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Published: April 18th 2009
I had made arrangements to have Jin, the tuk tuk driver, drive me to the airport. I think Jin was a little sad to see me go ... he said to me "when you come back to Cambodia?" When do I come back??? I haven't even finished this trip yet and truth be told I never in my wildest dreams ever thought that I would make it to Cambodia in the first place so ... one day at a time there Jin!
While waiting for my flight to board, I changed some of my US dollars for Vietnamese Dongs (which I pronounced exactly like Cam had shown me which only met with a blank stare ....). So I am a Vietnamese millionaire with my 1,580,000 Dongs ... sadly it's only $ 100!
The flight was again a small twin engine plane and there were only about 20 people on the flight itself, which meant that we quickly de-planed, went through customs and I quickly found the gentleman who was waiting for me holding this sign with my name on it. This was something that I had arranged through the hotel just so that I would not have to bother with taxis. Oddly enough, he looked like Michel Rivard, a well-known French-Canadian singer-songerwriter. He asked whether it was okay that we wait for another person who was arriving on a slightly later flight which meant that we had a bit of time to chit chat about food, Canada (his sister lives in Vancouver), snow, etc and which of course always leads to the "you getting married" ... am I getting married? Why you've got a friend you'd like for me to meet??? The other person's plane was delayed and so this driver pulled up and off I was into the depths of Saigon traffic! There are no words ...
My hotel is on a street nicknamed Minihotel Alley. It's actually a bit of a backpacker haven, which I normally stay away from but I'm not sure I even knew that when I booked the hotel. Now "Alley" means that a car cannot fit into it which therefore means that the car was met by somebody from the hotel and I was essentially dropped off at the corner. The young guy grabbed my suitcase and pointed across the street. No word of a lie the words "you want me to cross the street NOW" came out of my mouth! Before I was even able to basically finish that sentence, he slowly starts walking across the street as motos are swerving around him. I took a deep breath and did the same. I am here to type the story which means that I made it across the street!
Now how I managed to find the ugliest hotel room in all of Ho Chi Minh City is beyond me. I had read some reviews but I always tend to take those with a grain of salt ... that must have been one huge grain of salt that day. The photographer who took the photos is a genius to have made the rooms as nice as I thought they would be. Now I will say, it's clean, quiet, cheap, close to most of the things that I want to see, free wifi and very importantly safe ... all that I need so I'm actually not even complaining but I honestly fell onto the bed when I walked in and laughed out loud hysterically. Let me paint you a picture of the ecclectic decor ... curtains with a rose pattern, the bedspread is of a beautiful autumnal corn pattern, cuckoo clock, Gustav Klimt painting on the wall (my personal favorite mind you!), lamps that look like that they were stolen from a German restaurant and let's not forget the stuffed animals (a doggie and a bunny). There are also no elevators so I am going to take the climbing to the fifth floor as being part of the training for the Kilimanjaro trek with dad!!! And the hotel does have some standards ... you are not allowed to bring in toxics, weapons, explosives, prostitutes or pets ... and please don't leave the key in the keyhole!
So early to bed meant early start. I was out the door by about 6:30 am and I decided that I wanted to walk mostly. Having been carted around for most of my vacation I just wanted to be a little bit more independent. I headed towards this small park where I would find people doing tai chi, aerobics, jogging and playing badminton. Even at 6:30 am, the traffic is insane and I had to cross the street! My master plan of only visiting things on one side of the street would not really be feasible in the end! First stop of the day was at Pho 24 for ... well ... pho! I have never been so excited to eat soup!! So I had the mini size pho with beef (and just for Jessica ... it was rare beef!!) and a coffee (and of course I caved when he asked if I wanted milk ... yes pour the whole damn can please!!!) Heaven ... sheer pho heaven! I have to ask Cam what the word for the bill is because when I did the international sign for "can I get the bill" (Anik that would be la cuenta for you!) I am sure that he said "you want sex" ... I may have misunderstood, he had a bit of accent! Expensive breakfast ... 50,000 dongs!
I then walked to the Marriaman Hindu Temple. I had seen this type of temple in Bangkok and was quite blown away by it so I was looking forward to seeing this one here in HCMC. The temple was definitely smaller than the one in Bangkok and a little bit more garish (or dayglo might be a good word for it!) but interesting nonetheless.
