Vietnam: Saigon

Officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City, locals still prefer to call the city Saigon - we queried this, they think the old name is prettier, easier and it is in no way disrespecting HCM himself, of whom every single person we met had a story to tell about his kindness and generosity, likening him to Ghandi.

 there's plenty of familiar outlets here - McDonalds - offering Vietnamese coffee, which was
very nice and almost as good as the one we had in the Sapa village and a Domino pizza.

 Indian restuarants, we went to this one twice it was so good - bucket of curry anyone?

more markets and shops selling fresh product (jackfruit)

Saigon has a population of eight and a half million, of which over 7 million own a moped.  The city is stacked with mopeds, traffic is slow but furious with mopeds cramming the streets and parked so densely on pavements that pedestrians can't get by without jaywalking.  It is not uncommon to find mopeds coming at you on the wrong side of the road and yet it all works somehow.

 To be honest we didn't want excursions here, the city is heaving with traffic and the popular destinations are the French built post office, Government buildings and well manicured public gardens.  We preferred, as we have throughout this trip, to go to the local markets and living quarters and explore, eat outside, wander around and take it all in. 

Post Office, French built during occupation

Everyone in Saigon is immensely proud of their country and Government.  I asked why we didn't see any uniformed police or soldiers on the streets and was told there aren't any, only plain clothes/secret police and they aren't needed much.  Anyone doing anything very bad is 'removed' punishment is very severe and crime is therefore low. 

view from hotel, Saigon

Crossing roads is scary, lorries and buses rule,so you give way to them as not all vehicles stop at lights.    The pedestrian rule is give way to big vehicles, then step out bravely; locals flap a hand by their side in bird like fashion to indicate they are on the move, the mopeds will weave around you, dont step back and dont run, a steady pace is the trick.  If you stop, the flapping hand stops too.

A city of many contrasts with streets of high rise buildings with pavements that fill up in the early morning to sell street food, fruit and veg, nuts, everything on little stalls, mopeds or hawkers on foot, more intense at night competing with a variety of traditional and modern restaurants selling local food but also pizza pasta and just about everything in between.

There is a vast  market selling food and spices, it has a big undercover section in the middle full of literally hundreds of small stalls selling cooked meals with a few chairs, tables or benches crammed with people, mostly locals but also backpackers.  Everything is super fresh, cooked on the spot on small burners.

We spent our evenings in open front street cafes watching the world go by and ate good Vegetarian food at Ganesh, an Indian restaurant,with no expense spared as it was our last two nights there and so good we had to come back . average £14 for two with beer, full of Indian diners, hardly a westerner in sight.  Also the inevitable Mcdonalds that was great for air con cool down after the sweltering heat outside, average 30 degrees with 80 per cent humidity.

We visited the Reunification Palace and saw the vast state rooms and learned how the Viet Cong crashed the palace gates and took back power from the Southern Army, raising the now familiar red flag with yellow star and signaling the end of the Vietnam war.

Chinatown within Saigon houses the Chinese community, their businesses (tailors, laundries) in narrow streets crammed with food stalls traffic and people and holds some beautiful Buddhists  temples.  People were friendly without exception.

Cu Chi Tunnels

The drive here was interesting, we had our own van and found the landscape turn quickly into jungle.  There are a large number of vast orchid farms on the route, polytunnelled and gated - I asked if we could take a look but was declined, the growers don't want visitors.

 American artillary, some of which was recycled by the Vietnamese to make their own weapons, including hand made rifles.  Vietnamese soldiers had to carry a toothpick between their teeth, to remind them not to make any noise.  If they forgot and the toothpick fell out and got lost, they would be severely punished.

map of the tunnels

At Cu Chi we had a guide supplied by Kuoni Travel who apologised for the 'propaganda' video (which I enjoyed).  There is a point where you can enter some tunnels, which have been enlarged to just about fit a small westerner (me).  I had trouble getting out of one and had to be dragged out but could see when in there the tunnels go down deep and narrow eventually they join chambers where people lived, slept and cooked.  There was an air vent system to take fresh air in but also to take cooking smells and smoke out, some distance from the tunnels - cooking was only done in the early morning as the smoke was not seen in the morning mists.

