Above pic: Vietnam style iced coffee. Cafe sua. Normally they will add a little bit of sweetened milk to it, which gives it a smooth flavor, but I am not into sugar. I think Vietnam makes the best coffee of all Asian countries. And it is cheap. Around 12.000 Deng. That equals less then 50 cents for one.
I spent one week in Ho-Chi-Minh-City. I had to leave Thailand, because my visa was about to expire and I was already there on a two month tourist visa. I could have gone to the migration office and pay 1900 Baht (approx. 60$) for a month extension, but I felt like leaving after two months in Chiang Mai. Holding a British passport you don't need a visa for Vietnam, if you are staying less then 15 days. Make sure you have a conformation of return flight or a bus ticket with the date when you are going to leave, else the authorities won't let you board the plane. A mistake I did, so I had to fast book a ticket online at the check-in counter, which was a little stressful.
At Ho-Chi-Minh-Airport there a thousands of taxi men and hustlers trying to get you into their car or sell you SIM-cards etc. (SIM card with 12 Gigabit costs 8$ - it is worth it). I got my SIM and called an Uber-cab; you can also use Grabcar. Choosing this option will make you save a lot of money for sure. I paid for a 45 min. ride around 8$ (200.000 Deng). The normal taxi guys wanted the double amount.
I took the taxi down to district 9, hopefully wishing to encounter aliens. Never happened. I stayed with Mr.King, a 25 year young Vietnamese guy, who is setting up an English school, VENGLISH, for students to improve their language skills, which they urgently need to. I helped everyday in the evening courses, talked to the students and did some lessons. In general, the Vietnamese are highly motivated in acquiring English as a second language. I felt, they also have less problems with pronunciation than the Thais have.
After finishing class, we went together to a nice fish restaurant. We had shrimp skewers, a local fish fried with spices and nuts served with rice paper, noodles and salad. You take parts of the fish, put it in the rice paper with the noodles and salad, roll it up and dip it in the sauce.Two sauces were served with it; one tamarind sauce and a very hot and spicy green sauce. The whole meal for about 6 people (and yes, we were all filled up) was about 12$. I also bought a mango, which was cut up by the restaurant staff and served with a special salt. Very interesting combination.
Except for the Vietnam war, I don't really know much about Vietnamese history. Growing up with movies like Platoon, The DeerHunter, Full Metal Jacket and probably one of the best movies ever made, Apocalypse now, I wanted to go to the War Remnants Museum in HCMC. It didn't even cost a dollar to get in. It is interesting to see all the gear and machines I had only seen in movie. Truly horrific if you know how and when they were used. But besides looking at the machines, the pictures of the war presented to you throughout the museum are the most frightening part of all.
Guillotine used by South Vietnamese troops to execute prisoners from the opposition.
Poster exhibition showing the artwork calling for international solidarity with the North Vietnamese.
Pictures of US soldiers "waterbording" a Vietnamese.
US soldier with the leftovers of a corpse.
Ammunition used by the US forces. That is a hell of a size caliber.
A claymore trap; for those of you who know it.
No need to comment on the picture below; there were a lot like this.
Victims of Agent Orange. One of the biggest crimes committed by the US forces was using a herbicide to eliminate forest cover. However, the chemical influenced the genes causing mutation and severely damaging the health of the victims. Until now, people are still born with the detrimental effects of Agent Orange on our DNA. It is estimated that it probably will take one or two generations until the effects wary off (if?). Below you can take a look at the pictures, for me the most gruesome and shocking part in the museum. I always wonder about the US pointing their fingers at others like Saddam Hussein and Assad for using chemical warfare, although the US used these weapons just forty years ago with long lasting after effects, the only country to drop an atomic bomb; and over and over never really apologize. Well....
Back to some lighter stuff. Next day I went back to the city center (district 1). It is a little like being in NYC, LDN or Paris. Overcrowded, hectic, usual shops, if you look for them, construction all around. HCMC is growing rapidly. The population size is about 10 million, so you can imagine how big it is. The most fascinating aspect is the scooter culture; everybody rides one and watching traffic at any crossroad is like observing an ants nest. Crazy.
Below: Notre Dame. Haha. Really. And the style was 200% European.
The old historical post office is still in use and a tourist magnet. You can also book any kinds of tours you are interested in there.
Example of the hordes of scooters.
I really have to go back and spend more time in Vietnam, check out Hanoi and Halong bay (which is overcrowded with tourists, but still). People are friendly, food is extremely cheap, but also very good, although it is a little difficult if you are looking for vegetarian or vegan options.
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