Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Monday 19th March

The boat docked in the Mekong Delta as it is too big to go up the river.  We had a 2 hour bus ride to get into Ho Chi Minh City – still apparently called Saigon by all the locals.  It wasn’t a pleasant experience  - it seems like everyone in Vietnam has a motorbike or scooter and the roads were packed with them.  A Chinese motorbike costs only 200 dollars - some had 3 or 4 people on board and lots with large parcels attached – the  worst we saw was a pillion passenger carrying a large sheet of glass in front of him in his bare hands, also a baby balanced in a high chair on the front of a scooter.  Also there were lots of large container lorries, coaches and buses, not many cars  – couple that with no road signs, no lane discipline and a road that is still being built in places with lanes appearing and disappearing and some strategically placed potholes and we felt lucky to arrive unscathed – and even luckier to get back as the driver was taking even more risks because he didn’t want to be late for the ship.  Having said that we didn’t see one accident though there were lots of near misses.

Saigon was the capital of South Vietnam and the centre for the US military operations during the war.  The US left in 1973 and it finally fell to the North Vietnamese on 30^th April 1975 when it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City.  There are 9 million living in the city and around 90 million in Vietnam.  Interestingly our guide, who is only 35, referred to the American war as if it was America against the whole of Vietnam.  We also learned from her that there is no free education or free healthcare after the age of 6, so the socialist ideal has a way to go in this country.

Keith got a job as a coolie - said the load was very heavy!

On arrival we had the mandatory visit to a lacquer factory – to be fair they did make some beautiful boxes and trays but, not having compared prices elsewhere, not many people were tempted to buy.  We had nearly 4 hours to explore the city on our own, but we only ventured into Distict One (there are 19) which is the city centre – first impressions were it is very busy, motorbikes everywhere and difficult to cross roads.  The best buildings date back to the French colonial times, there is also the Reunification Hall (former Presidential Palace) where the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Flag was raised in 1975.  Otherwise there is a mixture of modern shops and restaurants plus more tatty places and markets  selling souvenirs and what I assume are designer copies, plus some quite elegant hotels in the centre.  We started the day with a drink in the rooftop bar of the Rex hotel which was taken over by the press during the war – very elegant and a welcome relief from the 35 degree heat.  We then toured the main buildings and visited the market – prices are very low and we picked up some bargains in clothes  and painting equipment for my new watercolour artist career.  It was interesting to see the city but nothing remarkable that would make us want to go back – and everyone seemed pleased to get back to our nice big air-conditioned floating hotel.

Notre Dame Cathedral built by the French in 1870's

The interior of the stunning post office, also French built

Next stop Bangkok.