reach the pavement at the other side. I tried to take a few photos of it but it really just doesn't do it justice! And getting a moto-taxi during rush hour
Saigon 4
Going in the original size of entrance to the tunnels. I think if the Vietnamese had boobs like mine the Americans would've found them a lot easier since they wouldn't have fit in them!! is a pretty hairy experience too, I just held on and closed my eyes until we stopped!
The following day the three of us managed to get up pretty early and head out to explore the city. In the morning we managed to get round some of the markets and see some landmarks. Eddie got his hair cut by a barber who had just set up shop on the pavement by hanging a mirror on a nail on the wall and putting out a table and chairs - not quite up to Scizzors standards but the guy did a good job!
In the afternoon we went to the War Remnants Museum which was really good. Along with many gruesome photographs, the museum displays US armoured vehicles, artillery pieces, bombs, infantry weapons and even a guillotine used by the French on Viet Minh "troublemakers". There are pieces on the My Lai massacre and the napalm, Agent Orange and phosphorous bombs used on the Vietnamese, including photos of deformed children/adults who are still suffering from it's effects today. Though certainly not an unbiased representation of events in Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s, the museum is nonetheless successful in driving
Saigon 5
Following Brendan crawling through one of the tunnels - not a great place to be if you have a fear of enclosed spaces! home the fact that wars are brutal and that civilians are the biggest losers.
At night we stealthly sneaked into the ultra posh Rex hotel to get to it's rooftop restaurant for one the supposed best views of Saigon. Dressed in our scabby travellers gear we did not look like their usual clientelle but Brendan and Eddie did a very good job of distracting the staff while I hung over the balconies to get some photos. Unfortunately they didn't turn out that great but trust me, the view was amazing!
Today we visited the Cu Chi tunnels which run for 75 miles and were once a haven for VietCong fighters and villagers. They are well impressive. There are three levels of them, each level getting smaller as they get deeper underground. They were designed in such a way that the VietCong could not only perform surprise attacks on the Americans and then disappear but also so that they could live for months - with ingenious methods of getting air into the tunnels and getting smoke and steam from cooking out without being detected. You also get to see some of the booby traps set for the Americans which are pretty gruesome.
The original entrances to the tunnels were 16cm by 16cm and well disguised but now the entrances have been expanded so that Westerners can fit in them. Once you're inside them though they are the original size. I went through a 30 metre long one and it was pretty claustraphobic - I definately wouldn't have liked to be down there for much longer! Brendan made himself very popular by farting when he was down there - thank god I wasn't behind him at that point!!
And that's about it for now I think. We leave here tomorrow night and head to Nha Trang where Brendan is going to do his PADI scuba diving course. I was going to do one too but have changed my mind and am saving the dosh instead. It's rainy season up north at the moment so fingers crossed that Nha Trang is south enough not to be hit by it - I don't think I'm ready for rain again just yet!
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Talula
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Hello happy traveller
I'm sitting in uni reading about all your adventures and realised that the most interesting thing I have done over the last week is play badminton!!! What a loser! Anyway, you sound like you're having a blast. Cambodia would be a bit of a shock to the system, but somewhere I would definitely visit. Sounds absolutely crazy and the Killing Fields would be up there with Auchwitz on the 'creepy places to visit' scale. People always say that these places have an eerie silence about them. Scary. Anyway I'm off to do a boring assignment. Miss you and hope you're having a blast. Sounds like you are. Emma x