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Was woken up at 4:30am by really terrible music played over the train tannoy. Halfway through washing and changing we were unceremoniously ejected from the train and onto a bus to take us to our hotel in Saigon. Fresh newspapers were being delivered to market stalls illuminated briefly by the bus headlights.
After a few hours sleep we had breakfast and then began a walking tour of the city. Saigon is a nice, familiar-feeling place. Very cosmopolitan, and a lot like London or Paris or any other international city. Went later on to the ‘War Remnants’ museum, and were stunned and shocked into subdued silence by the photographs and descriptions of the Vietnam War on display.
We had lunch at a restaurant recommended by the local guide, but found overpriced and ordinary-tasting food. Well, I say ‘overpriced’ but they were comparable to English prices. I guess we’ve become used to paying much less for food and drinks throughout the rest of Vietnam. Wandered around the Ben Thanh indoor market, a fantastic place to absorb Vietnamese life, so bustling and busy. Had to step around sleeping shopkeepers as we wandered round and had a fun conversation about Manchester United with a shopkeeper as we bartered for a watch!
Our meal tonight was a complete disaster, probably the only truly awful meal on the trip. I had Egg and Tomato soup – virtually the only vegetarian dish on the menu – and when it arrived it had suspect lumps of grey matter floating in it. Various suggestions were offered as to what it was, including chicken knuckle bones, chick fetus, shrimp, pork, a nipple and a testicle. Either way, I couldn’t stomach it so I left it. I received a thoroughly dirty look from the cook, but at least I didn’t have to pay for it…
We set off early the next morning to drive to the Cu Chi Vietcong tunnels. Once there we watched a propaganda-laden film about the Vietcong operation here and then walked around the tunnels and various ditches used by the Vietcong for different purposes. It was all really interesting but the soup from yesterday was still having an effect on me so I didn’t enjoy it as much as I could have done! Was horrified to discover that my hips were too wide to fit into the original entrance of the Vietcong tunnel! But, according to Madame Trang, that’s a sign of beauty. Wurhey!
Later on we were lead through a widened Vietcong tunnel which was pretty narrow and frightening, but I’m glad I went through. I couldn’t imagine how frightening it would be too be clambering through the narrow tunnels and try to fight an overland war at the same time…
Later on we drove to the Cao Dai temple at Tay Ninh to see the noon prayer meeting. I loved it there, even though I had an inkling that some of the traditions carried on there were tourist-driven. Even so, it was fascinating to see all the worshippers gather and sit according to rank and status and start praying. The ‘thought police’ wandered between them all to make sure no-one put a foot wrong! The temple was painted in garish green and pink – not colours that I would have chosen but I could appreciated that they probably had a deep-seated religious significance.
On the way back to Saigon I slept for most of the journey. As the bus was lacking in seatbelts however, I was catapulted from my seat whenever we drove over a bump! Apparently, Vietnamese Dong is impossible to convert back to dollars so I’ve opened a cash exchange amongst the group to offload my excess millions!
This evening I wandered out to find an internet café on my own and found a cosy café round the corner from the hotel. Felt so much like a proper traveller, huddled in the corner of a colourful internet café in night-time Saigon. Read emails from some friends back home while sipping Pineapple Lassi. Brilliant…
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