Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
We decided to fly to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), as a bus
journey from Hoi An would have taken at least 15 hours, whereas the flight only
took around an hour. We flew from Danang airport which seemed to have a million
different flights to HCMC all going at the same time, which led to our flight
being delayed several times. Eventually we arrived and I was taken aback at how
westernised the city is, especially in comparison to Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. Thankfully,
HCMC is nowhere near as loud as Hanoi but it is just as busy! It reminded me of
a lot of major cities in Western Europe, with tall cathedral buildings fronted
by western franchises like McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King but all mixed with
local shops and restaurants selling customary street food.
Yet again we dealt with a taxi driver that was just
desperate to rip us off and tried to add another 100 thousand Dong (around £3)
to the cost of the journey. Thankfully our street-smart, super-travelling,
spidey-senses were tingling and we paid the originally agreed price. We dropped
our bags off at our hostel and went to explore the local area, which is
renowned as the ‘backpackers area’ of HCMC and we could soon see why, with bars
galore stripped across several streets in the surrounding area. We stopped for
food at a small street-food place which was selling BBQ and ended up eating
nearly everything, which included kebabs, giant shrimp and huge squid rings! The
food here was delicious (again) and we ended up visiting briefly the following
evening. After food we went to a nearby bar, which we soon realised was the
type of bar that lonely western men would go for the “company” of young
Vietnamese women to buy them drinks and whatever else (ex-pats or sex-pats?). We
finished our drinks quickly and got out quicker than you can say: “You’re
getting your wallet stolen tonight.”
We visited the Vietnam War remnants museum which was both fascinating
and truly harrowing. As well as having U.S tanks, helicopters and fighter jets
it contained lots of information and images of the war itself with disturbing
images of U.S and Vietnamese soldiers with the remains of fallen enemies. The museum
also contained images of the aftereffects of the war and in particular the use
of ‘Agent Orange’, which was used in chemical warfare by the U.S against the Vietnamese
with the aim to destroy crops, thereby depriving the Vietcong of both food and
shelter in urban areas. The ramifications of this assault has led to millions
of Vietnamese suffering from excessive scarring, deformities and death.
The following evening we met up with Steve, a friend of Jane’s,
who has been living and teaching in HCMC for a while now and he gave us lots of
teaching advice, as well as a tour of the city especially the drinking
establishments. After eating at a Vietnamese street-food place, which included squid
Jerky (which I wouldn’t recommend), and frog (which I definitely would!), we
set off drinking and learning a little Vietnamese along the way. After several beers
we settled in a local bar, ordering and finishing off a full bottle of rum (for
a bargain £8).
HCMC was truly eye-opening in gaining an understanding of
the recent history of Vietnam and the effects it still has today. Our next stop
in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia unfortunately was to prove very similar…
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