Days 134 - 137: Ho Chi Minh

Green neon sign outside our window isn't annoying at all
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Picked a hotel in the backpacker area to get a cheaper hotel and be in a more lively area and after changing rooms several times - annoyingly in the first hotel in Vietnam where the countless staff don’t see this as an opportunity to actually do something – are out experiencing the hustle and bustle of another large city. In some ways it’s like Hanoi, just not quite as charming, but still easy to effortlessly while away hours wandering and people watching.

One area where Saigon does exceed Hanoi is crazy traffic, the busiest junctions are truly something to behold. We find many cafes and pubs, often with roof terraces as well as street level (or ring side) seating, have sprung up at these spots for us tourists to watch the mayhem.

Hot in the City

Busy crossing to statue
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Happily we’ve found another ‘Le Pub’ just opposite the hotel, presumably a chain but equally possibly just a copy of the one in Hanoi, either way it’s a lively pub with decent food – and cheap at only 300,000 dong for 10 beers and two meals. In fact thats where I'm sat with a Saigon beer uploading this just now.

Oh, that’s about £12 in old money. We’ve got very used to both the crazy currency where everything costs 000’s and also how cheap that converts back into as sterling, going out for anything back home is going to seem exorbitant now. Back in Hanoi a few weeks ago it seemed crazy to see my bank balance as 277 million, but now it makes perfect sense to have a Sultan’s digits.

Fine Arts Museum
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Following our trusty guide book we embarked on the suggested walking tour in the sweltering heat, stopping frequently for rest and fluid replenishment. Before wilting we managed to see:

The impossibly hot and breezeless Ben Thanh market, a wondrous array of stalls rammed in hangar, so tightly in places that it’s almost impossible to pass without literally squeezing through.

Statue of Tran Nguyen Hai (oh him...) on horseback placed in the centre of possibly Vietnam’s busiest roundabout - good fun weaving our way across that one.

Duck a la crme glace
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Ice -cream art at Fanny (a cafe) where deserts come in the forms of various animals, cyclos, junks or (my favourite) as sushi.

Several impressive colonial era buildings including the Fine Arts Museum, the Municipal Theatre, Notre Dame Cathedral and Hotel de Ville

Had a most memorable dinner at a place following the Basil Fawlty management style. The boss lady appeared periodically from nowhere to berate her staff, whilst some of the waiters ran (at top speed) backwards and forwards, often out the front and down the street to re-appear with food, presumably from another restaurant. At least it was still hot. This does at least explain the unfeasibly large menu of hundreds of dishes.

Municipal Theatre
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At one point a particularly cow towed waiter tried to deliver a squid salad to every table in the place, each in turn pointing out that they hadn’t ordered anything of the sort (I was waiting on pizza). Brilliant in his persistence, he reappeared 5 minutes later with the same salad and started his rounds again, before the manageress materialised and sent him scurrying back to the kitchen. Even ordering 2 drinks with fingers indicating the number 2 seemed to be beyond comprehension for this particular waiter as he’d nod and say “yes one more, one more”. Very amusing since the food was surprisingly good.

Hotel de Ville (& Uncle Ho, bien sur!)
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Bravely (or stupidly) we braved the heat another day to visit a couple of the more popular museums in Ho Chi Minh:

War Remnants Museum - a slightly biased ‘government sanctioned’ view of the American War (no mention or displays of VC mines or the results). Regardless this place really does highlight the grim and depressing reality of war and the effects of ever more destructive guns, bombs and armaments. The most shocking bit is the photos and videos of the many many thousands of Vietnamese living with the after effects of the poison Agent Orange (which was all America). Worth seeing and very thought provoking, but hardly cheerful stuff.

Le Pub's Public safety warning (I've heard this goes on in UK too)
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Ho Chi Minh City Museum - basically a random assortment of exhibits in a fairly grand colonial building. All toured whilst various happy couples pose for wedding photos in full regalia. Entertaining, but only briefly (possibly not helped by not switching on the ceiling fans, let alone investing in air-conditioning).

One evening we headed into the posher ‘Dong Khoi’ part of town to sit at the Rex Hotel’s 5^th floor rooftop bar, overlooking a crossroads on Le Loi, one of Saigon’s busiest streets. As well as providing an excellent vantage point over the moped madness below, streaming round a Christmas display in the centre, it also has a vantage point of Hotel de Ville floodlit at night and the Theatre in the distance. Well worth the ridiculous price of drinks (probably equivalent to George Street).

Ho Chi Minh City Museum
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Final day in Ho Chi Minh is spent doing last minute shopping for yet more cheap DVDs, lacqerware, t-shirts and the up until now avoided tourist tea set. Relaxing with soft beverage by day and local beer by night, enjoying our last land based days for a week or so.