Days 38-39 SAIGON (Ho Chi Minh City), VIETNAM “Don’t mention the war…”It is

Days 38-39 SAIGON (Ho Chi Minh City), VIETNAM “Don’t mention the war…”It is 3 June and already my holiday seems to have passed quickly. Still I am less than half way through my travels. I have been in Vietnam for around 2 ½ weeks and am now bound for my last stop here: Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. You’re probably wondering why this place has two names? Well, the original name was indeed Saigon, but it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after Vietnam’s ‘liberation’ during the Vietnam War. To confuse things further both names are still in continuous use though the official name is now Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).It was once again an early morning start for my journey from Da Lat to HCMC having finished off a 13,000 dong (36p) breakfast of Vietnamese coffee and baguette. On the coach journey we passed through much scenic beauty including Cat Tien National Park which is listed as one of the highlights of Vietnam, but again as time was limited it would not be possible to indulge in its sights this time.We arrived into HCMC some hours later via what seemed the tallest bridge I had ever been up.Compared to Hanoi HCMC looks much more like one of the great cities of the world, with high-rise skyscrapers abounding. There is clearly a strong capitalist influence here having once been the capital of South Vietnam. The main picture above is the view taken from one such skyscraper where our once-again reconvened group enjoyed a beer and cocktails.That night I would sleep at the Eco Backpackers Hostel, a very interesting capsule/cabin hostel where your bed is basically a pod in the wall, with an opening at the front from which you enter. Was quite fun, and again cheap ($6/night). It even had three huge Mac PCs at the front reception.I would not spend too much time in HCMC as I was now feeling the pressure to move on. Three weeks had elapsed in Vietnam and if I was not careful I would risk running out of time to visit the other countries on my itinerary. Indeed I was now seriously thinking whether my planned visit to Indonesia, on top of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Singapore would be possible in the two month window I had allowed for South East Asia. My day in Saigon would therefore need to be very productive.The next morning I visited the Ben Thanh market, which sold nearly everything you could want (and plenty you didn’t). With so many stallholders competing for your business it was not the easiest place to simply browse and absorb, however I was eventually convinced to buy some excellent smelling coffee from a very smiley lady. I also picked up the Vietnamese coffee ‘phin’, the silver device that sits on top of the coffee cup.After this I attempted to visit the Reunification Palace, formerly the Presidential palace of South Vietnam, but it was closed. The War Remnants museum was open however, albeit for a little less than 20 minutes (it closes for lunch – outrageous!). I was therefore left in the rather awkward position of having to find something to do between then and lunch, when I would meet Verena and Sabrina. Luckily there is some very impressive architecture around so I went for an amble past the front-end of the Reunification Palace (with its imposing art deco-esque façade Notre Dame Cathedral (yes in Vietnam Saigon Central Post Office (not just a place to buy stamps Saigon Central Mosque (a rare sight in Vietnam and Saigon Opera House. You can only imagine what Saigon would have been like all those decades ago.After meeting the girls, and burning our mouths at Mumtaz South Indian restaurant (where else?), the girls joined me back to the War Remnants museum (which luckily they hadn’t been to see) to conclude the day’s sightseeing. The museum was full of anti-American propaganda and captured enemy aircraft. There was a particularly poignant display showcasing the victims of Agent Orange, and a letter to Barack Obama from one of the victims. For the faint-hearted this could all prove to be too much. Indeed such persons would have felt their prayers answered when our visit was abruptly cut short by the switching off of the lights at 5:00 pm.As I led the girls towards the Reunification Palace for a quick visit, there was an almighty downpour. I scrambled to get on all my waterproofs, and more importantly to protect my precious camera! All the taxis were taken so we were forced to continue our sodden journey through the rain. Some ten minutes or so later we were eventually able to catch an available taxi. Although we were quite wet we were fortunately not cold as the warm humidity is so strong in Asia.It is customary on a visit to Saigon to visit the Cu Chi tunnels where the Viet Cong fought under pretty claustrophobic conditions underground to defeat the American forces. I would not go there this time because of the aforementioned time constraints; but in any event the whole idea did feel more than a little touristy, and that wasn’t after all what I was travelling for.After drying off and a little rest I met up with Verena and Sabrina one last time, Rochelle and Justin having departed the city the night before. Verena left that evening, and Sabrina and I had a little wonder round town. I had seen a donor kebab place the night before, and was pretty tempted. Dinner was therefore a done deal at 28,000 dong (80p). Sabrina too would depart for her hotel soon after.And thus it was the Fellowship of Vietnam, though eternally bound by friendship and love, was ended, three weeks since we started this journey. I was now alone again, left to continue the journey through Asia.How would I cope?What encounters would I have?Stayed Tuned mes amis. -- source link

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