Cảm ơn Vietnam

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Ho chi Minh or Saigon to anyone other than tourists is the former capital of South Vietnam and now the biggest city in the country.
We arrived on reunification day, when back in 1975 Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese army. This therefore meant we were treated to an assault on our senses as we entered the city. I thought Hanoi had a lot of scooters but I have never seen so many squashed onto the streets as we did that night, I know it's a cliche but you really have to see it to believe it. I'm now convinced Vietnam has 90% of the worlds scooters. The best way I can describe it is, if you imagine everyone using public transport in London on a Monday morning and give them a scooter you get an idea of the motoring chaos that follows. Vietnam doesn't have an underground (other than the tunnels of Cu Chi, but we'll get to that in a minute) or any real public transport to speak of so everyone and I mean everyone (old grannies, 12 year old kids, men with no legs) has a scooter!

Saigon is a bustling city with thousands of accommodation options, so after one night in the hotel we had booked in advance that was over budget, we only had to walk 5 mins and found one to the same standard on budgy.
Along with scooters I think Vietnam is the counterfeit capital of the world so we wasted no time in stocking up on 'genuine fake' watches (family you know what your getting for Christmas this year)

One of the main tourist (domestic as well as international) attractions near Saigon are the tunnels of Cu Chi and anyone who knows their Vietnam war (or American war as the Vietnamese call it) history will have heard of them. The tunnels spread for over 200km and were used by the Viet Kong guerilla army to attack the invading Americans. The thing that makes them so remarkable is that it took the Americans years to realize the significance of the tunnels and the extent that they were used for. The tunnel complex included underground hospitals, living quarters, smokeless kitchens and numerous 'spider' holes the Vietnamese used to pop out of and shoot the Americans then disappear again before they knew what had happened. The Americans even had a base right on top of one for years and didn't realize. The tunnels you visit today have been widened for 'large' tourists but are still tiny. I could just get through in a very uncomfortable crouching crawl. Emilie managed to fit through one of the hidden entrances, but with the work I've been putting into my beer belly recently I didn't even try!

With only a day left on our 1 month visa and having finally mastered how to say thank you in Vietnamese we said Cảm ơn and goodbye to Vietnam and hello to Cambodia.

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Photos

The Presedential Palace
Where Saigon fell in 1975