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Published: June 12th 2014
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We arrived into Ho Chi Minh in true style… we definitely weren't used to airports by this stage of the trip! We stayed in a great little guesthouse called 4 Boys (the old lady owner has 4 boys), and could walk to heaps of the attractions in Ho Chi Minh. The southern Vietnamese still call it Saigon which was the city's name prior to liberation by the north at the end of the war. The food is slightly different and so are the people in comparison to the north but they are still very proud of their country. The city is the business centre of Vietnam (Hanoi is the government and departments centre as it is the capital) and is really flourishing. In the centre of the city you could be mistaken for thinking that it was Sydney with tall buildings shadowing thin busy streets. There are many foreigners and locals suited up for work walking around talking loudly on phones and holding business meetings at fashionable french restaurants. But luckily for us, only a block or 2 from the business centre everything is back to its local chaos of street vendors and markets.
Our hotel was situated down a
busy walking-only alleyway (regularly frequented by motorbikes also). About a metre in front of our hotel was a beauty salon and in each direction down the alley there were little food stalls. A 50m walk south through the alley popped us out on the backpacker street with cheap beers, food and backpackers. It was easy enough to sit down for a cold beer or thrice on this street but far more interesting only a block or so away where the falang (tourists) seemed to peter out and local stall owners in food markets take no notice of you staring at their weird produce. Saigon was our final 'developing' country stop before heading home via Singapore so we tried to chow down on many of the local specialties including pate baguettes, sea snails, beef stew and mantis shrimp. Its a really fun and happening city. There is any western luxury that you could desire but a vibrant culture of boutique local eateries and shops is also evident as the local populace becomes more affluent. Did I mention how good the food is?
If you are interested in checking out Vietnam and want to find out about what the local food
is and where to get it check out http://www.travelfish.org/blogs/vietnam/category/saigon/food-saigon/
With our few days in Saigon we visited a fantastic suit tailor at Phan's Collection and I had a good quality suit made to fit. I was more confident with the quality of the materials and workmanship than I was with the tailors in Hoi An and the final product was great. I would be confident gambling all my belongings over a hand of blackjack wearing a suit like that. Meg also got a few spa treatments because they were very cheap and also across the path from our hotel. We did visit a tourist attraction in Saigon so our stay wasn't completely commercial. We went to the War Remnants museum which was a very sombre experience. It basically depicts the history of Vietnam's recent wars but focuses mainly on the American war. It has several storeys of differently themed rooms which detail different facets of the war including before, during and after. The most horrifying room is the Agent Orange one in which there are actually deformed foetuses glassed up for public viewing.
We also organised an overnight tour into the Mekong Delta. The delta is a huge
area and our tour began with a 3 hour bus to the beginning of our boat trip into the delta. It was a pretty randomly organised tour but was worth it to see the extent of the delta. We visited some of the local industries which make a pretty penny off docile tourists. Big industries that we visited included coconut processing (for milk and sweets), honey manufacture and rice. We also watched some poisonously ear piercing local singing and I don't think my ears will ever be the same again. That evening in the regional delta city of Can Tho we went out for drinks and dinner to celebrate a fellow travellers birthday. We tried river snake (terrible) and palm rat (delicious) and then washed it all down with beer and gin at a rooftop bar. We didn't even get sick. The following day we saw the biggest floating markets of the mekong delta which are for wholesale vegetable sales. The farmers sell it to the boat markets, that sell it to the city merchants, that sell it to the city market stalls, that sell it to the restaurants. After a delicious and cheap lunch in an air conditioned restaurant
we saddled up and made it back to Saigon.
We were sad to leave Vietnam. Its a great country that has everything a tourist could want: big city and rural countryside, great food and beer, mountains and beach, historical sites and natural sites, friendly locals and no rabid dogs, and its also pretty clean. We would highly recommend it to anyone as it can be perfectly suited to the the intrepid traveller and also the luxury tour. We flew to Singapore on Saturday 24/5/14.
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