Ho Chi Minh City

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Brochure Text

Day 20-21: Drive to Danang for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City, the sprawling metropolis that once was the capital of South Vietnam and remains the country’s commercial center.

Visit the Thien Hau and Giac Vien pagodas and stroll through the immense Binh Tay Market. Continue the tour with a visit to Reunification Palace, the residence of the presidents of South Vietnam before 1975, Cholon (literally translated: Big Market) and the Chinese quarter.

Saturday 20th
Wake up at 6am to hear the noise outside, but decided couldn't be bothered to go and see the fish coming in, although it's supposed to be quite a sight, and snuggle back under the covers! 7am, alarm goes off, up shower, bowl of cereal, chat to Vittorio who has finally got his tux back around the right size (they made the jacket about 4 sizes too small!), and off to the show-shop. Get there 7.45 and it's open, but there's no one there for 15 mnutes, then get them. Red boots are better - they'll do the job - I wouldn't say they were much like the picture still, but for GBP20... Black boots quite tight round the toes, but he keeps saying leather will stretch... but stretches them a bit more. Finally, done - go for the jeans. Those will do the job fine, and back to the hotel for a second bit of Museli and a bit WHOLEMEAL toast! Into room to see if can fit boots in or if need to go to post office now... unbelievably they both fit in and I'm ready to fly - so come downstairs and use the free, but slow, internet in the Hotel. Hopefully find a faster internet soon to upload some pictures... Cambodia and Laos surprisingly have better internet than Vietnam! We're flying Air Vietnam about 1pm to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City...

So. Onto the bus, last drive through Hoi An as we head for Danang (International) airport. Uneventful journey (well, aside from the usual horns blaring and near-misses...) and we arrive at the airport and check in easily enough - no problems over anyone's bags which have increased in weight! Into the departure lounge which is just 4 large banks of seats, and 5 food/souvenier stalls.

We settle down, waiting for our 140 flight. 140 comes and goes although there's continual calls for names from our flight to go back to the check-in desk. About 2pm there's an announcement - first in Vietnamese, and judging by the yell from another group it's not good news. Then comes the English, flight now 245, oh well. Hear the announcement a second time and is to be more news at 245, no idea on flight time. As people munch their way through Pringles, Oreos, Mars Bars (truly international then!) every 'bing bong' seems to bring more delays or calls to the check-in counter. I think I hear 'u-bek-a looo-eeees' and head back out, but my ticket's OK so we find some entertainment in the form of 'Go Fish' card game (pre-school level game) and 'guess the name on your head'... I was the last to get mine.. Brad Pitt! We get 'lovely' sandwiches and some water whilst we're waiting. Flight due to board 530, another announcement ... Finally, nearly 7pm and we take off. Not sure whether I like the fact that 'pilot-cam' is on the TV so we get to see the runway and the city below us as we take off. Time to read the free magazine which is in Vietnamese and English, we get some more sandwiches and then land. Oliver and Nick are rushed off the flight as they are catching the 850 to Bangkok.. And even though they don't get their bags til 810 we hear they made their flight!

We pile out of the airport, where our luggage tickets are checked against our bags before we can head out into the melee of taxi drivers who all want our business! This is the city I was going to spend 6 months in... What will I think of it?! Onto a nice big bus, across the city as Kym fills us in on some info - takes a while to get through the traffic. We don't arrive at the hotel until nearly 9, by which time I'm definitely not hingry and I'm too tired to do anything but got to my SINGLE room, (do my washing, not an option not to) climb into bed and watch HBO... With water and pistachios from the mini-bar, which looks expensive, but...! Halfway through Superman Returns I fall asleep!


Sunday 21st
OK, this is it, our only full day in the city formally known as Ho Chi Minh City, but called Saigon by pretty much everyone. Wake up about 6am as the light comes through the curtains... Watch TV, shower, breakfast (good menu this time, including the holy grail of wholemeal bread!). 8am, ready for the bus to take us to Cu Chi Tunnels... Even those who got up for the 2am kick-off for the Rugby Final have made it! Just Danoushka, Chris and Lucy are not in the mood for Cu Chi.

No idea what our guide's name was, but he was tiny and full of random facts (those trying to doze after little sleep said too much!)... Note most shop addresses will give street names/the district/quarter you are in. The tall houses are bult to house the oldest generation on the lower floor, with the youngest at the top. Ground floor is business at the front and living at the back. He talked quite a lot about death rituals - dead bodies are put in a 'private house' (I couldn't see what he was pointing at) for 4 days where relatives sit with it and sprinkle white and gold paper for spiritual health and prosperity (I think). Meanwhile, we're fighting our way through traffic - the ubiquitous motos loads with multiple passengers (most Kym has seen is 6 on one moped) and used for everything from the shopping to delivery... In Hoi An I saw one go past with 3 larger than single mattresses strapped onto the back... Now that's a wide load!

