Near Miss, Saigon

  Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Taking one's life into one's own hands crossing the road in Vietnam, was all in preparation for the exam that is the Saigon (as everyone except the administrators call Ho Chi Minh City) traffic. There is a endless flow of motor-

01. Traffic on the Saigon Streets

cycles, luxury vehicles, buses, bicycles, cyclo drivers and pedestrians. No-one follows any real laws and so you just do what you like. Crossing the road takes major psyching up before stepping out the door (even the pavements aren't safe). Show fear or try run, and you are sure to be hit. Instead you need to step out with confidence and trust that the drivers value their vehicles! Luckily we have thus far passed with flying colours!
 
Saigon is fascinating. On the surface it is driven by commerce, but scratch deeper and war wounds still abound. On arriving, we were once again bombarded by touts of all description. Though very annoying, we are obviously becoming immune to it as it didn't bother us as much as before. On finding a hotel, we set out on the important task of finding tour operators to show us a tourist free south. After much toing and froing, we decided, over a cup of coffee, to do a 3 day cycle tour of the Mekong delta. With this decision made we went for dinner at a street side restaurant. Unfortunately at the end of the meal the heavens opened and we delayed our rather circuitous route to our hotel as we scoped out the neighbourhood.

Our second morning started early finalising our Mekong tour - leaving on the 12th.  We then set off on a walking tour to take in the sights. We both were struck by the vibrant energy and bustle of the city. It seems to be growing incredibly rapidly. Everywhere you turned construction was evident, with many beautiful designer and boutique shops lining the road. We started our history lesson on the city and Vietnam by visiting the Ho Chi Minh museum before escaping the heat in a gorgeous restaurant for delicious Vietnamese lunch.

Our afternoon was spent at the War Remnants museum, an incredibly powerful place driving home the futility of war and America's abysmal foreign policy. At the Ho Chi Minh museum I was struck by how much the rhetoric sounded like propaganda. At the war Remnants Museum we understood why! The Americans systematically maimed, tortured, murdered and experimented on a country who are still feeling the effects 30 years later. Around the streets, various victims to Agent Orange, their deformities clearly seen, are begging for any existence. Children are still being born deformed decades after their parents were exposed. It is thought that almost 100 million litres of toxic chemicals were released on Vietnamese soil, not to mention unexploded ordinance (over 14 million tons of bombs and shells were used). To date the America is yet to compensate the victims. We were both very affected by the displays. Though emotionally difficult we both felt it was a must not miss.

Escaping the emotional drain and fury we walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral

04. Notre Dame Cathedral

, French designed main Post Office and Jade Emperor's Pagoda trying to enjoy some beauty. Feeling better we caught cyclos - almost destroying our new calm in the traffic - back to the main market

05. Catching a Cyclo

for a gentle tout-filled wander round and another delicious meal, before returning to our hotel to pack!