Saigon!
Its called 'Ho Chi Minh City' (HCMC) officially and to North Vietnamese, but its still known as 'Saigon' to the old South Vietnamese. I arrived in Saigon, Vietnam around 7 PM on Thursday (15 February) evening. It felt a bit crazy after all the laid back towns I've been to since Hanoi. This part of Saigon, the tourist district - called Pham Ngu Lao - is the closest thing to Khao San Road in Bangkok that I have seen since Vang Vieng, Laos. Its nearly a 'tourist ghetto'. One small area of town, just a couple square blocks really, packed with western tourists, tourists hotels, tourists restaurants, tourists shops, and all other businesses catering to your standard, foreign, low-budget, backpacker. But being the Tet holidays as it was, all the hotels (and even some restaurants) had increased their prices and lots of them where full. So when I found a place for $6/night that evening I took it even though it was pretty shitty for that price.
Then I went to find Sally and Carolyn, the Aussie girls I had met in Hanoi that I had been to Halong Bay with and whom I had been keeping in touch with. They had sent me an email a few days prior letting me know where they were staying in Saigon. I found them and then we went out for dinner at a really tasty place. Afterwards they were going out to a karaoke bar with some of the guys working at their hotel. I opted not to and instead went to try and book my bus ticket since the busy Tet holiday was making booking transportation more 'interesting'. I managed to book my bus ticket to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 4 days time - departing early morning on Monday, 19 February - for double the standard price ($12 instead of $6). But at least I wouldn't be stuck in Saigon longer than I wanted or in Vietnam passed the expiry date on my visa.
Friday (16 February) morning I woke up and found a new hotel first thing. This one was sweet. Set back off the street so there is not too much street noise, large, clean, and new, satalitte TV, fridge, really comfortable beds, a good fan, and a really clean bathroom. For $7/night in Saigon during Tet, I think its a steal! Plus there is free internet in the lobby.
After a then late breakfast I went to do some sight seeing. I walked around for a while trying to follow the walking tour described in my guidebook, taking breaks often, having a nice conversation with a tout trying to sell sunglasses, before heading over to Reunification Palace, the seat of the South Vietnamese government prior to 1975. It was pretty interesting and packed with history so I spent some time there exploring all the nooks and crannies (well at least all the nooks anyways). It was strange to see a couple of tanks in one of the side lawns. The Palace was open and spacious with lots of natural light and breezes. Then I - hesitantly - went to the War Remnants Museum, previously called the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, but changed so as not to offend Chinese and American tourists. I think the old name should have been kept. I won't mention much about the musem other than to say war - and what it does not only to innocent civilians and the environment but also to the soldiers fighting it - is absolutely horrible. I walked out of there a couple hours later feeling sick to my stomach, depressed, and not wanting to talk to any one. I took the long walk back to my hotel slowly.
I met up with Sally and Carolyn again that evening, along with several other people - some of whom Sally and Carolyn had met in other places and some of whom I had met in other places. We spent some time drinking Bia Hoi ('fresh beer', brewed locally by locals and sold in street side stands literally cheaper than water. 6,000 Dong, less than $.40 for a 2-liter jug) at a make shift sidewalk restaurant before heading a few blocks away to a New Years Eve celebration. At midnight we helped ring in the Year of the Pig along with a bazillion Vietnamese sitting stagnate on their motorbikes in the streets. That was the most motorbikes I've ever seen in one place in my life. It was strange to watch them all roar to life once it was over and slowly move as one mass dispersing into the streets, sidewalks, and parks (!) all around. Although there were fireworks, I think our group of 11 foreign tourists were the only ones drinking and cheering. It may have been a slight cultural faux pa on our part. It was all good fun though and I got to celebrate New Year's Eve twice in less than 2 months in 2 totally different fashions.
Saturday (17 February) I slept in late and spent the day doing nothing. Really. Watching TV, eating, reading, using the internet, sitting in restaurants, and thats about it. I even managed a nap that afternoon. Finally I dragged myself out of my bed and room that evening and went down to play pool for a few hours at a bar down the street. About 11 PM I left and went for dinner, which I had skipped. Then I went to sleep. A pretty lazy day all around but I needed that apparently.
Sunday (18 February) I tried to do a little more sight seeing on my last day in Saigon and Vietnam. Just did some more walking around and determined that while Saigon had some nice buildings it doesn't have the charm or good vibes I got from Hanoi. I also managed to find someone in a nearby park to fix my sandals who's soles were almost completely detached and caused me to trip way too often. I think these sandals may pull through with me until the end of this trip even though they've been repaired countless times already. This afternoon I'm meeting someone for an 'interview' on sustainable tourism. Someone posted on the Lonely Planet bulletin board about wanting to interview people who weren't using planes as a means of tranport on their travels. Well that'd be me.
