When a country has two main cities, one never knows which one to visit first. Vietnam, due to historical reasons (prior to unification in 1976 there were two countries with two capitals) has the long named Ho Chi Minh City in the south, and the current capital Hanoi in the north. We decided to start with the former!
Last night at dinner, a friend clarified the difference. She said Ho Chi Minh City (also abbreviated as HCMC ... for obvious reasons!!) is the Shanghai to Hanoi's comparison to Beijing. The former being a commercial centre, where capitalism is rampant, while the latter being the government seat, political, bureacratic. A brilliant way to differentiate between the two :-)
Of course many people know HCMC as Saigon ... a name that evokes a romantic image of this city which was given by the French. And even though the official name of the city is HCMC (named after the founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party), everyone other than the government still calls it Saigon.
Disembarking the plane in Saigon, you immediately notice the new and very modern airport. It's not what you expect of Vietnam. Everyone assumes they will land in squalor, but the truth is that Saigon is a very dynamic, rapidly developing and a very modern city. This is immediately noticeable with the airport building. Walking the streets of central Saigon, the energy is captivating. The city is modern yet with a certain grandeur. There are many wonderfully preserved French colonial buildings on large treed avenues. The sidewalks are wide and the city clean. You get a sense of authenticity experiencing this vibrant city, plus it feels very safe. Best of all, the people smile, are laid-back and leave you alone.
The lasting memory of Saigon will be the motorbikes, which are everywhere! Driving from the airport to the hotel, you witness first hand the craziness of traffic in Saigon. Cars, busses and millions of mopeds vying for the limited space on the road. The mopeds are like bugs, attacking from all sides. Sitting in the van, it felt like you're in a video game ... avoiding objects hurling at you trying to stay alive. Wait till you sit in a cyclo, expposed to the madness on the roads! The mopeds come from all directions, even if you're on a one-way street. You will also notice how the moped has become a fashion accessory. The helmets that are mandatory come in different colours and designs, some with personalized accessories pasted on them, and then there are the very colourful masks that all the drivers wear. When you see the number of mopeds and the fumes that come out of them, you will understand why the masks! This is a clear sign of development in Saigon. The bicycles have been replaced with mopeds, and it's just a matter of time that the mopeds will be replaced by cars. Will the infrastructure accommodate all the future cars is another question.
Another image that has been embedded in my brain has to do with the telephone cabling. The city is clearly modernizing very fast, yet the telephone cables are still laid over-ground and in such thick bundles, that if one of the cables get cut, I'm not sure how you would find the right one to fix. Often you would walk in front of a beautiful building, but the whole front would be masked by this confusion of cables. I guess no one had thought of this issue at the urban planning department!
To end ... a few left-over impressions that I have: an astounding fact about the country is that there are 84 million people living in Vietnam, 10 million of which are in Saigon, yet 65% of the population is below the age of 30! ... lots of creativity in the Vietnamese people, Vietnamese art definitely being in the forefront of the new up-and-coming art renaissance that is sweeping across Asia ... all prices in touristy areas of Saigon are in US$!!!!
You will love Saigon :-)
HOW TO GET THERE:
A visa, which needs to be obtained prior to arrival, is necessary for visiting Vietnam. I recommend two options:
1) prior to departure, go to a travel agent and ask them to obtain a Vietnamese Visa for you for a fee. Here in Singapore you could get it done in a day (expensive version) or in 5 days (cheap version). This keeps you sane from all the bureaucratic mess that you would invariably have to go through if you were to stand in line yourself at the embassy. Leave it to the experts, as they say!!
2) several websites offer you application forms for Vietnamese Visas. The one that my friend used is www.visa-vietnam.org You apply for the visa online, you make your payment and then in a few days you receive an official letter granting you entry. When you land, make a run for the 'Landing Visa' counter right next to customs, for if you're first in line, the whole process still takes a good 30-40 min. If you come late, be prepared to wait for a loooong time!
Getting to Vietnam from Singapore is easy, fast (2 hours) and very cheap. Tiger Airways flies there and has phenomenally low rates. Best of all, you leave from the Budget Terminal at Changi airport. A first for me ... I was impressed by the simple building structure yet very colourful and hip terminal. It was budget ... but with a funky touch!
