Moto magic in Saigon
Trip Start
Jun 14, 2008
1
65
93
Trip End
Jun 20, 2009
Ho Chi Minh,
Vietnam
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The journey was a toughy, no doubt. We had to get a bus back to Phnom Pehn before we really got started. At the border we had a long wait to contend with. After a couple of hours hanging around with the mozzers the guards began to call out individuals, painstakingly, one by one. Once your name was called out you were free to pass, woo-hoo.
As the numbers began to dwindle and I was still standing, back-pack hangin off me, it reminded me of when you were a kid, up against a wall as a couple of the older lads would pick their mates first for the football game and you became increasingly worried about having the ignomy of being the last selected
The only good thing about the border crossing
. Eventually myself, a Korean and an Aussie bloke wre left standing. The Korean bet me a dollar he would be last and he was right. Sore back and knackered I got on the bus and he headed of on the last stretch into SaigonHo Chi Minh City or Saigon ? I guess it depends on who you are talking to, but everyone in the city seems to call it only one thing, Saigon.
And it is a cool place. A fantastic city of history, cheap beer, good food and millions upon millions of moto bikes. Crossing the street is like an old fasioned computer game. Choosing the right moment to move out onto the street and then inching further untill you reach the other side. at first it's quite scary but after a day or two it becomes fun.
After we arrived in the city centre we were knocked out and in dire need of some food and a leaba, stat. So we foolishly elected for a taxi rather than checking the map and realising our digs were close by. We hopped into the cab and your mabn sets off. On the way into the city I had studied the adresses of the buildings and shops and had figured out the system for street and district adresses, so after a couple of minutes I knew our cabbie was going the wrong way. All of a sudden he lost his english language so as the meter ran up I complained in a mixture of french, english and a couple of miss=pronounced vietnamese words learned from the book on the bus in
had enough of trying to cross roads on foot
. He turned around so and brought us to our street after much protestation. I gave him only half of what the meter said we just got oput of the cab and took our bags. Not a good start but it would prove to be the only low light in a stay which we kept extending and were sorry to have to end at all.We spent our first full day exploring the streets and locating suitable venues for the weekends rugby. Again we were surprised by the number of great choices we had. we thought we were going to have real trouble in SE Asia getting the games but so far- so good. We were impressed with the city already and had a great day suppin increadibly cheap and tasty local beer, eating good food and having craic with the uber friendly locals.
Day two and we were of to the Cu-chi tunnels. These are the remnants of the amazing tunnel complex just outside Saigon city which comprised nearly 200 K of tunnels over 3 seperate levels containing hospitals, armouries, sometimes thousands of VC and NVA troops and even theatres for entertaining
Cyclo madness
. Their success was one of the main reasons the North won the American war and the Vietnamese are proud as punch to show the world. We got to climb into tiny fox holes, examine captured amarican tanks and were brought to a rifle range where I got to test the famous Colt-45 ( weapon of choice of the US " tunnel rats "). Our guide was brillaint, very informative and gas craic. Would laugh away for ages at his own jokes and reminded me, on entering the rifle range, that if I wanted to get a new wife now was the time to take action.To end the tour we were brought to remains of a 3 level tunnel. Myself and Murph went in first after the soldier. It was tight and claustraphobic in there and our tiny soldier dissapeared rapidly out of sight, taking with him the light source.
Murph decided she got the idea and climbed out when we came across an exit hole. I carried on after the seemingly phantom lead soldier who called out every now and then but was nowhere to be seen. I reckoned I was going at a good enough pace down there as I soon realised that nobody else from our group was behind me by this stage. As I entered the third level it got a little unnerving as I had to fully crawl at this stage and chose between various tunnel directions in decreasing light. I eventually emerged, sweating and scruffy, out into the light to the non-fazed soldier who wanted to know where everyone else had gone
Bunting going underground
. Most had followed Lyds upward at the first chance, some had got lost down below and the rest had escaped at the second level exit hole.On the way back to the city we stopped off at a handi-craft factory . This place employed only handi-capped people, originally for those who became handicapped as a result of spending sustained amount of time fighting and living in the tunnels. We witnessed the amazing skills they used in producing brilliant art. Once again we were disapointed at our inability to buy so much more. "If we were only on a two week holiday" has been said often on this trip. we picked up something for our friend's 30th and had to leave it at that. Next time we come back we are bringing an empty bag for cool stuff.
Myself and Murph hopped of the bus at the War Remnants Museum. We had heard this place was not for the faint-hearted and it certaintly was not. Outside the main exhibits are a collection of tanks, helicopters and other such material captured from US forces. Inside though is where things get nasty. A collection of truelly gruesome war photos are accompanied by images of Agent Orange victims and jars of formadahyde containing foetuses showing effects also.
Other rooms display assorted weapons, photos and even a guillotene used by the French to excecute prisoners.
old captured US tank
Pretty hard-going stuff really. With our newly hardened hearts we bravely excepted a moto ride back to our hotel. This experience has to be seen to be believed. it envolves high speed high-jinx through crammed streets, roundabouts where everyone has right of way and even sometimes high-taling it over the kerb to fly down the footpath when the road gets too full. Bloody scary but certainly envigorating.
That night it was six nations time again. We ended up in a sort of Irish/American bar that was showing the games. We watched the scottish-France game and the English-Welsh game with some welsh and english travellers.
It was a cool enough bar so we decided to go back the next night for the Ireland-Italy match. We ended up spending the evening with the owner who was born in Paris of vietnamese extract and had returned here and set up this bar. He was an ex-journalist and an interesting chap who insisted on buying us booze including some very fine old whiskey and a strange conception of Guinness from a can which is then vibrated into creamy goodness by some odd machine. Ireland were victorius again and so it was time to head back, 2 of us on one moto no less. I kindly gave Murph the one spare helmet and our driver zoomed off into the Saigon night.
We spent the next few days relaxing in cool Saigon, with the exception of our "fun-filled" Wetern Union day
colt-45
. We needed to send money to nepal to book our Everest trek so went in search of a Western Union to do this. There are loads of western Unions its just that none of them could or wanted to deal with us. Thus we spent the day wandering the streets, being sent from one place to the next untill we finally found somewhere that would do it. even at the ridiculous rate they offered we had to accept or risk never getting the money sent.The night before we left I decided to cut of the aul gruaig in an attempt to make life a little easier in the humid climate. So off they came with avengence much to Murph's innitial distress.
We were sad to have to leave Saigon and definitely feel that we would love to come back and spend more time here. Alas we have a lotof ground to cover in this huge country and it was time to head for Dalat and our easy Rider tour.
