Our first day in Vietnam. We were not off the mark quickly as we didn't breakfast until quite late and then after we had booked a coule of trips and a table for the New Year celebrations in the hotel we didn't hit the streets until almost eleven. With David as our very capable quite we walked to the cathedral which shut at eleven. We then walked to the Palace of Reunification which was shut, so we walked to the Museum of War Remnants which was shut for lunch. We readjusted our plans and walked to the largest market in the city, which we enjoyed and we found a food court nearby so we had lunch before we walked back to the Palace of Reunification.
This was originally the residence of the South Vietnamese President and it is kept in the state it was in when the North Vietnamese took over Saigon. Hence it is full of 1970's furniture and has a rather tacky feel to it. Neither the tour director nor I really enjoyed it, but it was good to see as a piece of history. Next we turned back to the Museum of War Remnants, a reminder of the American War which is rather biased in its approach but still worthwhile visiting and a place which reminds you of the futility of war. I did hear some Amerian lads say that it had made them realise how biased the history that they had been taught was, so it clearly is serving a purpose. I have to say I found it a little distressing.
Having walked about eight kilometres we returned to our hotel to rest before our evening adventure. David had booked for us a food tour of Ho Chi Minh City, which we were to undertake on the back of motorbikes. At six thirty our drivers arrived, all young women, that is less than twenty five. David's driver was called Tsung, Rosmarie's Janz and mine was Han. The first trial was to find a helmet that fitted me, I tried one on but the strap would not do up, there was much laughter whilst I tried a couple of others, until Han managed to alter the strap of the first one so it fitted. With that we were off into the chaos that is traffic here and what an exhilarating experience it turned out to be. Our first stop was the night time flower market, and then on to try street food, Ban Sale, followed by deep fried quail, and then a tour of Saigon, before dessert, which was not really my cup of tea. Mine was made of seaweed and was very sweet. Back onto the bikes we carved our way through major traffic missing cars and other bikes by what seemed like centimetres, enjoying the sights of the city by night.
Our last stop was for snails, which none of us was relishing but when we stopped it was for snails and crab claws and oysters and shrimps, all of which were lovely. The Vietnamese seem to insist in roadside cafes that you sit on stools that were designed for four year olds, which made it quite difficult to stand up.
Traffic here is really hard to describe there are over ten million motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City and traffic rules are that you go with the flow, everyone is aware of every one else but other riders and cars came seemingly very close to us. Han reassured me by telling me that it was her job and that she hadn't lost anybody yet.
After four hours we were returned safely to our hotel all of us excited and full of what had been a truly Vietnamese experience. David was even allowed to drive the motorbike for the last coule of miles home, and I have to say that although he enjoyed it, his mother's heart was beating considerably quicker as it made its way towards her mouth.
All in all a wonderful experience to make our first day in Vietnam truly memorable.