Ho Chi Minh City is not for the weak at heart. It is full of history, bargain markets, dazzling light displays at night, and 4 million motorbikes. To all but the government and a few North Vietnamese, the city still goes by Saigon though it was officially renamed after the reunification in 1975. It is the largest city in Vietnam (9+ million) and certainly the most modern and prosperous. There is a skyscraper that is 861ft tall with a helli-pad jutting out from the 50th floor. We walked by designer shops that are not found in most US cities: Channel, Gucci, Burberry, Rolex, Louis Vuitton, Versace, etc. Silk shops lined the upscale streets and good food was everywhere. Where the heck were we?
Still in Vietnam we can assure you. Below the fancy hotels and next to the high-end retail was so much bootleg and knock-off stuff you couldn't quite believe your eyes. If you need a North Face backpack they got them by the dozens. A Lacoste shirt? No problem. Rolex watches going for thousands less than the real ones a few hundred yards away. Every Lonely Planet Guide Book ever printed is there photocopied illegally. Shoppers paradise, if you don't mind the bargaining game. Oh and there are produce stands full of exotic fruits and beautiful flowers (orchids, lilies, roses, etc.) that grow like weeds here.
By night, the city takes another form and billions of light bulbs switch on to produce light displays that rival Time Square. We were particularly lucky to be in Saigon in the time leading up to Tet (the Chinese New Year) which is by far the biggest holiday in Vietnam. This means that everybody and there Grandmother is buying cheap plastic from China to decorate, but also the street lights are bumped up another notch! Displays like this where frequent around the city and families where out
on a stroll to enjoy the holiday spirit.
During the days, waiting for the electric night scene, we hit the sights which mostly involved the Vietnam War. In town was an incredible war museum with dozens of old aircraft and tanks on the lawn that were left by the Americans. Inside, among others, was an exhibit commemorating photographers who had died in the field trying to document the war. To say it was tough to look at the pictures they had taken would be an understatement, but what was uplifting was to go through the museum standing next to Vietnamese, both learning about the past and not judging each other. Another stop on our tour was to go to the old Presidential Palace, the capital of South Vietnam, and see where the North Liberation Army knocked down the gate with tanks and declared unification. Also of interest was markings on the building from where two bombs were dropped by South Vietnamese pilots in a failed assassination attempt before liberation. Apparently the president was in the other wing. The final must-see stop we went to was the Cu Chi Tunnels 20 or so miles outside of town. The tunnels were used by the Viet Cong with extreme effectiveness to hide close to the capital and cause all sorts of havoc for the American troops. Over 150 miles of tunnels existed, all hand-dug in secrecy to aid in supply movement and allow surprise attacks.
The tunnels are full of trapdoors the VC could escape into as seen above with our guide getting dirty. For tourist to actually go in parts of the tunnel, they had to widen them to "western" sizes otherwise people simply couldn't fit in them. Claustrophobic beware: there were no lights, air vents were scarce as they had to be hidden, and many places had up to 3 levels of tunnels, the lowest being 20ft below the surface. Hospitals existed down there and with foundries. One VC officer lived continuously in the tunnels for 5 years. Walking around, and even crawling through the tunnels was humbling. All around were huge (like 10ft deep and 30ft wide) craters from bombs dropped by B-52's, many filled in with water to form a small pond. For those who want to learn more, Travis read an amazing book simply called "The Tunnels of Cu Chi" by Mangold and Penycate.
We had the opportunity to take a crawl in the tunnels and while there was the option to go up to 60 yards in them, we all opted for the 20 yard leg and that was all we needed to know how unpleasant and mentally challenging life must have been in the tunnels. The one was about 3ft tall which meant the Vietnamese could walk down them bent over, but Travis was forced to crawl very awkwardly.
And now on to the millions of motorbikes that clog the streets. There are T-Shirts being sold that say "I survived Saigon" and at first we did not quite understand what the huff was all about. Well we soon got savvy and realized the shirt was regarding crossing the roads by darting in front of the sea of bikes coming at you. Nothing back in the States can compare to the chaos here. As we already posted, driver rules are vague at best and pedestrians are a bonus for all drivers.
Once we got the hang of it, crossing the road become more about amusement than fear. If you stand in the corner and wait for a "break" in traffic you will never make it across. Instead you have to make the first step onto the road and slide a few feet into traffic, which never goes quickly. As long as you keep moving forward things go smoothly; the bikes flow around you adapting to your position and the drivers
anticipate which way you are walking. The worst thing to do is loose your courage and take a step back. That's when you get into trouble.
While in Saigon we had the delight of meeting up with another of Victoria's friends from Can Tho, Thao, who works for one of the many travel companies in the busy backpackers quarter. On our last night in town we stayed with her and her roommate outside of downtown. They put us up in a deluxe house (5 floors!) they and a few others are renting, turning it into living quarters and a frozen yogurt shop on the first floor. We even got to sample some of the yogurt on the house.
Saigon is a crazy place to visit for sure and requires a little patience, but a place we really enjoyed. Check it out if you ever get the chance, oh and the sunsets aren't too bad either...
T&V
