To be honest, I'd never really had any drive to get to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC - aka Saigon) ... I'd heard differing things about it - not good, not bad - just that it was a big city, very different than Hanoi, and that the Southerners don't really like the Northerners and vice versa. I felt like I had to get down there at some point while living in Vietnam, but it wasn't at the top of my priority list.
Nevertheless, Daraca, Damien and I headed down to HCMC this weekend and I realized I couldn't have been more wrong. Their infrastructure (Real sidewalks! Stop lights with the green flashing man telling you it's safe to cross the street! General following of traffic rules!), convenience (Circle K mini marts open 24/7!, people speak ENGLISH!!!! Taxi drivers are friendly!), cleanliness (No rats! No garbage heaps in corners that are sometimes inexplicably on fire! Trash cans on street corners!) and selection (Hello nightlife! Selection of restaurants! Western shopping options!) make it the antithesis of any other Vietnam city I've traveled to. Of course - we stayed in the very touristy areas and only hit the tip of the proverbial iceberg (we literally stayed in about a 5 block radius in 1 of 19 districts within the city), but it was a VERY nice weekend getaway spot.
We arrived late Friday night, grabbed a bite to eat and crashed to be up and at 'em for Saturday morning - our only full day in Saigon. Saturday morning, Dar and I went out in search of Starbucks - that's right folks - we found TWO Starbucks' in our 2 days in HCMC!! - and when we couldn't find it, went back and met up with Damien to re-formulate the plans. In doing so - we stumbled across a dragon dance/good luck celebration for a new restaurant opening:
(I prefer to think the dragon dance had little to do with the restaurant opening and was 100% Saigon's way of welcoming us to the city, but I might be taking the minority view on that one.)
On Saturday, we hit the Opera House (didn't go in, but pretty on the outside), Reunification Palace (the one whose gate the tanks crashed through in April 1975 effectively ending the war), War Remnants Museum (as an American, this was a tough one - a DECIDEDLY anti-American tone. 100% reaffirmed that war is hell), Post Office (turns out post offices in Vietnam are a big deal - this one was pretty cool), Catholic Church (didn't get in, but pretty on the outside), and finished up our tourist day with a drink on the top of the Rex Hotel (also historically significant in the war - lodged US military commanders who frequently met for an afternoon adult beverage at the rooftop bar). I had dinner with my cousins that evening (wonderful dinner and great to see family!), then met back up with Dar and Dames to experience the nightlife we'd heard so much about.
Let's just say - we took full advantage of HCMC's nightlife ... LOTS of laughs - a fabulous night out!
Comparing HCMC and Hanoi is comparing apples and oranges ... HCMC is 100% a big city, with a better infrastructure, more options, manageable traffic, and modern conveniences. Even with that, though, I think I prefer the back woodsey-ness that is Hanoi. It's a bit rough and tumble, a bit backwards, sometimes smelly, and the simple things in life are quite often way more complicated than they needs to be - but it's home.
That being said, thank god Saigon is just a hop-skip-jump away ... good to have it close by when ya just need a bit of civilization.
All in all, an absolutely fabulous weekend! Enjoy the pics!
Nevertheless, Daraca, Damien and I headed down to HCMC this weekend and I realized I couldn't have been more wrong. Their infrastructure (Real sidewalks! Stop lights with the green flashing man telling you it's safe to cross the street! General following of traffic rules!), convenience (Circle K mini marts open 24/7!, people speak ENGLISH!!!! Taxi drivers are friendly!), cleanliness (No rats! No garbage heaps in corners that are sometimes inexplicably on fire! Trash cans on street corners!) and selection (Hello nightlife! Selection of restaurants! Western shopping options!) make it the antithesis of any other Vietnam city I've traveled to. Of course - we stayed in the very touristy areas and only hit the tip of the proverbial iceberg (we literally stayed in about a 5 block radius in 1 of 19 districts within the city), but it was a VERY nice weekend getaway spot.
We arrived late Friday night, grabbed a bite to eat and crashed to be up and at 'em for Saturday morning - our only full day in Saigon. Saturday morning, Dar and I went out in search of Starbucks - that's right folks - we found TWO Starbucks' in our 2 days in HCMC!! - and when we couldn't find it, went back and met up with Damien to re-formulate the plans. In doing so - we stumbled across a dragon dance/good luck celebration for a new restaurant opening:
(I prefer to think the dragon dance had little to do with the restaurant opening and was 100% Saigon's way of welcoming us to the city, but I might be taking the minority view on that one.)
