Blogs from Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 2

Saigon has been renamed Ho Chi Minh City but the locals still call it Saigon. It is a typical large city in a developing nation where you see some newer skyscrapers next to run-down tenement type housing. Scooters rule here -- perhaps the entire adult population owns one (at least adults under 50 years old). Traffic regulations are only suggestions -- scooters zip in and out, run stop lights and drive on the wrong side of the street. Once again, we took various sorts of transportation and we are still alive to tell about it. FUN!!!! We leave for the airport in a few hours for our long trip home, this is a rehash of the past 3 days. 100 years of French rule left it's mark on the architecture of this city of 8M. Notre ... read more

I had my usual chicken noodle soup for breakfast at the hotel. The morning was spent travelling to the Cu Chi Tunnels north west of the city. It really was worth going As an Aussie, our soldiers were there during the Vietnam war, but the stories told were from the perspective of the Viet Kong (the other side). It was really interesting to hear the stories from the guides. I couldn’t believe just how small and narrow the tunnels were. There was a guide that went in one, and we had the opportunity to go in another one. There was no was I was going in any of them! There was also the opportunity to fire some guns of some sort, but being anti gun, I didn't do it. Lots of other people did though and ... read more

28th September 2013 Day 2 Mark up early to go for a run and do stair repeats?! Breakfast was a foodies heaven, fresh fruit, asian fair, french fair, whatever you want really. Picked up at 7.30 to go to Cao Dai Temple and Cu Chi tunnels. Two and a half hour drive to start with, maximum speed 60km, average around 40kmph, number of horn beeps - mmmm about 10,000, and I'm sure the horn sounded louder inside the bus than out. Arrived at the Great Holy See Temple about 11.30am. Just in time for a quick walk around and then up in the galleries to watch some of the midday prayer ceremony. The Cao Dai sect is a mixture of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Roman Catholic, formed in 1927 in response to the government restricting some ... read more

We arrived into downtown Ho Chi Minh City late afternoon, after a bus ride through searing heat, torrential rain and floods. As we recovered our luggage from the hold under the bus, two things dawned upon us. The first being that, the doors on the bus had not been as watertight as we might have wished, when driving through the flooded towns. This mainly affected my bag, although to what extent was still unknown. Amelia's predicament was worse however. Despite the use of a raincover, the padded rear parts of the bag were completely saturated, and more worryingly, smelly. We had heard of problems like this before from other backpackers. Vietnamese people put everything they want to transport into the hold of the bus, whether it it perishable, fragile or still alive and neglect to seal ... read more

Went to the Park Hyatt fancypants martini bar for cocktails in rush hour. Actually in the bar it definitely was not - people obviously had other plans for Valentines Day. Arrived in state of cardiac arrest after a taxi ride round Ben Thanh market roundabout. Tried not to shriek. Went to check out the P H pool. Pics on tripadvisor looked great, and Lonely Planet said that you can pay to use it for the day. Ms Snotty of Saigon, the receptionist (maybe I should have given my crocs a scub before attempting this) said that they have a lot of guests ( and you are clearly not one of them) and a very small pool (a lie) but I could go up and look and ask at the spa. It's on the 3rd floor, with ... read more