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Side street accomodation
always a motorbike wherever you look It feels good to arrive in a new country, go to the ATM and become instant millionaires. The only downside was that we were dealing in Vietnamese Dong and there are 28,000 of them to the pound. Nonetheless, being millionaires felt nice and helped with the inflated room rates in comparison to Thailand. In Saigon the going rate for a half decent room was around $10-$20, which is a lot of Dong, but with that you get air conditioning, beds that don't break your back and in some cases a swimming pool. So we were quite pleased when we checked in to Lien Ha Hotel in the heart of Saigon to find all of the above were true.
The city was busy with motorbikes whizzing around at all angles, turning a blind eye to any traffic lights. It was enough to just sit and watch them all go by without crashing as they effortlessly manipulated their path to dodge pedestrians.
Despite the frantic nature of the traffic the city felt relaxed and the beer was remarkably cheap. One glass of the irrepressible Bia Hoi (fresh draught beer served straight from the keg) cost 3,000 Dong which roughly converts to
11 English pennies. I had a feeling I would like this country!
I was still doing the sums the next day as to how many beers you could have for a pound and whether it was officially the cheapest beer on our travels yet (we have a list). Although not the strongest it was
most certainly the cheapest. The beer is made without preservatives and so has a short shelf life but at 3,000 Dong a glass this is not a problem. Vietnam is certainly not a place for recovering alcoholics.
As well as 'We Sell Bia Hoi' signs, Saigon has some beautiful sights and we decided to walk around most of them in a day. The old city streets and many of it's buildings have a French colonial style that give it a warm familiarity and charm. We had a cultured day visiting the Opera House, L'Hotel de Ville, Ben Thanh Market and the Fine Arts Museum. It was indeed an art in itself getting across some of the moto-clad streets but made getting there more rewarding. The French also influenced our lunch with baguette and cheese bought from the local boulangerie and enjoyed in the park
where old couples played badminton.
Tres Jolie!
Of course Hoh Chi Minh was also present in statue form around the city. The head of the communist party and leader of the fight for an independent Vietnam is highly regarded here even though the locals still call their city Saigon. Indeed the city seems to have modernised a great deal since it was renamed, both in terms of wealth and the psyche of the people. As one friendly man told us "ten years ago Saigon was not safe" but now there is less crime and tourists our warmly received.
Saigon is a mixture of the old and the new but without being one or the other. The scattering of parks between old churches and new hotels add depth to a vibrant yet casual place where you can have Lao Cau (noodles with fresh herb and barbecued pork) at a street stall or Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) at a restaurant that Bill Clinton, among others, has frequented.
A new city and a new country was all very exciting and we were looking forward to more of Vietnam as we boarded our train up the coast to Mui Ne.
With with good food, interesting places and Bia Hoi what more could you want.
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