We arrrived into Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) exhausted after 16 hours crammed into triple bunk beds aboard the train from Danang. We were incredibly grateful to our wonderful kiwi hosts Ingrid and Graeme. We picked their brains on local culture and discovered that living in Vietnam as foreigners can be very rewarding.
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| An Phu District, Where We Stayed |
Our wai-wai express tour took us past the impressive Notre Dame Cathedral and next door, the ornate
Central Post Office. We experienced first hand the drawn out process of sending a parcel from Vietnam. Felt a bit like signing a serious contract.
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| Notre Dame Cathedral, HCMC |
The Ben Thanh Market proved a repeat attraction both by day and by night. Whilst the day food market was a bit dubious, the evening stalls provided an absolute Vietnamese banquet for us. It was rather novel cooking our own meat on a heated roof tile.
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| Roof Tile BBQ |
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| Potato String Prawns |
Further along Le Loi Street, we rested in the gardens around the statue of Ho Chi Minh in front of the impressive People's Committee Building.
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| Ho Chi Minh Square |
The Saigon Centre was a clothing market mania with little room to move or breathe and serious bartering skills were required for successful purchases.
The fantastic public bus system moved us between the suburbs and the city centre with ease and for ridiculously cheap fares.
If it wasn't for the oppressive heat, we probably could have wandered along the wide sidewalks and skyscrapers for days. Needless to say we spent every afternoon trying to return our body temperatures to normal levels in the apartment pool. Icy cafe sua da (sweetened iced coffee) from the street vendors helped too. Delicious and highly addictive, you have been warned.
Going out in the evenings once the sun had gone down lowered the heat stroke risk. We sat in miniature chairs peeling hard boiled quail eggs and rolling them in salt. Followed up by hot chips served with butter and sugar and beers for under 50c. We tried some very local cuisine including crumbed eel with mint and chilli prawns hot enough to make your eyes water.
The broad Saigon river was never far away, and was teeming with well lit dinner cruise boats at night (for a hefty price).
The fantastic public bus system moved us between the suburbs and the city centre with ease and for ridiculously cheap fares.
If it wasn't for the oppressive heat, we probably could have wandered along the wide sidewalks and skyscrapers for days. Needless to say we spent every afternoon trying to return our body temperatures to normal levels in the apartment pool. Icy cafe sua da (sweetened iced coffee) from the street vendors helped too. Delicious and highly addictive, you have been warned.
Going out in the evenings once the sun had gone down lowered the heat stroke risk. We sat in miniature chairs peeling hard boiled quail eggs and rolling them in salt. Followed up by hot chips served with butter and sugar and beers for under 50c. We tried some very local cuisine including crumbed eel with mint and chilli prawns hot enough to make your eyes water.
The broad Saigon river was never far away, and was teeming with well lit dinner cruise boats at night (for a hefty price).
We were sad to say goodbye to this very lovable city!
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