On Saturday, we hit the Opera House (didn't go in, but pretty on the outside), Reunification Palace (the one whose gate the tanks crashed through in April 1975 effectively ending the war), War Remnants Museum (as an American, this was a tough one - a DECIDEDLY anti-American tone. 100% reaffirmed that war is hell), Post Office (turns out post offices in Vietnam are a big deal - this one was pretty cool), Catholic Church (didn't get in, but pretty on the outside), and finished up our tourist day with a drink on the top of the Rex Hotel (also historically significant in the war - lodged US military commanders who frequently met for an afternoon adult beverage at the rooftop bar). I had dinner with my cousins that evening (wonderful dinner and great to see family!), then met back up with Dar and Dames to experience the nightlife we'd heard so much about.
Let's just say - we took full advantage of HCMC's nightlife ... LOTS of laughs - a fabulous night out!
Comparing HCMC and Hanoi is comparing apples and oranges ... HCMC is 100% a big city, with a better infrastructure, more options, manageable traffic, and modern conveniences. Even with that, though, I think I prefer the back woodsey-ness that is Hanoi. It's a bit rough and tumble, a bit backwards, sometimes smelly, and the simple things in life are quite often way more complicated than they needs to be - but it's home.
That being said, thank god Saigon is just a hop-skip-jump away ... good to have it close by when ya just need a bit of civilization.
All in all, an absolutely fabulous weekend! Enjoy the pics!
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| Dragon dance welcoming us to Saigon! |
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| HCMC Opera House (I think Hanoi's is prettier) |
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| Ho Chi Minh City Hall (center of town) |
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| So ... we bought this water because it's called sweat water ... and clearly, that's hysterical. Turns out it's Gatorade ... ... which makes the name make MUCH more sense. |
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| Starbucks #1 (disclaimer - I don't even do Starbucks in the US - at least, not with any frequency. Seeing this logo, though?? Heaven) |
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| Catholic Church (think it was called Notre Dame) |
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| Buu Dien (post office) |
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| Inside the post office (note Uncle Ho watching over EVERYTHING - he's everywhere) |
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| Dames and Uncle Ho |
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| Delicious - also fitting that I enjoyed one with Dar, as my friends all think I'm a spy. (I'm not.) |
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| Good to see the electrical grid mirrors the one in Hanoi. |
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| Turns out the original palace was this gorgeous French colonial architecture. When it was burned to the ground, the architect rebuilt this 60's masterpiece. Complete with a James Bond-type gambling room, movie theater, and helipad. Total retro feel inside. Used now only for ceremonial visits and what not. |
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| Dar hanging out the window at the Reunification Palace. |
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| Panorama of Reunification Palace's grounds. |
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| I want one. |
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| Map room in Reunification Palace - this was cool. |
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| Replica of one of the tanks that crashed through the Palace's gates in April 1975. |
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| War Remnants Museum |
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| Awesome Zippo |
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| Happy Hour! Dar enjoying a "Hotel Rex" on the rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel |
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| An entire store selling wooden ships. Next to 2 other stores selling nothing but wooden ships. Huh. |
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| Me and Dar - love this girl! |
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| Group shot! (and yes, Damien's wearing a Bruce Springsteen t-shirt ... AWESOME) |
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| Apocalypse Now Bar & Cafe WEIRDEST ... BAR ... EVER |
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| Interior of Apocalypse Now |
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| I can't even begin to describe this underground club we found. Words can't describe this scene ... it ... was ... |
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| ... something! |
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| Sunday morning - found the Saigon Harley Owners' parking spot! |
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| Saigon HOGs |
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| How cool is that? |
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| Refreshing beverages at Starbucks Sunday morning |
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| HCMC |
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| Dar and Dames were very excited to see this motorbike in Saigon decked out in Newcastle Football colors. And by football, I mean soccer. |
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| Heading home ... waiting to find out if we got a business class upgrade (we did) ... fighting a ridiculously long line of passengers to make sure we made the flight (we did) ... dodging a drunken Vietnamese man who DID NOT BELIEVE IN PERSONAL SPACE (ew) ... let's just say - not the best travel experience to get back to Hanoi ... but we made it! |
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| We found an amazing hand-drawn movie posters store ... ... my purchases ... (because now I think I'm going to have to have a movie poster room in my house in the US, wherever that may be) |
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| Out of order, but you'll see I got all the original Star Wars posters. LOVE THEM |
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| Of course |
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| FAVORITE |
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| There it is ... |
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| I freaking love Ghostbusters |
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| This one was just badass. |
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