Ho Chi Ming City - Saigon

Hello again!  Most of our readers know that we are back in Canada, in Toronto after an initial few weeks in Nanaimo, BC, to acclimate to North America. We still owe you a blog entry for our last week of travels. It is a short entry and you'll come to know why as you read it (how is that for a little suspense?)

Ho Chi Ming City

Initially, our plan for Vietnam was to fly into Ho Chi Ming City for two days, head south to tour the Mekong Delta - something I've always wanted to do - and then fly north to Hanoi and check out beautiful Halong Bay, which is something Marcus has always wanted to do.    Unfortunately, whatever bacteria/parasite I (Kristine) picked up in Cambodia decided we were having too much fun - so we weren't going anywhere!  After two nights in the "yes, definitely a quiet room" at the Sofia Hotel (adjacent to a construction project that involved constant use of really big metal mallets) we used our Marriott points and moved to the Renaissance club floor where Marcus could hang out in the lounge (free scotch!)and Kristine could...well, hang out in bed. 

Backpacker area

We did manage one day of exploring, checking out some of the main tourist sites such as the Reunification Palace, War Remnants Museum (formerly known as the American War Atrocities Museum), the Notre-Dame Basilica, and the Central Post Office, pictured below.    Outside the post office were two communist-style sculptures, which reminded us that Vietnam is actually communist underneath HCMC's capitalist veneer.  Despite its history and name recognition,  none of Saignon's so called tourist sites was really that interesting. In fact, the most exciting part of our stay was when we happened across the western looking Highland Coffee chain in the backpackers area and ordered a magnificent latte.  They had free wifi and a decent washroom - what more could you ask?

We walked to the Ben Thanh Market where I hoped to find some nice lacquer platters (because I love the ones my friend Karen has). I looked and looked but didn't like any of the ones there, so we bought a nice set of chopsticks for when we order in sushi at home. I am still having a hard time believing I came home without any lacquer ware. If it still bothers me though, I'll go to the Asia Design store on the Danforth and pick some up there. 

Food at the Ben Thanh market - trust me, I stayed clear of all of this stuff in SE Asia and still got sick!

It was hot!  Marcus would be drenched after 2 minutes of walking.  We always had water with us, but if we didn't we could have bought it from any one of the hundreds of young men toting Styrofoam coolers and offering either coconut juice or bottles of lukewarm water. 

It was loud!  In that end, it is what prompted Marcus to spend more and more time in the hotel lounge (periodically checking on the alien that had inhabited his wife's body. I didn't quite achieve the Exorcist head rotation routine, but it was pretty darn close).

Motorbike madness at night:  Earplugs would have come in handy with so many motorbikes on the roads and, in fact, we saw a few expats wearing them, but there are so many safety concerns with this we wouldn't even try.  Luckily, since Vietnam is fairly well developed, most motorbikes were new or at least they did not belch out the noxious fumes that plaque most of the other Asian cities we visited.  So our lungs were safe but our ear drums suffered.

There was a pool on the roof of the hotel and Marcus hung out there a bit, seeing if he could coax out a last few freckles.  He managed to take some aerial photos of the city (above, with the Mekong River).  

Since there weren't any signs that I was getting better, we sadly dropped our plan to head up to Mui Ne to sit on the beach. I thought maybe a nice beach resort would be a good place to suffer through my residual gastroenteritis, but I think we were both getting tired of the noise, the heat, being on the road and, most importantly, being worried about my health.  So we booked our trip to Vancouver Island.  And I can't tell you anything about the trip: to preserve my mental health, I have blocked out that entire 20-hour ordeal. 

To be fair to Ho Chi Ming City, we were not in the best frame of mind to appreciate it's offerings, so we look forward to one day giving it another try - along with the rest of Vietnam.

While our trip ended a little prematurely, it has been a fantastic adventure; truly, a trip of a lifetime. We hope you enjoyed traveling with us through our blog and we thank you for reading. We felt a little more connected to home, knowing you were there to share our stories.

Weighing and cutting up the stinky durian - a whole family affair in the middle of the sidewalk, of course.  We left before the smell overpowered us.

A lovely lady selling fruit