This American tank will never leave as the jungle has grown around it.  When the Vietnam War was on, this area was not as dense with jungle, in fact it was quite open in places which makes it all the more remarkable that these clever people managed to stay hidden below ground.

These are an ingenious invention, shoes that leave prints going the opposite way, they fooled many an American soldier.

After Saigon, we took a flight to Hong Kong.... next post.

Vietnam: Hoi An

Arrived at the beautiful Palm Beach Resort a 20 minute drive from Hoi An.  The rooms are huge, with heavy wooden furniture, tiled floors and enormous bed, air conditioned.  Bathroom has giant stone bath with rainforest shower.  We had breakfast only here but it was a feast with a very extensive buffet offering European and Asian food.  They made me vegetarian asian crispy pancake rolls daily although there was always fish and meat versions available to help yourself to.  Fruit in abundance, rice, lentil curry, soups, steamed vegetables, cereals, breads and a variety of juices.  We didn't need lunch and ate dinners outside in local places
.

It's the only hotel I have ever stayed in where there is no shortage of sunbeds or towels and you can swim in the pool at night!



Hoi An is a Unesco World Heritage Site where part of the town is closed to traffic other than bicycles and rickshaws.  It is picturesque, colourful and very French/colonial.

A ticket can be purchased in town to access up to five of the many tourist attractions - the most popular being the Japanese bridge.  A £4 ticket gets you into 5 places of interest of your choice.  You could get by without the ticket but if you want to explore inside the ancient houses and temples (including a small one inside the famous Japanese bridge) it's great value.  The old houses are very dark inside but are designed around an open courtyard area where originally they would have cooked and relaxed.  We visited at night so I would recommend daytime visits if you want to see well and get good pictures.

If you order a meal in the smaller street bars, they will often bring it from somewhere else, it could be cooked in their home round the corner, in another bar, who knows! but it will arrive by moped in a pot balanced precariously and the driver will run in with the steaming pot straight to the kitchen, seconds later it's on your plate!  Pizza, curry, noodles, all delivered by moped to the kitchen.

The market sells fresh vegetables, fish and spices during the day then turns into a tourist/clothes and street food market at night.  There are plenty of places to eat or sit and drink beer all around the outskirts of the market which are nicer than the very cramped food areas inside.  This is where I tried some of the delicious food - the one below is an egg pancake with mashed banana inside and chocolate sauce over the top, chopped into squares and eaten with a stick.  It was hot, delicious and very filling.

pancake with mashed banana filling, hot, filling, delicious street food

There were 'ice cream' curls:  made from crushed/chopped  strawberries, prepared on dry ice and then spread with some condensed sweetened milk, the pulp freezes instantly and is scraped off into 'curls' presented in a little paper cup.

chips and beer, Hoi An market

I bought some lightweight cotton wrap beach trousers and an open back top for only a few pounds after some bartering.  There are many shops selling coffee and it's a good place to buy the traditional Vietnamese coffee filter pots.

Beautiful silk lanterns are on sale here.  When shopping you can expect to bargain 30% or more  off  (about £3 each) so having had the fun of the barter, you could pay a little more if you want to walk away feeling you were fair.  People aren't poor by their own standards, but their lifestyle is very different to ours (one elderly lady was so surprised at my paying a bit more after a hard haggle that she hugged and kissed me, a lot!).

silk lanterns on sale on street corners and in the market

You can get one of the many brightly painted boats below or a little rowing boat above to take you along the canal.  Night times are best as the rowing boats are lit by silk lanterns, the scene is absolutely beautiful,  as are the streets (it is a requirement in the area for the shops to maintain lanterns at night, they run on cables across the streets, failure to comply can result in a government fine).

Around the bridge and river at night there are many young and elderly people selling little 'helicopters' for a few UK pence that you can release into the sky like bright blue and white fireflies - they 'die' quickly but last just long enough to make a wish!


Throughout Vietnam there are Bhuddist, Hindu and Animist temples.  In Hoi An the temples we saw were Chinese.

We were told that the wooden doorways deliberately have a 'step' so you lean forward as you enter, forcing a bow of respect towards the inner alter.

toad is a popular street food here (we didnt try this one!)

