Time to try a new country - Vietnam!
Trip Start
May 01, 2007
1
8
24
Trip End
Mar 02, 2008
Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
I realized upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City that I did not know one thing about Vietnam! I decided to stay there for a few days to sort myself out and plan my itinerary for the rest of the country. There were also some interesting things to see within the city and surrounding area.
I did not stay in the main area, district one as I thought it would be a bit overwhelming this early in my trip. I chose a very nice hotel in district three, Amaral Hotel. The hotel offered free shuttle service several times per day to other parts of the city. I did go into district one every day to explore the streets, markets, waterfront and people watch
Amaral Hotel pool
. I also ate local food at the night market.At my very comfortable hotel, I spent some time on the internet researching where to go next. Since Vietnam is a long, fairly narrow country, most travellers follow basically the same route, south to north or vice versa. I luckily had a whole month scheduled for Vietnam, which is pretty sufficient time.
The first thing I learned was that Ho Chi Minh City is the name of the city. However, it is also known by it's former name Saigon, which these days refers to the main central section of Ho Chi Minh City.
I was glad I stayed a full week there, if I had stayed only a few days the only thing I would have remembered is the traffic. It is really crazy. I took my guide book's advice and walked across the street SLOWLY. If you scurry across quickly, you are likely to be struck. When you walk slowly, the bikes and cars won't slow down, but they can judge the distance before they get to you and will swerve around you. A bit nerve racking at first, like a real life version of the old Frogger video game, but it works! Best thing is to look for a gap in the traffic before steppping off the curb. If all else fails, latch onto a local and cross with them.
I selected Dalat as my next stop in Vietnam.
