...I'm off then... Ho Chi Minh - Vietnam (Stage 7)

My first visit on my journey awaited me in Ho Chi Minh. Stan arrived directly from Berlin and before we both went through passport control, he was already right behind me. The joy was great! Together, we took a Grab taxi to the City Backpackers Hostel.

Ho Chi Minh City (named after the former North Vietnamese leader who died in 1969) or Saigon, as the former capital was called before the end of the Vietnam War, was just as I had come to expect from the previous Asian metropolises: full of houses, garbage, and people, extremely loud, and with chaotic and dangerous traffic :-)

But Saigon also has a lot to offer and exploring the city was a must. Stan and I were already looking forward to the delicious Vietnamese cuisine. We immediately went to a restaurant and filled our stomachs with Vietnamese iced coffee, fresh spring rolls in rice paper, garlic and butter sautéed shrimp, and, of course, Phở Bò (Vietnamese rice noodle soup with beef). It was damn delicious!

In the evening, we let ourselves be carried from one stand with various delicacies to the next at the Street Food Market. The decision was not easy given the selection. But the result was worth it in the end. With our stomachs full again, we strolled past the bustling Night Market on the opposite side, along the streets in the middle of the city, and reached a small bridge that crosses the Sông Sài Gòng River. Apparently, it is a popular meeting place for young people. With plastic chairs, food, music boxes, and a lot of traffic, the bridge has become a lively and chill spot.

It's more lively in the Backpacker Party Zone Bùi Viên and if you like to scream out of one bar after another at 120 decibels without understanding yourself, then this is the place for you!

The next day, we visited the War Remnants Museum. On the way there, we strolled through the beautifully landscaped Tao Dan Park. Here, the residents of Saigon pass their time with various sports activities or traditional (martial arts) dances. I convinced Stan to do a short strength circle training with me so that we wouldn't get fat from all the delicious Vietnamese food and little exercise :-) It felt good to do something for our own fitness again, but in the end, Stan lay on the ground with a sore neck.... oops.

But that didn't deter us from visiting the War Remnants Museum. The museum illustrates the cruel experiences and consequences of the Vietnam War with a variety of images. The different photographs and themes are very expressive and impressive. Communism and propaganda are not far apart... but the images are not for the faint-hearted. In Germany, these rooms would have an age restriction... but here, even young children's eyes stared at extreme cruelties. Welcome to Vietnam.

The next destination was the famous Notre Dame Cathedral in Ho Chi Minh City. Upon arrival, we unfortunately found out that the cathedral was undergoing restoration and was not accessible for visits.

Change of plans: Explore a few shops and see if we can find cheap motorcycles somewhere. Why? Stan and I had the plan to buy motorcycles and travel with them to the north to Hanoi. We really love crazy ideas :-D

During our stay in Saigon, we found out that it is not so easy to buy a reasonably usable and drivable motorcycle at a reasonable price. On the one hand, the Vietnamese mainly ride scooters and on the other hand, the ads on the internet were not right and some dealers tried to sell you crap for gold.

Here it should be noted: Be careful in District 1 (Backpacker Quarter). Here, the mafia sells and offers dolled-up junk for too much money!

After a few detours, we arrived in District 2 and met Pierre from France. He buys, repairs, and sells motorcycles to or from backpackers at a fair price. After a good deal, we could proudly call ourselves the owners of two Honda Detech Wins, 110 cc (completely sufficient for a short trip in Vietnam) :-)

The anticipation for the tour through Vietnam grew! But before we started the next day, we treated ourselves to Japanese gourmet, cocktails at the Chill SkyBar, and an amazing view of the skyline of Ho Chi Minh City.