Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon

Arriving in Saigon, we shared a taxi (with the Germans from the boat trip) to the city center. There don't seem to be any tuk-tuks in Vietnam, but the taxis are much more comfortable and still cheap. Our guesthouse was located directly on the pedestrian street/party mile, where there were still plenty of cars and scooters. However, since it was located in a small and initially difficult to find side street, it was surprisingly quiet and run by very nice old ladies. So we spent the evening absorbing the big city life. In Ho Chi Minh City, which is still called Saigon by many locals for simplicity, there are about 11 million people and approximately 7 million scooters and motorcycles. That means more than half of the population has a scooter, and you can feel that. The only question is: Why do people still sit three or four on one scooter?!

The next day, we used to explore the city. First, we went to the Reunification Palace, a significant building from the 1960s that has been awarded for its architecture. We spent about two hours there, exploring the whole building with all the rooms, such as the president's office, reception rooms, bedrooms, and the bunker in the basement.

We then went to the War Remnants Museum, which displayed and explained the history and impact of the Indochina and Vietnam Wars through many, sometimes gruesome, images. It was sometimes a lot to read, but definitely very interesting. It is truly terrible to see how many people had to die, how much of the country's nature was destroyed, and how many bombs were dropped just because the US felt that communism should not become too powerful! The ongoing effects of the chemical Agent Orange are also difficult to witness, as it still affects thousands of deformed people.

After letting the impressions sink in with a coffee, we still had the Notre Dame Cathedral and the post office on our sightseeing list. These were not far away, but they were quickly checked off because the cathedral was closed for visitors due to renovations, and the post office was not very big either.

Hungry from all the walking during the day, we looked for a restaurant and eventually ended up in the pedestrian street around the corner from us. There, we enjoyed the view from a sky bar over Ho Chi Minh City while sipping delicious cocktails. We actually wanted to go to bed early because we had already booked a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels for the next day, and it started early in the morning...

Tired, we got on our tour bus in the morning and were greeted by our lively Vietnamese tour guide who spoke very good English. We specifically booked a tour with a smaller group to visit the slightly less touristy tunnels, which actually worked out. On the way to the tunnels, which the Vietnamese built to protect themselves from the American attacks during the war, our guide gave us a lot of information about Vietnam, the language, the correct pronunciation, Ho Chi Minh, and Saigon. For example, we learned that half of the residents of HCMC have not even returned from their vacation yet, and the city is actually still quite empty. We wouldn't have noticed with all the hustle and bustle...

The tour also included a visit to a workshop for disabled people affected by Agent Orange, where they produced beautiful pictures and plates by gluing small pieces of eggshell and shell fragments and painting them.

The area underneath which the 200 km-long tunnels stretch is now green again. But during the war, everything was flattened by bombs so that the soldiers could find their enemies more easily. However, the tunnels, their ventilation system, entrances, kitchens, and traps were so well thought out and hidden that it became incredibly difficult or impossible for the Americans to find the Viet Cong.

We also crawled through several sections of the caves, which was not so easy for us tall Europeans due to the limited space. Any movement was very exhausting, but that was the whole point, to make it as difficult as possible for the big Americans. So you're also happy when you crawl out again, even though we only moved in the first and second of the three levels of the system.

Back in the city, we were served lunch (which we had actually not booked with the tour) and talked to two Canadians and an American from our tour. After that, we still had the afternoon to see more of the city, and our path led us past the big market hall, the People's Committee building, and the Jade Emperor Pagoda, which was about a 40-minute walk from our hotel.

After our feet were tired from walking, we found ourselves at the northern end of District 1, where the locals stared at us as if we were aliens. Although no other tourist had ventured here, we sat down in a restaurant full of Vietnamese people and got really delicious food. Although we had fortified ourselves well, we didn't want to walk back the long way and called a taxi, which took us back for the equivalent of 2€. Near the hotel, we quickly booked a comfortable bus for the next destination: Mui Ne.

In a cool bar, we enjoyed a beer while watching some Olympics and NBA before packing our things and writing a few more posts for you. Tomorrow, we'll continue along the coast!