We were up bright and early for our journey by taxi from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City, a journey of just over six hours including the obligatory border crossing. The driver who took us from Phnom Penh to the border at Moc Bai was excellent – very calm and cautious and steady.
Crossing international borders in SE Asia (and perhaps everywhere) is always a pain. It’s hot with little ventilation in the customs hall and the queues are tiringly slow. For some reason though the guard took pity on two tired and old westerners and stamped our passports quickly and vigorously. The taxi firm provided an “escort” to get us and our luggage through the border but he was clearly as fed up with the delays as we were. At one point he dumped our luggage and wandered off – we did wonder whether we’d ever see it again. A bit of a shuffle in the queue and we could just glimpse it on the other side of the immigration stalls. Of course, it was all fine and everything was in order when we finally were released into the warm embrace of Vietnam.
Our escort took us through to meet the driver who would transport us to HCMC and we set off. At what seemed like 100 mph with a constantly blaring horn. I’m not sure what the hurry was but I must confess to feeling somewhat uneasy at the way in which he weaved in and out of the traffic, frequently on the “wrong” side of the road or undertaking lorries, cars and motorcycles. To make matters worse, Penny’s seatbelt didn’t work at which he laughed and shouted, “No work!” Cheers.
As we got into HCMC for some mysterious reason we parked up and waited. For someone, or something, who knows? Eventually, through the modern technology of Google Translate he explained that he was picking something up for his family – five minutes. The five minutes turned into fifteen until a car finally pulled up just near us and handed over a very official-looking parcel. And on we went.
The traffic in HCMC has to be seen to be believed. You think you’ve experienced congested city driving, think again! And, of course, such things as lanes, indicating when turning, traffic lights, are all simply there for negotiation. You want to turn left from the far right-hand lane of a six-lane thoroughfare? Go for it! Astonishingly, we’ve not yet seen a traffic accident. I guess they’re just used to it all.
We arrived at our hotel, the Au Lac Charner in the heart of District 1, just in time for high tea in the rooftop restaurant. The staff were very friendly and welcoming and accommodating but we both felt it’s a little ragged round the edges – it needs a bit of TLC. Still, it was very comfortable and well placed for the things we wanted to see and do. We ate dinner at a vegan restaurant simply called “O” which was excellent, if somewhat challenging to find – it’s down a narrow alley strewn with parked motorcycles but we got there in the end. Everything is plant-based and it was very good.
After dinner we strolled down the road to the Bitexco Financial Tower which offers a panoramic 360-degree view of the city from the 49th floor. As an added bonus – senior citizens got a discount! Incredible views all round.
The next day we set off tolerably early to visit several sites on our list. First to the Jamia Al-Musulman Mosque about a ten-minute walk away. We found it fine but couldn’t seem to find a way in so wandered around the outside for a bit and then set off for our next tourist attraction, the Saigon Central Post Office.
Built by the French between 1886 and 1891, it’s a lovely example of French Colonial architecture. It still operates as a post office but much of the space has been given over to souvenir stalls, some selling trinkets and some selling more expensive items. We made a few purchases and wandered next door to Book Lane, a shady, tree-lined street with book stalls and various artist’s work on display. Penny had been befriended by some Vietnamese students who were carrying out a survey on tourism in HCMC. She spent about twenty minutes with them answering all their questions with great detail. When they caught up with me a bit later my interview took about twenty seconds – they could tell this idiot doesn’t remember much of anything. They were very sweet though and we were each given a little key ring adorned with a miniature Vietnamese hat.
Unfortunately, the Notre Dame Cathedral just opposite the Post Office was undergoing extensive renovation so we were unable to gain entry in spite of our best efforts. So, onwards towards the Saigon Governor’s Palace, later the Vietnamese Presidential Palace and later still, after the fall of Saigon, the Independence Palace, walking along a lovely tree-lined and shady boulevard.
The Independence Palace was, I thought, very interesting. It was rebuilt after being largely damaged in 1962 due to being bombed by two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force Pilots. It’s also the location where tanks drove through the gates as Saigon finally fell to the North Vietnamese in 1975.
Back home and out to dinner at what turned out to be a fantastic Italian restaurant, the Ottimo House Trattoria in the Lotte Hotel just a short distance away. This is a very upmarket hotel so I was surprised they let us in. We were also surprised to discover we were just about the only diners that evening. The hotel has another dining room which was busy but this was an absolute delight – the porcini mushroom tagliatelle was outstanding! 5 stars!
We had a fairly relaxed start to the next day. Penny had quite wanted to see the Cu Chi tunnels north of the city but when we investigated the options, we came across descriptions which put us off somewhat. The opportunity to fire a live AK-47 (bullets extra) and some of the other activities aimed at gun-happy tourists was not high on our to-do list. Instead, we opted for a visit to the main market in HCMC, a labyrinth of narrow passages through hordes of market traders, all of whom are touting for your business. We did find some “authentic genuine” Adidas socks for me, a linen shirt and a lovely white dress/shirt for Penny. We feel as if we are mastering the art of haggling and managed to get each trader down to what we thought was a reasonable and fair price. No doubt we are still over-paying but sometimes you end up haggling over a few pence. And, if they weren’t making money on the deal they wouldn’t be selling. So, we feel as if we’ve won and they quietly take our money knowing that they’ve still made a profit.
The afternoon’s adventure was a boat ride up the Saigon River and back down again. Sadly, it was somewhat of a letdown. There is a lot of development along the river with new high-rise apartment buildings all over the place. What we had hoped we might see – either old French colonial riverside buildings or traditional riverside houses – were few and far between.
Our last night we wandered a few paces down the road to the Running Bean, a coffee shop which is clearly very popular with younger more affluent Vietnamese – the place was jammed. Although they are primarily a coffee shop (they roast their own beans on site), they also have a pretty decent selection of meals which turned out to be very good indeed. A gentle stroll back to the hotel for a good sleep prior to our leaving HCMC the following morning.
On to Phan Thiet.
Next time . . . a rendezvous with Adam, Ava and the girls, a pirate-themed hotel, a crazy house, a chair lift and a rollercoaster. Hang on to your hats!
All good here – the weather has continued its wacky notion of being clear and sunny. Not necessarily overly warm/hot but lovely, lovely, lovely. The satellite image was taken on Wednesday (I think) but could have been just about any day, I reckon. The second photo is Penny and her sister-in-law (Jeremy’s wife) Liz ascending Edgehill. Glorious day and a glorious stroll up the hill, through the woods and down the other side. And finally, blossom on one of the plum trees in the orchard with the hammock ready for action.
Sadly, some “light”rain is forecast for Sunday and a couple of other days next week. Crazy to be “praying” for rain in April but there we are.
YCNMIU
Meanwhile, keep breathing, keep happy, keep smiling, keep exercising, be good, be careful, and keep safe. And be gentle to wasps and bees – we need all the pollinators we can get.
Lots of love to you all,
Greg