The City Formerly Known As Saigon

Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as the locals call it, was a pleasant surprise. Having been overwhelmed with Hanoi, we were apprehensive about the city's four million motorbikes, but the wide boulevards reasonably handle the traffic. The city, more than our other stops, felt like a global city, with a decent mix of western brands and its own culture.



We started with a walking a tour and passed a pho (rice noodle soup) stand that was once the secret headquarters of the VC in Saigon. Continuing on, we entered the Beh Thanh market, for a quick look at vendors selling everything under the sun. Lindsey wasn't a big fan of being grabbed and literally pulled into each of the stalls, but its all part of the experience! Next we passed the Rex Hotel, once the headquarters of the US Army, and opposite it, the fancier Hotel D'Ville, which is now the headquarters for the communist People's Committee. No visitors allowed there!



Our first stop was to the War Remnants Museum. It's initial name, "The House for Displaying War Crimes of American Imperialism and the Puppet Government of South Vietnam" might tip you off to its bias. The museum showcases some incredibly moving photographs of the attrocities of war: napalm burnt children, deformed humans from agent orange exposure, and mass graves from massacres. Even though the museum only covered damage done by Americans, and ommitted the crimes the North committed against its own people, it wasn't exactly offensive, just one-sided. It was a very in-your-face exhibit in the damage that wars create.



The museum also had other sections that provided general information about the war's differnet units, and where they were stationed. We saw one photograph of one of the only parachute jumps (a practice one) in the war by the 101st Airbone division. Lindsey's dad was the first man out of the plane on this jump and we likely saw his chute in this picture.

Next, we made our way past Saigon's own Notre Dame Cathedral, and its post office (below), before arriving at the Natural History museum. This was a quick stop, and we'd suggest anyone else skip it since the numerous piles of jugs don't even have English explanations!



Given it was a scorching day and we had finished our walking tour, we stopped in for a cool air-conditioned massage, where Steve and Lindsey's dad literally got walked on! Lindsey's massage was a bit gentler.

Finally, we made our way through rush hour traffic back to our hotel for some beers overlooking a street corner. Overall we were impressed with Saigon on our first day, and felt that of all the cities we'd seen thus far, it would be the easiest place to live.

Our second day, we took a cyclo ride to Cholon, the Chinese section of Saigon. We wandered through another market (Bin Thay), took in the smells of the traditional herd stores, and saw an impressive pagoda (maybe Phuc An Hoi Quan?). We ate some great duck soup at a local spot, before our worst cullinary experience yet: durian icecream.



Durian is a popular fruit here that supposedly tastes like eating rotten fish while sitting in an outhouse. The guy on the food channel that eats gross foods across the world doesn't even like durian. Even so, we felt the need to try it. Rather than take the full plunge by digging into the actual fruit, we decided that durian icecream would be a good first step. We each took a spoon full, and before it even touch our lips, the smell gave all of us second thoughts. Nevertheless, we ate it, squirmed, and quickly sent it away without a second bite. Simply put, durian is absolutely revolting.



With most of the sites of Saigon exhausted we opted to move on to Cambodia the following day. Our last night with Lindsey's dad, we sat in plastic chairs, drank beers and watched the motorbikes go by. We witnessed two motorbike wrecks, Steve's chair collapsed underneath him, and we discussed our final thoughts on Vietnam.

There are many to talk about another time, but here are two of our favorite memories:
1) "Same Same" is a phrase that can be used for anything. Like if you have a beer belly like Lindsey's dad and you pass a statue of buddha, someone might point to both and say "same, same!" This only happened four times. Or if I want to eat the same thing, but I don't want cheese... they would feel the need to responsd "Same Same, But Different". Anyways, we enjoyed that phrase.

2) Driving here is absolute madness for so many reasons. In a city, you can't ride on the edge of a street because that space is used by vehicles going against traffic. Basically, every road has four "lanes", alternating in direction. There are no turning restrictions and few stop lights, none of which are enforced. A motorbike attached to a wooden cart can pull almost anything. On the highway, when two cars drive by each other they always honk, even if they are in their own lanes and completely alone. If it is dark out, they use their brights instead of their horn. This we just don't understand at all.

ps, we're in Phnom Penh now and loving it. More details to come.