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Published: November 11th 2008
Ho Chi Minh
So great, they named a city after himLuckily for me the train rocked in around 11pm so it was too late to get some sun but sadly also too late for food at a half decent restaurant. So I opted for a roadside cafe (not a Little Chef, more like someone with a stove in some plastic casing) and sat down on one of their plastic chairs (looked like they were from a kiddies' tea party) whilst I pondered over the 'Specials' (not the group). As they weren't any Specials as such I opted for the dish was least likely to give me food poisoning, and went for the steak and egg baguette. Although, as I couldn't guarantee it was steak (there weren't many stray dogs around) I asked her for just eggs. She nodded, smiled and then 10 mins later brought me a steak and egg baguette....and a warm coke.
The following day it was off to see the sights (other than the beach) which consisted of a temple with not one, but two white Buddhas. Then another cool temple (a red brick one) before taking myself off to their spa. The spa's main attraction was the mud bath so I
Beach
Nha Trang thought 'when in Rome.....' It consisted of sitting in a big concrete tub which they then filled with warm mud. Luckily were no leeches so any flash backs of the Gibbon Experience were soon extinguished. It was then time to sit in the sun and let it dry on us (sun, hmmmm no thanks) then a shower then a jet wash (not like in petrol stations forecourts) then a bath in some spring water with some Aussies (just in my tub that day, not actually their job).
As my shoulder was still hurting from Van Vieng I opted for a massage and pointed out that I had a bad shoulder and could she focus on it. And focus on it she most certainly did. Man she had some funky moves that I hadn't experienced before (not like that) . After stomping up and down my back like she was walking on hot coals she then put each knee either side of my spine and slid up and down like she was doing a weird sort of knee based squat thrust. By the 30th repetition the motion was smoother than the drawer in a filing cabinet. Then onto her 'finishing
Cu Chi Tunnel
One of the wider ones move' (aka 'the one knee version'). For this crowd favourite, with her left knee she slid up and down on the left hand side of my spine and to balance, or to stop herself sliding past my shoulder and onto the floor (or just for her own amusement) she put her put her other foot between my legs and pressed her big toe up against my a-hole as some sort of buffer. I suspected this she secretly enjoyed this although after the massage I couldn't look her in the eye so I can't be sure.
The following day I took in the marine life by going on a snorkelling trip off the coast. I felt like a bit of a spanner as the boat was full of proper divers. Anyway, I saw some cool fish and was back in time before the restaurants closed so could avoid another steak and egg sandwich. I did however see a motorbike crash so decided on taking a car to the station.
My strange decision to go from North Vietnam to South Vietnam only on the trains saw me take another night train. This time the cabin was the best yet. Soft
Firing an M60
Noise was worse than the kick. My accuracy was worse than them both tho... clean beds, free tea and an lcd telly. The train ride was a cool 9 hours which would normally mean a good night's sleep but my cabin buddies' keen-ness to watch Vietnamese pop idol at a silly volume coupled with the fact that the train arrived at 3am would ensure this wasn't the case.
Sharing a cab into the main city with Dan, Joe and Chris (Eng) kept costs down so too did our decision to play pool in a local cafe til 6am thus avoiding paying for another night's accom. So after pretty much no sleep I ventured into HCM city at around 8am.
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) First impressions were, that I was actually still very tired but I had won my first game of pool since 2001 so with this heady mix of emotions I headed towards the Art museum. I was too early tho so I killed a bit of time by walking round the block and coming across a second hand shoe market (seriously). Anyway after I bought 3 pairs (only kidding) I went back to the Art museum. The good news was that it was better than
Hiding hole
Now you see me Hanoi's and it didn't have a restaurant.....
Some of you may be wondering why the city's name change....wonder no more, so sit back and enjoy a bit of history..(those not interested jump down 2 paragraphs)...The Vietnam war - fought between the North or Vietnam (known as the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) and/or the Vietcong) were fighting against South of Vietnam (Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN)) and for a time the U.S. forces too - finally ended when the North finally broke down Saigon's resistance and on April 30th 1975 two tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential palace and their flag was raised above it.
In the U.S. this event is commonly called the 'Fall of Saigon,' while the communist Socialist Republic of Vietnam call it the 'Liberation of Saigon' - either way it paved the way for it to be renamed of 'Ho Chi Minh City' in 1976 in the honour of the Communist leader of the same name.