From there I would walk to the People's Committee Building, the former Hotel de Ville built in the early 1900's. This is one of the most photographed buildings in HCMC. From there, it is just a short walk to the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City. This is not something that I had planned on going to visit but decided to go in anyways. My knowledge of any history is lacking so Vietnam is of course no exception. I of course read up a little before coming here but my focus was definitely more on Cambodia. The exhibits were interesting in that it touched many facets of life like the different trades, music, wedding traditions as well as showing the evolution of the city itself through maps and historical photographs. There were a number of photos that showed what it looked like then and now. The building itself is quite stunning and dates back to 1886 and was formerly known as the Gia Long Palace. The visit even takes you to the basement where there are a number of bunkers; some corridors apparently branching as far out as the Reunification Palace which is just a little farther down the street. Outside there are also a number of tanks, planes, helicopters, cars and even a jet used by a South Vietnamese pilot to bomb the Reunification Palace in April of 1975. This also seems to be a popular spot for wedding photos; counting no less than three couples having photos done (I may be in the background of one of them ... well the sign said to go down that way so that way I went ... ooops ... oh we lauuuuughed!)
I then made my way down to the Reunification Palace. At this point, I was getting constantly asked whether I wanted a moto ... not if my life depended on it! One guy said to me "oh very safe ... you see they ALL go very slow" ... okay I see that but there are like four million of them and can I just add that there are no rules about riding on the sidewalks either!! Then this one man flagged me down and was practically running after me ... in the end, he wanted to know where I bought my scarf. He wanted to get one for his mom. I told him in Cambodia and he wanted to buy it from me! Mmmm sorry no go!!
Again, my history knowledge is sorely lacking so I will apologize right now in case I explain this incorrectly ... the Reunification Palace was the central figure to the end of the Vietnam War when in April 1975 North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the iron gates, a soldier ran up to unfurl the VC flag and General Duong Van Minh surrendered. The Republic of Vietnam at that time ceased to exist. The building itself has essentially been left untouched and it was actually quite fascinating to walk through this building knowing that it had played such a pivotal role in this country's past and in changing its landscape into the future. There are rooms upon rooms that you can visit including meeting rooms, games rooms and even a cinema. The incredible part for me though was the fact that the tour took you down to the basement through tunnels, war rooms, telecommunication rooms and the like. The building itself is actually quite modern, having been completed in 1966 (the previous building having been bombed due to a lack in popularity of its resident, President Diem ... he was eventually murdered by his own troops!)
I stopped in at Everything is Bun for a quick lunch of ... well ... bun! Mmmmm vermicelli, grilled pork, spring rolls and oh yes Vietnamese coffee ...mmmmm. Man I love Vietnamese food!!! And I don't know why but I find it very amusing when I hear tacky songs being played in a foreign country (I know it truly doesn't take much!) I think that it's because I find it hard to believe that the appeal of whatever song is truly worldwide. So as I ate my ever so delicious bowl of vermicelli, I was softly serenaded by Crystal Gayle Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue!!
So after a quick stop at the Notre Dame Cathedral and the main post office (reminiscent of something out of an old movie!), I hopped in a cab (did I mention that it was 35C with 56% humidity???) to head off to the War Remnants Museum, which is filled with stunning photographs and stories from the war. There are beautiful photo displays taken by photojournalists; many killed during the war. There is a display just on the effects of chemical weaponry including deformities of which there are some pretty graphic photos and statements such as the fact that during 1961 to 1971 toxic rains continuously fell on Central and South Vietnam essentially destroying any clean water, killing forests and much more. There are facts about Agent Orange which is said to be the most harmful chemical ever discovered by mankind to date and that with 85 grams could kill a city of 8 million. Again, a pretty sobering exhibit but as with anything there is always that little bit that makes you smile. Once you had passed through that particular section, you then went into a room filled with artwork made by children of different ages each identified with their names, age and medium used. I had to smile when some of them said that the medium was "crayon".
And so ended the day ... back in the ugliest hotel room known to man, sipping a Saigon beer in air conditioned comfort. This travelling is starting to show ... I look like Rudolph because of the sunburn on my nose, my feet are in dire need of some serious pedicure action and I have not had one good hair day since leaving Canada (damn you humidity!)
Oh and Cam ... I saw hats, lots of hats ... the hats are everywhere!!!
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Francine
non-member comment
Glad you made it across the street:) And nice to read you are in a hotel with standards:) And yes, "Don't make my brown eyes blue" is perfect background music while having vermicelli in Vietnam:) Keep having fun. And know that all is well here in beautiful Ottawa...except poor Oscar hurt his back:(