Ho Chi Minh / Saigon (April 20-23, 2009)

---

We flew into SGN from Siem Reap mid-afternoon and tried to get a taxi to our hotel. This would normally be a straightforward process most anywhere else but not in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). As with most airports, only 'authorized' taxis are allowed to pick up customers but the problem is this enforcement was lackadaisical to say the least. So, as we approached the taxi line-up stand, you have all kinds of unsavory people approaching you looking like they want to sell you a fake Rolex but, instead, asking if you want a taxi. I've read stories about being ripped off in HCMC by private taxi drivers but the problem was most of the taxis you see near the taxi stand seemed not legitimate, so you have little choice but to take the risk. If you're planning a trip to Saigon, be forewarned.

We ended up settling for one of the illegitimate taxis and hoping not to be ripped off too much. Right away the tax driver tried to solicit more business by asking to be our tour guide for only $200 and he was complaining about traffic (as if a he was surprised there was traffic in HCMC!) hinting this will impact our fare. Despite repeated offers, we insisted to be taken to our hotel and that's it. When we got to the hotel, one of us ran into the hotel to get help and the concierge manager came out and talked to the taxi driver for some time before telling us that he "negotiated" $7 on our behalf.

This is my first time in Vietnam, so one thing that struck me off guard during the ride to the hotel was the number of motorbikes. There are literally thousands of them on the roads of HCMC, all fighting for every half inch of road and even on sidewalks. Road lanes are completely ignored and red lights at intersections sometimes seem to be suggestions only. The constant honking and cutting off of people/cars were widespread and accepted practice. Yet, in the 3 days we were there, we saw nary an accident; no fender bender and not one case driver road rage. It's chaotic but it works. Organized chaos exemplified.

One of the things we looked forward to before this trip was Vietnamese food. Food is one of the main reasons we visit any place and consumes (no pun intended!) a large chunk of our travel budget. We went to Pho 24 for lunch, which is a popular chain that was recommended by others. Though it was pretty good, it didn't knock us off our feet. In fact, we've had better Pho elsewhere outside Vietnam. For dinner, we went to Temple Club and Lemongrass, respectively, on our first 2 nights. Both were very good but nothing to write home about (except the spring rolls at Temple Club were fantastic!). On our 3rd and last night, we went to Quan An Ngon restaurant which, unlike Temple Club and Lemongrass, was frequented mainly by locals. The restaurant is mostly outdoors with open concept to "indoors." Air conditioning was accomplished through fine mists of water that were sprayed in front of large fans situated at various places throughout the restaurant, but they did very little to alleviate the 35C outside temperature. We asked for suggestions of chef specialties and asked what the young waitress liked and we were not disappointed. Overall, it was the most inexpensive, interesting and authentic of the 3 restaurants we went to for dinner. Definitely recommended if you want authentic Vietmanese food.

Our tour guide was procured through the official tourist visitor center we found near our hotel. We first toured Reunification Palace, a building that was the official residence of the government of South Vietnam during the American led war and the place where the Communist North Vietnamese forced the resignation of the South Vietnamese President. It's a large building (by Saigon standards during those days) supposedly built with American engineering marvel (per our tour guide). There are presidential rooms, dining rooms, war rooms complete with original maps, meeting rooms, press conference rooms, bedrooms for naps, library, kitchen, etc. Most everything there looks almost exactly as it appeared in the 60's and 70's, including, maps, telephones, desks, tables, chairs and building architecture typical of any government building in the US that was built during the same period. If you've ever watch any American TV rerun from the 60's and 70's, then you'll know what I'm talking about.

Another place we visited was the War Remnants Museum. This museum was about 6 rooms in multiple buildings filled with photos of the wars that Vietnam had fought. There are tanks, planes and other heavy artillery displayed but it's the photos and exhibits that is the heart of this place. The exhibits included torture chambers, relics and captioned photos that are arranged together to tell the stories. Hundreds of unforgettable photos of deformed bodies from Agent Orange chemical weapons, villages with women and children being torched by the enemy American soldiers or otherwise killed in some gruesome manner; quotes, for example, from an American General (obviously before he met defeat) about bombing Vietnam into the dark ages, etc. The perspective is definitely different than what you'll find in America.

Slightly out of town in the Củ Chi district of HCMC are the Củ Chi tunnels. These tunnels were used by Viet Cong guerrillas both as an underground network and hiding place and as a base for attacking American soldiers. The tunnels are quite narrow and not a place to be if you're claustrophobic or afraid of crawling insects like spiders and large centipedes. The entrances are small and, as our tour guide said, not fit for the American soldier. Those enemy soldiers that could go through would be met with death traps of which we saw many examples.

We also visited a few other places of interest such as the French built Post Office and our hotel was just about across from the Opera House but we did not go in. Of course we did some shopping as well. Overall, it's the sea of motorbikes ridden by people who all seemed to be in a hurry to get somewhere, is what I will remember most about HCMC.

---

Photos

Saigon Street
Motobikes everywhere! This photo was taken from the side window of a large van stopped at a stop light.

Saigon Street Vendor
Street vendors are everywhere selling anything and everything.

Saigon River
This picture taken from our hotel room