Ho chi mihn city (Saigon)

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Arrived in the capital of Vietnam expecting worse traffic and people than Hanoi but was pleasantly suprised. The people were again easy going and as soon as we were away from the bus station, we were trouble free. We spent the first day walking around the city to get a real feel for the place, like we did with Hanoi. This took us nearly 9 hours to do but saw some pretty interesting stuff which had changed our opinions on Vietnam & also America by the time we got back to our hostel, down some dodgy back street!!

Ho Chi Mihn is a great place, a massive city and the people are incredibly friendly like the rest of Vietnam. The food is also great, bikes everywhere again and rush hour makes london look like a kitten, its mental how busy this place is between 4-8. The weather was in its mid 30's during the day with palm trees flying all over the place, all very sureal.

We spent the first part of the day walking around the central cathedral, the old library and a couple of other attractions. (obviously got lost whilst trying to find these places and loked like right tourists holding our map stopping every 5 minutes!) These were great and took some quality pics but were easily completed in a matter of minutes. After this we took a walk to the other end of town to see the war museum, which I can say was pretty heavy to take in throughout. This museum was all about the 'American war' as the Vietnamese call it or 'Nam' as westerners would refer. What happened when North Vietnam invaded south (they used to be split) and the Americans getting involved supporting the south and pushing the 'Viet Cong' back up north by bombing specific food lines, bridges, artilliary etc. The war went on for 17 years in total and there are still repercussions now in Vietnam and also America. Agent orange was a toxin that the americans used to bomb Vietnam with, the toxin was called Dioxin which disables people when they come into contact, this is passed down generation by generation. As you can imagine, the pictures, stories and whole atmosphere of the museum was hard to bare, and put lumps in all tourists throats.

One thing that hit me was a letter from Barack Obama to his daughters explaining, that everyone is born with the same oppertunities & choices in life, to become anything you wish with endless possibilities. A vietnamese gentleman in his 20's read this, he was a victim of agent orange and had lost both legs and one arm. Although heavily disabled he wanted to become a doctor to help his small village and their victims, affected by the war. Some way into his degree he was told that, due to his disabilities, he would never be able to fulfil his dream of just simply helping others by becoming a doctor. He had been bought onto this earth disabled, his parents had eaten crops from affected dioxin fields in the 70's after american bombing, this passes through generations and is still affecting people in Vietnam, also a small number of Americans too. All this man wanted to show is that life isn't so simple, your dreams can sometimes be shattered however much you try to reach them, especially for his countrymen and women. The Vietnamese are still awaiting compensation or help from the USA, he added.

After the museum, we slowly walked home relecting on what we had just witnessed...it was a sorry occasion. By the time we got back after an hours getting lost, we were starving so sat down at some street vender. In the 30 minutes we were sitting here, we got asked 30 times if we would like either, some glasses, books or fruit, in any other scenario we would probably tell them to 'do one' but we politley declined this barrage each time. Its hard work trying to eat and talk at the same time!

That night we went out and found a decent place called buffalo (never go upstairs and get buckets!!) and we stayed playing pool and requesting songs all night long. I played a local man (in his early 40's) at pool and completley wiped the floor with him. After the black went in he came over and shook my hand, then gestured for me to kiss him....!!! Errr no cheers crazy pool man, so I legged it off across the street to this bar which some mad lady owned, we named her Jo, she wasnt much better at controlling herself, but at least she was a lady, I think? She could not stop touching us all - Big pervert! We only stayed cos she served the strongest rum and cokes in town 'just for us' she kept saying. The kids around this bar were horrible, all the way through Vietnam you will see children from the age of 3, 4, upto early 20's working on the streets trying to sell you sh1t you just don't want. These kids, even the 4 year olds are little brats. If you dont buy, you get slapped, literally. This happens to ALL tourists. In one night I got slapped around the back of the head, pinched on the tricep (hurts!), kicked in the shin and told to F off!! I dont know where their parents are, I have to say it is still funny seeing it to other tourists though, just not so when its us.

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