Ho Chi Min City Tour, Vietnam (Friday, November 11th, 2016)

As we rode the bus back to Saigon from the Cu Chi tunnels, we watched one of the anti-American propaganda videos from the war era. It was apparently produced by the Viet Cong to recruit more communist forces during the war. It was very interesting to listen to, in a twisted kind of way.

I really enjoy the bus rides and wish there were more of them on this trip.  It gives us a chance to see the countryside and see how the people in the area live, but it also gives our tour guide time to provide us with so much helpful information!  One of the people in our group told him that he talks to much, but I definitely disagree. If I've come this far, I want to know all there is to know!  Part of the reason we came on this trip was to learn and man are we learning.   Sometimes what we are learning is very difficult to hear given the topic but that just part of the experience!

To give you an idea about why we travel by plane, Khanh told us that to travel 200 miles by bus would take about 8 hours, and a flight is under an hour.

As we re-entered the city, the traffic once again picked up and reminded us about all of our new rules in the big city they now call Ho Chi Min.

And then we catch a glimpse of something else that once again takes us back in time.  The amazing thing is, it all co-exists right here in this beautiful city.

When we got back to the hotel, it was lunch time, so we decided to head across the street to a little restaurant called Mon Hue that the concierge recommended.  

Like most menus in the touristy areas, they had pictures of the dishes and a small English description, which makes ordering so much easier.  

58,000 Vietnamese dong is approximately $2.50 in US dollars! 

We both ordered number 9, which we thought was going to be a soup, but when it came, it was more of a salad.  It had a wonderful dressing on it, so we gobbled it down and weren't disappointed at all.  It just wasn't what we expected.  That's part of the adventure of traveling!

The restaurant had a very nice atmosphere, but like most restaurants in Cambodia and Vietnam, it is only about 12 feet wide. So the bar and the cashier were on the first floor with the customers and the kitchen was on the second floor.  Every dish had to be carried from the second floor down to be served, and all of the dirty dishes had to be carried back up to be washed.

After lunch we all met up at the hotel for an afternoon tour of the city.  We enjoy the city tours because they point out a lot of the main attractions, but even more than that, it helps us to get our bearings before we venture out on our own to see the things we want to see.

As we rode along in the bus, Papa Khanh gave us some interesting facts about Vietnam, and we also made some interesting observations.

-School for kids is 1/2 day. They go either in the morning 7-11 or afternoon 1-5.  There are a lot of kids that work as street vendors in the afternoon.  We had a chance to talk to some of them, and they go to school in the morning and then help make money for their families in the afternoon.  Most of them speak very good English and are a pleasure to talk to.

-It's the law in Vietnam that if you are in their country you have to use their currency. 

-On large streets, cars and buses stay to the left and motorbikes stay to the right. On small streets it's a free for all!

-Vietnamese language uses the Roman alphabet, so the letters are easy for Americans to decipher compared to the Cambodian alphabet.

-The pollution in Ho Chi Minh City is bad!

-Many Cambodian and Vietnamese people cover every square inch of their bodies and faces when they are outside to keep their skin white.

-Restaurant tipping in Cambodia is 10%, and in Vietnam is 5%.

The Mitexco building in central Siagon is the second tallest building in Vietnam. On the 52nd floor there is a coffee shop where you can enjoy views of the city, but if you go to the 52nd floor, but must purchase at least a beverage.



The Hotel Continental Siagon is the oldest hotel in Saigon.


We also saw the Siagon Opera House



The Carravel Siagon is where the high ranking American officials stayed during the Vietnam war.



They are building a new subway in Saigon.



The Rex Hotel is where the 5:00 bomb exploded.



The yellow building with red flag is city hall.  It was the parliament building during the war.



The little gray building, literally dwarfed by the newer taller buildings, was the head of the CIA during the war.  It is where the helicopters evacuated dignitaries and soldiers at the end of the war, and was in the movie "Last Days in Vietnam", Rory Kennedy's eye opening documentary about the 1975 evacuation of the American Embassy in Saigon.  It is sobering to see these real relics of such a volatile time in world history.

We visited the post office with its French style architecture, built in the mid 19th century.  It was made to look like a train station, but was never used as one.  

Even the inside of the building looks like a train station, but to this day, it is a functioning post office.

When we came out of the post office, there was a group of school kids on a field trip.  One of the bolder girls asked me if I would mind taking a picture with her, so of course I said I would love to. The entire class stood and watched in awe as we took our picture, so when we were done, I asked if anyone else wanted a picture, and the entire class came running.  These kids are so polite and would have never inconvenienced me for another picture, so I was really glad that I asked them before we continued on.

Right across the street from the post office is the Notre Dame Cathedral.  It is a beautiful building, built from 1877 to 1880.  It is fun to see the distinct differences in building styles between the Hindu's, the Buddhist's and the Catholics here in Vietnam.  They are all so grand and beautiful, but in very different ways.

A view of the Notre Dame Cathedral from the back.

Next, we jumped back in the bus to finish our tour.  We stopped at a lacquer workshop where we learned how lacquer wares are made. 

We then had a chance to shop in their store.  It's always fun to see what everyone buys at each of the locations.

I fell in love with this lacquer picture.  It has egg shells embedded in the lacquer to give it the crackly effect.

The building below was built by the French and was originally the Governors palace.  When south Vietnam became it's own country after the Geneva treaty, it became the South Vietnamese Presidential Palace.  The final act of the Vietnam war was on April 30th, 1975 at 11:30 am, when a North Vietnamese Army tank drove through the gates of this palace and took control.  That act ended the war, and Vietnam became one.

Our final stop on our city tour was the Ben Thanh Market, where an unbelievable assortment of wares are sold under one roof.

This bumpy fruit is called custard apple.  Chris and Helen bought us some to try.  They are very creamy tasting and good, but Steve had a mild allergic reaction when he tried it, so no more custard apples for him!  Darn!

When the merchant's pack up their stands for the night, they put all of their merchandise into these numbered bags where it is locked up until the next day when they will take it all back out and start again.

We have a fun view of the city from our room at the Liberty Central Saigon, including a view of the traffic below.  I have to admit that I am mesmerized by watching the traffic.

The thing I've enjoyed the most is watching this little balcony right below us.  I know that kind of makes me look like a stalker, but I'm really not.  It's hard not to notice this balcony because it is "Right There" outside of our window. 

I'm pretty sure that the woman who lives here runs a laundry service.  There is always a lot of laundry hanging out on this balcony, and each time I look out, it's always different laundry.

Our fellow traveler today (Chris) showed us how to use Google Maps with a phone or Ipod even if you don't have cellular or an active wifi connection. This is a really helpful feature when you are in a new city and don't want to get lost.  You can download a section of a Google Map that you can then use without cellular data or wifi. 

To get Google Maps to work without cellular, open google maps, hit the compass icon and it will download the map of where you are onto your device. Then drop a pin at your hotel, and as you move around the city google maps will track where you are using GPS. You can always find your way back to your hotel as long as your phone/Ipod is working even if you don't have cellular data or a wifi connection.  Thank you Chris!