Blogs from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 215

We ended up going to Saigon by plane after not the trains were all booked up and neither Cat nor I could face another mammoth bus journey so it was a very civilised 1.5 hour flight down to Saigon and whilst on the plane we met 2 english girls who were also travelling around the world together. We joined together to get a taxi into the centre and headed for the Pham Ngu Lao area which is a bit like the Khao San area of Bangkok but a little less developed. 2 of us went of to find a hotel leaving the other 2 in a cafe with our bags. We soon realised that all the hotles were very tall and narrow so we were going to have to have a least 4 flights of stairs ... read more

Fri 16th Fay wan't feeling well (not all due to hang over) so Becky and I rose at 7 to get our tour bus to the Cu Chi tunnels where the local Vietnames hid and lived in a series of tunels. (I just went to Petes blog to try to get a great informative description but he didn't visit!). The visit started with the usual bus stop at the local craft shop. Once we had arrived at the tunnels we watched a video which was increadably anti american, calling them all sorts- I cant remember the exact words but it made me say to becky did they really just say that? (There were a large number of Americans on our bus). Unfortunatly the video wasn't that clear and our guides pronunciation of English was incomprehensible so ... read more

As I was saying, yesterday Mom and I went to the museum of fine arts-they even have a Picasso!- and it was in the most beautiful old French colonial building. There was an elevator from the 20's and it still works great. There are a lot of "knock off" artists here. You can get a beautiful Monet or a portrait of yourself done in perfect oils. There are also Chanel, Prada, Chloe, North Face, Nike, and many other knock offs. We were offered a cute Prada bag in the market-real leather- for 15$ US. Speaking of money- 15,000 Dong to the US dollar. I exchanged some money, and the teller congratulated me on being a millionaire. And it was only 60 bucks!!! Tomorrow we are off to Nha Trang on the plane- a nice beach side ... read more

Throughout the following morning our companions all departed toward the airport or to meet with other groups they were traveling onward from Vietnam with. Lorenza and I took a last walk around the market and then waited for our contact from the Hospitality Club to pick us up from our hotel. If you have not heard of it, you should check out the Hospitality Club on the internet. If you love travelling and meeting other travellers it is a great organisation (and free). Take a look here ... Hospitality Club So, prior to leaving home we made contact with some people in Saigon, via the club, and organised to spend a few days staying with them at the end of our tour. They are a very nice couple, he an ex-pat American and his wife, who ... read more

so its been a good few days in saigon and the days they evaporate into a haze by the day. its almost surreal to find yourself encapsulated in a city on the hinges of urban living and globalization yet still very much buttressed by uncle ho and a history so rich. theres an enthralling allure to this city, emanating a certain lustre quite unlike the other cities we've been to. the streets are lined with the extensive array of pho, their national fare of choice and everyone's comfort food on any day, local made cigarettes that seems to tie a common seam amongst local and foreign, and their most celebrated iced coffee; of which they truly are masters of their craft. the cacophony of the cityscape is complete with the parks showcasing the throngs playing soccer, ... read more