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Published: July 19th 2011
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Arty Shot!
"Organised Pandemonium" - An example of Luce's artistic flair! Hello again everyone!
It has been a while since we have blogged on here, but after our recent holiday to Vietnam we wanted to blog on here so people can read about our experience in a fairly "young" country, but one with a very famous history.
We decided that we both wanted a holiday where we could get some sun, culture and somewhere Luce and I hadn't been before. When we looked at the places we could go due to the weather at the time of year we wanted to go it came down to a few places in Asia and Vietnam was the place that we hadn't visited on our travels round Asia.
As this was a holiday and not an extended jaunt round we wanted to make sure that we didn't do too much travelling around and miss out on the whole point of a holiday - which is to relax on a beach or by a pool with a cold beer or cocktail......
We decided on seeing Ho Chi Minh City(HCMC), followed by some relaxing and diving in Nha Trang and then a few more days in HCMC before a few days in Bangkok for my
birthday before flying back to the UK and back to work.
After the long flight out to SE Asia, we had a quick one night stop in Bangkok as we had to the next day before we could get a connection to HCMC. Once we landed in HCMC we jumped in a taxi which then took us towards District 1 of HCMC and our hotel. As soon as we had left the airport the assault on your senses begins. We were both shocked at the sheer amount of moped traffic that we were soon surrounded by and swept along in. The moped traffic in HCMC was like a rapid torrent of water, anything that joins it gets swept along for the ride in a blur of beeping horns, exhaust smoke, stacks of goods of all shapes and sizes and a cacophony of sound which is to difficult to make out exactly what it is or where it all comes from!!
We very quickly noticed that all traffic rules do not seem to apply in Vietnam, Zebra crossings are merely decorative paint work for the tarmac jungle which is HCMC, Traffic lights are only meant to be listened to
for a little while and if it is still counting down to when it is your turn to go then you may as well go anyway but do not forget to beep your personalized horn as often and as loud as possible! It is a common site to see push bikes pedaling in the opposite direction as oncoming traffic, weaving between the buses, cars and sea of mopeds.
The most amazing thing about witnessing this organised chaos that is Vietnam's road and traffic systems, is that everyone on the road seems to be able to avoid, dodge, duck, weave, swerve or get out the way of each other without causing to many accidents! It really is staggering how there are not more accidents in HCMC ( i am sure there a fair few but we didn't see any whilst we were there).
Our time in HCMC was spent wandering around the streets, taking in the smells, sounds and sights, mixed in with some bartering in Benh Tahn Market, which is a huge market that sells just about everything you could ever imagine and it is all under one roof, it is a bustling place full of locals and tourists
alike, it even comes with its own food court which if i am honest had its own "distinct" aroma which no local seemed to notice!
We also took in a few cultural sites in HCMC over our 2 stays there, starting with the reunification palace which was a very impressive building in itself but also the site of the surrender of the South Vietnamese President during the Vietnam-American War. As we walked around the palace learning about the historical Significance of where we were standing it made it much easier to "see" the tanks rolling up the avenue leading to the palace, how it would have felt to be in the building knowing that the enemy were about to win a war that should probably never of happened in the first place.
It is easy to still see bitterness in some of the South Vietnamese towards the war as in the end they were the ones who lost the most, both in lives and also in the aftermath, they had to stay in their own country and be looked down upon and victimized, while the west moved on with its own way of life.
The second museum
we visited was the War remnants museum which had a vast collection of weapons of war as well as some very graphic and moving visions of the past and all done in it's own perspective. Even the guides that can take you round the museum say that the exhibit is biased against the Americans and South Vietnamese. We would both recommend a visit here as it is worth seeing even if it is slightly disturbing in some of the exhibits.
***Please note that anyone travelling to see the attractions in HCMC please be aware of Taxi Scams outside the front of the main tourist attractions, the meters are all fixed so rack up quicker and also watch what money that you pay with as some will try and swap it in their hands to make you pay more***
The Food and drink in Vietnam was all fantastic, i definitely recommend people trying as much as they can especially as it is very cheap by western standards. Luce and I were eating BBQ food cooked by ourselves at our table washed down with a few beers and a few waters each and it would only come to £8
which is ridiculous! We also went for drinks at the Sheraton hotel which has lovely views of HCMC (unfortunately we went on an overcast day so didn't get to see the whole experience!) and also the rooftop of the Rex Hotel which is where the news correspondents used to transmit their reports from during the War.
Ok so that Pretty much sums up our time in HCMC - We would definitely go back again it was safe ( not including the traffic...) the people were friendly, the Vietnamese obviously take pride in their plants/ green areas as the ones around the city were all immaculately kept and in very good condition considering the 98% humidity and 30 degree heat, and obviously the food and drink was fantastic!
I will post a blog about our time in Nha Trang separately or i think some people reading this will think they are reading an essay!!!
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