Hopping over to Ho Chi Minh City
Trip dates: December 19, 2016 - December 22, 2016
We flew Vietnam Airlines (the state carrier) from Phnom Penh over to Ho Chi Minh City AKA Saigon. After the previous flights on budget airlines, we had a lot of space! The fresh toilette helped too.
Our first night we just wandered around and checked out the Benh Thanh night market - during the day, there's an indoor market but at night, the streets surrounding the market turn into a night market! We saw tons of motorbikes zooming around the streets with the awnings/tables/chairs to set up the market, it was pretty crazy how fast they set everything up.
We were only staying in Ho Chi Minh for 3 nights so we had 2 bigger sight-seeing days. Our first day we spent going to the War Remnants Museum and a few other local sights. The War Remnants Museum had a reputation of being very propaganda-y, but we felt like it wasn't too over the top. There were exhibits focused on Vietnam's independence from France and the steps following that lead to the Vietnam (American) War, along with lots of details on the military build up during the war and the big actions during the conflict. It was interesting to note that there wasn't a lot of information about the North Vietnamese troops or their commanders.
There was also a big exhibit dedicated to the photographers who covered the war, especially those who lost their lives during the conflict on both sides. The museum also closes for an hour and a half at lunch time, so we had to rush through the Agent Orange exhibit about the impact that the deforestation agent has had on Vietnam and even future generations on both sides.
The other museums we stopped at were all smaller and less memorable. After a few hours of walking around in the humidity, where most museums weren't air conditioned, I was feeling a bit tired out. So instead of more sightseeing, we took a break in the afternoon to watch Rogue One!
The following day, we did a combo tour to see the Cu Chi tunnels, which Viet Cong soldiers used to move supplies and personnel to fight against Southern Vietnamese and US troops, along with a farming area near Ho Chi Minh City (secret Mekong Delta). We opted to do a river cruise to get to the tunnels because we could beat the crowds, get fed along the way, and the company had high ratings. It was expensive but happy enough we did it for something different.
The Cu Chi tunnels are located about 2 hours drive/1.5 hour boat ride north up the Saigon River. They are a bit touristy and have been enlarged a bit to help fit larger tourist sizes, but you can still get a glimpse of what it must have been like for both sides fighting in/around the tunnels back during the war. I managed to walk through a segment of the enlarged tunnel in an awkward squat, where Lishan was able to walk just bent over! She also went into an even smaller part of the tunnel that wasn't enlarged where only a bunch of kids with our group and the guide went through.
There was another section where tourists can shoot off period weaponry for quite an expensive price. AK47's, M16's, M1's alongside M60 and 30 caliber mounted machine guns. For $20 USD, you could shoot off about 10 rounds of any of these. Even though it was expensive, when else would I have a chance to shoot a jeep mounted machine gun? So I did! Lishan wasn't a big fan of the area because while there was ear protection down at the range, the area next to it was still very loud with the sound of gunfire.
The Cu Chi tunnels felt a bit touristy and commercialized, but it was an interesting visit that really showcased the ingenuity of the Northern Vietnamese army and how/why their guerilla tactics worked. It was also sobering to think about who was on the other side of those traps though.
Following the cruise, we did a tour of a local farmer's fields to see more about how he grows rice and how he lives. We rode on the back of our tour guides' motorbikes, which was a first for me and was definitely an experience.
It was cool to see a smaller scale tour of the local farmer and his family, where there were 3 generations living in the same house. Our guides didn't have the best English though so we didn't actually learn that much while we were there. The guides drove us back to our hotel (and thus in primo Saigon traffic) on the motorbikes, where I held on for dear life. No pictures from that as I couldn't sacrifice a spare hand to hold the camera!
After a busy few days of touring around, we hopped on another flight to Hue, which Lishan will cover next!
Here are a few extra food photos to check out. In general, we are happy with the food we've had so far, given that we do eat a lot of Vietnamese food back at home. Nothing tastes too out there, though there are some additional herbs used that are more bitter than the standard basil/mint that we are used to at home.
