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Published: August 7th 2007
My final Cambodian travel experience was as disappointing as all the previous ones had been. I was refused the free pick-up included in the cost of the bus ticket to Ho Chi Minh City because the company claimed they didn't know where the guesthouse was - despite me giving them the name, address, and phone number. The supposedly aircon bus had the faintest breaths of air coming through the vents, and the toilet - near which I was seated - was almost constantly in use by the Chinese tour group who took it in turns to go in there to puke.
Taking my Cambodia blogs as a whole, it's probably apparent that I didn't really like the place. Leaving after a mere 2 weeks of my 30 day visa is another indication of that. Apart from the magnificence of Angkor, and the small insight I got into the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge regime, I left with no particular enlightenment about the country. And after the friendliness and general lack of pushiness I'd experienced in Thailand and Laos, Cambodia was an unexpected shock. It was with a mix of curiosity and suspicion that I entered Vietnam, a country not normally
listed in the top 150 most welcoming in the world.
The bus from Phnom Penh disgorged me onto De Tham street in Ho Chi Minh City, the Khao San-equivalent that's in the centre of everything. I was immediately struck by the crowdedness of the streets, with motorbikes everywhere - perhaps not so surprising given Vietnam's population being 15 times that of Cambodia. There didn't appear to be as many of the threesomes and foursomes I'd seen in previous countries, possibly indicating a little more wealth here. Mobile booksellers prowled the sidewalks and cafes, attempting to offload their photocopied Lonely Planets. Being an RG man myself, I attempted to track down the China edition but - as has been evident from all my travels so far - the RG series is not at all popular in this region so the market for bootleg copies has highly uncompetitive pricing.
Like in Cambodia, the US dollar is a parallel currency here with the dong generally convertible at 16,000:1 The dong banknotes are well-constructed, and I'd guess that whoever designed them was familiar with Australian bills.
I was struck down by another stomach bug that kept my city wanderings to a
Huey cannon
War Remnants Museumlow level. The War Remnants Museum, predominantly about the war with the US, fleshed out what I knew of the conflict. Outside were planes, helicopters, howitzers, etc that had been used in the war. Inside, the story was told mainly in photos, including a number of distressing ones of the effects of napalm, phosphorus, and Agent Orange. A more touching exhibit was about love during the war, consisting of items made and sent from one partner to another, letters written, etc.
On a vaguely related note, I received yet another e-mail informing me that someone I'd known in New York was either engaged or had married. That's 4 different people in 8 days. What a strange winter it must have been in the States.
While idly watching some Vietnamese TV, I noticed that foreign films are dubbed by one person for all characters. Thus some Steven Segal offering had the lead - and all the other members of the cast - voiced by a woman.
One obvious difference between Vietnam and the countries I've travelled in recently is that there's no Vietnamese script as such. The Roman alphabet is employed, with assorted accents to indicate the separate
tones that the Vietnamese language uses. This innovation was apparently introduced in the 17th century by Roman Catholic missionaries.
Though I didn't explore the city extensively, there are still many signs of Ho Chi Minh City's former existence as Saigon, capital of the French territory of Indochina and the last major city to fall to Ho Chi Minh's forces when the country was unified under Communist rule in 1975. The Reunification Palace was originally a colonial mansion, and the Ho Chi Minh Museum is housed in a French-designed building from the same era. And it's not hard to imagine that some of the sleazier bars in the backpacker ghetto have been plying their trade since US forces came here to let off steam.
Unfortunately Ho Chi Minh City provided me with no relief from the heat, as it was 35 degrees Centigrade for most of the time I was there. Since this weather completely sapped me of all energy, I abandoned my plans to visit the Mekong Delta and some floating markets, and instead opted to head north to Hoi An and hopefully cooler climes.
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Tom Sellwood
non-member comment
It all becomes clear...
You have only undertaken a massive trek across many continents through hardship, stomach ailments, loneliness and sunburn, written a continuous blog with many stunning photographs purely so you could create a page in Vietnam with that title. Finally, the truth is out. It was completely worth it. Kudos.