Unique, at least in all my travels, Ho Chi Minh has the incredible ability to make scooters and motorbikes of 250cc and under look seriously cool! There are 8 million people in the city and 6 million motorbikes. They are everywhere, zipping and zagging, holding up to two adults and two children at times, carrying all sorts of goods from suitcases to crates of vegetables, and some with the most delicate, dainty girls poised with backs straight and heads held high. Every time we headed out we watched the traffic in awe and in trepidation when we were trying to cross the road. (Wait for a small break and then just walk. They’ll work their way around you, just keep going.)
We stayed at the Blue River Hotel, a small family owned place that Andrews sister had stayed in the year before, where our host, named Thuy, show us to our beautiful room with a comfortable bed and air conditioning (Thank God!!) The first day we didn’t even leave the room, we were so tired, we even ordered Vietnamese delivery for dinner that was delicious.
The second day, still exhausted, we went to a small eatery around the corner for lunch, had a $6 massage where the little girls walked on our backs, and then walked a little further for dinner. We ventured through the nearby park and found guys playing hacky sack and volleyball and ladies doing outdoor aerobic classes. We also found the park getting setup for a show that turned out to be for the 1,000-year celebration of Hanoi becoming the capital city of Vietnam.
Day 3 and we finally ventured out for a decent trip. On the great advice of our amazing host we hopped on a bus tour for a day trip to the Củ Chi Tunnels. The tour group was fairly small, only 15 people, and we had a great guide named Ken who, for whatever reason, loved Andrew. The morning saw us drive a few hours to the Tay Ninh Holy See, an ornate temple for the Cao Dai religion, which was in session when we arrived. We went in, walked around, left pretty quickly and headed off to lunch.
Lunch was super awkward, sitting at a table with a bunch of people you didn’t know where no one was willing to break the ice. So couples talked to each other but no one talked to the group. But it was good food.
Then it was back on the bus and we finally went to the tunnels. Ken took us around and showed us how it all worked during the war, all the booby traps that the Vietcong would set for the Americans, their little hidey-holes, and some of the weapons that they had at their disposal.
They had a firing range there as well where, for one million dong, Andrew & I got to fire an AK47, M16 and a M30! It was exhilarating!
Then we were taken to an entrance for the tunnels and we headed underground. These tunnels have been made bigger for western tourists but they were still a serious squeeze. We wove our way through 100 meters of the tunnel, at times on hands and knees, and other times on our butts sliding down a steep section, and by the time we emerged desperately at the other end we were soaked in sweat. It was a huge workout, over such a short distance, and I cannot imagine living down there. Fortunately I was first through after the guide so got out quite quickly but one guy, who was quite large, took a further 5-10 minutes and received a round of applause from the group when he emerged.
And then all too soon it was time to head back to the city where we went to a local restaurant for dinner. We decided to walk along the street where we saw a bunch of name brands and I mentioned to Andrew that if there were a Sketchers store I would be purchasing a pair of shoes. As soon as I’d said it, out of the darkness, came that beautiful sign and I ended up spending three million dong on two pairs of Sketchers that I’d been obsessing over since London, though it took forever as every shoe I wanted to try on had to be couriered by scooter from another location.
Day four, we slept in and then headed out to see Ho Chi Minh City. As we walked out of our hotel a lady selling sunglasses passed us. I found some I liked but being my first purchase outside of regular stores I ran back inside to ask Thuy how much they should be worth and how to bargain. She thought it was cute, gave me all the information I would need, and I went outside and brought my sunnies. But while I was gone some other guys had come along, noticed Andrews shoes in disrepair and started super gluing the gapes in the soles back on while Andrew’s looking at them going ‘what the..?! What are you doing?!’ Short of kicking them he just couldn’t get rid of them. They finished their job so Andrew gave them some change, which they weren’t happy about, but neither was Andrew when he later found his socks stuck to his shoes.
So we walked to the markets on the main square and had a look around. If I were a shopper I’d love it there, so many clothes, wallets, jewellery and bags, all for seriously cheap prices. But all I brought was a bottle of water and then we walked up to the War Remnants Museum only to find that it was closed. We made our way to the Reunification Palace to find that it was also closed. So we wandered around as night fell passing the Notre Dame Cathedral that remains since the French occupation.
We ended up hanging out at Gloria Jeans where I was amused to hear a British backpacker heartily question the barista on the origins of the water used to make the coffee (the water is boiled anyways?!) before going to the ‘world famous’ Vietnamese Water Puppet Show, which was brilliant.
