Ho Chi Minh Travelogue – Aug 08

Prologue – Pardon my english/ bad grammar as you read on as I’d typed this in a shot, within 5 hours... and I’m too lazy to vet through again :P

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Eeerkkk.. i did it again. Why do I always book flights that take off at the weirdest hours? For my trip to Ho Chi Minh, it was no exception. Never mind the rush to pack my luggage, not to mention being sleep deprived again, the trip went pretty well.

It was my first time at the budget terminal and boy was I acting like a “mountain tortoise”. It was small. It was empty. It was… weird. Not that it’s a negative comment, but I guess I’m just being a totally spoilt brat who got too used to the cozy terminals.

Oh well…

I have been procrastinating on sharing my trip here for the longest time. But today, I’ve decided that I should just do it for the sake of anyone who is intending to travel to Ho Chi Minh. Honestly, when I was doing my last minute research on this, I was surprised to find out there’s limited info out there on the Internet about Ho Chi Minh. I didn’t know what to expect. Was it going to be like another shopping haven like Bangkok? Or was I supposed to look forward to a really backward, rural city? I was totally lost.

But now that I’ve been here and done that, I would say it’s boring for me… in terms of shopping. ‘Coz I can jolly well get most of the stuff there in Singapore as well, and at about the same cost too. But in terms of culture, it’s a totally different experience altogether… almost an eye opener for a “mountain tortoise” like me.

Here goes…

First impression:
As we sailed across the skies and ready to land, I glanced out the window and my first thought that came to my mind was that I’m at the suburbs of Bangkok. Sure you see buildings and roads, but most of the land seemed to be plains. And I was worried for a moment if the airport was going to be poor in infrastructure and if I would have problems at the customs. After all, I had done a check on the Internet prior to coming here, but there wasn’t any English site nor info on the Ho chi minh airport!

But I was pleasantly surprised when I gradually made my way down the arrival hall. The place was new and modern. And to top it off, I had no issues at the customs.

Upon hitting the streets, en route to my hotel, it was a very different, complex feeling altogether…




Weather:
When I was there during late August, it was scorching hot everyday in the mornings. It’s quite bad - you can easily get a sun burn. So please do bring sun block.

But in the late afternoons, you can expect showers.

The sun’s up very early – at approx. 5.30am.
It starts to get dark at approx. 5.30pm.


Transportation & Traffic conditions:
The locals mainly travel on motorbikes with some of the wealthier ones driving cars. As for the youngsters/ students, they mainly ride bicycles.

It was not uncommon to see cyclists and motor-bikers alongside each other. There were few traffic lights and directional signs. Traffic was coming from everywhere and anywhere. There was no clear lanes as to which way goes up and which way goes down.

It was also not uncommon to see 4 people on a bike at one time, cruising down the deadly lanes. Initially I was shocked at seeing an infant been squashed between the parents as the father cruised down the lanes… but after the second day, I was immune.

If you had thought that traffic in Bangkok was bad, this was many times worse.



The locals had it easy. But for me, first-time foreigner, I was terrified. How the hell was I going to cross the road??? Even small lanes were a challenge, let alone major cross-junctions! It was pure madness!

But as the saying goes, “入乡随俗” (which roughly translates to following the local customs when you are in one’s land), I decided to observe how the locals crossed the deadly paths and followed along. Basically, you need to have the “I dare you to hit me” kind of mentality when you are crossing as the vehicles won’t stop for you otherwise.

And if your intention was to travel from one spot to another (instead of walking and crossing the roads on your feet), you could flag a metered cab that usually gets you around within district 1 in under USD$5 per trip.

But note! I was told that there were too many cab companies in Ho chi minh and some were known to be quite notorious. Based on the info I had collected from people who had been to Ho Chi Minh and my personal experience, these are the more reliable cab companies that you CAN consider:

- Comfort (blue)
- Vinasun (white)
- Mai Linh (white)

The flag down rate is 12,000VND and it’s about 15,000 dong for the first 1.8km. Additional km will come at 9000VND per km. For your reference, when I went in Aug, the exchange rate was SGD0.85 = 10,000VND.

When entering the airport, taxi drivers will add the entry fee to your total meter. This is for the airport entry fee (5000 VND).

For your reference, my cab fare from the airport to my hotel (somewhere in district 1 but closer to the borders of district 3) cost about 120,000VND. It took me about 40mins to reach in heavy traffic but 20 mins under normal traffic condition.

