Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. Today was an interesting, hot, long day. Our dock was some 120 km from the city centre which equates to a 90 minute trip in a bus. While we could have enjoyed a tour nearer to the port, we decided to take the bus and enjoy some free time in the city.
Bitexco tower was our drop off point. It is the tallest tower in that part of the city (by no means the tallest in Ho Chi Minh City) with a helipad sticking out two thirds of the way up. The day was clear so the tower stuck out like a beacon and made it easy for us to navigate round. The tower is in the centre of the Saigon district or district one where we spent the majority of the five hours we had in the city. This district houses some famous hotels, a post office designed by Eiffel, French inspired architecture opitimised in the Notre Dame cathedral and many fancy establishments along the streets. It also has some important national buildings including the presidents palace which was the scene of tanks driving into the gates thus ending the American/Vietnam war.
These buildings were fortunately within walking distance and we braved the heat to see them.
I quite like the city, it is much cleaner than I thought and some of the malls are very western, more so than the malls in Singapore. Yet it has a very Vietnamese air. Some of the buildings are very skinny, the architecture is a real juxtaposition of modern, nicely designed buildings and the older French influenced ones. There are some stunning hotels and all the Christmas decorations which were being put up seemed very artistic.
Then there is the traffic on the roads, this is all Vietnamese. Motor bikes everywhere, pouring, spilling, swirling about. There are comparatively very few cars, yet the cars and trucks also fill the streets. (Apparently the taxes can be 100% when it comes to cars, while bikes are cheaper to buy and run.) the bikes carry everyone and everything, children, babies, three passengers, I saw pot plants, coloured balloons, shopping, boxes stacked three or four high and some wide. Many of the riders had masks over their mouths to block some of the smog. It did not appear to be very smoggy to the eye however my throat was sore after five hours and I’m sure the masks are necessary.
I enjoyed the buildings, a small, quite street full of book shops selling Vietnamese and English books, and the decorations on the buildings (permanent and Christmas).
Samuel was not happy with the traffic and he got very anxious at one stage, asking to go back to the ship. He said he hated the city and wanted to get out. I think he was scared of the traffic and was convinced for a moment he would die. He also objected to the motorbikes driving close by him right up on the footpath. He was also very hot which didn’t help.
I enjoyed the markets, I would have enjoyed it more if Samuel had not been reminding us constantly that he wanted to go home. We purchased some nice clothes, me a dress and night attire and Samuel a suit which makes him look like a prince. He is so confident and holds himself so well when he wears it that I feel like addressing him as a prince. Eric got a Hawaiian shirt. Not much else we saw really suited him as he was not interested in T-shirt’s by brand name rip-offs and there was not really much else for men.
We also visited a number of malls for Samuel, he loves the electronics shops and the air conditioning. So we visited Samsung and Apple shops. There was a fantastic TV in the Samsung shop for $142,000 Australian dollars which is something like 2,234,000,000 Vietnamese dong. The exchange is crazy! Needless to say we joined the countless people who are Vietnamese millionaires on this day. It is funny to see signs for T-shirt’s for 100, when this actually means 100,000 dong (or $6 ish).
I did enjoy today but it took a lot out of me and I’m glad we are not staying in the city and that we move on tonight to a smaller port and town.
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