Saigon and the Mekong Delta

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For our first day in Ho Chi Minh City we decided to wander around and see some of the sites. Needless to say we managed to get ourselves ripped off in our very first haggling situation. We came across two Vietnamese men, mid forties, who offered to take us around in their cyclo’s. We were planning on heading to the Jade Emperor Pagoda, and seeing as they had a list of tourist locations to visit on hand, it seemed easy to just point out where we were headed. However, we were unsure of what price would be considered fair. After they suggested 100,000 dong an hour, each, I suggested 50,000 each. Their shocked faces were answer enough, so we agreed on an 80,000 one way fare to the pagoda. The pagoda was fantastic! Not as well manicured as many of the other temples we passed however the interior more than made up for this. The pagoda is famous for its wood carvings depicting the torments of hell in store for those of us who have been less than virtuous 😉. The carvings are impressive to say the least with multiple levels of relief giving a very 3 dimensional feel to the result. Carvings of trees look as though you could see behind them if you could just get the right angle. In addition to these several large statues adorn the pagoda, and other areas including overhead beams are also thick with intricate carvings and the air was clouded with the burnt incense from offerings made by devotees. Ben’s cyclo driver informed him that it was a special ‘lucky’ day was the reason so many people were making offerings although further inquiries as to the nature of this lucky day were met with a language barrier. One of the other most picturesque sights was looking over the grounds and the surrounding rooftops from the upstairs outdoor balcony. This overlooked the turtle enclosure (which was being cleaned) and fronted a section of the temple where barefoot worshipers were bowing sincerely. Not wishing to disturb them we beat a hasty retreat.

Afterwards we decided that we may as well spend the last 20,000 dong to make it a ‘one hour trip’ to our next destination, the war remnants museum. Upon our arrival, our cyclo drivers tried to explain that they would wait outside the museum until we were finished so that we had them at the ready for our next location. However, we were quite aware of the situation and figured that 100,000 dong was enough, so we declined the offer and went to pay. It turns out that we were in the cyclo for a little over an hour, which meant that we were expected to pay for two hours worth! 200,000 dong each! Sigh! We happened to come across another Sydney backpacker that night who managed to get a lift from the outskirts of town into the backpacker area and only paid 20,000dong >.<

The war remnants museum has been instituted to study, collect and preserve display exhibits on wars within vietnamese borders and deals mainly with the crimes and atrocities commited against the Vietnamese people during the last century (both the French and American wars). The exhibits ranged from very moving accounts of lives lost (both military and civilian), horrific depictions of the tortures and brutality inflicted during the conflicts, the long lasting effects of various weapons used and the antiwar sentiments expressed by those external to the conflict who were outraged at the senseless violence. While obviously being heavily slanted toward the communist Vietnamese propaganda machine the exhibits had a profound effect on us, showing that history may not always be as you are taught and above all showing how much suffering could have been avoided if world history had taken a different more peaceful course. Not exactly a destination for the squeamish (although it has apparently been toned down in recent years) or those who will be confronted by a different perspective on the war but definitely well worth the visit. Entry was 15,000 dong per person. Outside museum (but still on the grounds) are a number of ex-military vehicles and aircraft but we only took a cursory look at these on the way in. Lunch was had in a local noodle shop for 30,000 dong plus curious stares of the patrons. We then walked to Ben Thanh markets (past the reunification palace). The markets are a

Night time found us heading out again in search of night markets however a chat to our friendly hotel receptionist revealed that these were no different to the day time one we had already visited and that instead we might like to visit the festival in the park just down the block. The festival turned out to be a 4 day food festival celebrating not only Vietnamese food but also international cuisine. Ben had a ball looking at different types of food and sampling what appeared to be a toasted sandwich shaped waffle/pancake/??. A deep fried skewer or spring rolls was also consumed before the serious business of Vietnamese pancake was tackled. This evidently requires rolling the pancake in a leaf of lettuce or similar and then dipping in sauce and eating. Yum! Although rather messy, the waiter took one look at Ben at the end and called for napkins. Following this we pigged out on ice cream (yes we will totally lose weight while here) which came in little tubs and tasted somewhat like frozen yoghurt back home but sweeter.

