Steamy Saigon

---

I am not going to say a word about the heat. Having complained about the cold for so long I had better keep my lips zipped.

Well, getting around Hanoi was like riding a bike with training wheels. We were just getting warmed up for the main event - Saigon. We are now in the big city and it has that city feel and comes with city traffic. Thank goodness for the occasional traffic light. They have some decent sidewalks but every few feet there are huge concrete planters with trees in. You have to step out into the road to get around them. It is a minefield for someone as clumsy as me.

Before we came away I told my friends that I was not going to spend time visiting war sights and museums. I have to eat my words because once you are here it is pretty hard not to get involved, even if just for a little while.

Today we went to the War Remnants Museum. Yes it is full of propaganda (but then again, that depends on which side of the fence you are standing, doesn't it?) Regardless, the crimes and indignities that were committed by all sides were horrendous. The photos taken by the various journalists covering Vietnam's wars with both France and the United States were chilling. Some of the pictures were taken just before they themselves died. It makes you want to cry. Some visitors to the site were taking photos of the horrors but I was asking myself. Why would they do that? I mean it is not as if they are going to put them in a photo album. This was one of the most moving museums I have been in, second only to the Rwandan Genocide Memorial.

On a happier note - we went to a great place for lunch. A really local outdoor restaurant, rather like a big food court with cooking stations all around the edges. Each station preparing a different dish. We sat with a local couple and asked them to recommend some items for us. The menu was also in English but we wanted to try something different. Let's put it this way - we ate prawns complete with their shells, legs and tails because we didn't want to seem like wimps in front of the locals!

No, Obama mania has not hit Vietnam, unless you are watching CNN of course and then you cannot get away from it. It is funny really because if you watch an Australian news station, all the news is about Asia. You wouldn't think North America existed.

Our hotel is in a good location and although it does not have windows - which is quite common in Asia - it is nice and big. Anway not having windows cuts down on a lot of street noise. The only problem is that when you wake up you have no idea at all what time of day it is. We might need a wake up call tomorrow so that we get up in time for our bus to the beach, which is about a 5 hour drive away.

We will be travelling by bus because transport prices double during Tet. Tet is like Christmas, New Year, Easter and Thanksgiving all rolled into one. It is their BIG holiday. It is the lunar New Year - the same as the Chinese New Year. It is a great time to be here as everyone is in such a good mood. You just have to plan ahead a little more than usual (which I did with Martin's help).

Don is so lucky. He always seems to get to celebrate his birthday in some exotic location and this year it falls right in the middle of the Tet holidays.

Oh dear, it's time to go and do what we like to do best - eat Vietnamese food - it is delicious.

---

Comments

[Martin]

Holy Ho Chi Minh!
Always a laugh... reading your blog. Yes... watch where you walk!! Ha ha ha. How are you dealing with all of the shopping ops in Saigon? It is crazy. The temperature will be much easier to handle on the beach! :-)