Saigon/Ho Chi Minh

Claire & I have just spent a week in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon and the surrounding area.

I, and I believe most visitors, was struck first by the traffic. Crossing the street's a hair-raising experience, in which hesitation is even more costly than when running between the wickets. Everyone says "just keep walking, don't look", but I don't think it's as straight forward as that.

Being back in a big, big city reminded me of my time in Bangkok, and I've a feeling Saigon will look more like Bangkok in the next 5-10 years (more high-rise buildings, more cars). I really enjoyed pulling up a seat at a cafe or street restaurant and watching the world go by, though the touts could get a bit much.

From Saigon we did a trip out to the Cu Chi tunnels - the underground complex dug by the Viet Cong during the American war for defense, attack, and living. Though I tried I didn't manage to crawl down the tunnels as claustrophobia got the best of me. A glance down their dark, tight confines was enough to give me an idea of what the living conditions would have been like.

After that we took a tour through the Mekong Delta, the highlight of which was the floating market. From a collection of boats farmers sold their goods to locals each day, the produce for sale on each boat indicated by tying an example to a bamboo pole on the boat's prow. Though there were plenty of tour boats taking in the market, it felt good to see something that's naturally a part of Vietnamese life and not adulterated for the tourist market.