I love cities. I like the hustle and bustle of people, the noise and chaos and the discovery in a new city of the possibility of discovering some new gem around every new corner. Ho Chi Minh delivers on all of those.
Motorcycle Taxis on a street-corner at night
Vietnam has been notorious for city streets jam-packed with hundreds of motorbikes at each traffic light (suggestion lights), that has been shifting recently as a strengthening economy and trade deals have put car ownership within reach of more of the population. Cars have been strong enough status symbols that the combination means traffic patterns are quickly changing from an endless flow of motorbikes, to a seemingly endless gridlock of cars. While still far from other cities (Bangkok for example) it does seem likely to get more congested before it improves.
We spent more of our time in Ho Chi Minh exploring the city and than heading off for tours. We did spend most of a day visiting the Reunification Palace (the old Presidential Palace before the end of the war). There were replicas of the tanks that crashed through the
Well maintained decor in the reunification palace
gates, marking the end of the American/Vietnam War. The Palace was left much as it was at the end of the war and is very well maintained. The furniture looks strangely ‘retro’ to my eyes, much of it seeming to funky for a head of state where world leaders would meet. The bunkers below the palace were mostly opened as well, so the emergency war-room was visible.
While on this trip, Liz and I have largely avoided group tours. We decided to change that and take a group tour to the floating markets
Traditional Making of Rice Paper
of the Mekong Delta. We were quickly reminded of why to avoid group tours. We visited the place on the river where a floating market happens in the early morning, but we arrived there around 10am, so it had been closed down for hours. We then spent the rest of the day being taken to shops where locals demonstrated how things used to be hand-made before getting led to the gift-shops. I thought it was really cool that we got to cross one of the new bridges (thanks Australia) that help bridge the Mekong Delta, greatly improving mobility for the people in the area.
Vietnam is the first country we have gotten a local sim card to hopefully get a little better and more reliable communication while traveling. A very big thank you to Amanda for all the help in the tedious process of assisting with getting my phone unlocked. Getting some rocking 1Mb download speeds now on 4G, which is roughly 10x faster than any place we got wi-fi in Southern Laos or Cambodia.
Our next stop in Vietnam is Dalat. Dalat is a popular destination for local and foreign tourists mostly because of the temperate climate. It is surrounded in pine trees, with mist often covering the valleys nearby. It is a primary growing location for temperate produce that would otherwise need to be imported.
We’ve lucked out in terms of weather in Ho Chi Minh so far with relatively rain free days, fingers crossed that we will be as lucky in Dalat.
Ho Chi Minh Pictures:
 |
| Ho Chi Minh |