 The school run, not a car in sight. people carry babies in 

body pouches to squeeze the whole family on their mopeds and the school

bags are either placed on the handlebars and/or the footwell.

navy silk flippy skirt, charity shop find!

inside one of the ancient houses within the town that are now museums

temples abound, the smell of incense is overwhelming at times

Hoi An market, we had chips and beer whist watching brisk sales

our hotel lounge bar

Jaeger beach kaftan (charitiy shop) split trousers Hoi An Market

It is pleasantly hot on the beach from about 7am, early morning is a good time to sunbathe, as the day goes on it becomes too hot.  We spent most of our time in the sea or shade.

But the best time is to be had in the towns and markets, exploring and observing every day life,

Useful tip:  always agree the price before you sit down to eat/drink so there are no misunderstandings, if it's beer on the street, it's easier to pay up front.  If extra dishes are placed in front of you (black tea, spring rolls, breads) and you didn't expect them and don't want them, be firm as you will be charged!

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Hang Dau Go Cave

The next 3 pictures are from the website of Bhaya Cruises, who we did the trip with.  We stayed one night on a 'junk' with our own cabin/balcony and visited a floating village and the famous Hang Dau Go (Wooden stakes) Cave full of spectacular stalactites and stalegmites although we only saw the main chamber of the cave and the time inside was 20 minutes.  We docked overnight in the bay with beautiful views of the stone karsts.  Halong Bay is a Unesco National Heritage Site and it is indeed beautiful, but has become a major tourist attraction.  There was some polution in the bay (plastic bottles) and it occurred to me the diesel used on the many tourist junk boats could damage the water quality, which is the most beautiful emerald green.

picture: lattesandrunways.com/ha-long-bay-with-bhaya-cruises-2-day-1-night-ha-long-bay-cruise-review/

Our cabin, similar to below, was compact so difficult to get a good picture:  

this picture is from Bhaya Cruises Website.

https://lattesandrunways.com/ha-long-bay-with-bhaya-cruises-2-day-1-night-ha-long-bay-cruise-review/

https://lattesandrunways.com/ha-long-bay-with-bhaya-cruises-2-day-1-night-ha-long-bay-cruise-review/

I couldn't believe our cabin on this little boat - it was like a tiny hotel on water, a feeling that you were stepping back in time, tongue and groove panelling and low lighting. Our cabin had room for a double bed, a balcony and (unexpected) a shower! Tiny but functional, I LOVED every moment in there and on the balcony.

small 'beach' within the karsts/bay

The boat felt like something out of a Harry Potter scene, a sort of magical adventure.

The restuarant on board

 Vegetarian food was prepared specially for me (I felt like a queen!) - Vietnamese type vegetable stir fry, rice, pancake rolls.  Everyone else had a choice of a similar style meal with fish or chicken.  Breakfast sitting outside was wonderful. 

food on-board

neighbouring boats docked for the night

view from my balcony at sunset

 We fished for jellyfish at night off the back of the boat by torchlight ...then  snuggled up in a cosy duvet in a luxurious cabin and woke up to a cooked breakfast, followed by a trip to a floating fishing village.
 

 

Supermarket

We were taken from our boat on a little tug to a rowing boat, and then local fishermen rowed us over to a floating village ... the village floats on empty fuel cans and a criss cross web of wooden boards.  People sleep in hammocks in fairly open plan housing/hut type arrangements.  Their food supplies are brought out by boat to them by locals and they make their living. fishing.

rowing with legs!

These were not wealthy people, this is their lifestyle for generations, they have chosen to continue here and are proud of their village and don't want to move into the cities, some people have tried and returned as they don't have skills that can be applied.  The Government wants the village to remain unchanged so tourism is controlled by employing the fishermen to row the tourists over and see the village.  The Government has built a small museum which shows the way the people live and work.

the houses with hammocks

Footnote:  I enjoyed the boat and the fishing village, which was a lovely unscheduled surprise, being a substitute for more caves and time on the little 'beach', this was due to the bay being overcrowded with boats like ours - schedules will change without notice.  I would go again for the experience overnight on the boat seeing the beauty of the bay and its karsts, but not, to be honest, for the caves.