Saigon Stories: Part Two

Continuing on from the last (rather rushed) blog, the next morning we went for brunch at a local bakery which is a treat in Asia as these are scarcely seen. Picking up a croque Monsieur and a sausage and cheese bap, we headed out for the day to see the remaining sights of HCMC. Our aim was to head towards the Reunification Palace, the Central Post Office, the Opera House and the various districts surrounding these points of interest. As per usual, after about an hour of walking around, we thought we'd stop for a drink to quench our thirst in the heat. We walked into the first place we found planning on enjoying a swift soft drink and making our way onwards. Upon entering it materialised that that bar was enjoying it's 'grand opening' and were dishing out free jugs of all draft lagers! I stupidly had ordered a diet coke before realising this, but not to look a gift horse in the mouth, also managed a beer or two and we can't complain as the entire bill came to £1.00. 

Being fully refreshed, we headed back in the direction of the opera house and stopped for a few photos...

Nearby, there was another market which we quickly popped into and then started to walk towards Reunification Palace. On the way, the heavens opened, and this gave us the opportunity to stop for lunch (a lot of eating and drinking this day). Only wanting something small to soak up the beer, we headed for some Vietnamese fast food. I went for some fresh spring rolls which were delicious but Rob ended up with some indescribable mush with bits of pork in it, served on leaf. Not great. 

We finally made it to Reunification Palace, and headed inside. Basically, to give you a bit of history, this palace played a significant role in the reunification of North and South Vietnam and the Independence of the country following the war. Today, it has been kept exactly how it was in the mid-60's as a monument to this. Outside, the palace was very grand with a lovely front garden and fountain.

Walking about inside, it was a bit less of a spectacle although certain parts were cool including the basement where you got to walk around radio control rooms actually used during the war. Also, in this area was a room screening a documentary film on the war which gave a really indepth look at the situation of the time. Apart from this, there wasn't a huge amount of interest. 

We walked back to the hotel and got ready to head out for the evening. First stop was more food and Rob was much more satisfied with his choice of tandoori chicken. We went to a restaurant with seats outside on the main street and spent a good hour people watching- you can never get bored in Vietnam. After this we went to a local hotel with a rooftop bar with great views over HCMC and enjoyed a couple of cocktails. This remained a couple as we had an early start the next morning, for a very exciting final day in HCMC.  

The next day, we went on an organised tour outside of central HCMC to a Cao Dai temple and the Cu Chi Tunnels. First stop was the temple. Before coming to South Vietnam, we had never heard of Cao DAI, but it is a major religion in this region. It is essentially a blend of Catholicism, Buddhism and Taoism which was founded in the 1920s. The temple was very elaborate and colourful with numerous statues, murals and other objects showing the blend. 

We also got to see the ceremony which takes place at noon every day and it was definitely a sight as all the followers wear the same robes (white, blue or yellow) and flood the temple to worship. 

The area around the temple is also very interesting as it used to be a town but is now abandoned as the citizens were all moved out pre-war. The buildings and courtyards still stand and visitors can wander freely around the deserted neighbourhood.

After stopping for a pretty atrocious lunch which consisted of beef in water, oily spring rolls and chicken in gloop, we moved on to the Cu Chi Tunnels. About an hour and a half from HCMC they were used by guerrilla soldiers during the war to hide, live and fight in. The stretch hundreds of kilometres and are very clever in the way they work. Here are some of the things we saw-

1) The first entrance which was absolutely tiny but Rob managed to squish in. It showed how the soldiers entered the tunnels each time.

2) The way the tunnels were also used as traps to trick opponents. They were very well designed and could kill or maim an unwanted intruder

3) A destroyed American tank from the war which you could climb on

4) Bomb craters which showed where parts of the tunnels had been destroyed

5) We were able to go through the tunnels learning quite how claustrophobic they were, to the point where I actually had to turn back because I thought I'd get stuck in the dark and creepy tunnel

6) Various bunkers which housed essentials such as a medical space and living quarters

7) We got to try the food the soldiers survived on, tapioca root and tea. We weren't impressed.

Following a long and bumpy journey back to HCMC, we felt we'd earnt a substantial dinner, and ordered enchiladas and beers, having eaten too much Vietnamese food in recent weeks. To cap off a fun-filled day, more importantly for Rob, we then went to a local sports bar and watched a whole Man U match. Needless to say this was a highlight for Rob and a low point for me.

