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16,000 Dong to 1 USD
Capital Ho Chi Minh City Or
SAIGON as they used to call it before reunification
Population - Ho Chi Minh approx 7 million -
Viet Nam - 85,500,000ish The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Independence was declared after World War II, but the French continued to rule until 1954 when they were defeated by Communist forces under Ho Chi Minh, who took control of the North. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South. Despite the return of peace, for over two decades the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have committed to economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. Famous for everything...Miss Saigon (Broadway Musical)
Chu - Chi tunnels...
Viet Cong
That never ending Vietnam War..
"The Girl In The Picture" nine-year-old Kim Phuc, severely burned by napalm bomb
.. and the Mekong Delta River.
Grrrreatest thing about Vietnam -
The People & just the surreal feeling of being there because of all that history... Most
annoying thing about Vietnam - HAS TO BE WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT.....
Bus Journeys SWEET
DEEEEVINE...........
SUICIDAL.... I WAS AT BREAKING POINT BY THE TIME I HAD REACHED VIETNAM... 4months already around South East Asia.......overland I may add, hence why I was at breaking point!!
(God forbid you are over 2 foot tall..NO LEG ROOM AT ALL and the constant geeking of the horn..even at 1am ..I swear those horns were wired up to TURBO speakers!!
Caught the mini bus from Vang Vieng in Laos to Vientiane (Capital) 6 hrs and another VIP bus to Da Nang City in Vietnam 32 hrs... I knew booking it that it wouldn't be a VIP for long but I had no idea it was going to be as bad as it was..,
it
was either pay 18 dollars to Da Nang City or 200USD flight and I had to go with the cheaper option...(2 months to the end of my trip an all...more money for shopping) .........the worst I have went on yet and not a nice introduction to Vietnam for me, the bus for 4 hours was VIP, the aircon was broken and the door was too, so that stayed open for the 4 hr journey for the bus change, the heat was so unbearable that you couldn't sit in the bus while it was stopped.
Me and another Japanese girl were the only 2 changing for Da Nang so we moved to another local bus... and boy was it local...we drove for 4 hours before the bus driver decided to stop and take a nap....along with about 30 other people...and kids??!!?? It was impossible & seriously bizarre, kids crying in the dark, people snoring...and moving it was a nightmare, 3 hrs later he got up and drove a few KMs to where they preceded to pack the bus with 100's of crates of redbull, fridges, TVs and bikes............ I thought it was never ending and I still had 18 hrs
to go......... then the border crossing out of Laos and into
Cau Treo ... all the crates of redbull had to be taken out (after it was just loaded 5 kms from the border) and reloaded back on.... Grrrrrrrrr!!!! the Vietnam side was a little more professional...although we could see lots of under the table stuff were going on... (is this where the term getting paid under the table derived from I wonder)
Once over the border and down through miles of winding winding roads and beautiful green mountainous scenery we stopped off at a local restaurant for something to eat...it was the worst experience I've ever encountered, (when I say restaurant.. I mean shack..... the place was
swarming with flies, I’ve never seen anything like it, the Auzzie guy I was sitting with
pulled a fly out of his soup and I'm not joking when I say it put me off eating for 5 days!!! I'm also coming down with a bad chest infection from the dampness I think… I’m so sick… and feeling sooo sooo sorry for myself right now, I just can’t enjoy the experience yet... nothing is going right for me, arrive late into
Da Nang and I’m the only farang getting off the bus... I don't want to just hop on a bike (well not with my bag anyway, it would be a death wish) or a taxi as I don’t know where I am or I’m going... and I have a few bikes following me for the business...impossible to find anyone that speaks English, there’s no hostels as far as I can tell, it's very late and I’m carrying around a bag the size of me.. Eventually after a lot of hand signals I get a taxi and an expensive hotel for a night.
Next day it was all go to catch the next train outta dodge 15 hr aircon sleeper train to
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) (560,000 Dong - 36 USD), (I’m sure this was return but as I didn’t have the language I didn't know...
Saigon.........AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!.....
