My husband and I visited Vietnam in February of this year. Having previously visited Thailand we wanted to return to South East Asia but also to experience a new culture. Vietnam seemed the obvious choice, a relatively new tourist destination where you get real value for money.
After a 2 night stop in North Thailand (just to relive a bit of our honeymoon ;o)!) we arrived in Saigon. We thought that being late at night we wouldn't get too much of a feel for the city, but we were wrong. The place was buzzing...literally. The noise was awesome, mopeds humming past, horns beeping and indicator alerts chiming (this is a novel concept...we heard cars playing, amongst other things, Happy Birthday and Jingle Bells during our time in Vietnam!)
Tired but elated we arrived at the Grand Hotel, our home for the next three nights. One of the oldest hotels in the city, the Grand is palacial in architecture with views overlooking the busy Saigon river and across the skyline. Our room faced towards the swimming pool which is enclosed in a courtyard but afforded us a good view of the river also.
The room was large, but fairly basic. It did however have air-conditioning which came in VERY useful and also a safe for storing important documents and personal items.
Over the next 3 days we spent our time exploring as much of the city as we could. One highlight (although it seems somewhat insensitive to call it such) was the "Museum of War Remnants", up until fairly recently known as the "American War Crimes Museum". I found this trip fascinating, and heart-breaking. To see the results of the Vietnam war in hiddeous technicolour was shocking and appalling. Many items left me in tears. However I am glad we took the time to see the museum. It served as a reminder that this war didn't happen sometime in the distant past...it was recent. There are still children being born today with the effects of Agent Orange, and many of the beggers, traders and cyclo drivers in the city bear scars from the fighting.
We also visited the "Reunification Palace", repaired and rebuilt since the war and still used today for state meetings. However the Palace still acts as a reminder of the events 30 years ago. Many of you will have seen the photographs of US employees fleeing the building by helicopter as the gates were crashed through by tanks....these pictures are here next to the tanks that did the crashing. Living history once again.
If at all possible I advise you to visit one of the many dressmakers in Saigon. I had an Ao Dai (traditional Vietnamese costume) made to measure for me. It is made entirely out of silk and took 24 hours from measure to collection, all for the princely sum of around £20.
Everything in Vietnam is reasonably priced (outside of the hotels) although you can expect to pay 20-30% more in Saigon than you would elsewhere. Food is cheap and plentiful, service is friendly and faultless and everyone is keen to be as helpful as possible.
The only down-side I found when visiting Saigon was the hassle you receive from Cyclo drivers and street vendors. We did get stung by a coconut vendor who befriended us, offered us some coconuts as a gift and then proceeded to charge us more than we would usually pay for a meal! however, this was on our first morning in the city, and a lesson was learnt!!
Although the cyclo drivers can be irritating, it really is worthwhile taking a tour of the city with them. We saw most of the old quarter on foot, but to travel to China Town and further afield required the services of a driver. We were taken on a 3 hour tour which was interesting, exhilerating and hair-raising, and I think we paid about £8 for the 2 of us.
All in all we had a truly magical time. I loved the city and cannot wait to return. I just hope that by then it hasn't been spolit too much.
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Advantages: Untouched rural beauty,breathtaking senery, cheap cost of living, friendly warm people,very little crime Disadvantages: culture shock, hygiene not up to western standards
Aug 27th, 2003
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