We were leaving HCMC early again the next day, so after this we went to bed ready for our epic journey up the Mekong Delta towards Cambodia....

Saigon Stories: Part One

Hi again,

Sorry it's been a little while since the last post but we have been massively busy. Of course this has as a consequence fallen behind and we're actually now in Cambodia but I need to fill you in on the last week we spent in Vietnam. We flew down to Ho Chi Minh City (the locals still call the main district Saigon) and the flight was pretty uneventful and surprisingly the same can be said about the transport to the hotel. We were expecting HCMC to have manic roads which would be impossible to navigate, but what we actually found is that they aren't too bad (not sure if this is the case or whether we have just been in Asia for too long). Approaching the hotel through the main streets, we even spotted quite a few working pedestrian crossings AND people actually indicate here. 

The area around our hotel was packed with restaurants, bars and travel companies, similar to where we stayed in Hanoi. Our guesthouse was a treat- for 14$ a night we got a private ensuite room with hot water and a large, super comfy bed. It was in a great location and the family who ran it (and also lived downstairs) were really nice and made the stay feel like home. If you're needing somewhere to stay in Saigon, we would recommend- Ngoc Thao Guesthouse.

On arrival, we had a wander around the area. There are a number of food stalls with locals sitting around with bia hoi (draft beer), always on the customary tiny blue plastic stools outside and delicious smells wafting into the street from the open BBQs at the front. Behind our guesthouse, there was a large park with outdoor exercise equipment and we often saw the locals taking advantage of these in the early morning sometimes even taking part in some classes such as salsa and tai chi. Beyond this there were the ubiquitous cyclo drivers touting for business, more motorbikes (of course) and women selling typical tourist wares.

We decided to take advantage of another common sight in Vietnamese cities by going into a numerous travel companies to organise our next few days in which we planned to see some of the sights surrounding the city along with planning our border crossing into Cambodia (more to follow on this). After a productive afternoon, we headed for dinner and a few drinks on the main bar street in district one (main backpacker area). Beer in HCMC is much cheaper than anywhere else we have found averaging 40p even in restaurants. After teaching a Swedish guy a few card games and beating him in the process with a banana flavoured coke (crazy!) we called it a day.

Not so early the next morning, we rose to a delicious breakfast of cinnamon French toast, a breakfast burrito and Vietnamese coffee (slightly addicted to the thick liquid made with condensed milk) and we headed out for a day of sightseeing. First stop, the War Remnants Museum. We took a taxi the short distance and after a brief shouting match with the driver where he refused to take money, we made our way into the museum. Obviously, this was highly interesting but also quite distressing as the museum depicted some horrible events from the Vietnam/American war. Some highlights:

1) Exhibits on the various protests staged against American involvement around the world

2) A room dedicated to the effects of Agent Orange, a severe chemical substance which was weaponised. The majority of the exhibits focused on the continuing effects on Vietnam today in descendants of soldiers along with a preserved foetus which clearly shows these effects. Sorry, but felt it was inappropriate to photograph these images as they were somewhat disturbing.

3) A hall focusing on the consequences of war for local people in smaller towns and the massacres that took place during the war

4) A replica of the military prison where Vietnamese rebel soldiers were held captive and tortured was set up. This contained genuine devices which were used including 'tiger cages' which were made of barbed wire and could hold up to 10 prisoners at a time. Also information depicting the various forms of torture which were inflicted (most of which were incredibly barbaric).

5) A collection of tanks, planes and weapons from the war, most of which had been destroyed American equipment

It's a really informative (somewhat biased) museum and both of us had been fairly ignorant before our visit. We definitely learnt a lot about the devastating effects which carry on to this day.

After leaving the museum, we took a quick stop off at a couple of places. The first of these was Notre Dame cathedral which is a remnant from Vietnams French colonial days. 

Moving closer to our hotel, we called in at Ben Tanh market, and purchased a few more souvenirs. The market was huge, and the female sellers were quite aggressive literally dragging Rob into their stalls with vice grips on his wrists, but done with a smile of course.

We headed back to the hotel after a busy day and grabbed some dinner. After this, we planned to walk to the night market, but there was a monsoon half way so we had to make a detour to a street cafe with umbrellas to enjoy some cheap beer (such a burden). When there was a break in the rain we headed back to the hotel grabbing a taxi which cost us a whole 40p. 

More on HCMC to follow...