When we were on the plane, we received our arrival cards to fill-out. I'm already filling out the info when my cousin next to me says 'what colour pen are you using?' What a stupid question ... it's blue!! Then he shows me the front of the arrival card where it says you can only use a black or green pen!! Thank god they didn't adhere to that for I filled out my form in blue ink. Rebel me!
WHAT TO DO:
> walk through the city centre: a wonderful walk which takes you through the grand streets and avenues of central Saigon, sprinkled with many beautiful old French colonial buildings, that have been well preserved and add a historic touch to this already vibrant and modern city. Walk past the beautiful Opera House towards the Saigon Notre Dame Basilica. Across from the Basilica you will see the very airy Post Office. What is also great about the city centre is that it is green, with several well-manicured parks. One such beautiful park where you see people resting in the shade is in front of the Reunification Palace. Everyone is sitting around, eating, chatting or playing games. Think of it, nearly everyone in Saigon seems to be continuously eating something or other!
> Ben Thanh Market: a wonderful market with everything that you would expect to see: a fish market, meat hanging on hooks in the open air, colourful vegetables and fruits on display and clothes hanging everywhere. What I found special were the little food stalls inside, where you would sit on these Barbie chairs and tables. You felt like a big doll while sitting on a miniature dining set sipping on your coconut milk.
> War Remnants Museum: Everyone needs to see this, even though the footage you will view is gruesome, disturbing and disgusting. On display you will find photographic documentation of the atrocities that were conducted during the long-fought war. The most disturbing picture was one of a GI lifting a shredded body with his hand, the head just hanging of some tendants, with a proud smirk on his face. The whole exhibition shows you the futility of war (in this case the Vietnam war that was fought for more than 17 years) and the un-necessary killings that always seem to accompany such gruesome acts.
> ride with a cyclo: of course a typical tourist attraction, which needs to be done. However, be very aware of all the scams that come along with this journey. We negotiated the price beforehand, had a wonderful ride through the crazy traffic of Saigon, and when we got to the destination, they tried to rip us off ... of course! From charging double and saying that we didn't pay one of the drivers, to trying to take all the high-denomination bills out of our hands since given that the local currency Dong comes in millions, it's very easy to get confused. Fun thing to do ... but get ready for a fight at the end. Best of all, the next day when we took a cab, we realized that we got ripped off anyhow, for we paid 10x more for the cyclo than for the cab!
> walk through Cholon area: Cholon means Chinatown, thus wandering through this district of Saigon which is quite a distance from the central part, invariably means walking past Chinese temples, pagodas, street markets, lanterns and the very local hustle and bustle that this district represents. We started with the Binh Tay Market, which was a very large quadrangular building, with floors and rows ... and rows ... of tiny little shops. It's like being inside a bee's nest ... a million worker bees trying to make a living. Very colourful! Outside of this building, the market spills on to the streets. Get lost in the maze around and enjoy the smells, colours, smoke, chaotic drivers that will zig-zag around you. There are also several Chinese temples in this area, the biggest one being Thien Hau Pagoda. We went to three of them, and then we were templed out! Cholon is a must see part of the local and living Saigon.
> Cu Chi tunnels: Although you can take a bus up to Ben Dinh, to see the Cu Chi tunnels, I recommend you go by boat. Departing from the dock right across from the Majestic Hotel, this 2.5 hour boat trip will take you up along the very wide and muddy Saigon river. As soon as you move out of Saigon city you notice how quiet this riverway is. There are no local boats, other than a few barges and small fishing boats, and very few settlements along the way. So what are the Cu Chi tunnels? They're a 200km maze of underground tunnels north-west of Saigon, where the Viet Cong hid and fought the American war. Do you notice anything different in the last sentence? Yes, the Vietnamese see this as the American War, something we've been brought up to understand as the Vietnam War. It's all a matter of perspective! Vietnamese civilians and soldiers lived for years underground, on three levels of tunnels, some as deep as 10m underground. At Ben Dinh you will be able to see how truly narrow these tunnels were ... me at 190cm ... I felt very claustrophobic in the barely 20 metres that I managed to crawl in a small section that is open to tourists. This region saw some of the fiercest fighting in the 17 year war and it's sheer bewilderment how the locals managed to outsmart the high-tech modern American army, that carpet-bombed the whole region, with simple strategy, simple ideas and a strong will to win. Mind you, Vietnam has a history of kicking out the much bigger invaders ... from the 1000 years of Chinese domination, to the French, Japanese and finally the Americans. Did the Americans do their research prior to invading ??? Along with the War Remnants Museum in Saigon, this gives you a good idea of what truly went on during the American War. We had a great, young, energetic guide called Chister who showed us around. If you book through Delta Adventures for the trip, make sure you ask for him. His dynamicism and youthful approach to life gave you an optimistic view of the new generation of Vietnamese. One that believes that their lifetime will be full of opportunities, something their parent's generation was never able to taste.
