Blogs from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 212

Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City as it is now known, proved to be a great city for us as we had a very enjoyable 3 days here. On the history side of things we have visited the Cu Chi Tunnels and the War Remnants Museum. The Ch Chi Tunnels was very interesting and something I had been looking forward to ever since our round the world trip had been planned. Having researched the tunnels in the past it was great to actually be here and see how ingenious the Vietnamese really were. The tunnel network became legendary during the 1960's, for its use by the Viet Cong. The tunnel system stretches from Saigon to the Cambodian border, and there was over 250km of tunnels. To think that they lived in these tunnels for weeks, ... read more

11th Entry..... We caught a nice little Pacific Airlines flight (the Ryan Air of Vietnam) from Da Nang to Saigon (for $US35 !), another 60 minute journey. Again easy to book on-line, lovely staff and we actually had jet engines this time...hey, hey. We have already blogged about Saigon so not too much to write. We decided to save the Mekong Delta till when we come back to Vietnam. We were a bit tired by then and after the Ha Long bay overnight trip we decided that to justify visiting these lovely spots we reckon that one would benefit from spending 2 or 3 nights in each place, at least. During the 2 day/1 overnight trips a lot of the time is spent travelling to get there, which if you are staying for a while is ... read more

Vietnam has turned out to be so different than what I thought. I came to Vietnam with this vague idea of discovering where I came from. Where my parents lived, where they met and courted, where they got married, where I was born, where I was nurtured. That Vietnam, for the most part, is gone. The apartment my parents first lived in has been razed. The houses my grandparents and my uncle lived are basically crumbling structures. Even most of the streets have been renamed. But discovering where I come from is so much more than just the physical places that I thought I wanted to see. What I've discovered is a whole new extended family I never knew. My journey to Vietnam is as much, if not more, about these people as it is about ... read more

Local Colour & a Great History Quiet breathing all around me, faces concentrated and involved on a level I’ve never seen before, eyes on the verge tears signaled by strong and uncontrolled emotion at the historic sights held within the Saigon War Remnants Museum………. This was the sight of people all around me, and as I viewed the photos in the museum myself I couldn’t help but wonder if many others shared the same uneasy feeling from there stomachs up to their chests. The museum here in Saigon was very different than the northern Hanoi museum, and the pictures were extremely graphic. They depicted war crimes such as; Agent Orange chemical birth defects, horrific Napalm burns, and Children who would not get a chance to grow past puberty. The pictures also captured the results of ... read more

Moving, again Our package with Holiday Tour and Travel was for four nights, so today we have to get a hotel of our own. We had (mistakenly) pre-booked a hotel when we bought the Vietnam package. Boy, we must really have been feeling lazy in Melbourne. I can’t blame us… after the whirlwind that was Match Day and the Move, I think we just wanted Vietnam handed to us on a platter. Maybe now that we’ve rested and been taken care of in Manila, we’re more apt to do more on our own like we usually do. This morning, someone from Holiday will help us move our stuff to the Saigon Oscar Hotel, which is where we were supposed to stay the past few nights, except the tour company said the hotel was booked. We’re not ... read more