I recently managed to get some time off work and went on a low-budget vacay to Ho Chi Minh a.k.a Saigon in the south of Vietnam with two friends. We did it back-packer style and stayed at this great hotel, Blue River, in Backpacker Alley off Pham Ngu Lao road where rooms are cheap but clean and comfortable, breakfast and internet access is free and the customer service is astoundingly fantastic and brings a whole new meaning to the word attentiveness.
After a hectic working schedule the past coupla months, to take an easy, laid-back trip was EXACTLY what was needed to gain some much needed peace of mind and regroup. Work had started to take its toll on my sanity. This wasn't my first visit to HCMC as I had been before back in 2003, during my unemployed post-uni days. It was a big family trip with aunts, uncles and cousins in tow. This second time around allowed me to do the vacation on my own terms and was so much more satisfying.
How is that so you may ask. Well, when you use your own money, you can make sure you do the things you want to do as you want to make your money's worth. When your trip is being paid for by the 'rents, you have to follow the itinerary the people paying for the trip have come up with which mainly consisted of buying up the entire textile stock at the Ben Tanh Market. All I ever remembered of my first trip was going to the market 5-6 times in a day buying up all sorts of table runners, fabric, cushion covers and the like. The only highlight of that trip was the jaunt to the Cu Chi tunnels which was amazing despite having only 6 persons doing the actual tour out of the 20 people in our group (the group consisted mainly of those over 50 who did not particularly enjoy crawling around underground).
Anyways, back to the here and now, this trip I managed to do all the sight-seeing I was deprived of the first time which did include a second tour of the tunnels. Coming back to a country 5 years after the last visit is interesting as you get to see how the city has grown. The difference between the HCMC I came to in '03 and the one I just came back from was glaringly obvious. The pace of development is so fast it's almost as if you can foresee the type of Asian city that it will become one day, a Tokyo, Shanghai or Kuala Lumpur, hopefully not losing its sense of charm and becoming another soulless city ala Singapore (sorry!).
After an agonizingly long time spent getting to the destination, close to 20 hours of travel, we finally reached HCMC. For the week or so we were there, we booked tours for the first 2 days; a city tour on the first day and the Cu Chi Tunnels for Day 2. The tour company was organized, efficient and most importantly, cheap!
Our city tour cost USD9 per pax and entailed an extensive round of HCMC's most famous landmarks as well as lunch. The tour price did not cover any entrance fees but that's fine, most places were free and the ones that did charge, tickets usually cost between USD1 to USD2. Since our party was small, about 12 of us, the tour operators sent us out in a comfortable, relatively new, air-conditioned Mercedes van for the full day jaunt. Our first stop was the War Remnants Museum, a museum showcasing the legacy left from the Vietnam War. It was certainly a jarring and humbling experience. It brought the realization of how badly humans can treat each other. I definitely still have problems wrapping my head around the pictorials I saw. It was a sad and completely inexcusable, unnecessary event in world history. After about an hour, we made our second stop at the Royal Palace, the home of former South Vietnam's Prime Minister and the scene of one of the most auspicious/momentous/significant day in Vietnam's history. It was at this palace that the movement from North Vietnam overcame the American backed South Vietnam and the world will forever have the pictures of the two tanks passing through the palace gates symbolizing the fall of Saigon. We took a short break for lunch and soon were back on the roads headed towards a rehabilitation centre for the physically disabled where they make and sell gorgeous and delicately intricate lacquer ware. The Vietnamese government spearheads many of these rehabilitation centres for those affected by the war whether due to mines, bombs or chemical agents. Our next stops were the infamous Notre Dame cathedral, the post office and city hall. We then made our way to Chinatown and had a short retail excursion, for those who were interested anyway before finishing off the tour with a visit to a famous Chinese temple patroned by the Lady of The Sea.
Day 2 was started bright and early as the Cu Chi tunnels are located in the outskirts of HCMC, about a one and a half hours bus ride away. Our tour made a 30 minutes stop at another rehabilitation centre before continuing on towards the main attraction; the Cu Chi tunnels. Coming back again afer five years, I noticed the many upgrades done to accommodate the influx of tourist. The tunnels are a little less gritty and more big white male tourist friendly, if you know what I mean. Basically, they have done a lot of 'repairs' to allow for the larger frames of male caucasians to experience the tunnels. I'm not discriminating but it is simply a fact that white males are much larger in stature than Asians or others but comparable to Africans. I am simply stating white males as I did not see any African men in ours or other tour groups. Anyways, we did the tour of the entire Cu Chi 'Park', taking in the documentary and having a try at the shooting range before eventually coming to the main attraction, the tunnel crawl. I loved the first time I did it and although less as authentic as the first, the second tunnel crawl was still well worth it. I did not have bats flying overhead this time but there were plenty other unmentionable incidents that went on down in the tunnels which made the experience just as memorable. Another day in Vietnam is done!
The third day was spent discovering Ho Chi Minh on our own. We went mainly on foot practically walking the radius of District 1. We visited many other less popular touristy attractions and also managed to do a little bit of shopping at the Ben Thanh market. And the fifth and final day before we left was spent entirely at the markets! I won't bore with details of things purchased, that could be a whole seperate post altogether.
