Ho Chi Minh City

---

It was sad to leaving Hoi An behind as it was a beautiful town with lots of character and a relatively relaxed pace. The 6:30am departure didn’t bode well either! Still, after a snatched breakfast, quick transfer, and take-off on time things were looking up. Unfortunately, Valerie’s doze on the plane came to an abrupt end when the stewardess accidentally spilt some boiling water over her arm - a rather extreme way to stop the snoring!! Fortunately, Nurse Monica came to the rescue with some ice and the stewardess provided some magic lotion (which surprisingly also cures flatulence) and there appears to be no lasting harm.

Dropped our bags off at what looks to be another nice clean hotel and we were off on a Cyclo tour of Saigon. Stopped a few times to see the sights, mostly built by the French; the Opera House (with a beautifully ornate exterior), the central Post Office (strangely more reminiscent of a railway station), and Notre-Dame Cathedral (built entirely from materials imported from France). We also stopped at Ho Chi Minh’s statue opposite the People’s Committee Hall, and finally, Independence Palace. We were told that the latter was where the famous photos of the roof-top American evacuation were taken and that the tanks in the garden were those that broke through the gates heralding the taking of Saigon and hence ending the war. We need to check this out because we we’re both convinced these events took place at the American Embassy ... must check our books again!)

We had lunch at a large, quite smart, open plan restaurant before taking off on our own to have a wander. Unfortunately it was really hot, so we ended up visiting an air conditioned shopping mall before stopping at a coffee shop for some tea and cake. We also had a look at some of the hotels around the Opera House which were famous from the war years - the Rex and Caravelle.

We met up with the others for a drink at the roof bar of the Caravelle to take-in the wonderful view of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) at night - only one beer though as they were incredibly expensive. Worth it though, as the view was made all the more special by the New Year Decorations - fantastically colourful lanterns strung across the roads and in the trees, a multitude of fairy light, and various vibrant dragons guarding the entrance to several roads.

Our evening meal was at a street restaurant near the local market and then back to the hotel for a shower and early night.

Saigon (HCMC) is completely different to Hanoi - if we lived in Vietnam, we’d probably choose Saigon as it feels more cosmopolitan, and takes itself a little more seriously ... but as a tourist, Hanoi’s more frenetic and fun! That’s not to say that it’s not busy here - the motor bikes are in full flood, with traffic zapping all over the place - we were walking along the pavement and had to jump to one side as a flood of bikes gave up on the road and came towards us ... and they had the cheek to beep their horns to get us to move out of the way!! We saw another road accident today, the fifth since we’ve been in Vietnam (thankfully, none serious), with a woman in the middle of a cross roads with a taxi over her motor bike, but we’re not sure how it happened. We also saw a rat in the gutter in the same street.

---

Comments

[Treen and Jeff]

Sounds like you are having a fab time!
I would be jealous if I hadn't just finished packing for Thailand! We leave early tomorrow morning. Looking at your itinerary I think we'll miss you in Phuket by about 3 days. Enjoy Cambodia, Angkor is amazing. Look out for a billboard on the way ou to the main site that shows on one side life during civil war - a boy running away from a man with a gun, a lady crying in the street - and then as if a page has ben torn away, on the other side the boy is running to school, the man is helpfully pointing the way to a smiling lady - life now. Have a cocktail for me in the cafe d'Indochine!