Ho Chi Minh - Blogabond

Had a slight technical hitch on our journey from Can Tho to Ho Chi Minh, our bus broke down! No such thing as commercial rescue or AA or RAC so the driver got stuck into the engine compartment. Not sure what was wrong but after about half an hour he had fixed whatever it was and we were off again. We had a funny moment when we checked into our hotel and they announced we had been upgraded, don’t hear that phrase very often and it was a first on this trip – we luxuriated in a Deluxe rather than standard room!
I think we have touched on traffic conditions in previous entries but nothing prepares you for HCM, there are mopeds and more mopeds and more mopeds. As a pedestrian it is a dangerous place and something simple like crossing the road is only for the brave, red lights cannot be trusted and neither can anyone indicating – they probably didn’t mean to. To cross the road, you initially look at whats coming and then start to cross, very slowly without looking left or right again. The mopeds then anticipate your next step and go round you, its almost biblical in the parting of the seas!
Our first full day in HCM was a complete frustration, we seem to have these sorts of days every so often and this was definitely one of them. We had decided to extend our Visa as we wanted to stay longer than 30 days. So, we go to the visa office but as Joe Public, you cannot extend your visa, it has to be done via a travel agent, cue trawling around travel agents trying to find someone to organise it for us. The prices charged ranged from $35 to over $100 and the time required to organise from 3 to 10 days. In the end, we went for the cheaper one but then we were told we needed to pay more because we needed it done so quickly. In the end, we paid $55 for something that according to the stamp in our passport cost $10. Follow travellers be warned!
We visited the War Remnants Museum which documents the war with the US. It was really interesting but equally horrific. There was an excellent exhibition of photographs by war correspondents which really did speak volumes about that time and included some world famous pictures. One of the sadder facts was the impact of Agent Orange and its impact even quite recently on particularly the Vietnamese but war veterans of other nationalities as well. Even in the past few years lawsuits and appeals have been taking place in the US – something that I was completely unaware of.

Saigon - War Remnants Museum

Somewhat strangely, the Museum closes for lunch so our visit was cut short. From there we walked to Reunification Palace. This is effectively where it all ended for the South Vietnamese government in 1975 when communist tanks entered and unfurled the VC flag. The very weird thing about this place is that almost everything has been left untouched since then and preserved as it was, its like being in a time warp! Even the basement which was used as a war is as it originally was with steel desk, Bakelite phones and all the old telecommunications equipment still in situ.

Saigon - Reunification Palace war room comms centre

Saigon - Reunification Palace

Continuing the war theme, we went to the Cu Chi tunnels which, as the name suggests, are a network of tunnels and a stronghold of the VC during the war. This was too was extremely interesting, at its height and in this particular area alone, there were over 250Km of tunnels, in places 3 storeys high.
We had a guide to take us around and before physically going into the tunnels themselves we had a rest stop by the shooting range, I obviously use the word rest slightly tongue in cheek. Here, somewhat strangely, if willing to stump up the required cash, the average tourist can shoot live ammunition. You have a menu of weapons to chose from, from AK47 to a M60, once you have decided on your weapon of choice, you pay the required amount of money dependent on how many rounds you wish to fire and are then taken down to the shooting range. Call me a killjoy but this seemed totally bizarre to me and, no, I didn’t have a go!
We then went to the tunnels themselves, there is a section of about 120 metres that you can go in. Before going in we were given a few warnings that it was not for everyone and that there was an escape route every 50M. I wondered what all the fuss was about until I physically got into the tunnel, its only about 70cm wide by 120cm high. This means that you effectively have to waddle like a duck for 120M, this is actually pretty strenuous particularly because of the heat and you have to keep stopping because of slower people ahead of you. In some sections, it narrowed even further and you had to go up and down quite a large step. I don’t shirk from many things but I have to say by the second escape route I was seriously tempted. We both made it to the end but our legs were like jelly by the end of it, I have to say I was very pleased to be out of there. How people lived and fought in those places is beyond me.

Cu Chi - Not as easy as it looks

We got dropped back to the city by bus and started to walk back to the hotel when the heavens opened big style. Within 10 minutes you could no longer see the road and within 20 minutes, it was under a foot of water. All the kids were having great fun in the water and there were some good photo opportunities. One guy came out with his soap and stood under a gutter and had an impromptu shower! The bad thing was that the drains just couldn’t cope which forced what lived down there up, like the cockroaches, not pleasant and Em freaked!

Saigon - making the most of the rain

That night England were playing Germany and I was determined to watch. We found a bar which was more like someone’s front room with chairs on the pavement but they served beer and they had a TV with the football on. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be but once again we can all say England were robbed because Lampard’s goal was over the line!
By the way, no one calls Ho Chi Minh City by its current name, all the locals still call it Saigon!

written by

Tim and Em on June 27, 2010 from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

from the travel blog: Round half the world!

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