Saigon - HCM City
Day One: We arrived in Saigon around 8/9am after taking the overnight train from Nha Trang. While I did sleep, it was a looonnnggg journey, mostly due to having to share a sleeper carriage with a shocking snorer - I'm sure he is in need of medical help, his snoring was horrifying!
After a shower & breakfast we hit the streets. Our first stop was Ben Thanh market. We ran the gauntlet of t-shirt & souvenir sellers and did a little bit of shopping. We caught our first whiff of durian fruit - it's so horrible & overpowering, I wonder how anyone would be able to eat it.
Next stop was the War Remnants Museum (The Museum of Chinese & American War Crimes) It was an interesting but heartbreaking experience. The photos & exhibits were intense & brutal, I fought back tears the whole time we were there.
Outside the museum we re-grouped with a cold coconut juice (served fresh, in a coconut) from a street vendor.
The weather was hot & humid so we spent a little while sitting in a park outside Reunification Palace. While we were sitting in the shade Anthony had his shoes cleaned by a passing shoe shiner - his Converse sneakers now have a bright white sole.
Lunch was at a cafe, inside out of the heat. We had chicken satay, rice & Bánh mì (Vietnamese meat sandwich) washed down with Anthony's first Coors Light beer.
After lunch we headed over to Ho Chi Minh's museum were we leant about the life of "Uncle Ho". By now the heat had pretty much done us in, so we headed back to the air-conditioned hotel to cool off.
We had pre dinner drinks at an Aussie bar called The Blue Gecko. After a few pints of Fosters, and feeling a little boozey, we decided we had better eat. Huong Lai was fully booked so we settled for a rather uninspiring Westernised dinner the The Beir Garden near our hotel.
We wandered home through the sparkly festive lights dripping from trees and buildings, gorgeous. Being Sunday everyone was out and about - families out for a motorbike ride, playing in the park & most just simply sitting and watching the world go by. The atmosphere was amazing - everyone was having fun, happy.
Day Two: Today we popped into the Ben Thanh markets again for some more shopping. It gets very hot in there and stuffier & stuffier as the day goes on, so a few short early morning visits, seems to be the way to go to see & shop it all.
As we had our walking shoes on we enjoyed a walk out the see the Jade Pagoda - where the air was thick with incense and there were lucky (live) turtles for sale - and then on the Botanical Gardens. We hadn't realized (even though it's clearly stated on the Lonely Planet! Ha) that the zoo was part of the Botanical Gardens. It was lovely to sit and have a cold drink in the shade of the trees, however when we wandered over to see the animals, we become rather upset. The animals were not housed in nearly adequate conditions. I was increasing distressed as we visited swaying, bored elephants and orangutans that were being fed lollies by the visitors. We didn't stay long.
Today we enjoyed a fresh, light lunch of lotus shoot salad and self rolled pork rolls with iced green tea.
We have started to adopt the Vietnamese way of resting after lunch. In this heat a siesta is needed to recharge for the rest of the afternoon/ evening.
So now it's nap time...
Jess x
After a shower & breakfast we hit the streets. Our first stop was Ben Thanh market. We ran the gauntlet of t-shirt & souvenir sellers and did a little bit of shopping. We caught our first whiff of durian fruit - it's so horrible & overpowering, I wonder how anyone would be able to eat it.
Next stop was the War Remnants Museum (The Museum of Chinese & American War Crimes) It was an interesting but heartbreaking experience. The photos & exhibits were intense & brutal, I fought back tears the whole time we were there.
Outside the museum we re-grouped with a cold coconut juice (served fresh, in a coconut) from a street vendor.
The weather was hot & humid so we spent a little while sitting in a park outside Reunification Palace. While we were sitting in the shade Anthony had his shoes cleaned by a passing shoe shiner - his Converse sneakers now have a bright white sole.
Lunch was at a cafe, inside out of the heat. We had chicken satay, rice & Bánh mì (Vietnamese meat sandwich) washed down with Anthony's first Coors Light beer.
After lunch we headed over to Ho Chi Minh's museum were we leant about the life of "Uncle Ho". By now the heat had pretty much done us in, so we headed back to the air-conditioned hotel to cool off.
We had pre dinner drinks at an Aussie bar called The Blue Gecko. After a few pints of Fosters, and feeling a little boozey, we decided we had better eat. Huong Lai was fully booked so we settled for a rather uninspiring Westernised dinner the The Beir Garden near our hotel.
We wandered home through the sparkly festive lights dripping from trees and buildings, gorgeous. Being Sunday everyone was out and about - families out for a motorbike ride, playing in the park & most just simply sitting and watching the world go by. The atmosphere was amazing - everyone was having fun, happy.
Day Two: Today we popped into the Ben Thanh markets again for some more shopping. It gets very hot in there and stuffier & stuffier as the day goes on, so a few short early morning visits, seems to be the way to go to see & shop it all.
As we had our walking shoes on we enjoyed a walk out the see the Jade Pagoda - where the air was thick with incense and there were lucky (live) turtles for sale - and then on the Botanical Gardens. We hadn't realized (even though it's clearly stated on the Lonely Planet! Ha) that the zoo was part of the Botanical Gardens. It was lovely to sit and have a cold drink in the shade of the trees, however when we wandered over to see the animals, we become rather upset. The animals were not housed in nearly adequate conditions. I was increasing distressed as we visited swaying, bored elephants and orangutans that were being fed lollies by the visitors. We didn't stay long.
Today we enjoyed a fresh, light lunch of lotus shoot salad and self rolled pork rolls with iced green tea.
We have started to adopt the Vietnamese way of resting after lunch. In this heat a siesta is needed to recharge for the rest of the afternoon/ evening.
So now it's nap time...
Jess x
posted by Anthony at
1:31 AM
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