Since we arrived in HCMC in the dark, I was glad that we had pre-booked a guesthouse, and an airport pick up. As time passes, I am less committed to spending as little as possible, and slightly more interested in preserving my sanity and comfort. Both of these were in good hands at “Happy Inn” where we stayed for our entire time in HCMC. It was a bit of a splurge at $25 per night, but it was truly time for a proper shower stall and a comfy bed with quality sheets.
Next morning, after allowing ourselves to sleep-in and take advantage of our upgraded accommodations, we set out with our LP in hand. We had “pho” for breakfast nearby our hotel, and proceeded to walk to the Reunification Palace. This is the spot where a North Vietnamese Army tank burst through the gates as Saigon fell to the Communists. We arrived just before 11am, and were promptly informed that it was closed to visitors between 11 and 1pm. Oops! Guess we should have read the LP, instead of just carrying it with us. So, we headed to a coffee shop we had seen on the way and enjoyed our first real coffee in Vietnam. By real coffee I mean western style americano, in a big paper cup. (As opposed to the small cup of super strong and syrupy sweet coffee we normally find here.) It’s amazing the things you miss from home. For us a proper coffee in a paper cup is definitely near the top of the list (after YOU of course). Our bad planning turned out alright as we had a nice chat with the staff at “Gloria’s Coffee”, then wandered around the city a little to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, have a good lunch, and locate one of the city’s malls and movie theaters at “Diamond Plaza”. We returned to find that there wasn’t so much to see at the Reunification Palace. After a look around, we assumed it was the historical significance of the spot that drew visitors and set off on our way. We didn’t find out until later on that exploring the basement is the most interesting part, which we didn’t know existed. (That wasn’t in the LP, I swear!)
Next we went to see the War Remnants Museum, previously called the Museum of American War Crimes. This was a truly eye opening experience. Of course the exhibits are one-sided, but even with that in mind it was difficult to stomach. One thing that I have learned on this trip is that the US government is not interested in cleaning up their messes. How do they not take responsibility for the effects of agent orange on Vietnamese civilians? How do they not clear unexploded ordinances from this region so the land can be used by locals? Are they repeating this pattern now in other parts of the world? Likely I was just ignorant to begin with, but find I have learned a lot of shocking information. Our visit to the museum was enriched by meeting an American Vietnam war veteran, Dick Harger (rhymes with “larger” he explained . . . ?!?). He had come to Vietnam to research and complete his memoirs. Initially, he was just looking for help in photographing some of the museum’s exhibits regarding agent orange. (You can see these in a separate album on our photo site.) We were lucky that he was willing to share his experiences with us and also joined us (actually treated us) for dinner on our last night in Saigon. He was a very nice and interesting man. It was easy to tell that this was an emotional visit for him.
After a full day of walking, we headed back to Diamond Plaza for a movie and a rest. Angels and Demons was pretty good, and the movie popcorn was kettle corn which was a great surprise! Ah, to be back in the city again. Perry & I have concluded that we are both definitely city people.
Second day in HCMC we got a late start again. However, this time we blame it on the pouring rain which kept us indoors until at least 10am. We headed for Cholon, or Saigon’s Chinatown. This endeavor mostly involved us wandering the streets searching for the many interesting markets supposedly in the area. After wandering through very busy and narrow streets selling loads of fabrics, then paper, then auto parts, we finally stopped for yet more pho and a break. (We do love pho!) Accepting defeat, we hopped in a taxi and ended up at Binh Tay Market, Cholon’s biggest. It was massive and overwhelming for sure, but didn’t have much that tempted us to part with our Dong. The only thing we purchased was a bag of cashews. Perry then headed to the gym, which was apparently steamy hot and full of locals at 5pm, and I headed back to Gloria’s coffee for some solo internet time. Yes, it’s a bit lazy that I didn’t join Perry for a workout, but I was still favoring my bum knee by that time and wasn’t up for it after two days of walking Saigon. (excuses, excuses . . .)
