PHU MY (HO CHI MINH CITY), VIETNAM

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Saturday 14^th was spent at sea before arriving on Sunday 15^that Phu My (otherwise known as Ho Chi Minh City), in Vietnam – another place I hadn’t been to. Phu My is the new name for Ho Chi Minh, although most people still refer to it as Ho Chi Minh City.

A group of us took a private tour which entailed a 2 hour drive into Ho Chi Minh City - again very dirty roads, and the inevitable visit to the loo along the way. Asian loos are an education in itself with just a hole in the ground and after a while, you are inevitably asking "is it western?".

We also went to the Jade Emperor Pagoda followed by a tour of the Independence Palace (which was more like a Gov. building than a palace) with a helicopter on its roof. However, it did have some lovely decorated rooms. Then it was off to a water puppet show which was really more for children than adults. This was done by 8 or so people standing in water, hidden by a bamboo blind with puppets on a long pole.

After this we lunched at the Pho 2000 Noodle Restaurant which apparently Bill Clinton went to (proudly publicised by photos on the wall) but in all honesty, I’ve had better beef noodle soup in Burwood, Sydney. This was followed by the inevitable visit to the markets, which I gave a miss as it was boiling. Instead, sat on a chair outside a shop where a woman was selling soft drinks and drank a coke.

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