Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and our day trip to the Mekong Delta - Plus the conclusion about Vietnam

It was already late at night when we finally landed in Ho Chi Minh City. Knowing not to go to the taxi drivers who approached us, we looked for the way to the official taxi stand. We quickly found it and even faster we were in a taxi that was supposed to take us to the hotel. We emphasize at this point "supposed to". Because we stood in front of a closed door at around 2:00 am. A sign indicated that the hotel was closed due to an 'upgrade'. And we were left speechless. Nobody had informed us about it. Fortunately, there was also a phone number that we called immediately. The lady at the other end of the line, who was probably just awakened by our call, said that she also owned another hotel. We could stay there. The friendly taxi driver also took us there. After a short instruction from the man at the reception, we quickly checked into a room. But this is not the end of the story yet.

The next morning arrived, and with it came the next surprise at the reception. The sleepy lady from last night, who claimed that this hotel also belonged to her, and her colleagues told us that we now have to pay the additional money for this hotel or check out immediately. We were speechless. So much kindness all at once. This makes you want to come back. We had agreed with the man at the reception the night before that there would be no extra costs. We even had a receipt confirming everything. But apparently, it has no contractual validity in Vietnam, which surprised us, but we accepted it, as the hotel was accommodating regarding the additional price for the rooms. This story has only been briefly told. Let's move on to Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon.

First of all, we went to a café to have breakfast. The location of our current hotel, like our originally booked hotel, was very central. There were about 20 cafés within a radius of 100 meters, so we didn't have to go hungry for long.

Saigon (We are now calling the city by its old name because it is simply more beautiful for us) does not offer many highlights. Two of them, however, are on the list of the top 10 attractions in Vietnam: the War Remnants Museum and the Jade Emperor Pagoda. The latter personally disappointed us more. If you consider the magnificent buildings we have encountered on our trip, then, personally, we cannot consider this as a highlight in any way. But see for yourself...

First and foremost, we visited a café to have breakfast. The location of our current hotel, like our originally booked hotel, was very central. There were about 20 cafes within a radius of 100 meters, so we didn't have to go hungry for long.

First and foremost, we visited a café to have breakfast. The location of our current hotel, like our originally booked hotel, was very central. There were about 20 cafes within a radius of 100 meters, so we didn't have to go hungry for long.

First and foremost, we visited a café to have breakfast. The location of our current hotel, like our originally booked hotel, was very central. There were about 20 cafes within a radius of 100 meters, so we didn't have to go hungry for long.

The War Remnants Museum was actually very interesting. The Vietnam War is portrayed very vividly there. There are also special exhibits to see.

At first, we thought, "Okay, an important sightseeing spot, we have to go there." But we never expected to be so thoughtful (Nadine was really moved) by what awaited us in this museum. The Vietnam War was hardly a topic during our school days. The most incredible fact: From 1961 to 1971, the Americans sprayed 80 million liters of toxic chemicals over an area of 3.06 million hectares - some areas were even sprayed with poison up to ten times! Has anyone ever heard of "Agent Orange"? It's worth reading about...

Furthermore, our visit to Ben Thanh Market was impressive. In this huge hall, sellers crowd together. Every square meter is used as a sales area, and the aisles are sometimes not wider than about half a meter.

But let's get to our day trip to the Mekong Delta, for which we booked a tour. We left at around 7:45 am by bus. On the way, we stopped at an impressive Buddhist temple. As much as we are slowly becoming 'templed out,' nearly every temple is somehow different, beautiful to look at, and special in its own way.

When we arrived at the destination by bus, we boarded a larger boat that took us to various destinations throughout the day. The absolute highlight for us was the boat ride through the Mekong Delta. We were maneuvered through narrow river channels by a nice lady.

The visits to Coconut Island and Unicorn Island were also interesting and gastronomically valuable. On the former, we learned a lot about the production process of various coconut products such as coconut milk, which is obtained by pure pressing the flesh of the coconut. On the island, so-called coconut candies are also produced. We took two packs of this delicious candy with us, although only one package remains now.

On Unicorn Island, we had the pleasure of tasting local specialties. First and foremost, a honey that tasted really delicious.

These were the highlights of our day trip. We can highly recommend a trip to the Mekong Delta to anyone who visits Vietnam.

Our Conclusion about Vietnam

After Japan and China, we continued to travel south. Our expectations regarding Vietnam were not very high. At this point, the word 'expectations' might need a more precise definition because they appear to be multidimensional. We were even disappointed with our expectations regarding the infrastructure. The road and traffic network is catastrophic, although we really didn't expect anything good. Otherwise, we were actually not disappointed. On the contrary...

What makes this country particularly beautiful, in addition to its sometimes breathtaking landscape, are the locals themselves. The Vietnamese are wonderfully hospitable and helpful people. Of course, they earn money from us travelers, but regardless of that, they would probably not behave any different towards us. At least that's a feeling we have... With this statement, we are naturally referring to the general population and our own experiences. We are well aware that there are exceptions.

As a German, it is difficult to imagine that there is something like working to secure one's own survival and that of one's family. But that's exactly how it is for the Vietnamese. At this point, we realized that we have arrived in completely different circumstances. And we are an example for the locals. This reminds us of a sentence our tour guide said during the Ha Long Bay tour: 'We can learn so much from you' (translated). This also illustrates how good we actually have it.

One thing has also caught our attention: One could think that the Vietnamese - as well as parts of China - have skipped one (if not several) stages of development. Despite the poverty, nearly everyone is equipped with a smartphone. The digital infrastructure also seems to be well developed. And that is in complete contrast to the transportation infrastructure, which still needs a lot of work.

Nevertheless, the absolutely positive experiences and adventures in Vietnam outweigh everything else. If you want to travel to Southeast Asia, you can't miss this enchanting country.