Ho Chi Minh City is an assault on the senses. It's incredible. We arrived in the evening, and shared a taxi with this guy from Malaysia. We were immediately astounded by the lights, the sights an the crazy chaos that is Ho Chi Minh. There were motorbikes everywhere, vehicules weaving through laneless traffic. To make yourself known in a car you had to honk your horn. Traffic lights, when presented, were more of a guide than a law. There were people everywhere - walking around, selling wares and food, selling rides on motorbikes and cyclos.
Dave and I arrived at the Metropole, our hotel. It was quite nice! We were tired, but wanted to see some of Ho Chi Minh. So we got dressed and had a wander. We had dinner in a place on a backstreet surrounded by plants, and cocktails at Xu Bar before heading back.
The next day, feeling fresh, we set out to see the sights. It's hot and humid in Vietnam, and hard to stay hydrated. I love it. We discovered that crossing the street was risking your life! Avoid the cars, step out and the motorbikes will (hopefully) drive around you. We learned that hesitation was dangerous. We had lunch at a place recommended in a guide we read, and it didn't disappoint! Dave got the most delicious Green Mango shake ever, and I got a fruit shake made with fruits I didn't recognize, which was so interesting. You could see the food being made, the produce and spices used. Yum!
That afternoon we went to the War Museum, originally called the Museum of American War Crimes. The exhibit was amazing, sad, disturbing, thought-provoking, shocking and heartbreaking. There were planes, weapons, photos taken during the Vietnam War, opinions of people involved, and, sadly, an exhibit about how the Vietnamese are affected by Agent Orange. It was so intriguing to see the Vietnamese view of the war.
After that we went to the markets, took in the amazing sights, bought a few little things. I loved the markets. I don't know if I loved how we got there...Outside the museum we were asked if we wanted a ride on a motorbike. I am terrified of riding on motorbikes, but took a deep breath and agreed. We were going to the markets, and it would take awhile to walk. Although in the traffic the bikes don't go too fast, there is a lot of weaving a dodging, and I was pretty scared and relieved to get to the markets in one piece!
That night we were meeting Karen, a Vietnamese girl Dave's dad met though his company when he was in Ho Chi Minh. She arrived with a friend on motorbikes - it looked like I was getting on one of those again - oh no! Even though I was still a little scared, after a little while I actually enjoyed it a bit, although I was still happy when the ride was over, haha. Dave and I couldn't believe it when the girls pulled up to the restaurant we ate lunch at!!! It was delicious the second time around, too, and the girls knew how to order better than we did. We had these thin, flat rice rolls, and filled them with salads, rice, meat...yum! The girls were really nice. karen spoke some English, her friend spoke none. They were really sweet. After that we went for a coffee. The traditional coffee in Vietnam was intense; a drip coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk. My coffee had the texture of melted chocolate, and was almost as sweet.
Since the girls had to work the next day, they were going to head home. Dave and I wanted to go out and see a few places. We had drinks at Saigon Saigon and the Rooftop Garden, both with gorgeous views of the city. There was a party happening at Saigon Saigon, people were doing the Macarena, noooooooo! They made some pretty tasty cocktails. We had a Saigon beer at the Rooftop garden, which was elaborately decorated with plants and giant animal statues. we were worried when we saw a crash on the road below - a car ran into a motorbike with two people on it; thankfully they seemed all right, but it made us realize that maybe things didn't run so smoothly all the time after all. We then took a taxi to the backpacker district, where we went to Q-Bar and the place across the street, where we partied until after 5 in the morning!
The next day was our last day in Ho Chi Minh. We slept in a little bit, and had little hangovers, but nothing that could stop us! We were headed to the History Museum, but our first stop was lunch! We stopped for a fruit shake and then took a taxi. We walked around and went into the first restaurant we saw, a place off the beaten track. Looking around, we saw tanks filled with fish, eels, snakes and frogs. The menu had delicacies such as snake, testicle and brain. Dave, feeling advenurous, tried to order some snake! But they didn't have it or something. We ordered some food by pointing at items; tried to use our phrasebook, but to no avail. The girls who worked there laughed at us when we tried to figure out some of the food, and watched us eat the whole time! It was an experience, that's for sure. The History museum was really interesting. At that point it was almost time to go. We went to a cafe near the Saigon River, then to the Rooftop bar for one last look at the city. At our hotel, we got our stuff and went to the place we were meant to catch our bus to Nha Trang.
