- Location: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Season: Winter, Dry Season (November-April) Weather: 40-42°C (it’s stinking hot!)
After a wonderful month of experiencing Oceana’s summer season, it was just a hop, skip and plane ride later and I was back in winter! Although, to be fair, this is Southeast Asia we’re talking about so the concept of “winter” should be taken lightly.
As soon as I stepped off the plane, a wave of hot, humid air, hit me square in the face, leaving a slight scent trail of gasoline in its wake. Vietnam, I had arrived!
I had arranged for a private car from my hotel to pick me up at the Ho Chi Minh City airport and I was eagerly anticipating being greeted at the arrival gate by someone holding a sign with my name on it (come on, who wouldn’t love that). The arrivals area was packed. Not just being, but jammed packed, wall to wall with people. I later learned that the crowd had gathered to welcome home a local celebrity / beauty queen / model (something or another) who was flying in just after me. I scanned frantically amidst the excited crowd, searching for my name. I grew increasingly worried and increasingly hot: I have a habit of always wearing my ‘heaviest’ clothes, jeans & a sweatshirt when travelling, to cut back on the weight of my suitcase. Well, in the 40 degree heat, this wasn’t working out well. Not finding my name, I called the hotel and with great difficulty, I learned that they had not received my confirmation that I indeed wanted to be picked up (even though I had confirmation that I sent it, but whatever) so I was to take a taxi. And there went my dream of my name on a sign at the airport….Alas.
The taxi ride provided me with ample opportunity to witness Ho Chi Minh City’s most famous sight: motorbikes! And more precisely, motorbikes in traffic. I can honestly say, in my 30 something years, I have never witnessed traffic like this before! Chaotic is the only way to properly describe it. Imagine a city with 8.6 million residents, at least 7 million of them drive a motorbike. Now throw in taxi cabs, city buses, private cars, the odd bicycle and you have Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) in a nutshell. Yet somehow, this chaos just works. The symphony of blaring horns can be overwhelming and jarring at times, however once you pay closer attention, it’s not the North American “get out of my way you idiot” horn blast, but more of a ‘hey, I’m coming up next to you” signal. There was no road rage, no one giving the finger out the window. There are also no ‘lanes’ to speak of (they’re there, but no one gives them any attention). Traffic moved slowly, yet steadily. Rarely were we stopped. It’s quite the spectacle, easier to enjoy as a passenger then a driver I imagine!
I had a few days planned to spend in the city and trust me, there’s so much to explore! Formerly known as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City was renamed after the Vietnam war in honor of the revolutionary leader of the same name – although, everyone continues to informally refer to it as Saigon or Sai Gon. HCMC is Vietnam’s most populated city and a rapidly growing economy, though not the capital. Under French colonial rule, Saigon was the capital of French Indochina as well as the capital of the independent South Vietnam after colonial rule was overthrown. Most North Americans likely know Sai Gon from television and film, however the city is so much more!
One of the first things I did, was taking in the view from above. Situated on the 49th floor of the Bitexco Financial Tower, the Saigon Skydeck provides an amazing 360 degree view of the city from 178meters up. It was really striking, and somewhat surprising to see the immense scope of this Asian city! I hadn’t realized it was so big!
Whenever I think of Vietnam, I thought of 3 things: conical hats, exotic temples and food. Asia is known for its street food culture and I was curious to try it out! Without exaggeration, there is a street food vendor every 3 feet in the city. While there are many restaurants & cafes, the real buzz is on the sidewalk. Ranging from mobile carts to women squatting on the pavement over a simple metal can turned oven, All types of food are sold on the street.
To enjoy these tasty treats, one must not think too much about how the food is handled and prepared: there’s rarely gloves and definitely no hand sanitizer, glasses and plates are washed in a bucket, the dirty water dumped on the street and vendors rarely have refrigeration, unless they are selling cold drinks. Meat can hang on the cart, exposed to the elements and the hot sun for the entire day. Eating street food is like an extreme sport for foreigners: you gotta be smart about it and minimize the risks, but in the end you just dive in and hope for the best. A Russian roulette game of chance.
Nighttime is essentially when the streets come to life. New vendors pop up, lights are turned on, locals mingle on the street or squat down on low chairs to enjoy their diner with friends and family. Life happens on the sidewalk here. Vendors with street-side restaurants that have an indoor seating often find it vacant, locals preferring to beat the heat outdoor (few local places have aircon, that’s usually reserved for tourist restaurants).
One Vietnamese specialty that I thoroughly dived into is the coffee. Cà phê culture thrives in Vietnam. While Auckland was packed with coffee shops & flat whites, HCMC is bursting at the seams with cafes. Vietnamese cater to foreigners tastes with cafe americanos and cappuccinos and such, however the real magic is the Vietnamese coffee. On its own, this special brew is super strong, bitter and had consistency. However, locals don’t typically drink it black and as fresh milk used to be quite expensive and difficult to get, they came up with a delicious alternative: condensed milk. What we use in cooking, the use to sweeten their coffee. And trust me, it’s just about the most delicious coffee you’ve ever had! While I normally don’t enjoy my coffee sweetened, save for the occasional Starbucks indulgence, I’ve drunk this coffee everyday, often several times in a day. I also prefer it iced over hot. I’m sure most of you are thinking “oh no, you’re not supposed to have ice or drink the water while over there. You’ll get sick”. I thought the same, however times are a-changin’ and the ice is quite safe in most big cities and in reputable establishments (going on week 3 and I’m still alive & well as proof!). Coffee is also brewed differently, by slow drip method. Bigger cafes have large drip filters however it’s more common to have individual ones served right over your glass at your table. It takes a bit of time for the coffee to be ready, however it is most definitely worth the wait.
Ho Chi Minh City is packed full with Buddhist Pagodas, Temples, markets, tourist shops, the Reunification Palace and so much more. I spent quite some time just wandering the streets, taking in the action around me. After all, this is a city where crossing the street is an extreme sport. It’s a real life game of frogger! (Ho Chi Minh City Lesson 101: How to cross the street like a boss). I didn’t want to leave the city without visiting one important thing: the War Remnants Museum. History is said to be written by the victors, so I was curious to see what was the Vietnamese take on the war, having only ever viewed it through North Americans eyes. It was, eye-opening. The museum focuses almost entirely on American war crimes. I think it’s a widely known fact that atrocities were committed on both sides, however the museum focuses only on destruction and devastation at the hands of the US. (I imagine any museum or such in America dedicated to the Vietnam conflict would skew the perception in their favour as well). One of the most shocking exhibit is of the after effects of ‘Agent Orange’ , released by the USA over a part of the country. There are graphic and brutal photos of children, two and three generations removed born with horrific deformities and illnesses attributed to this poison. I can’t post the photos here, they are that graphic. I was left in tears by the end, witnessing such life altering brutality to future generations. They also had a special exhibit that featured drawings made by local children this year, interpreting how they viewed Agent Orange.
As with Northern Ireland, it was truly fascinating to view a conflict from a different perspective. And once again, I was left feeling that the war was far more complex and no side was truly the ‘guilty’ or the ‘innocent’ as each would try to make you believe.
I wrapped up my time in Saigon just as the thermometer was reaching the mid 40’s. Saigon was exciting and wonderfully chaotic, overwhelming at times but such an awesome place to visit. And to think, I was only getting starting in this country….