Taken aback by the excitement of Saigon

Our last overnight train from Nha Trang to Saigon took about 11 hours and was a lot better than the preceeding day train. I slept on and off... the bed wasn't that comfortable but a lot better than other trips. On this trip, I shared the carriage with Rob, Sarah and Hannah... it was good scoring a quiet cabin for I really wanted to relax and sleep on this train.

A street in Saigon

Arriving into Saigon was a highlight of my trip so far. Seeing throngs and throngs of motorbikes is a sight that will remain with me forever... thousands and thousands of bike riders of all ages all working together to find space on the very crowded streets. Instantly I fell for Saigon's atmosphere... so different to anything I've experienced. Saigon is a city of 9 million... so huge. But the streets are very wide, the buildings modern with a French feel, and from my perspective, a very happy and content lot of people. I was not expecting Asian cities to be so beautiful and modern as they have been.

Anh at work explaining the makeup of the bombs.

On arrival, we were whisked to our hotel called the Thuan Thien Hotel in District 1... Le Thanh Ton Street. Given that our rooms were not ready on our early arrival, Anh took us out to breakfast at a nice French restaurant, followed by a very quick walking tour of our immediate surrounds and then free time till about 11am. The hotel is situated in a very good location, close to the Ben Thanh markets... the best in Saigon. Dave, Kenny and I scored a deluxe triple room on the top floor overlooking the hectic nature of the city below. Great view!

In the afternoon, the tour visited the Cu Chi tunnels. Given that I had been reading about these beforehand, I was very much looking forward to this aspect of the tour. Visiting Vietnam has given me a much better appreciation of the history and struggles of the Vietnamese War in the 60s and 70s. Cu Chi tunnel was the stable resitance zone of the Party Committee Military Zone, the Command of Saigon. It is the place where versatile tactics were used in the resistance and unification of the country. The locals used these tunnels to cleverly avoid detection etc.

Army Tank

The Cu Chi tunnel network is preserved at two areas and situated 70km northwest of downtown Saigon. On tour, we saw the restored work of the Cu Chi Liberation Zone from the period 1960 to 1975. We also learnt about the tunnels and how they operated. Going down into the tunnels (which are very claustrophobic... more so than the pyramids of Giza) really gave me an appreciation of the very difficult working conditions of the Vietnamese. The craters left behind give the visitor a amazing insight into the destruction caused by the American bombs. Dave and John took an unnerving opportunity to fire a M16... 500,000 dong for a few shots. Like Bo, I thought it to be an inappropriate place to fire guns... I couldn't figure why they encourage tourists to fire guns in an area of mass destruction back in the 60s/70s.

Bikes heading towards me!

On arrival back in Saigon, I ventured to the Eden Bar in backpacker haven... this is where I met Quang and Hai, a couple of local lads who I got talking to. Quang (pronounced Wang) was a great guy... offered to take me for a motor cycle tour of his city. On listening to the guys, you can sense their love of their bikes... and the joys they have in riding around the city. The Vietnamese have such a very strong sense of social cohesion that I really admire about the culture. Whilst in Thailand and Vietnam, I have found it very easy to make contact with the locals... more so than Singapore and Malaysia.

There is no better way to explore the city than on the back of a motorbike. I put my hat off to the friendliness of the Vietnamese people... the people from Saigon appear very content and happy with their city. Late at night, the streets are deserted which give me a very different perspective to that of the day time. I have found Saigon to be a very attractive city, and probably one of two Asian cities I will definitely return to in the future (Bangkok being the other). The city has such a vibrant feel, culturally fascinating and so different to that of Aussie cities. So glad to be here... having a great time.

Crater at Cu Chi

Cu Chi Worker

First Booby Trap

Guns used in the war.

Local lady

Locals enjoying the ride

Lots of bikes!

Missiles used in the war.

Reproduced scene at Cu Chi

Saigon

Second Booby Trap

Tom and one of the tunnel entrances.

Trapdoor

Uniform of War