Ho Chi Minh City

We flew in to Ho Chi Minh City from Danang, in what turned out to be a case of perfect timing. It turns out that a day later there was a big typhoon which hit Vietnam between Danang and Hanoi, and shut down the top part of the country, with high winds and flooding all over the place. We were pretty glad to miss out on that experience.

Our hotel was pretty central in a quiet side alleyway, and we decided to go to a popular tourist street to hunt for dinner, the equivalent of "beer street" in Hanoi. This turned out to be a bit of a bust, it was not as much fun, or as lively as its counterpart in Hanoi, and had a pretty seedy feel to it, with girly bars up and down the street. The back alleyways weren't much better, and we decided to make our way back towards the hotel. Luckily we found a really good little restaurant serving a shrimp and squid soup with dry vermicelli noodles, which was super tasty, and pretty much made up for the earlier disappointment.

The main activity in Ho Chi Minh was wandering around the city, as is our want, and we visited the Independence Palace, which was the government centre in the south until reunification in 1975. It has now been set up as a celebration of Vietnamese unification and independence, and turns out to be massively popular with the locals, as well as tourists. The fact that the Vietnamese National Day was impending probably helped. The grounds were scattered with Vietnamese women (mostly), in traditional dress being photographed in various poses all over the place. There was also a smattering of (presumed) newlyweds doing something similar, with the grooms in full army regalia. The palace itself was impressive, with rooms for state functions, presenting ambassadors, diplomatic meetings, cabinet meetings and offices. Gillian was in her element, enjoying the comparison of the state function rooms with that of Australian Parliament House. The Grand Hall reminded both of us of the Great Hall at APH, although a little smaller.

There was also a bunker, built during the war, from which wartime operations were coordinated. We found time to visit a secondary building which had a exhibition detailing life in Saigon  in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the rule (and subsequent overthrow) of Ngo Dinh Diem (note: Ho Chi Minh city and Saigon are used interchangeably here). It was all very interesting, and we spent enough time there to be needing a late lunch. Stopping in one of the cafes on the grounds was a bust when we discovered that every dish contained snails, so we ventured outside instead!

We also managed to find the Jade Dragon Pagoda, which is one of the major temples in the city. It felt a little strange to be there when there were more adherents than tourists, and we were careful to stay out of the way and remain respectful. They had some great bonsai and orchids out the front too, keeping James happy... Along the way we got to explore some of the city, as well as see the Saigon Opera House, which is another clear example of the French influence in Vietnam. Just nearby was a big statue of Ho Chi Minh himself, outside the Headquarters of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. We had some amusement watching some Vietjet staff filming what we presume was a promo for the airline.  

The other area of the city we visited was District 11, which houses the temptingly named "Dumpling Street". Of course, this was our destination for lunch for the day, and we duly found it and sat down at one of the restaurants. They were very good about having non-Vietnamese speakers there, and even managed to dig up an English menu. Which you think would help... Gillian got her "soup dumplings" - dumplings in soup, but it was clear there was a mix up with James' order of dumplings with squid. The next menu item on the list was "dumplings with pigskin", which is what turned up to the table. And no, not crackling, but rather boiled pigskin in a soup with the dumplings. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. James was a brave soldier though, and managed to eat it all. 

Further exploring of District 11 showed us a more typical slice of life in Ho Chi Minh City, with a wide range of metal shops, some specialising in just springs, or bearings. It boggles the mind to think that so many small places selling the same thing could all make a viable living. We also spent some time exploring a (massive) local market, selling everything from fresh fish, meat and vegetables to shoes, hats and temple ornaments. There were some Chinese community halls/temples along the way as well, of course. It was very interesting across the course of our time in the country to see the influence of the Chinese migrant community on life in Vietnam, over a long period of time.