HOTELS:
The main hotels are all within District 1 - the central area, located right by the Saigon river.
> Hotel Majestic: this is where we stayed and I highly recommend it. As the name suggests, this hotel is majestic and has a certain grandeur. Moreover, it's 'small' and more of a luxury boutique hotel. The hotel was build in 1925 but has been recently renovated and the rooms are very large with hard-wood floors and great furnishings. The style is French colonial with very high ceilings, large marbled bathrooms and tasteful wooden fittings. Best of all the bed and the snow-white bed fittings are phenomenal - very few things compare to a fantastic bed! I recommend the Deluxe suite on the river. Standing on the little balcony you will watch the mad traffic below and the Saigon river which changes directions during the day, given that it is a tidal river. Make sure you stay in the old wing, which has more style than the new one.
> Caravelle Hotel: this is the other hotel that we considered. From the outside, it looks very modern and nothing overly special even though the interior is supposed to be nice. It's located in a beautiful square, and given that the building is high, the rooftop bar must have a great view. Can't tell you more than that though since we never went inside!
> Rex Hotel: A grandiose and large 5-star hotel located right across from HCMC City Hall. The building is an interesting art deco artifact, of a white-washed colour. The rooftop pool is wonderful and the terrace adjacent to it very spacious. The interior had a bit of an outdated feel, while at the same time trying to portray old-grandeur. The area where the hotel is located is very lively and beautiful, especially at night.
RESTAURANTS:
> Temple Club Saigon (29 - 31 Ton That Thiep Street, District 1; Tel: 848 8299 244): walking distance from the Majestic Hotel, this is a swanky restaurant with wonderful Vietnamese food in a beautiful old colonial shop house. You walk in through a long corridor lined with candles and elephants, as you proceed to the stairs at the back that take you to the restaurant on the first floor. It's a great place to celebrate your last night in Saigon. Make a reservation!
> Quan an ngon (138 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street) and Buntua (136 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street): these two restaurants, located right next to each other, and very close to the Reunification Palace, served local food, yet had a very funky design. A wonderful place for a mid-day snack or a dinner.
> Rooftop bar of the Majestic Hotel: this is the place for a sun-down drink. There are two rooftop bars, on top of the old and new wing. Fight for a table right by the railing where you will watch the Saigon river flow by, dusk settling in while the city lights begin to flicker. There is a warm evening breeze in the air and the mojito will be a perfect drink to kick-start your evening.
> Pho 24: the 24 hour stands for 24-hour chain. Yes, it's a chain of Pho stores that you can find all around Saigon, and yes, the food is fantastic. It's efficient, modern and fast. Little did I know that I had been eating Pho in Singapore for the past 18 months, not knowing that it's Vietnamese food. It's basically a bowl filled with vegetables and meat of your choice, rice noodles and topped to the rim with chicken broth. You add the spices and other toppings. It's delicious, nutritious and very tasty!
> Jaspas: located on 33 Dong Khoi, right around the block from the Mahestic Hotel, this trendy restaurant serves great breakfasts. I had a Trim & Trendy breakfast with eggs, avocado, and wonderful fresh bread.
Bojan Tercon
At the war museum, did they show any pictures of North Vietnamese soldiers holding up the heads of American G.I.'s with their penises and testicles stuffed in their mouths?
Did they also show the North Vietnamese defacating down the necks of the headless American G.I.s?
Posted by: John L. Haug | March 21, 2009 at 05:30