GOOD MORNING VIETNAM

Before I left my Farmstay/Resort in central Vietnam my host asked for a photo…….notice my height (I really think I’ve gotten taller). I’m off to Ho Chi Minh City (aka: Saigon)

HCM City is in the southern part of the country. (Hanoi in the north is the capital). This city is so vibrant and is growing exponentially in terms of population, buildings, and industry. The current number of residents is about 8.5 million with another million or so commuting for work. The main method of transportation is the motorcycle/scooter. There are about 5 million—it is just crazy. Honda imported zillions of “dream machines” (that they sold for $200 to $500) and owning a car is way too expensive.

The best way to get around is by taxi. When I get in I just close my eyes so I don’t see us killing and maiming anyone. The average cost is $2. It is easy to feel like a “millionaire ” here since the exchange, Dollar to Dong is in the thousands:I

I got to spend a couple days in HCM City before my next tour started. I found the large markets and shopping malls. Talk about extremes. The local people can’t afford anything in the malls as the annual average income is about $3000.

My first evening I took a taxi to the Bitexco Financial Tower. At 52 stories it is the highest building in the city. The richest man in Vietnam is building a new tower to be 81 stories tall. He made his billions selling instant noodles in China. I enjoyed a Campari and soda and great views of the city:

After another nail-biting taxi ride, I made it to The Opera House built in 1897. It is not very big but just lovely. I had gotten a ticket online that morning to see the A O Show. This has an acrobatic mix of a bamboo circus act, live music, and gravity-defying stunts. Many call this the Cirque du Soleil of HCM City.

The next day I went to the Fine Arts Museum. It is housed in a French colonial building with no air conditioning. All the windows were open–we’re talking hot here.  I was half expecting to see the paint melt off the pictures. There was a photo exhibit of pics from around the city.  This is an old elevator in the lobby.  I took the stairs.

Some other impressive buildings around the city are the General Post Office with Ho Chi Minh’s picture.  He died in 1969 at age 79.  His birthday is May 19th and a big celebration is planned.

The Notre Dame Cathedral built in 1877 with materials imported from France. The French occupied Vietnam from 1847 to 1953.

I met up with my tour—there are 18 people and a guide. It seems like a nice group and I get to do and see a lot more than if I was on my own. The first day we rode north of the city about 70km to the Cu Chi Tunnel. This is a network of tunnels and living areas used by the VC to hide in–first from the French and then from Americans. They had three levels 9 foot! 18 foot and the deepest that go down to 30 feet.  There are water wells and hidden entry and exit points. The ventilation holes are almost invisible and the secret doors were very well concealed. Only me and one other from our group could fit down into the tunnel.

After our visit we had green tea and tasted tapioca root–it tasted like turnips. Not too bad when you dipped it in sugar. The network is like a spider web and is 250 km long. 10,000 men could live in the labyrinth and because cooking would cause smoke to come out the air holes they existed for long periods on the tapioca root.  We went back into the city and topped our day off at the War Remnants Museum. I couldn’t look at very many photos of the war but the remains of equipment and bombs were hard to miss.

The last thing we did was check out the Reunification Palace and the remains of the famous US Embassy from which our evacuation occurred in 1975.

The second day we took a trip to the Mekong Delta where we traveled by boat to several islands to visit a coconut candy making shop, have a horse cart ride and a great lunch. I’m loving the fresh spring rolls we had with tamarind dipping sauce. When we got on the boat we were treated to a fresh coconut for sipping. I loved my five days in HCM City. The pool at our hotel had great cabanas for reading and relaxing. We are off to Cambodia for a couple days.  I have already visited the famous temples so I might just chill out (if that is possible) and get massages, etc.