Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh
- Will Boddington
- Feb 11, 2018
- 3 min read
Our first evening was spent walking around to get our bearings, and trying to get used to the craziness that is Vietnam roads. Crossing the roads with scooters passing in front and behind you takes a while to get used to! We came across the weekend market where we grabbed some snacks and fresh juice.
The following day we met up with Aarti again (she had to stay in Phnom Penh an extra night to wait for her visa to come through). The streets this evening were even more manic than usual because of an U23's football final being played between Vietnam and Uzbekistan. Vietnam lost in extra time but they were celebrating like that had just won the World Cup, the streets didn’t quieten down until gone midnight! Nothing too rowdy, just lots of horns, flags and shouting (we're assuming) celebrations.
The next day we took ourselves on a self-guided walking tour consisting of the Independence Palace (which a guard told us was closed for the hour so we moved on), the Notre Dame cathedral (half of which was covered in scaffolding so wasn’t very photogenic) and the war remnants museum. On the street heading up to the museum we were shown a leaflet showing opening times of the museum, were told that it was closed for the hour and invited onto a tuktuk tour to other places that are open. We turned down the offer and soon realised that the museum was still open and didn’t close at all until the end of the day - a classic Asian scam for tuktuk drivers to earn a lot of money from us plus commission!
The war remnants museum was an eye opener with lots of information about the American war and some horrifying pictures and stories about how some locals are still suffering from the wars ongoing effects.
After our long day of walking, we had a ‘family dinner’ at our hostel and we got the chance to be shown how to cook our own spring rolls.
Whilst in Saigon, we couldn’t not visit the Chu Chi Tunnels. It took about 2 hours to get to the tunnels which we were not expecting but on arrival our tour guide was full of lots of information.
We saw the secret entrances to the tunnels and were shown how they covered them over again to keep them hidden. We also saw various types of hidden traps to catch enemies, and at the end of the tour we were able to crawl through a small section of the tunnels. It was a really informative trip, but the location had been made with tourists in mind and there was very little genuine historical content - it didn't quite seem as real as things we had seen elsewhere, such as the Killing Fields in Cambodia.
Back at the hostel, we had a few drinks before packing for our 9am bus to Mui Ne.
Accommodation:
Phuck Khanh Hotel 2, 1 night, 350,000 VND for a private double. First impressions was a great hotel - there was a dining area for breakfast, friendly reception staff, a lift to navigate the huge hotel and a large, clean room with an impressive bathroom (there was even a bath!) However, we soon realised that there was no plug for the bath, the shower barely ran, let alone hot, and the bed was pretty hard. Breakfast the next morning was also a poor effort, but as it was included in the price we couldn't really complain! This was definitely a budget hotel and we got what we paid for, although we met one man while we were checking out who had stayed here for 8 nights while on holiday! We wouldn't stay here again but it was good for a quiet night away from hostels. 5/10. Stuck in Saigon, 1 night, 125,000 VND for a dorm bed. This was a friendly hostel with comfy beds, although very creaky, but it definitely had a 'long term' feel to it; more of being a guest in a student house than a traveller's hostel. This hostel was more central to Backpacker Street and the majority of bars and restaurants, but we couldn't wait to leave here due to the lack of atmosphere. 5/10. The Hideout, 2 nights, 180,000 VND for a dorm bed.
This hostel was so much more like we'd been used to in Cambodia - clean rooms, a good bathroom, a rooftop bar and free beers every night! There was also a sister hostel down the road where we had the family dinner and learnt how to make spring rolls. Both hostels had a great social feel to them and we really enjoyed staying here. 7/10.
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