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Published: March 12th 2012
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We enjoyed our stay in Saigon a lot. The prior warnings we had had of pick-pocketing groups of children, beggars and bag snatching from mopeds was not our experience. With wide pavements, trees in the street and many cafes it had a friendly, relaxed vibe and we felt safe. We understand it is developing so rapidly so perhaps guide books and reviews have not kept pace and therefore don't give a true reflection of the city today.
The dreaded roads of Saigon were indeed filled with mopeds, yes, but due to the congestion no-one drives fast. There is just a slow flow weaving their way along a bit like a shoal of fish! The pavements are only really frequented by tourists, the locals travel by moped however short the distance! The only danger was at rush hour when you need your wits about you as mopeds use the pavements to counterflow one-way streets and feel they have more right to be there than you! I wasn't very impressed when a pair of handle bars clipped my arm!
We sat in a cafe and watched as junctions came to a stand still as streams of traffic became tangled and then
untangled. Advice for crossing the road: look for a small gap (there will never be a big one!) and begin crossing the road, maintain a constant speed and the traffic will flow around you!
The War Remnants Museum had several exhibitions covering weaponary, Agent Orange, tiger prisons and a photo gallery of a collection gathered from over 100 war photographers who died during the war. Informative, one-sided? Depressing.
We chilled in the city park of an 'O' green tea, it a lovely shady spot with very grand trees and the curvacious stone sculptures that we have seen in several towns and later enjoyed another international treat- pizza :D
Our tour to Cui Chi tunnels We arrived at 7.50am and were still waiting to leave at 9am.... the frustration with tourist excursions was ruffled in us. Our group was split into a large bus and we luckily ended up in the very smart mini bus with a lively guide called Hieu (Hugh Grant!). He was from a Southern Vietnamese family who were refuges after the war (perhaps this explains how warm he was towards us tourists?). He explained the more quirky side to the Vietnamese culture
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The importance of a moped …. no moped = no wife!
But in the city it doesn't stop there. To really impress a lady you need to have a particulaly expensive and fashionable moped... this year the Honda SH for $8000 instead of a normal $800 moped! He laughed that some young men hire one for $10/day to create the image!
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The men are still expected to pay for everything, despite a woman earning her own salary. This is currently an issue for debate and likely to change.
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We also discussed the vast amounts of hard wooden furniture for sale. He confirmed that it is illegal to fell these trees but when government officials are happy to buy the furniture it seems the effort to regulate the industry seems futile.
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Vietnamese policeman earn $120/month, not a lot but the job still carries respect.
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Sadly the last rhino in Vietnam has died.
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There is a desperate desire to have whiter skin. Here we have seen the most extreme efforts to cover up with gloves, face masks, and flip flop stockings, the normal attire for a young lady to ensure
the sun cannot reach their skin. Having white skin suggests greater wealth, that you work in an air-con office and not the fields or market place. The cosmetic industry have done very well with the Westerners trying to be tanned and the Asians trying to be white!
Back to the tunnels! We were glad we visited as it represents such an iconic part of the Vietnam war. We passed on the rifle range but hearing the shots ring out, from other tourists firing rounds, added to the atmosphere. We saw the brutal bamboo traps the VietCong used to entrap and kill the Americans, we peered down some of the original tunnel network and scrambled along a 100m stretch of tunnel that had enlarged to 'Burger King size'! It was still a squeeze for George and a very hot and stuffy crawl. It is hard to imagine travelling several kilometres down there.
Tomorrow, we are looking forward to being by the sea, as we head south, back to the coast.
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