Our HCM adventure came to a close and we made the long and agonizing trip back to where work awaited. It was great to escape for a while.......... I need another vacation!
After a hectic working schedule the past coupla months, to take an easy, laid-back trip was EXACTLY what was needed to gain some much needed peace of mind and regroup. Work had started to take its toll on my sanity. This wasn't my first visit to HCMC as I had been before back in 2003, during my unemployed post-uni days. It was a big family trip with aunts, uncles and cousins in tow. This second time around allowed me to do the vacation on my own terms and was so much more satisfying.
How is that so you may ask. Well, when you use your own money, you can make sure you do the things you want to do as you want to make your money's worth. When your trip is being paid for by the 'rents, you have to follow the itinerary the people paying for the trip have come up with which mainly consisted of buying up the entire textile stock at the Ben Tanh Market. All I ever remembered of my first trip was going to the market 5-6 times in a day buying up all sorts of table runners, fabric, cushion covers and the like. The only highlight of that trip was the jaunt to the Cu Chi tunnels which was amazing despite having only 6 persons doing the actual tour out of the 20 people in our group (the group consisted mainly of those over 50 who did not particularly enjoy crawling around underground).
Anyways, back to the here and now, this trip I managed to do all the sight-seeing I was deprived of the first time which did include a second tour of the tunnels. Coming back to a country 5 years after the last visit is interesting as you get to see how the city has grown. The difference between the HCMC I came to in '03 and the one I just came back from was glaringly obvious. The pace of development is so fast it's almost as if you can foresee the type of Asian city that it will become one day, a Tokyo, Shanghai or Kuala Lumpur, hopefully not losing its sense of charm and becoming another soulless city ala Singapore (sorry!).
After an agonizingly long time spent getting to the destination, close to 20 hours of travel, we finally reached HCMC. For the week or so we were there, we booked tours for the first 2 days; a city tour on the first day and the Cu Chi Tunnels for Day 2. The tour company was organized, efficient and most importantly, cheap!
Our city tour cost USD9 per pax and entailed an extensive round of HCMC's most famous landmarks as well as lunch. The tour price did not cover any entrance fees but that's fine, most places were free and the ones that did charge, tickets usually cost between USD1 to USD2. Since our party was small, about 12 of us, the tour operators sent us out in a comfortable, relatively new, air-conditioned Mercedes van for the full day jaunt. Our first stop was the War Remnants Museum, a museum showcasing the legacy left from the Vietnam War. It was certainly a jarring and humbling experience. It brought the realization of how badly humans can treat each other. I definitely still have problems wrapping my head around the pictorials I saw. It was a sad and completely inexcusable, unnecessary event in world history. After about an hour, we made our second stop at the Royal Palace, the home of former South Vietnam's Prime Minister and the scene of one of the most auspicious/momentous/significant day in Vietnam's history. It was at this palace that the movement from North Vietnam overcame the American backed South Vietnam and the world will forever have the pictures of the two tanks passing through the palace gates symbolizing the fall of Saigon. We took a short break for lunch and soon were back on the roads headed towards a rehabilitation centre for the physically disabled where they make and sell gorgeous and delicately intricate lacquer ware. The Vietnamese government spearheads many of these rehabilitation centres for those affected by the war whether due to mines, bombs or chemical agents. Our next stops were the infamous Notre Dame cathedral, the post office and city hall. We then made our way to Chinatown and had a short retail excursion, for those who were interested anyway before finishing off the tour with a visit to a famous Chinese temple patroned by the Lady of The Sea.
Day 2 was started bright and early as the Cu Chi tunnels are located in the outskirts of HCMC, about a one and a half hours bus ride away. Our tour made a 30 minutes stop at another rehabilitation centre before continuing on towards the main attraction; the Cu Chi tunnels. Coming back again afer five years, I noticed the many upgrades done to accommodate the influx of tourist. The tunnels are a little less gritty and more big white male tourist friendly, if you know what I mean. Basically, they have done a lot of 'repairs' to allow for the larger frames of male caucasians to experience the tunnels. I'm not discriminating but it is simply a fact that white males are much larger in stature than Asians or others but comparable to Africans. I am simply stating white males as I did not see any African men in ours or other tour groups. Anyways, we did the tour of the entire Cu Chi 'Park', taking in the documentary and having a try at the shooting range before eventually coming to the main attraction, the tunnel crawl. I loved the first time I did it and although less as authentic as the first, the second tunnel crawl was still well worth it. I did not have bats flying overhead this time but there were plenty other unmentionable incidents that went on down in the tunnels which made the experience just as memorable. Another day in Vietnam is done!
The third day was spent discovering Ho Chi Minh on our own. We went mainly on foot practically walking the radius of District 1. We visited many other less popular touristy attractions and also managed to do a little bit of shopping at the Ben Thanh market. And the fifth and final day before we left was spent entirely at the markets! I won't bore with details of things purchased, that could be a whole seperate post altogether.
Our HCM adventure came to a close and we made the long and agonizing trip back to where work awaited. It was great to escape for a while.......... I need another vacation!
