I'm a writer and TEFL/TESOL Teacher.
You will find me in various places as Louie Jerome and as...
I'm a writer and TEFL/TESOL Teacher.
You will find me in various places as Louie Jerome and as janharper.
Member since:04.05.2008
Reviews:69
Members who trust:8
I was a little worried when I was informed that I had to go to Ho Chi Min City in Vietnam on business. I was brought up in the far east and I knew this place as Saigon. Sometime in the seventies Saigon became Ho Chi Min City.
***FIRST IMPRESSIONS***
My first impression was that it was very hot and dusty and had a strange sickly smell. Most foreign airports strike me that way when I first get off the plane, so this isn't something peculiar to this place. There were still soldiers, military vehicles and anti aircraft guns scattered about the place, just as they had been more than twenty years ago. I just hoped that the rest of the city had made progress.
***AIRPORT***
Everything looked crowded and dusty as we left Tan Son Nhat International Airport which is right in the heart of the city. There has actually been some international concern about the very restricted size of this airport. The new international
terminal was opened in 2007 and a brand new international airport is currently under construction at Long Thanh but it won't be completed until 2015 when Tan Son Nhat will be relegated to domestic flights.
***HOTEL***
The hotel had been booked for me so I knew it would be a reasonable one but I am always wary when staff book accommodation from websites and brochures. However, the Renaissance Riverside Hotel with its four and a half star rating soon dispelled my worries. It is close to the airport but also right in the business area so it suited me fine. I was quite relieved to get inside where it was cool. The temperature outside was in the thirties and there was no breeze. April is not a good time to visit this city if you don't like the heat.
The amenities in the hotel include restaurant, bar, roof top pool , fitness centre, sauna and steam room. There are also laundry facilities but I wasn't going to be there long enough to lose those. I had a great deal to pack into just three days.
*** ATTRACTIONS***
War Remnants Museum:
I didn't have time to go very far in Vietnam but I was fortunate to be staying at the heart of Ho Chi Min City, so I was able to take in a few of the sites.
The War Remnants Museum is a chilling reminder of the horrors of war and this city has seen a great deal of that. The museum hi lights the suffering of the Vietnamese people during the Vietnam War. It used to be called the 'Museum of American War Crimes' but was renamed so as not to offend American visitors. It houses a collection of weapons, artefacts, and some very distressing photographs illustrating the effects of napalm. There is also a room dedicated to chemical warfare.
This is not a place to visit if you are likely to be upset by graphic pictures .
Cholon:
This is the Chinese quarter of the city and there are hundreds of streets all criss-crossed to form a real maze. This compares with the medina type mazes of many Arab cities. There are temples, restaurants and exotic shops and market stalls, including Binh Tay Market where you can buy spices, jewellery, jade, gold and a whole multitude of things including live ducks (if that's what floats your boat, as the saying goes.)
Cholon is where you will find the famous Emperor of Jade Temple, Phuoc An Hoi Temple with all its brightly coloured dragons and monsters and Thien Hau Pagoda which is dedicated to the goddess of the sea.
I was very disappointed that I didn't have longer to investigate this fascinating area. I only managed to cover a small section of it and would love to go back to Ho Chi Min City to see the rest.
Other Attractions:
Other places to visit are the Mekong Delta and the Chun Chi tunnels which were built as places for the population to hide during war.
***OVERVIEW***
This is an amazing city and my only regret is that I didn't have longer to investigate it. The architecture of some of the building is amazing and the colours of the buildings, statues and temples are like nowhere else on earth. I really felt that I needed more time but, unfortunately, it wasn't possible to extend my stay.
I did find a little night-life in the nearby hotels but didn't venture into town as I didn't feel safe by myself at night in the city. It may have been the strangeness that made me feel that way but I was advised by hotel staff not to go looking for clubs unless I was in a group. Being a coward, I didn't go.
Food in this city was cheap and there was a huge variety from Chinese, French, Vietnamese and American dishes to expensive international restaurants with a la carte menus.
***WOULD I GO AGAIN?***
Yes, as soon as I can afford to go for a few weeks I would love to visit this city again. There is so much that I missed and that I need to take a more leisurely look at. This is an exciting, very different city with a different culture to enjoy and lots to discover.
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Good review, sounds like somewhere I'd enjoy exploring.
Bollinger28 10.11.2008 21:43
Somewhere I'd find truly fascinating. The War Remnants museum sounds interesting but a little bit gruesome. However, it would be the Cu Chi Tunnels that would be at the top of my things to do. Nice insight, Lexy
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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
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
Nov 10th, 2008
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