That night we went for Indian food with Lea, an Austrian girl we’d met on the train from Hanoi to Hue. We luckily ran into each other again by chance outside of Happy Inn. It is bizarre that these chance meetings seem to happen all the time. I guess all of us travelers really are on the same route, and staying within a few blocks of each other in most cities and towns. Even more bizarre though, was when I looked up from my “dahl” to see a girl I had worked with at PwC in Calgary! Yep, Amber McRae and her fiance Mark just happened to be eating in the same restaurant as us. Crazy small world. It was great to see a familiar face (even though she has been living in Cayman for the past five years!) and we had some drinks together that night.
Third day in HCMC we spent the morning at the Vietnamese Museum of Traditional Medicine. It was a challenge to find, but worth the search. We were the only ones there, so had a personal tour guide. I find that sort of thing interesting, especially the natural remedies that are still in use today. I had to resist purchasing all sorts of herbal teas. And of course, it was good touristy fun when our guide dressed us up in traditional wear and stuck us behind the counter for photo ops! I’m looking for votes on who looks more ridiculous . . . In the afternoon we moved on to the disappointing Jade Emperor Pagoda. Travelfish called it “atmospheric”, but Perry and I were wondering if we were perhaps at the wrong place. Nope. Address confirmed, we wandered through. I think Perry found the turtles out front the most interesting part. I suppose it was interesting just how many deities one could worship here, but it didn’t compare to the many spectacular temples we have seen so far in our travels.
Next morning was an early one, as we had booked a one day tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Cao Dai Holy See (temple) in Tay Ninh. We were slightly unprepared and surprised when greeted with the initial 3 hour bus ride to Tay Ninh. We should have deduced that we would spend approximately 6 hours on the bus that day from the fact that there were only 2 stops on a full day excursion, but we didn’t. The ride was worth it though, as you can see from our photos of the temple. It was also interesting to see the “Holy See” because I’ve been reading “The Girl in the Picture” (the lifestory of Kim Phuc’s) and this temple is referred to in the book.
Cu Chi Tunnels were cool, if a little claustrophobic. I didn’t make it the full 100 meters of tunnel that they have enlarged and opened to tourists. To think that tunnel was actually bigger than the originals used by the VietCong! It is crazy to imagine how they lived underground like that. The video they showed us was crazy as well. It was obviously a little dated, and definitely wasn’t concerned with being “politically correct” for tourists. It was mostly a glorification of certain peasant soldiers who had succeeded in killing American soldiers. One was a young girl given some kind of award for “killing the most Americans”. Fairly blunt.
Our last day in HCMC was spent shopping on Ly Van Si, where we found trendy boutiques selling clothes much too nice for our current lifestyle, and in the fabulous Ben Thanh market, which was walking distance from our guesthouse. That market had absolutely everything we could want to send home from Vietnam, plus super tasty food stalls set up at night grilling fresh fish and huge prawns. Yummy! I think Dad would have been in heaven there.
After five full days in HCMC, it was time to go. Vietnam had worn me down. Don’t get me wrong. Vietnam has some truly spectacular scenery. And, we met some really, really friendly people there. But in general, the culture in Vietnam was just too “in your face” for me. Not sure if it was too much time in cities overrun with aggressive motorbike drivers, or just the fact that we have been away from home for 4 months by now, but I needed to get out. I was worried I might lose it on the 117th guy in a day relentlessly selling me sunglasses, or books, or a zippo, or marijuana, or . . . you get the picture. So, we made a compromise between the fastest and the cheapest way to Phnom Penh and booked a two day journey through the Mekong Delta and into Cambodia by boat. We’d splurged too much lately to justify another flight, and I wanted to give rural Vietnam a couple of more days to soften my impression.
For photos of our time in HCMC, see http://gallery.me.com/adamschen
p.s.
I have figured out how to add descriptions to the “back” of our photos. Look for the little “i” in the lower right corner. Click on that and you should be able to read my description if you are interested. =)
More! More! I'm loving reading your blog--so good to have met you midway; I can practically hear you reading it out loud.
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