Saigon

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Arrived safe and sound and met up with my friends Jo and Tess (who I am travelling with for the first three weeks of my 12 month adventure) at the immigration queue in Bangkok which was a rather surreal experience, made even more so by 20 hours of travelling!!

We only stayed one night in Bangkok (just like the song!) and then flew to Ho Chi Minh on Wednesday, although most of the locals still refer to it as Saigon and will correct you if you call it HCM. It is an amazing place, however the first time you come into contact with Vietmanese driving is possibly the most scariest experience you will ever have. The traffic rules are that there are no rules! Scooters, mopeds and motorbikes are king of the roads and there are millions of them! Not dissimiliar to several schools of fish in that there are thousands of them all going in different directions but yet never seem to collide!

We have witnessed three roads of a crossroad all crossing each other and there being no sense of panic about it...and at roundabouts NO ONE STOPS....This can make being a pedestrian in the city somewhat terrifying. Even when on a zebra crossing they do not stop. Last night we crossed the road and checked in all three directons, began to cross and then got mowed down by someone on a push bike coming from a fourth road!When coming to Saigon it is advisable to check out the restaurants/attractions on the same side of the road as your hotel as it is quite likely you may never make it to the other side!

We also took out life into our own hands and got a cyclo yesterday...not too disimiliar to a Rickshaw but less protection!! As the Lonely Planet puts it..'just when you think you are about to die, your cyclo driver manages to magic up a space in the road which you had not considered'. Pure comedy/white knuckle ride. Cyclos are probably best avoided however as to put it mildly ours ripped us off...They may smile at you and pull you in further by eagerly showing you (in a 'this is your life stylie') book of letters from people that have had great rides so to speak... i.e. John from Basingstoke writes..'Dear Thong (our mans name)...thank you so much for our trip around Saigon....' you get the picture..BE WARNED: these men are smiling assassins....

Anyway enough about traffic......

We went to the War Remnants Museum yesterday which was really good but rather biased towards the vietmanese perspective to say the least.. apparently locally it gets referred to as the Museum of American Warcrimes so that pretty much says it all..It was really informative and humbling though and further proof if it were needed that the Vietnam war was totally senseless.

My highlight was going the top of The Rex Hotel where there is a roof garden bar. This was where all the journalists got briefed by the American Military at the end of the day concerning the days events. Amazing from a nostalgic and historic point of view and as a bonus you get lovely night city views...

A trip to HCM is incomplete without a trip down the Mekong River. We had stop offs at local vietnamese places which unfortunately were a bit too geared towards the tourist trail, which is probably unavoidable.. but by the time we got caught out in a tropical storm and were literally drenched through from head to toe we felt we had had an authentic experience!! The rain was RELENTLESS!!

A trip to Cu Chi Tunnels is obviously a must too..where the Viet Cong burrowed themselves deep underground and away from American attack..Within the maze of tunnels there were meeting rooms, dorms, kitchens and even make shift hospitals. Living conditions for these people would have been horrendous and you only get a tiny taste of the conditions by going down underground yourself:be warned though this is not for the claustrophobic. The one thing that hits you is the temperature in the tunnels..apparently come the afternoon when the heat was at its most intense, inhabitants of the tunnels would have to lie down in order to get enough oxygen to breathe.

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Photos

I Don't Feel Like Chicken Tonight
If you want meat I have found the safest option by far is Pork.

Me, Jo and Tess on the Mekong
Smiling through the rain..