Saigon
Trip Start
Apr 20, 2003
1
8
24
Trip End
Jun 10, 2003
Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Sunday, May 11, 2003
CLUB
Another early start (this time deliberate) for the bus ride to Saigon. I've
been told that the only people who refer to it as "Ho Chi Minh City" are the
northerners, and the government. Hence its pretty much Saigon to everyone.
After two hours in the bus we stopped of at a shopping centre (an early sign
that the south is more commercialised and market driven than the north) for
a break, followed by lunch at a restaurant called "Hung Phat" - the "Who's A
Lucky Boy" restaurant. Its quite a common name for food establishments round
here, though I'm yet to work out the real meaning.
Arrived into Saigon by 3pm to be delivered to a very friendly hotel, where
its compulsory to have your shoes off upstairs. A quick dash down to the
Thai Airways office to change my flights. I'm now flying back to Bangers on
July 1st, and then flying to Honkers on July 5th, with a trip down the Thai
coast in between. Although the SARS warnings are finished, I'm now skipping
a couple of stops in China because of extra days spent in Vietnam.
I finished up at the airline office just as the 4pm tropical downpour hits
the city. It absolutely bucketed down. In the taxi you couldn't see more
than 20 metres in any direction, yet somehow the taxi and other vehicles
drive at the same breakneck speed through intersections, tooting their
horns. Kids were playing in ankle deep puddles forming in the gutters. It
made for great photos but it also made for wet shoes getting out of the cab.
My immediate first impression of Saigon (aside from the put your hands
together outstretched overhead and shout "look look I'm a pagoda!") is that
their is definitely more wealth here. There are less shantys and more neon
lights. The people actually look less poor than up north. You'd think it was
the US rather than deep in the heart of Red Communist. There are a few KFC's
around, but no McDonalds. There are plenty of billboards that say "Happy
Cook", which is a brand of cookware. Simple yet to the point as all the
cookware users on the billboards look happy.
Back at the hotel it is still piercing down. So I decided to head to the
nearby International Club, which apart from having a name that sounds like a
brothel, is actually an old 60s hotel with a pool and gym that you can use
for a couple of bucks if you aren't staying there. The equipment was brand
new - back in 1962... I suspect GI's would have used it in their stints
here. However it did the job. I appear to have lost another kilo or two,
hence I've got a new "4 meals in a day" policy from tomorrow onwards.
After a shower I headed round the block to the "Good Morning Vietnam" cafe
which is an italian place where the food is as uncreative as the name. Oh
well, I guess I am a few kilometres from Lygon St.
WAR REMNANTS, "SORRY ABOUT THAT CHIEF" and CHOCKERS CHINATOWN
Up early as always in Vietnam and out and about to explore Saigon. First
stop is Notre Dame Cathedral, which is a copy of the same in Paris. Although
it was built in 1880 it looks brand new as they appear to have blasted clean
the sandstone recently. I then walked to Reunification Palace, home of the
famous photos of the North Vietnamese tanks storming the grounds in April
1975, only to find it closed until 1pm.
I wandered down to the War Remnants Museum, which pulls no punches. Apart
from the old military hardware in the courtyard, the walls are full of
graphic photos from the war. Many are THE defining Vietnam War photos taken
by freelance shooters who were later killed photographing the war, while
some are a step up (in terms of graphic-ness) from those that newspapers and
magazines were able to show at the time. You name it its shown - torture
photos, dead bodies, agent orange deformities, napalm burn victims.
Regardless of which way you look at it, the museum shows the awful results
of the war. Although the official Government information supplied in museums
and the like shows that the American were vicious villians (for instance
unprovoked and unneccesary massacres of locals suspected to be Communist
sympathisers, which did happen), after speaking to locals about the
're-education' procedures for South Vietnam army veterans, I figure that
everything about the war was horrondous.
After a second breakfast (working on regaining those love handles) I
wandered back to the Palace. As the main Government House is in Hanoi, the
Palace is now unused, except as a tourist attraction. It was actually a
really interesting place. It was only rebuilt in 1966 and the decor has not
been changed since. The whole place looks like its straight out of "Get
Smart". The Presedential Office, Map Room and Reception rooms have remained
untouched since April 1975. Thus the maps are all marked with war plans, and
the telephones are old style. We went downstairs to the bunker areas, which
are encased in a metre and a half of concrete. All communications were run
from the bunkers, with rooms filled with huge 1960's computers. It looks
more like the offices of "KAOS" than "Control". Sorry about that Chief. It
was then upstairs to the Helipad on the roof, and then back to present day
Ho Chi Minh City.
I wandered through the former Black Market area. Since 1989 its now legal to
import electricals and consumer goods, however the market has remained as it
was. I tried to go to the HCM Museum but it was closed so instead I dropped
back into the main part of the city, to the People's Committee Building.
Foreigners can not enter in case they pocket too many secrets - such as how
to make authentic Vietnamese Spring Rolls, or something like that.
I had a look at the outside of the HCM City Museum. Its a classic grey
building that loves the camera, with a few military pieces outside. Then it
was into a cab to "stunning" (according to a travel guide I have) Thien Mau
pagoda. The pagoda was a fair way out of town, and as I arrived it closed
its doors for the day. The exterior was fairly boring so it seemed like a
waste of time until I realised I was smack bang in Saigon's Chinatown. This
place bustles like no other Chinatown, with bumper to bumper motorbikes and
very few westerners. It was interesting to walk through the back streets
through shops of all kinds back towards the hotel.
After a meal of Greek food (something different) I booked a one night trip
down the Mekong Delta for tomorrow. God help the poor bugger sitting next to
me on the tour as the garlic will kill them.