The following day we went on a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels, 65km from HCM. We paid $5US dollars for the bus ride there (2 hours each way) and another 75000 dong once we got there in entrance fee’s. The $5 included an English speaking guide. They were a fantastic day trip, it was truly astounding learning just what these people did to live! It was estimated that around 16000 people living in the 250km tunnels, and only around 6000 survived. We got to see some of the bunkers, an exploded American tank, a heap of booby traps and, although we didn't participate, a chance to fire some of the guns used at the time.


The following morning we decided to move on and head to Can Tho, one of the larger Mekong delta towns that has easy access to the floating markets. After a late rise of 7.30am we left the accommodation in search of a tour office. The first one, TNK tours, informed us we had missed their first bus to Can Tho, but we could get a taxi for around 35,000 dong to the local train station, and get a ticket for around 110,000 dong each direct to Can Tho. We decided to check at another tour agency just in case, and managed to get a ticket to Can Tho including a taxi to the station for 133,000 each… which left straight away! Winging this trip is working great so far! The bus ride was fantastic! The scenery was great, but it was a little confusing seeing as we were the only westerners there except for an older gentlemen with an interpreter. This made it a little hard, especially when we stopped for lunch as we were unsure of how long we had to eat and didn’t want to miss the bus!

We arrived in Can Tho in the late afternoon, and what a change it was from HCM! Although it has a population of around half a million, it is definitely not as hectic, and smells much cleaner! I personally have found the people to be nicer out here, mostly because being in the backpacker district of HCM you get a lot more people in your face trying to sell you trinkets and taxi’s etc. Although there are a few backpackers around here, there are not as many as in HCM.

There were two main reasons we wanted to come to Can Tho. The first being it was a nice stop over point on our way to Phu Quoc island, the second that we wanted to walk around and hopefully get a smaller tour of the Mekong Delta, and getting a two or three day tour from HCM just didn’t feel like it would cut it. This happened to be such a great decision. Upon arriving at Hein Guest house, we were introduced to a lovely lady that offered us a 7 hour tour of the delta, $40 for the two. We didn’t bother shopping around, I think we may have been able to maybe get something a little cheaper, but seeing as she was recommended by the hotel hostess it seemed pretty reliable. We had to get up before 5am (See mum, I can do early mornings!) and left at 5.30am so that we could catch the sunrise on the water 

Breakfast was included, which consisted of a bread roll and some bananas in out boat. We quickly stopped for coffee as well on the other side of the river, and Ben said it one of the best coffee's he has had! It was just fantastic! The sunrise was amazing, and the air nice and cool off the water. We went to two markets, the first was the larger of the two, but the second one had more charm to it, with mostly smaller rowboats. Our guide stopped to cut some branches along the way, and managed to steer the boat as well as weave us some little gifts. I think this was a generic tour gift, but I am sure that due to my over-excitement from the first we got some extra ones made. They were really creative.

After the markets we left the main river and headed along some smaller canals. This was, for sure, the highlight of my trip so far. There were locals living all the way along the waterside, but here it seemed to blend in with the vegetation a lot better than what the main river did. The place was just amazing, definitely one of the best I have ever been, the photos do not do it justice!

Along the way, we also noticed through a gap in the vegetation a heap of rice fields! Our guide saw our excitement so pulled over allowing us to get out and take some photos. We then turned back to the boat… and it had not been tied up! The poor guide had to strip down to his boardies and swim in and get the boat! And, to embarrass the guy further, Ben just had to document the incident by taking a photo! Ah well. Further along we also got to hop off the boat and walk along the waterside for a little way, which was lovely. Finally, we then had a quick stop for lunch and headed back to Can Tho.

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Photos

Local dog
For you Missy!

Mekong Delta
Free Pineapple!

Comments

[missy]

awesome
Your Blog is awesome!!!!! Well done guys, puts my Hawaii emails to shame lol..