Whilst standing at the baggage reclaim belt at Tan Son Nhut Airport
in Ho Chi Minh City
I scrolled through my iPod trying to decide what would be the soundtrack to my
first journey through the infamous roads of this city. I couldn't decide.
Instead I settled for the deafening sound of motorbike engines and the chorus
of car horns. All that I had read and seen about the traffic was true. As many
vehicles clutter the streets here as in Jakarta,
but without the constant jams of the Indonesian capital. Instead thousands
of motorbikes hurtle in every direction and brave pedal cyclists look straight
ahead.
Eventually though we reached De Tham - the backpacking district. Here I left
my taxi and checked into my hostel. This was confusing. The hostel is split between
3 buildings all opposite one another. The one I was in required entering
through a restaurant, up some rickety old stairs and then into my flea bidden
room - it really was, as I found out the next morning. The door would not lock
but thankfully I had brought a padlock with me so I decided to see it out for
the night at least.
I headed out for a light-bite and some beers before retiring for an early
night - though the lizard that kept running across the wall should have been a
warning sign...! Waking up the following morning it seemed I had made some new
friends in the night - the bed bugs really do bite. I decided to move hostels
immediately. As my friends John and Hannah arrived the following day I decided
to check out their hotel - after doing so I moved in at just $3 more a night.
After finally getting settled I set out to explore this loud but exciting city.
Straight away I was more in love with these streets than Bangkok. Strolling north I visited the Reunification Palace, home to past Presidents of
Southern Vietnam and was taken on a guided tour of a Presidential Home that
looked more like a Bond Villains lair!
I then walked to the French influenced Notre Dame Cathedral before walking
the length of Dong Jhoi towards the river Saigon,
taking in the beautiful Son Square
which is flanked by huge hotels and the Municipal Theatre.
After lunch I continued my walk to the Saigon, walking the banks from the
statue of Tran Hung Dao before cutting back into the City to scale the 49
floors of the Bitexco
Financial Tower
to the SkyDeck for panoramic views of the city.
I walked north again through the busying streets as the sun finally broke
free of the overcast clouds and covered me in scorching sunlight as I reached
the wonderful architecture of the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. Sadly the exhibits
and the upkeep of the grounds can not compare to the splendor of the building
itself but at 80p entry fee one can not really complain.
That evening I headed out for dinner, booked for a dinner cruise along the Saigon River. I walked along the darkened riverside with the scream of traffic still deafening from behind.
To my left ran boat after boat, moored waking to take their evening
dinner guests on a journey along the Saigon. They were covered in garish
coloured light, names in neon and one's bow lit up with the grin of a
monster. I gladly kept walking to the end of the line of ships and there
was mine, and old world vessle delicately lit and beautiful with a
sails covered in fairly lights and chinese lanterns. I sat on the bank
of the river for a while and admired the La Perle de l'Orient for a
while before boarding.
Dinner was lovely and fuelled with traditional
Vietnamese music and dance, though I was most likely the younger person
on board by quite some margin! After docking I strolled back to the
hotel via the city centre (which is magical at night time) and the
nearby night market. I then headed back to the hotel
to bed for the evening - this time hopefully without insect company.