1030 we arrive at the Cu Chi Tunnels. First stop (after the toilets - western, flushable and with paper - woo hoo - still stink though!) is a film. First couple of minutes we're all wondering if we can leave, but then it improves - yes, it's obviously propaganda (the peaceful Vietnamese villagers/the nasty GI's), but interesting. A short talk later, we follow our guide through a newly built tunnel which allows Vietnam's lucrative tourists to cross safely under the road. First stop, one of the real-size tunnel entrances, only for the very small. After some persuasion, Cassandra agrees to try - and fits in neatly. Her words: 'more spacious than I would have thought'. On past various other tunnels and entrances, bamboo traps, and past the photo opportunities of the dioramas and the American tank (where our guide rushed us on), then proceeds to explain some of the traps the Viet Cong used, before we go through a building where many of them are exhibited... Very nasty, very painful they look, and many literally were trapped in a cycle of pain. I'd rather have been shot instantly for sure! Through a hut demonstrating bomb making equipment, and onto the shooting range.

At the shooting range, we have the option to put down 100,000 Dong (about $6.3) for 5 bullets and have a go with an AK-47. Expensive but a bit of aunique opportunity so here goes nothing. No idea if hit the target or not - you're not told, and rather surprised by the rebound which hit me in the eye! 'Ear Mufflers' we ancient and pretty useles by this point! Getting away from the noise we move to the rice paper and rice wine making hut. The final stage of the rice paper is facinating... Taking the liquid, placing it in a hot covered griddle, rolling it off and onto a long bed of woven straw which is then dried in the sun.

Next is some tunnel digging exhibits, some large shoes and a B-52 bomb crater. THEN it's our opportunity to go into 30 metres of tunnel...bearing in mind that these are larger tunnels than the real ones they were quite tight, twisty and claustrophobic. Was glad it was only 30 metres - and some people put up with that for years, probably emerging to the sound of loud AK47 fire! Next stop, free tasting of sweetened green tea and cassava dipped in (we think) peanut, sugar and sesame seed. Surprisingly nice, quite potato'y. Past some American bombs, through the souvenier shops. The guys tried the snake wine and said it was just cheap alcohol which burned all the way down! I just took a photo of it as it was pretty colourful!

Back onto the bus, through the rubber tree plantations, and past more of the heavy duty graves. Our guide is silent now - job done so we just keep an eye out for photo ops... I'd just put my camera down when the perfect one came up - 5 on a moto at a junction... But Cassandra got it so hopefully she'll email it to me! Such pics are hard to get when moving!

So, we get back 1pm. Cyclo ride is 6pm, so - what to do. Have a local wander (we're near the Opera House), find the tourist info so now have a map. Head for the War Remnants Museum, passing a local Dutch-Vietnam exhibit, Notre Dame, and the Post Office on the way. Divided into 7 parts, it charts the dastardly deeds of the Americans in the Vietnam War. Lots of intersting exhibits and you could spend hours looking at the distressing photos (I'm more interested in HOW it's displayed than the individual items), and the examples of torture, but after 45 minutes I was ready for something else and headed for the Reunification Palace - which closes 4pm, so just as well. Half-hour in there was plenty - lots of quite bare state rooms, some good views from the upper floors, and lots of old technology in the basement.

Decide am going to see what the market holds, passing what I think is the courthouse on the way. The market is 'same same' as all the others - everything crammed in, many stall-holders wanting to sell 'for cheap'! Run into Cassandra in there who says there's a great supermarket on the way back to the hotel full of all kinds of international foods! So, after bargaining myself a new Adidas t-shirt for $7 (it's possibly real), head for there. Spend best part of an hour just marvelling at what's available before deciding that could get some decent chewing gum, some salt & vinegar Kettle Chips (only the 2nd time seen them in Asia), and some Granny Smith apples! Just back at the hotel in time to re-attach my trouser-legs and back out for the Cyclo ride. Cassandra is just back having taken a wrong turning and run into what she calls 'porn street'... Looked like hairdressing salons, but with no customers and scantily dressed female staff - who were labelled with name and number so that men can come and choose! We also say goodbye to Chris and hello to Rich and Carolyn from Vancouver, and Melissa and Christine from the States.

Our cyclists are all wearing a GAP T-shirt! The driver warns me to keep a tight hold on my camera/bag so a moto driver can't bag-snatch (notorious, according to all the guidebooks), and off we go. First stop, Notre Dame and the Post Office. Our guide from this morning is back and explains about archiecture, etc. And says that the Post Office is open 24-7... Probably because it offers phone calls, etc? Next stop the Reunification Palace, then through some quite 'arrrrrghghghgh' traffic to the Opera House. Getting back in we head for the Lemongrass Restaurant - Kym on her usual Moto.

The restaurant looks quite expensive and only have 300,000 Dong left... Helen says she's going to have the Beef Pho (pronounced fur, apparently), as she's not tried it yet, and the Vietnamese eat it all the time - breakfast, lunch and dinner sometimes as far as I can see. I'd planned to try it too and thought a decent looking restaurant was probably the best place to do so. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to eat it, but was nice enough... Beef, noodles, beansprouts, chilli, spring onion and various herbs & spices floating around. Halfway through a woman starts playing an unknown string instrument, which is quite pleasant. On the way out, 'Mind Your Head' has appeared as 'Pay Attention to Your Forehead'...

We cross the street, with help from the real life 'little green man', and make our way to rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel, where we order cocktails which cost the same as my dinner - but we get a nice skyline with it. I try a Saigon (as I'm in Saigon!)... Cognac, orange liquer, lemon and sugar. Goes down pretty well..., and then it's walk back to the hotel via the People's Building, where I sort my bags out, relax and somehow make my way through the S&V crisps! Asleep about 1230

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Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
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