Anyway, with this info in mind I went off to find the Presidential Palace (now called the Re-unification Palace) and as luck would have it came across a footy stadium on the way. As
Hiding hole
Now you still see me... I couldn't get in I opted for a plan B which involved buying a water from a shop under the ground and asking him if I could walk thro. He agreed and there I was watching some live footy. It wasn't actually very good, it looked like a local tournament between 4 teams but it was interesting all the same. After I saw the striker fluff a chance I could have put away (unless it was against Matt), I moved on.
The Reunification palace was an interesting place too, very retro - check out the pics. Plus I was once again reminded of the friendliness of the local people as a group of school children walked past me all screaming 'helloooooo' and something else which I couldn't make out (probably a ginger insult).
War Memorial Museum This was an impressive reminder of the tragedy of war. There were hundreds of breathtaking photos and descriptions of what was going on that you couldn't fail to be moved. In addition to the photos there were also guns, helicopter and planes that were used by both sides as well as recreations of prison cells used to torture and
Night out in HCM
Just seen LFC beat Everton kill the prisoners. I then decided to buy a book to give more detail of the war and opted for the one called 'The Girl In The Picture' an account of the life of the famous girl (Kim Phuc) who was photographed running naked away from a napalm strike.
As the shoulder was still playing up I decided to visit the massage centre for the blind (all the masseurs were blind, it wasn't a pre requisite for punters). I thought I'd be doing a good deed as not many people would go to a place like this I thought. I was doubley sure this was the case after 2 taxi drivers didn't know where the place actually was. Anyway just before nightfall I found it and was ushered into a place that was a bit like an old hospital for the massage.
That evening it was time to meet up with Steve and Murph as they had arrived after coming through Cambodia. And as luck would have it we found a cool place which not only had tables with stoves in the middle so you could cook your own food but it was also showing Everton vs LFC
Mekong Delta
Other than brown, what colours can you make out?
live! It was only when I jumped up and screamed 'GET IN TORRES!' that I realised, for everyone else in the place, it was just on in the background. Anyway top night. We also met up with Martina, Caroline and Sarah (IRE) who Steve and Murph had met along the way in Cambodia. As luck would have it they were also heading south so over a few beers we hatched a plan to meet up for the Full Moon Party the following month.
Mekong Delta I'm sure the guide book said something about the Mekong Delta being like a myriad of irridescent colours or something similar so I was naturally disappointed when i just saw a few shades of brown. That aside the canoe ride thro the smaller tributaries was cool as was drinking local tea whilst being sang to by a local quartet (the whole group not just me).
The trip also incorporated something that I wasn't expecting to be quite so impressive - Hanoi's rush hour....and just when you thought the A419 between Swindon and Cheltenham got bad at the Air Balloon, think again and check out the pics.
Cu Chi Tunnels
During the war a North Vietnamese stronghold was a town (or village) called Cu Chi and as a way of protecting themselves against attacks from the Southern Vietnamese and US forces they built an underground tunnel network that remains famous today. In addition to this they also set a number of gruesome traps (am sure Rambo copied them). We had the chance to go inside a hiding hole and also walk through one of the tunnels. They also laid on a firing range where you could fire a range of guns, we opted for M60 and AK47. Although unlike Call of Duty 4 we couldn't have the red dot sight or call in an air strike.
As I boarded my flight out of HCM city I said farewell to the friendliest people in Asia so far. Sure there were scams and people were keen to get your money but a smile, a chat and a handshake was enough to breakdown and tension that many westerners feel when dealing with the Vietnamese. Well it worked for me.
Next up was Cambodia and following some good tips from Steve and Murph their guide Mr 50Cent would be
A snake & I
..not sure it warranted the expression from the girl on the left tho waiting for me at the airport......
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REEVSIE
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THE TELEGRAPH CALLED...
Hi mate, from your unfeasibly long "blogs" (i'm sure they're meant to be short and brief accounts of your travels) the telegraph have asked if you could do an asian experience piece for them in exchange for free entry to next years FFL (Rob 1st, i'm 2nd same old story)! I'm sure you'll be please to know liverpools extraordinary luck continues and they are still joint top of the league. Re our travels we've managed to cram in some more beaches and look forward to bumping into judith chalmers along the way, who'd have thought you'd have burnt your usually bronzed body! Looks like you're having a good time and haven't scared off all the girls you've met up with (how are the cartoons going down in asia? hopefully more successful than blighty!) how long do you think you can use the "my shoulders still painful" gag as an excuse to visit "massage" parlours? The boat trip looked cool, re the cooking your own food any burnt eggy bread on the go? We're getting geared up for our trip and got almost everything so looking forward to that, any essentials you forgot or didn't take with you that we should? (got the sense of humour and good gags already) What malaria tabs did you take? Any side effects (they can cause two bobs!) cheers matey