Vietnam: Day 14 &15 – Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is the largest city in Vietnam, with a population of around 9 million in 2019. Situated in the southeast region of Vietnam, the city surrounds the Saigon River and covers about 2,061 km²

🙂 Chaos! Food! Vespa Tour!

🙁 Traffic! Chaos!

Thursday, 2 May 2022 36 C

Trent’s Birthday! We were collected at 08h00 after a good breakfast and a lovely walk on the beach … transferred to Danag Airport (this had been our opportunity to visit the Golden Gate Bridge at dawn …. grrrr…. Our flight was slightly delayed to Saigon. We had fantastic views flying over the Mekong Delta. Checked into our fab hotel on the river… An Lam Saigon River – AMAZING … transfers are by speed boat.

We enjoyed a welcome drink on arrival and then joined our cooking class which was outstanding!

We had an excellent afternoon cooking and sampling the delicious outputs.

After our feast we headed back to our luxurious suite which had two rooms and a swimming pool on the river.

We watched the sun set feeling very chilled and had an early night in readiness for the full day tour ahead of us the next day. Spectacular.

Friday, 3rd May 2022 37C

We enjoyed an excellent breakfast at 07h00 and were collected at 08h00 by our Guide for the day. He was a lovely chap whose parents had been communists in the so called ‘American War’ vs as we call it the ‘Vietnamese War’. He recalls being a child and along with all the kids finding bombs, going underground daily in their family bomb shelter to avoid being shelled, seeing lots of burning bodies and corpses on a daily basis… very tough childhood.

There are two sites where the tunnels of Cu Chi can be seen – Ben Dinh and, 15km beyond, Ben Duoc, though most foreigners get taken to Ben Dinh. We arrived at the Cu Chi Tunnels in Ben Dinh which  are one of the most significant relics of the city, offering first-hand experiences inside the massive underground cave and interesting insights into the lives of Vietnamese soldiers during the war.  It served as hiding spots for Vietnam revolutionary troops to discreetly commute between regions and evade French scouts during the Indochina war (1945-1954). During the American / Vietnam war, the network had been expanded into an assembly complex for Communist guerrilla soldiers to house troops, transport communications, and supplies, receive medical treatments, take shelters from aerial bombardment, and mount surprise attacks, after which they could disappear underneath the ground. Stretching to the Cambodian frontier, the system of Cu Chi tunnels used to reach a total length of nearly 250Km, of which 120Km have been well-preserved. On the ground level, there are hundreds of inventive booby traps and counterfeit bunkers set up to impale and deceive enemies. The entrances to these tunnels are so narrow that only Vietnamese could fit in, with wooden manhole covers camouflaged by leaves. It is really claustrophobic entering the tunnels! The guided tour of Ben Dinh kicks off in a thatched hut, where a map of the region, a cross-section of the tunnels and a black and white movie bristling with national pride fill you in on the background. From there, you head out into the bush, where your guide will point out lethal booby-traps, concealed trap doors and an abandoned tank. There are several models showing how unexploded ordnance was ingeniously converted into lethal mines and traps, and a demonstration of how smoke from underground fires was cleverly dispersed far from its source.

Charlotte was too sore to go into the tunnels. It was extremely hot.

The constant noise of cicadas and automated weapons being fired in the background along with the heat and humidity all adds to the overall intensity of the place.

The tunnels are narrow and tiny. We were shown the boobytraps which looked brutal.

The soldiers made their footwear from tyres (we ave seen this in many countries – common practice in Africa).

There was evidence of craters where they had been bombarded by B52s … artillery is also on show.

When you reach the shooting range, you have the chance to shoulder an M16 or AK47 and shoot off a few rounds, or stop at the adjacent souvenir and snack stalls. It was HECTIC shooting these weapons which were used to kill people…

Paul firing the AK47 – fastest money ever spent!

Finally, you get the chance to stoop, crawl and drag yourself through a section of the tunnels about 140 metres long (with frequent escape routes for anyone who can’t hack it). It only takes 10–15 minutes to scramble through, but the pitch blackness and intense humidity can be discomforting, so when you emerge, you’ll be glad you don’t have to live down there for weeks on end as the VC did.

