Blogs from Ho Chi Minh City, Southeast, Vietnam, Asia - page 224

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Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 15th 2007

Sunday was a whole day of coach travel! A return from Kampot to Phnom Penh 7am - 12midday, and then a further coach to Vietnam's capital, Ho Chi Minh City (13.00 - 20.00). We checked into Madame Cuc's hotel No 127. We took a twin room with en-suite, t.v and air-con for $16 a night, after the journey we needed the comforts! H collapsed into bed straight away and I was starved so went over the road to reception where I was given 6 mini spring rolls and a chicken super noodles type soup (included in the room price, as was breakfast). Both went down extremely well after only eating a packet of crisps all day!!I hit the sack soon after that. Monday we checked out the main sights in HCMC: the Notre Dam Cathedral; Post ... read more
Notre Dam Cathedral
Office in the bunker of the Palace
President's Car

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 15th 2007

After the beautiful but cold northern part of Vietnam we went looking for some better weather down south. You can buy the 'open tour' ticket to go all the way to Saigon (officially called Ho Chi Minh City since 1975) for 25USD and make a couple of stops on the way. Our first stop was Hue, the former emperial capital. There's an old citadel here and we visited the tombs of the Emperor Tu Duc. Hue is also the showcase of a sad part of the Vietnamese history: because of its location at the border between south and north Vietnam it was part of the battleground in the Vietnam war. You can visit the demilitarized zone and the tunnels used as a shelter for the vietnamese people. Next up was Hoi An, an nice little town ... read more
It rained a lot in Hue
River around the citadel in Hue
Tombs of Tu Duc

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 15th 2007

We are now in Ho Chi Minh City which is Crazier than Hanoi. It is much bigger but doesnt have the nice atomsphere that Hanoi has. In fact i am not sure i like it here very much. It is a very busy and extremely smelly city. There are still numerous cafes opertating on the streets. There is no where for us pedestrians to walk, so we end up dodging the traffic in the road! The markets are good here and i have already bought a pair of gucci sunglassses (Of course they are real!!) and a sun hat as it is also really sunny here! We went to see the cathedral which didnt have any stained glass in the windows as it was blown out in the war. Now we leave vietnam (sadly) and head ... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 14th 2007

Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is as busy as any other Southeast Asian city I've visited, with the addition of more drivers.I can now officially say that the drivers here are crazy! There are millions of motorbikes in this town and they crawl through the streets in swarms, though I’ve yet to see an accident of any kind. They’re extremely efficient and smart drivers, and although they’re system seems totally out of control, it flows like clockwork. I’m not sure if I could handle driving over here though… We found a nice hotel with 2 cheap rooms (We’re still traveling with Erin and Koren) and had a few lazy days exploring the sights and enjoying the unique Vietnamese culture. We started by making a trip to the grocery store where we found the cheapest liquor ever. ... read more
Tunnel Entrance
Immobilized
It's a Trap!

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 12th 2007

Despite some of the scams in the Kingdom of Cambodia I have to say that the people were really nice and that I wish I had spent more time there. For some reason everyone says that there are no ATMs (while hard to find, there are actually ATMs) and so we had prepared ourselves to only spend a brief amount of time in the country. Thus the only scheduled stop after our brief visit at Siem Reap was Phnom Penh, capital of Cambodia and where we planned to get our vietnamese visas, shoot some guns and learn about the genocide that took place not so long ago. The bus ride to the capital was short and a hell of a lot more pleasent than our previous ride in Cambodia. I think it was also one of ... read more
They tried to rip us off.
Saigon
Sunset

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 11th 2007

Vietnamiin saapumista mietittiin ja sumplittiin pitkaan, silla alkuperainen suunnitelmamme menna Vietnamista viela Laosiin ja pohjois-Thaimaaseen, ei nykytiedon mukaan onnistunutkaan niin kuin olimme suunnitelleet. Kyyneleet (Hannulta lahinna) kuivaten paadyimme omistamaan loppumatkamme Vietnamin ihmeille ja nauttia rauhallisemmasta kulkutahdista viimeiset viikot. Matka Kambodzean puolelta Vietnamin rajalle taittui suhteellisen mukavasti bussilla ja veneella. Paasimme nain maistamaan Mekong-joen uomien nahtavyyksia, joita riittikin silman kantamattomiin! Paalujen varaan joen paalle rakennettuja kalastajakylia, riisipeltoja ja kalastajia paateissaan. Bonuksena matkalippuihimme kuului hyvaa englantia puhuva matkaopas, jonka kertomuksista ja selostuksesta saimme paljon uutta tietoa. Vietimme ensimmaisen yon pienessa rajakaupungissa nimelta Chau Doc ja kavelimme sita ympariinsa kamer... read more
Kalaverkkoja lahella Chau Docia
Vanha herrasmies valkoisissa
Armeijan lisäbisnes...

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 9th 2007

Hi! As the internet cafe we are sitting in here has a very slow connection, you have to wait for the photos of hongkong and Ho Chi Minh City - sorry. As my lovely wife suffers from a bad stomach today, we had to postpone our Mekong Delta Tour, which should have started this morning, to tomorrow. But now there is time to write a new entry. On the 5th of January in the evening we took the plane from Hongkong to HCMC. Immigration was easy, and the taxi ordered by our wonderful hotel staff was already waiting. Dressed in long sleeves we were struck by very warm, very humid weather. And thousands of thousands of motorbikes driving without rules instead of cars were new for us. At 1 am we were in bed. The next ... read more
HCMC street scene
fresh meat

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 9th 2007

For Christmas and New Year; I spent my time in Vietnam and Thailand. I loved the getaway from school since I've long been missing these places. It was nice to put schoolwork behind joy and excitement for a change, felt tranquil and happy, became even more united with my father and nature. The holiday made me felt like I really belonged. When we met familiar faces from the past, they greeted us with warm welcomes and kindness. . In Saigon, Vietnam, my favorite places to visit again must’ve been Cho(means market) Ben Thanh, and Allez Boo, a pub. I've spent a lot of time in these places or the places around them in my early childhood, so it was a lot of nostalgia. Ben Thanh is extremely crowded and rather small, but I love going ... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 8th 2007

Good Morning! We are just killing some time at Saigon Airport waiting to catch our 4th plane of our trip to Cambodia, we are going to Phomn Pen (not how you spell it I know!) to see S21 & the Killing Fields. We imagine itis going to be a harrowing experience but as Jez said, one you have to do if you can. Tomorrow morning we have a crack of dawn flight up to Seim Reap to see Angkor Wat and we are really looking forward to that, we have 2 days there and we are cramming in as much as we can. We will see Angkor at Sunrise & Sunset, weather permitting! Our trip is quickly coming to an end and we are making the most of every moment and savouring all of our experiences. ... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Southeast » Ho Chi Minh City January 7th 2007

Just a quick one today as the internet here is still sssoooo slow after the earthquake in Taiwan, it truly is very painful. We have logged on to find so many messages from you all, you're right Nan & Grandad it is like talking to you all! Yesterday we travelled back to Saigon (in our chauffeur driven Merc :-O ) and went to the War Museum, The Reunification Palace, The Post Office, The Notre Dame and Chu Chi (pronounced Gucci, I won't forget that one!) Tunnels. Everything was great, the War Museum was quite upsetting, it was very graphic and really disturbing but I am still glad that we went. The Chu Chi tunnels were also really thought provoking, how they lived underground for so long I don't know. We went in one of the tunnels ... read more




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