You could also get on a cyclo but do note that the government had actually banned the cyclo from entering many streets in District 1. And it could be quite costly as compared to metered cabs.

Heavy traffic usually starts from 4pm to 6pm (locals usually knock off work between 4.30pm – 5.30pm).


Accommodation:
Being totally oblivious to my brother’s advice to stay in central District 1, I decided to do a random check on the internet and found myself a nice and reasonably-priced hotel that’s in district 1 but closer to district 3.

If you do a check on the internet, hotel accommodation in ho chi minh is not exactly cheap. And most of them go by USD. One good website that you can check out on would be Travellers Point (http://reservations.bookhostels.com/travellerspoint.com/index.php). I stumbled upon this site by accident though :)

Here’s the hotel that I stayed in. Despite its looks on the outside, I was told by the local that it was situated in a decent and safe corner of District 1. It’s less than 5 mins walk from the main road but you are saved from the all-day horning of cars/ motorbikes on the road. There’s also 24hr security patrol and not to mention really friendly staff who can speak English.




Places of interest within District 1:



1) Reunification Palace (aka Independence Palace)
135 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street - District 1
Ticket selling time: 07.30 H to 11.00 AM; 1PM-4PM
Ticket price : VND 15.000/adult.

2) Opera House and Louis Vuitton Building
The Opera House was under renovation when I was there and didn’t get a chance to go in for a look. Just opposite the Opera House, you would be able to find the one and only Louis Vuitton Building in Ho Chi Minh. If you walk further down the stretch, you would be able to find buildings of French influence as well.

3) City Hall
Location: End of Nguyen Hue Street.
Originally called the Hôtel de Ville and now formally re-branded the People's Committee Hall, it's a striking cream and yellow French colonial building beautifully floodlit at night. No entry, but the statue of Uncle Ho in front is a very popular place for photos.

4) Notre Dame Cathedral
Location: Han Thuyen Street, facing down Dong Khoi (next to the Post Office).
Closes for lunch and on weekends. Free entry.
A French-built Catholic cathedral in the city center.


5) Post Office
Head inside and be wowed…




Other places of interest in Ho Chi Minh:
Before you jump onto the band wagon or wallow in self pity, head down to the backpackers’ street at De Tham (but do not expect it to be as happening as Khao San road in Bangkok) and look for Sinh’s café. They offer different packages for you to explore places like Cu Chi tunnel and Mekong Delta (locals don’t call it Mekong though), and even packages to other parts of Vietnam and Cambodia by bus as well!

If only I had known of its existence before I went, I would have got myself up to Cambodia after my first 3 days in Ho Chi Minh.

Alternatively, check out their website – http://www.sinhcafevn.com



1) Cu Chi Tunnel
Located near the village of Ben Suc, about 75km (46 miles) northwest of HCMC
I had signed up for a half-day tour for about 100,000VND (but need to give additional for entry ticket). If you are interested to go explore this, you will need to sign up a package at any of the backpackers’ café, otherwise you won’t be granted entry.

And while you are at Cu Chi Tunnel:
- fit yourself into the hole
No joke… you can actually volunteer to squeeze yourself into one of the holes (see pix below)… I didn’t dare to try…

- Duck-walk the cu chi tunnel
Brace yourself for the challenge! I merely squirmed my way in the tunnel for 20m and I almost freaked out (the usual is about 30m to 100m). My advice to claustrophobics, don’t try it! I’m not a claustrophobic but it scared me to hell… You had to squat and walk through a portion of the tunnel. For those who know me, there was probably less than 5cm gap from side to side (and top to bottom) to manover and the only choice I had was to go straight and get myself hell out of the dark tunnel.

The air was stealth and the path was bumpy. It was as if time had stopped while I was in the tunnel.

The scary part was that I lost sight of the person in front of me and I was caught at the crossroads – go straight or turn to the side… there were people behind me... but what if I led the wrong way? I put out my hands in front of me and I could barely make out my fingers… panic!!!!! In the end, I somehow managed to catch a glimpse of daylight amidst the darkness and decided to make a turn that was bound for a quick exit. Some of the people behind me followed. Phew! Relieved to smell fresh air again…

Man... how did the Vietnamese manage to tolerate this during the war time that lasted for years??? Beats me. But it sure was hell of an experience for me but a fun experience for the kids (who had much less problem maneuvering around in the tunnel and eventually jumped at the opportunity to complete another round).

Even now, I shudder at the recall.

By the way, I was told that the tunnel I had gone into was considered the simplest of all levels. The other levels were a lot tinier and more dangerous and were closed off to visitors due to the potential of collapsing walls and etc.