Tomorrow (Monday, 19 February) I take the bus at 6:30 AM from Saigon to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Its a direct bus and is only supposed to take 6 or 6.5 hours. My time in Vietnam has been fantastic and I would definitely visit this amazing country again. But I'm also ready to move on to Cambodia for a few days and then on to Ko Chang, Thailand.
Then I went to find Sally and Carolyn, the Aussie girls I had met in Hanoi that I had been to Halong Bay with and whom I had been keeping in touch with. They had sent me an email a few days prior letting me know where they were staying in Saigon. I found them and then we went out for dinner at a really tasty place. Afterwards they were going out to a karaoke bar with some of the guys working at their hotel. I opted not to and instead went to try and book my bus ticket since the busy Tet holiday was making booking transportation more 'interesting'. I managed to book my bus ticket to Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 4 days time - departing early morning on Monday, 19 February - for double the standard price ($12 instead of $6). But at least I wouldn't be stuck in Saigon longer than I wanted or in Vietnam passed the expiry date on my visa.
Friday (16 February) morning I woke up and found a new hotel first thing. This one was sweet. Set back off the street so there is not too much street noise, large, clean, and new, satalitte TV, fridge, really comfortable beds, a good fan, and a really clean bathroom. For $7/night in Saigon during Tet, I think its a steal! Plus there is free internet in the lobby.
After a then late breakfast I went to do some sight seeing. I walked around for a while trying to follow the walking tour described in my guidebook, taking breaks often, having a nice conversation with a tout trying to sell sunglasses, before heading over to Reunification Palace, the seat of the South Vietnamese government prior to 1975. It was pretty interesting and packed with history so I spent some time there exploring all the nooks and crannies (well at least all the nooks anyways). It was strange to see a couple of tanks in one of the side lawns. The Palace was open and spacious with lots of natural light and breezes. Then I - hesitantly - went to the War Remnants Museum, previously called the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes, but changed so as not to offend Chinese and American tourists. I think the old name should have been kept. I won't mention much about the musem other than to say war - and what it does not only to innocent civilians and the environment but also to the soldiers fighting it - is absolutely horrible. I walked out of there a couple hours later feeling sick to my stomach, depressed, and not wanting to talk to any one. I took the long walk back to my hotel slowly.
I met up with Sally and Carolyn again that evening, along with several other people - some of whom Sally and Carolyn had met in other places and some of whom I had met in other places. We spent some time drinking Bia Hoi ('fresh beer', brewed locally by locals and sold in street side stands literally cheaper than water. 6,000 Dong, less than $.40 for a 2-liter jug) at a make shift sidewalk restaurant before heading a few blocks away to a New Years Eve celebration. At midnight we helped ring in the Year of the Pig along with a bazillion Vietnamese sitting stagnate on their motorbikes in the streets. That was the most motorbikes I've ever seen in one place in my life. It was strange to watch them all roar to life once it was over and slowly move as one mass dispersing into the streets, sidewalks, and parks (!) all around. Although there were fireworks, I think our group of 11 foreign tourists were the only ones drinking and cheering. It may have been a slight cultural faux pa on our part. It was all good fun though and I got to celebrate New Year's Eve twice in less than 2 months in 2 totally different fashions.
Saturday (17 February) I slept in late and spent the day doing nothing. Really. Watching TV, eating, reading, using the internet, sitting in restaurants, and thats about it. I even managed a nap that afternoon. Finally I dragged myself out of my bed and room that evening and went down to play pool for a few hours at a bar down the street. About 11 PM I left and went for dinner, which I had skipped. Then I went to sleep. A pretty lazy day all around but I needed that apparently.
Sunday (18 February) I tried to do a little more sight seeing on my last day in Saigon and Vietnam. Just did some more walking around and determined that while Saigon had some nice buildings it doesn't have the charm or good vibes I got from Hanoi. I also managed to find someone in a nearby park to fix my sandals who's soles were almost completely detached and caused me to trip way too often. I think these sandals may pull through with me until the end of this trip even though they've been repaired countless times already. This afternoon I'm meeting someone for an 'interview' on sustainable tourism. Someone posted on the Lonely Planet bulletin board about wanting to interview people who weren't using planes as a means of tranport on their travels. Well that'd be me.
Tomorrow (Monday, 19 February) I take the bus at 6:30 AM from Saigon to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Its a direct bus and is only supposed to take 6 or 6.5 hours. My time in Vietnam has been fantastic and I would definitely visit this amazing country again. But I'm also ready to move on to Cambodia for a few days and then on to Ko Chang, Thailand.
posted by Dustin at 12:22 AM
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