The tunnels are definitely for little people!

It really had been an informative morning – so pleased to have done this tour. Headed back to Saigon through intense traffic while being distracted with Vietnamese language lessons and then stopped for a Pho lunch.

Next stop was the War Remnants Museum *Warning – Harrowing and very emotional*

There was torrential rain on arrival so we viewed the planes, tanks etc from under the shelter. The visit was a tough one but really helped us to understand the US invasion of Vietnam, and contextualise its devastating impact on the country’s civilians through the public sharing of the atrocities which occurred. While most of the displays are written from a Vietnamese perspective, much of the disturbing photography of war atrocities come from US sources, including the images of the My Lai massacre, where more than 500 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians were brutally killed by US soldiers. Some of the images on show are very upsetting, in particular photos of widespread destruction from US napalm bombs and the horrific toxic effects of Agent Orange on Vietnamese citizens. The ground floor of the museum is devoted to a collection of posters and photographs showing support for the antiwar movement internationally. This somewhat upbeat display provides a counterbalance to the horrors upstairs. A MUST visit. It is incredible that this is such a gentle and forgiving nation who only want to look forward rather than reflect on the past.

We were due to undertake further sightseeing in the actual City – eg. the Post Office which is one of the oldest buildings in the city and was constructed from 1886-1891 and depicts classic elements of Gothic, Renaissance and French colonial design. This is from the internet – it does look amazing…

We were so emotional, hot and exhausted that we opted to head back to our hotel to lie by the pool for the afternoon instead. We were so pleased we made that choice as we felt completely refreshed and ready for our sunset and evening activities.

The hotel provided speedboat transport into the City centre – just a stunning ride especially as it was sunset – the photos can do the talking!

We were collected at our drop off point by the Vespa Saigon Tasting Tour that we had booked. What a treat! Firstly the thrill of being on the back of. the vespa zipping through the hectic traffic and then stopping off at the most amazing local joints for incredible food – yum!

Our tasting was all done at local venues with absolutely no tourists and seemed to be really authentic…. the food ranged from snails to

We tried oysters and different seafood dishes at Oc Nho in Tan Phu District or the Seafood Street in District.

While Pho is the signature dish of Hanoi, Com tam is the soul of Saigon. Com Tam, known as broken rice, started as a dish for the poor class. However, it gradually became a typical dish in society, and now it’s a popular choice of Saigonese. A combination of rice and grilled ribs with a fish sauce, along with vegetables.

Banh Xeo is a sizzling cake is a harmonious combination of crispy crust, raw vegetables, and spicy sauce. They are delicious: big, crunchy, and thin. Each has prawns, bean sprouts, green been, enoki mushrooms and eggs. Banh Khot is like a mini version of Banh xeo.

Bo la lot is a combination of carefully marinated beef and laksa leaves. Each roll brings you a refreshing and stimulating taste. The best way to enjoy Bo la lot is to put beef rolls in rice paper, vegetables, and rice noodles. Wrap it well and dip it in the fish sauce. 

Bo Kho is bread with stew beef is a familiar street food dish in Saigon. The unique thing is the broth, which is thick and dark. Beef used in this dish must have both lean and ribbed fat and is cut into cubes rather than sliced.

District 10 is considered the capital for the fruit bowl dish, especially on To Hien Thanh street, because this road has different vendors for fruit buckets. It is a MUST to try all the tropical fruits – although the Durian is truly dreadful!

A great evening! Paul forgot his bag in the nike and they kindly delivered it to us at the Chill Sky Bar which was hugely appreciated. The Chill SkyBar, situated up on the 26th floor of the AB Tower, was the first and original sky bar in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam…very cool (and very expensive) but worth s visit for the views across the city.

*Note: Closed since Covid and is being renovated*

We took a taxi back to our Hotel to find the bed beautifully made up for us as it was our wedding anniversary the next day – rose petals in the bath too .. so lovely.

We were up early the next morning for another delicious breakfast and Vietnamese coffee….before our next adventure which was cycling the Mekong Delta!

Go back to: Hoi An

Go to: Vietnam

Go to: Cycling the Mekong Delta

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