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Published: January 20th 2018
See what we did there...clever that. (Saw the show in London in '97...good, but no Les Miserables!)
Awoke to finer weather in Hoi An. We are being picked up at 9 am so close up the packs and it's a good thing we bought the spare third pack as the purchases are piling up for the younger members of the team. Then head across for a final breakfast by the river at the resort. Best breakfasts of the tour to date for me.
Driver punctual and by 9:05 am we are on the road to the airport at Danang. Retracing the route to the airport in daylight is interesting. Different perspective in daylight.
Check in at Danang is quick and painless. We take an interest in an American college or university group of about 20 checking in on the same flight. They are interesting because they are just a little painful and pretty good examples of making travel harder than it needs to be. One we call Barbie is particularly stressed and close to tears it seems because she is carrying 19 lanterns she had purchased in Hoi An and is trying to carry
Ho Chi Minh statue...
...this is apparently a relatively recent replacement to one that showed the leader kneeling with a child. I think so anyway. them as hand luggage...along with 3 other pieces of hand luggage and she is worried the airlines will be unreasonable. Of this group most carried multiple pieces of hand luggage, most about the size of our smallest pack. Observing them past the time, nothing else. I know I'm getting old when things like this annoy me and I feel an affinity with the two old fellas in the box on the muppets...Waldorf and someone.
Board the flight and we were on early and had our two small daypack stowed when team USA rolled down the aisle. Was amusing watching them stow their hand luggage and complain because there was insufficient locker space. First world problems. Yep, getting old!
Good uneventful flight with Vietnam Airlines who I'd fly with any day. Good service.
Arrive Ho Chi Minh just around 1 pm. Takes 30 minutes to gather our luggage, confirm Barbie got her lanterns, and head out of the terminal.
First thing we notice as we approach the door is the Vietnamese man with the sign with our name on it. Second thing we notice is when we walk out
Notre Dame...
...leading landmark of Siagon. Miniature version of its namesake and currently under repair. the door. It's hot and humid. First real heat since Singapore.
It's a 45 minute drive to the hotel and our guide, Viet, speaks great English. The driver speaks none. Viet is quite the talker and tells a good story. Warns us about the local Ho Chi Minh scams with taxis, street vendors and markets. Always refers to it as Saigon. Apparently, while Ho Chi Minh is the official name and how the north refer to it, for those from the south it will always be Saigon.
The hotel is the May Hotel situated in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh. Well situated for walking to a number of the listed landmarks of the city. The hotel is cheerful enough and we are on the 8th floor in a corner room. Quite comfortable. Not luxurious but more than adequate for purpose. Settle in and after a swim, pools alright and Caitlin is happy, head out for a look around.
It's very muggy and the streets are busy. Head in the general direction of the Ben Thanh markets. Interesting first look. Find ourselves in Times Square. It's a long pedestrian mall, bordered
...noodles at Pho 2000..
...not a very complimentary shot but the big fella has mastered chopsticks. by up market departments stores down its sides and the Saigon River at the far end. The top end looks at the impressive People's Committee Building, an ornate yellow structure with white filigree. It's an example of the French Architecture that appears right around the city. Walk a short distance down the mall and you find a relatively new statue of Ho Chi Minh. Stand in front of this and the People's Committee Building forms an imposing back drop.
Walk on down to the markets. Fairly typical warehouse type structure housing hundreds of small booths and stalls. Kids find it fascinating and their first real experience of negotiating. Have an interesting encounter and good life lesson. Reuben finds a sweatshirt he really likes, but as is the case in a country where your 6-9 inches taller than everyone else, finding the right size is a challenge. Anyway, finds out he needs a large, the stall keeper tries to convince him a medium fits (cuffs are halfway to his elbows) and can't find a large. Sends her sister off on a mission and 5 minutes later she comes back with a sweatshirt in its packaging. The scam is
just a little obvious. Insist Reuben tries it on. It's the same medium sweatshirt with a 'large' tag speedily sewn in. Decline the purchase.
One of the little points of humour is despite my efforts of the last several months, two Vietnamese merchants have compared me to Buddha and felt familiar enough to pat my stomach. Meant as a compliment and reference to prosperity. They thought I was smiling because I enjoyed their humour, actually I was visualing the ways I wanted to hurt them.
Have dinner at the Pho 2000 restaurant near the markets as we wait for the day markets to close and the night markets to open. This restaurant serves Vietnamese Pho, a noodle soup of several varieties, and was made famous when President Bill Clinton had dinner there after APEC or some such conference in 2000. Kids both have Pho and I have barbecued pork on rice. Good meal and again cheap.
Look through the night markets and kids make a few purchases, more shoes for Caitlin. Heads down back at the May Hotel around 10 pm.
Following morning the younger members are a
Night markets...
...crappy photo...fairly standard night market. bit slow out the gates so I get the hotel breakfast. Decidedly average. Then gather up the washing and go in search of someone to do the laundry. From Hanoi have learnt best place to start is a travel agent. Works here too. Having dumped laundry I wander down and along the river and take an hour or so to get back to the kids who are now up and rearing, sort of, to go.
I had found the Vincom Shopping Mall just around the corner from the hotel and we head there to a French Bakery for lunch. Really good. Then the kids look around the mall for a while. It has H&M, Marks and Spencer's, Gap, and a bunch of other notable labels. None of it affordable.
Back out into the heat for a walking tour with dad past the Notre Dame Cathedral, past the palace and a couple of kilometres onto the War Remnants Museum. This was very sobering. Not the place for political commentary and would never disparage the soldiers that were sent there, but the politicians and others that thought Agent Orange on civilians was an appropriate or acceptable
...War Remnants Museum...
...very sobering place to visit...does make you think a little... option. Well, history has shown war crimes tribunals for less. Guess when your the biggest dog in the pound the rules don't necessarily apply the same. The generational birth defects were disturbing and tragic.
Putting that behind us sweat back to the hotel for a welcome swim.
Reuben had got his NCEA results this morning and had done pretty well with some really good results in some subjects. As a celebration, decided to do something a little different and walk the 10 minutes or so for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, Ho Chi Minh City. Kids first experience of one of these and while it is a relatively small one, it was a good night with some good burgers.
Last day in Saigon and the team wants a kick back day. Had supposed to be a half day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels but complete lack of interest by teenagers and dad outvoted. For reference, it would have been a 75-90 minute drive each way with couple of hours at the tunnels and surrounds, no meals included, for US$45 per person plus tip. This included entrance price to the
...the whanau dining...
...something different... tunnels.
Late morning head out for another look around and then have lunch at the Vincom Mall again and then a bit later head back for Caitlin to swim.
About 5 pm head out and take the 20 minute walk back to the markets and the surrounding area. Grab some dinner and then go back to the night markets. Kids make some final purchases and call it a night. Collect the laundry from the travel agent, because that's what you do here and finally coffee at Starbucks by Times Square. Not my choice.
The traffic is less manic in Saigon, but you still need to keep your wits about you. Times Square and the view up and down the mall and the lighting on the People's Committee Building is at odds with much of the appearance of the rest of the city. Read some TripAdvisor comments about Times Square being boring and bland, compared to New York it would be, but this isnt New York and I thought it had a bit of a vibe to it.
Final morning is packing up and getting ready for the move
...last look at Saigon...
...on the road to the airport... to Phnom Penh. Collected at 11 am by the driver and take our last look this city as we head to the airport.
...and that's the Vietnam leg finished.
Fantastic experience, great country to visit with amazing diversity. Anticipate will end up back here again in the future.
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