- Buy yourself some bullet rounds and fire on at the fire range
You can pick from a range of guns and get some bullets. It was the first time I used a gun (under the supervision of Vietnamese soldiers of course). A sense of adreline rushed through me as I made my way down to the fire range… for a split second, I wanted to be like a heroine firing off in a cool and stylo manner. But as expected, I didn’t know how to hold a gun and as I fire on, the backlash of the fire hit me in my chest repeatedly. Ouch!!!!! I didn’t know how to dodge. AND don’t expect the soldier to teach you how to fire or hold a gun either. Basket… there goes my moment of imagination.

My “mission”?

“Keep firing!” the minder said… even though I don’t know where I’m aiming or where my bullets went… hahahhaaha…

Basically, I felt relieved after finishing the round of bullets as it meant no more “chest pounding”. Hahaha.. I know I suck but hey, I’m just a first-timer ok?




2) Mekong Delta Tour
Had signed up for a one-day tour for this as well. It took hours to cruise down the river and I seriously slept for some time while on the boat. Well, it was interesting at first as you passed by the floating market... but once you move downstream to get to your next destination… zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz



Just before we returned to Ho Chi Minh, we had stopped by an outdoor wet market down Mekong Delta. Are you able to identify the creatures (which are meant as food on the table)?



We are told by our Mekong guide that locals there were mainly farmers. Although poor in income, they are generally people who embraced life as it is. They do not view field rats as vermin but as food source as well. Thus, people do eat what they can catch and accept nature as it is.


3) War Remnants Museum (Bảo tàng chứng tích chiến tranh)
28 Vo Van Tan Street District 3
Open daily 7:30AM-12PM, 1:30PM-5PM, last admission 4:30PM.
Entry 15,000 dong.



Even now, the photos I had seen in this museum still haunts me. The museum’s not big, but the way the war time photos were laid out to tell the history had a great impact on me. While I was going through the exhibits, I was struggling on whether I should take photos of those displayed photos to share it with you… in the end, I decided against it. Why? Some parts of history were best told in hold rather than shared in snippets – the end result/ impact would be very different. As I was walking through the gallery, I could hardly hold back my sniffles. I was not alone. There were people beside me who sniffled as well.

Besides gruesome pictures of how inhumane a person could get during war time, there were also disturbing pictures of the aftermath as well (which included pictures of deformed babies and adults due to illegal use of chemical weapons by America during the war). In fact, there was also a real preserved fetus displayed in a glass box… but I couldn’t bear myself to look at it…

There were two extracts that caught my eye and made me pondered hard and long:





I bought a set of the postcards though (which contained a fraction of the photos displayed). I don’t know why I did it, but now that I come to think of it, it’s more of a reminder of how scary a war can be.

Honestly, I personally believe that the scariest part of a war is not about going to war… but the fact that people actually use “war” as an excuse to elevate themselves, trampling on the pride and flesh of the others, and bring out the worst in humanity.

What right does a leader have to dictate a war and get people to do the fight on the leader’s behalf? What justice is there to kill other people on the pretext of protecting one’s own people? What makes us different from one another other than race and gender?

We are anatomically the same – flesh and blood. We need air and water to survive. That’s the basics of life… what right do we have to rob others of these? Money? Food? Land? Things that we can’t bring with us when we head over to the other side.

It saddens me greatly when people at the top can’t hear or rather choose not hear the people’s cries…

Ok. I’m getting a tad too emotional here… sorry about that…
But you should really pop by the museum and walk through it yourself…
Humans are forgetful. Thus, a once-in-a-while reminder about cruelty of war wouldn’t “hurt”.


Shopping:
Like I mentioned earlier, please don’t expect too much in terms of shopping. But places that you could consider are:

1) Ben Thanh Market (Advice: There will be a mini night market after 5pm daily just beside Ben Thanh. But there’s really not much to see as they were merely selling some of the items from the day market).

2) Saigon Square

3) District 3 (Advice: before you get on the cab, check that the driver knows the location as there’s a tendency for drivers to only know the places within a particular district.)
- 195A Ly Chin Tang (street for shoes)
- Vo Van street



4) Cho Lon Market (District 5)
Get ready to squeeze into this wholesale market!!! That is if you are looking for helmets, hats and slippers!




Food:
Aside from pho and the French cuisines which are known to be quite reasonably-priced and authentic (sorry, I don’t have a list here but you can try searching online), be adventurous and try the roadside stalls!