From there we had dinner back near the markets, walked to a random square dedicated to Ho Chi Minh (the man the city is named after) and headed to the Caravelle Hotel to a bar on a terrace overlooking the city. It was beautiful to see the city by night and we absolutely enjoyed the cocktails and Caribbean music that was playing. We then walked back to the main circle where the celebrations were taking place and enjoyed some more Vietnamese music & dancing.
Day five saw us heading off on another bus tour, this one with only 10 people, to the Mekong Delta. Our guide was a local lady from the delta and if the weather was better we could have gone bike riding to her fathers farm. This time the trip was better as we all got talking through lunch, one guy in particular from Germany was very amusing and we all shared stories while munching on Elephant Ear Fish.
When we arrived we took a boat across the main waterway to a coconut candy factory where the local girls earn around $2 per day making the sweets. We found out how they make the candy, got to taste some fresh produce and made sure we played our part in supporting the local economy. We also had some honey wine, banana wine and the very interesting snake wine that comes in a bottle with a snake in it.
Then we headed off to another area for lunch, the weather broke and down came the tropical rain. It was beautiful but saw our poor guide standing out in the rain waiting for a bunch of nervous tourists to get off the boat while she held it at its mooring. Eventually I ran from the back seat to the front saying ‘c’mon guys, the poor chick’s standing in the rain’ and that got everyone moving.
After lunch we were taken to a bee farm where we drank honey tea with pollen and ate royal jelly. The owner also brought over a comb that was swarming with bees and had us put our finger in and taste the honey straight from the comb. It was delicious. Then they brought out a python and let us hold it, though some were too scared. I must admit I got a bit nervous when the python gave me a little tongue on the neck action.
Then we were settled into local canoes and taken through the smaller canals of the delta. It was stunning and we had the opportunity to see how the people actually live along the waterways. Children playing in the water, men fishing, women cooking and sweeping the dirt floors. We landed in the middle of a village and were treated to fresh tropical fruits and their local band playing traditional songs.
We then took our boat and headed, through the rain, back to the mainland and reboarded the bus to take us back to Ho Chi Minh.
To finish off the day Andrew wanted to eat dog. So we found a restaurant on the other side of the city that served it, caught a taxi and headed over there. We arrived at the address only to find that the restaurant was not there anymore and so we walked along the main road until we found a busy restaurant, that looked more like a food court, where we sat down to eat. Andrew asked if they serve dog, which they found incredibly amusing (but they didn’t have it), so we settled on more normal cuts of meat. The place had a vibe of being owned by some drug lord, given the security guard standing at the top of the stairs looking out over the diners, and I was definitely quite wary of everyone looking our way. But we made it through and found another taxi to take us back to our district and back to safety.
Day six and we decided to forgo the sleep-in in order that we might actually make it to the two museums on time. Funnily enough though we arrived right on lunch time and they were closed so we went off, ate lunch ourselves and then went back to find that they were finally open.
The Reunification Palace was basically a French palace built while they were in charge and then rebuilt, after being bombed in an earlier war, by the Presidents who followed. We took a free, guided tour around, which was very interesting, and got to see all the old meeting rooms, the presidential chambers, the party terrace, helipad and even the underground bomb shelters.
We then headed to the War Remnants Museum, which was particularly challenging as most of the museum dealt with the crimes that happened during the famous war. Reading accounts of innocents being slaughtered really undid me and I found it incredibly emotional. We saw the final photographs taken by the journalists who died in the war, read the stories of Agent Orange victims and saw then and now photos of people and places, including the famous screaming girl after the napalm bomb photo. It was an incredibly informative but highly heart wrenching time but I’m glad we went to see it.
When we’d finished walking around the museum we found that the rain had broken out again. We shrugged off a cab, they wanted to charge three times the correct amount, and took out our umbrella and went for a walk in the warm, tropical rain. It was absolutely gorgeous. As we walked we laughed and yelled ‘sing chow’ (hello) to any bewildered Vietnamese faces that were taking refuge in the shopfronts, much to their delight.
We eventually found our way, drenched, to the markets again where we finally purchased a few bits and pieces. Then it was off to a nice restaurant for our final night where we spent the equivalent of $40 on a three course meal, with wine, and hopefully didn’t ruin their silk chair covers with our wet bottoms. It was the most expensive meal we ate in Vietnam. We took a taxi home, for the correct amount, and spent the night packing, ready for the flight the following morning.
And so our time in Vietnam came to an end. It had been a wonderful time of resting and sightseeing, eating and wandering. There’s something about Vietnam that just captures you and makes you want to go back. The people are just so friendly and helpful without expecting anything in return, and despite the 6 million motorbikes life moves along at a chilled out pace. Possibly one of my favourite countries in the world, we will return one day to explore the rest of the land, possibly even by motorbike.
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