Ho Chi Minh is Mint
Well so far Ho Chi Minh City is nothing like what I had expected. All the guidebooks and websites make you think it’s a pickpocket’s paradise where you are having everything snatched off your face by scooter-riding thieves and you’re being ripped off left right and centre. The traffic is pretty heavy and its quite noisy, but it’s nowhere near the levels of Bangkok. Crossing the road is fun: just walk. Don’t look. The scooters will move for you, and if you move for them, then you just mess with the whole crazy system.
The hardest thing about Vietnam is getting used to the money. One Australian Dollar is equal to about 12,000 Dong. At first I got very excited about seeing beers for 20c, but I then realised they were actually $2. Wait a minute, $2 for a beer? Who am I kidding? That’s still great value.
The backpacker area in Pham Ngu Lao is surprisingly laidback. Sure there are a few hawkers selling books, cigarettes and fruit, but they take no for an answer very quickly and generally leave you be. We had some beer and some local whiskey (sorry I should’ve written methylated spirits) outside by the main corner and had a great time just soaking up the atmosphere and cool, wet, humid air.
So that’s the myth dispersion out of the way. Today we went to the Ben Thanh markets, which had basically anything you could want from chopsticks to calculators to fake Manchester United tops (not that I would want one of them). We got half a kilo of dried mango for about $5, which is delicious, and will hopefully last until past tomorrow.
After that we headed to the Reunification Palace, which at first looked a bit dull, but inside was a different story. Opulent meeting rooms, lavish 60s go-go style gambling dens and war rooms covered with maps of Vietnam made up the insides of the Palace, once populated by the South Vietnamese President until the commies crashed through the gates on April 30 1975 and ended his little party. The tanks remain inside the gates, although unfortunately only copies.
Just up the road is the infamous War Remnants Museum. The courtyard is full of old American war relics – tanks, Huey helicopters and fighter planes. Inside there are hundreds of amazing photos showing the horror of the war in its uncensored brutality. The most powerful part of the museum is undoubtedly the three babies sitting deformed inside formaldehyde-filled jars: two jars, three babies – two were Siamese twins.
So tomorrow we’re off to see the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Cao Dai temple outside the city – not sure what Friday will hold, but on Saturday we’ll be off to Dalat in the mountains for some cooler weather.