 |
| The Caramel City! |
During a visit by the parentals, we were able to sneak away
to Ho Chi Minh for a couple of days over the Chinese New Year long weekend.
First on the agenda upon waking up was to hit the markets! Now,
Dad and I were fortunate enough to have watched a documentary on Vietnam the
night before we left and learnt how to cross the road. Just walk in a straight
line. Keep your pace steady. Don’t stop or make any sharp changes in direction.
And the traffic won’t hit you.
 |
| Only 1 road rule in Vietnam: Don't Crash. |
On our way, we managed to not get run over, and we decided
to check out a temple that we came across.
As we were walking in, we had
flowers and incense shoved into our hands then were treated to a show as to how
to give our offerings. As we walked out, we were charged US$5 each for the
experience. Yep, within 15 minutes of being out on the road, we had been ripped
off! The great thing about travelling in Asia, is when you get ripped off, it
is usually only a couple of dollars so one can’t really complain too much.
(Yes, tight arse Jodie did complain Quite Loudly though!)
 |
| Mum giving up her offerings. |
As we wandered through the streets and the locals were
starting their day, I was keen to try a Vietnamese Iced Coffee that my man had
raved… and raved…. and raved about (I know – it is quite a different look to
his usual rants!) upon his return form Vietnam many years ago.
I noticed two ladies swigging on iced coffee from a bag and
asked them where to get it from. They pointed to the end of the street…. and so
our adventure began! Finally, we got to the MOST happening little restaurant we
had seen all morning – filled to the brim with locals. And, much to my father’s
displeasure, also harbouring quite a colony of insects. We were shuffled
upstairs, and were seated on plastic chairs next to the dirty dishes which were
stacked ever so neatly on the floor beside a large bucket of water. The looks
on my parents faces….. hilarious!
 |
| Mmmmmm...... Shot of Coffee, about 1/3 cup of condensed milk, add ice and stir..... YUM! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the place we were at.... didn't want to be rude. |
Bowl after bowl of Pho (noodle soup) came out until finally
the only person who could speak a rudimentary amount of English came to get our
order. We requested three Vietnamese Iced coffees (to which my parents quickly
explained Take AWAY!!). Finally, armed with bags of deliciousness, we were off!
– Seriously, my parents could not have gotten out of there faster! I would have
loved to have tried their Pho but I knew there was NO WAY my parents would come
back!
Finally, we made our way to the hustle and bustle of the Ben
Thanh Market. Unfortunately, we entered via the fresh produce, and I nearly
lost my parents as I weaved my way through the throng to get away from the
fumes of fish, herbs, spices, meats of every type of animal you could imagine
all mixed together with the aroma of flowers.
I have been to many markets, but was quite overwhelmed by
this one! The aisles were so tiny and completely filled to the brim with
customers of every race, and each store had a feisty Vietnamese woman touting
her wares. We had some success at purchasing some gifts and homewares and after
about an hour, my father declared he had had enough!
 |
| Turns out this lady had had enough too. |
We wandered through the streets and found the National
Museum and had a sticky beak through there whilst on our way to the War
Remnants Museum.
By the time we arrived there, the museum was closing for
lunch! We found out the hard way that most museums around Vietnam close for
lunch so we had to kill two hours. After making my dad walk around four blocks,
we settled on the restaurant directly beside the museum for lunch! (and boy,
did I not hear the end of that one! –Mum and I had to put him on a drip of Mai
Tais to get him to shut up!).
 |
| Getting ready to hit the Mai Tais! |
Fortunately, service was not their strongest suit, and after
a 2 course meal which took almost 2 hours to arrive, we set back off for the
museum.
The War Remnants Museum is amazing and the best thing to see
in Ho Chi Minh. A lot of the exhibits are photographs from the war and that is
the kind of thing I like to soak up. Particularly disturbing was the Agent
Orange exhibit which showed the impact of the chemical warfare on the children
of the period.
 |
| Beautiful Peace Statue at the War Remnants Museum. |
After walking through here for several hours, it was back to
the hotel for us. For the second time that day, we lined the pockets of the
locals. Stupidly, I accepted a ride from a taxi that was sitting outside the
museum and had approached us. As I was sitting in the front seat, I could see
his meter was running much faster than any other cab. We ended up paying $US15
for a ride that should have cost $US6….. Again, happy to get ripped off in
Asia… Again, I ranted and raved about how I ‘should have known better!’
 |
| Seriously, EVERY hour is cocktail hour for these crazy kids! Enjoying a cheeky pre-dinner beverage at the rooftop bar of our hotel. |
 |
| The view as the sun goes down....... |
The next day, we checked out the Reunification Palace and
planned on doing more shopping, however at Noon on the Sunday of Chinese New
Year, Ho Chi Minh shut down. Completely. So Mum and Dad went back to ‘Tom’s
Bar’ (the bar that my man frequented during his holiday in Ho Chi Minh – right
on the corner from our hotel) to drink and watch some tennis and I went for a
workout in the hotel gym to try and negate some of the effects of our 3-4 times
daily iced coffees!
 |
| Re-enactment of the storming of the palace which marked the end of the war. |
 |
| Amazed by the technology! |
 |
| Communications room used during the war in the Reunification Palace. |
 |
| Presidential Office |
On our last day, we headed out on a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels.
An excellent way to spend a day and learn about the Viet Cong’s warfare
techniques. The propaganda though, was hilarious.
 |
| Examples of traps set by Viet Cong. |
 |
| Watch your step... |
 |
| White girl playing war games. |
 |
| This is how the Viet Cong communicated to tread lightly. |
“The Americans, they shoot at everyone, and everything, even
our pots and pans” – Not the Pots and Pans!
“The Americans, they kill our innocent women” - then in the next exhibit, they praise their
women for fighting through the day, then schooling children and harvesting rice
through the day. Innocent?
**Note, I am not pro Viet Cong or Pro the American Alliance,
just found how they criticised the American Alliance interesting!
 |
| Self portrait in the tunnels. |
That afternoon, I finally convinced (read: forced) my
parents (actually, my dad! – Mum is as keen as me to try out local delights)
into eating on the street. Our last meal – and our BEST meal – was Beef Pho on
the streetside. Again, I had confirmed that the best places to eat in Asia are
the places where the chairs are plastic and the locals are in abundance. Although,
I am worried I have turned Dad into a vegetarian………
 |
| Dad's first foray into street food.... Pork Buns. |
 |
| Mum getting stuck into it like a local! |
 |
| Dad, 'what the hell is this garbage?' - Um, only the most awesome meal you will have in Vietnam! |
All in all, an amazing place to visit – particularly if you
are interested in the history of the war. Food. Or seeing one hell of a crazy
place in operation!
 |
| Vietnamese Butcher |
 |
| The Notre Dame - turned the corner and thought we had landed in Europe! |
