The flight went smoothly and we were soon heading into Ho Chi Minh City by taxi. There are lots of stories about taxi scams in HCMC but we managed to get a Vinasun taxi (One of two companies that are recommended)
We arrived at our hotel “Cozy House 160” As we handed our passports over to the receptionist she told us they had no room for us as they had plumbing issues!! So what now?? 😧😧
She quickly explained that they had another hotel around the corner with a room for us “Cozy House 140” She took us to see the room and had given us a large family room as an upgrade. We could stay there one night and then change back or we could stay there for all three nights. We decided to stay. 😀😀

Once settled we went in search of food. Armed with a map of the area and advice to go to “Walking Street” we ventured into the heat of the night. 34degrees and so humid. The street is an eye opener even after being in Vietnam for 16 days! Street food, bars, massage parlours, karaoke, hostels and backpackers. It got louder as you walked along. The decision over where to eat was made as a young couple recommended the place to us. It was a wise choice too.

Okay, we had 2 full days to see HCMC, still known to most as Saigon, and it is huge!!

Day 1
Using the book of all knowledge (lonely planet Vietnam) we set off on the walking city tour of Old Saigon. We walked through a park towards Ben Thanh Market. There was construction everywhere, an underground transport system is in the making. The market was one of the biggest I have seen and sold everything.

As you walk through, stall holders are just saying “buy from me” “what you want?” “I make it cheap for you” but it’s normal practice and not intimidating really. It’s a bartering society and you should always expect at least 30% off the first price. We followed the route down to the river passing the Bitexco Financial tower.

The Majestic Hotel built in 1925 and was used by the Japanese as their military barracks in WWll is right on the river front.
Then on to the road D Dong Khoi formerly known as Rue Catinat, the city’s most famous street. The Caravelle Hotel, which during the American war, housed the foreign news bureaux and members of the press corps. The Opera House is now called the Municipal Theatre. It’s a beautiful building.

Walking along approaching Norte Dame Cathedral it was obvious something was going on (it happened to be a remembrance service for a cardinal who died 8 years ago) There was lots of security and tourists were not allowed. The central post office was just across the road in a magnificent building.

We visited Reunification Palace built in the sixties. The history is amazing, the palace beautiful.

It was through these palace gates that the communist tanks crashed through on 30th April 1975 to bring the war to an end.

The tour ended with a drink at Shri on the 23rd floor of the Centec Tower. The view was amazing and the wine just what was needed.

Later that evening we ate at a small restaurant serving local food. The food needs a mention as it was gorgeous, maybe the best yet. But the star of the show was the street seller, he got me to change from “No thank you” to “Okay, which one shall I have?” With ease 😂😍 He told me how much it was by using his fingers to count and even put my bracelet on for me 😂 as tight as he could 😂 This little boy was 2!! 😍😍 His mum was there obviously but it was all him.

Day 2
A visit to the War Remnants Museum was our main aim and on the way as we were passing by we had another look around the market. 😀😂
We met a Danish family on our tour of Halong Bay and unbelievably we have bumped into them everywhere we have visited. On our last meeting we said our goodbyes as we thought HCMC is just too big! 😂😂 Well in the market there they were!! 😂😂 They have now flown home to Denmark but we did say “On another journey, who knows?”
Andy bought some Sketchers at a good price and a sleeveless T-shirt. I made the purchase I’m sure every traveller over here makes 😂😂 A pair of elephant trousers!!

So on to the War Remnants Museum. All I can say is nothing prepared me 😢😢
The brutality of the war is shown and its civilian victims. Some of it may be one sided but most of the horrific and disturbing photos showing US atrocities are from US sources. Including the My Lai Massacre. There are still birth defects after contamination with “Agent Orange” in the third generation. It reduced me to tears and I had to have a moment to compose myself. This was in a room of children’s art work showing the atrocities. The final photograph in the museum is a quote from the former US Defense Secretary “Yet we were wrong, terribly wrong. We owe it to future generations to explain why”
I for one will never understand 😟😟 We decided against photos 😟😟
We strolled back to the hotel and as we went through the park we were stopped by a group of university students and asked if we had time to sit and talk with them. A small group came and sat with us and they wanted to better their English and also their knowledge about life in England. The 3 girls I chatted to were studying medicine, IT and marketing. After all we had seen in the museum, here was the future. 😍

They are just hungry for knowledge of the west and also wanted to know our views on their country too.

The following morning we packed our bags, enjoyed breakfast and then stepped out of the hotel to hail a taxi (Andy says they are even quicker than Lucky 7’s 😂😂)
We had another smooth flight, this time to Nha Trang and a bit of beach time for the next few days.

Don’t dream your life. Live your dream.

Carol & Andy