I can't believe I’m here...its kind of surreal....it’s just like the old war filuuuums… Known as the Paris of Asia there's chaos…… bars.. Neon lights…. And 5 million motor cycles choking through the city…. A huge Ex Pat community here, old men with young bar girls.. Lest
I forget the sad & desperate traveler waltzing off into the sunset (nearest hotel for a quick bit of business).......oh and lots of Vietnamese too.... There is a lot of French influence here through architecture and who can mistake the smell of French crusty bread sold on every street corner... Mmmm!
Eating Out Enjoy real Vietnamese food and contemporary Saigon living, pass by the tourist restaurants with their white linens and over priced menus, OR do as the Vietnamese do.. follow the crowds to the street corner restaurants and their mini chairs and tables.. serving Dog (Cho) - I didn't indulge though, no way, would be like eating my Saoirse.
For Dog "Diners are mostly men - they believe it will make them more virile. But eating dog is reserved for the second half of the lunar month. Dog meat sellers do good business then, with many customers who believe they will dispel their misfortunes by eating the meat" Cat on the other hand has now been made illegal in an effort to reduce the number of rats and mice in the city.. amazing eh!!!!
Saigon is crazy...crazy...crazy....spent a week here and
guess what!!!!
I lost the only ATM card I possessed....... I’m not even going to go into it with ye....
Decided to see the Cu Chi tunnels one morning and was picked up by the mini bus outside my hotel......sitting amongst lots of non English speaking foreigners, ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......thinking. … How I’D LOVE to meet a load of English or Irish...I was starting to develop cabin fever from being sick and staying in...and who jumps into the mini bus only
4 Irish lads from Cork I may add...fresh off the boat and still drunk from the night before.... whuu huuu.....
NOTE TO SELF - must be careful of what I wish for in the future...
I thought nice one...Ill surely have the Craic agus Ceoil with this lot & their beards!!! ...and we did... (Big shout out to The Sundays Well Massive - Noel (AKA Davy) & the lads) Chu Chi tunnels were incredible.. not just any old tunnels mind... took years to make and there was over 120 KMs of them... and 3 layers of tunnels.. they ate, slept... and lived there for years.. Even the women had babies down there.....
We took the 150 meter crawl through them & I nearly freaked out when I went in.......
there was no way back as everyone is behind you so you have to keep going........................
on all fours....................................................................
In the pitch dark...........................
All you can hear is the beat of your own heart and the heavy breathing of people behind you, it was claustrophobic and nerve wrecking... I was glad to see the light at the end of the tunnel as was everyone else...
Afterwards we went for a spot of AK 47 shooting...as you do - the most famous rifle known for never jamming.... and it jammed the whole time... I’ve attached a link to youtube where I’ve uploaded it
The lads left that day and I got a text from Edel to say herself and Eric and Faye had arrived in Saigon… ( I think someone was looking down on me here... because at this point I was ready to fly home or head straight for a
hospital) they were staying in a friends place as they had gone on holiday and invited me down so I took a taxi ride to where they were staying... two words…
LUXURY PAD!!! 5 stories high..we didn't move for the few days we were there, ordered in breakfast, lunch and dinner... watched DVDs in the cinema room... and basically just didn't leave that house... until we had to. Faye is a nurse and managed to get a name of a good antibiotic and steroids so I was on the way to a recovery at least - thanks Faye!
We went to see the
War museum Very very interesting by the way...I always thought the VC were worse than the Americans but after going to the museum I now understand the war a lot better...some of the atrocities they inflicted on the Vietnamese was just unspeakable...and all the pictures are there as proof.
Eric, Faye and Edel leave for Cambodia and I say good bye to my friends and to this amazing place & head North to Na Trang.
Bus from Saigon to NaTrang - on to Hoi An - Hanoi was 15 dollars.
Randon Soldiers
me & my wished for buddies... Chu Chi Tunnels!Coffee on a street cafe... 5000 Dingalongs... (30 cent as opposed to Euro 3/4 in Ireland) 1 hrs internet.. (Usually free in hotel) 3000 D
Food… Cheap!
Accommodation…4/5 dollars a night but sharing is a lot cheaper.
Cu Chi tunnels...($5 for the tour...)
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James
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Heh B, Lovin the blogs, sounds like a class place, altho tough going for ya for a bit, cant believe you didnt have a dog smabo.. why not.. ha ha! joke... looking forward to catching up with you, been too long. xx