(
thanks for the title Charlotte)
Unlike Bangkok when we got dumped in the middle of a crossroad, we arrived in Hoi Chi just opposite the hostel and all that was required was a morning stroll through the park.
We'd read that there was a small tradition of waking up early to exercise in the cities and had always said we should go see it but I'm going to say none of us are morning people (
especially not me. There's been times where I've skipped breakfast for an extra ten minutes in bed)! Walking through the park you see people of all ages, including old, playing the feather game, traditional Vietnamese stretches and badminton. It was a little bit of heaven walking through and seeing badminton being played outside in a park in a massive city. Kill me now we're my exact words!
Obviously we knew our room wouldn't be ready but we carried on heading towards Vietnam Inn Saigon (
little note: I'm guessing there are better hostels in Hoi Chi Minh the best thing about this place is the rooftop bar) and decided to put our bags down and do breakfast. Compared to the hostel's we'd been staying in this was definitely at the bottom. No service with a smile, lack of English, mix up with money during check in- the best bits about this place are the other travellers you can meet, the centrality of the place and the spa sofas we napped on till our dorm was ready! I'm not even going to get started on the showers... but I just want to say ew.
Hoi Chi and it's history:
Before coming out to Thailand and Vietnam I think I was just naive to the history of the countries and areas. Leaving now, no longer is that the case and it's made me want to understand and read more about what has happened here, when I get home. And to an extent also learn about my family history and if any of my family was subject to any of this.
It was horrendous. The way the museum remembers what happened during the war made me physically upset. The images of the soldiers shooting children and slaughtering families was disgusting, especially seeing one which had an American solider smile whilst holding a corpse! As if that wasn't bad enough there were horror stories about the effect of Agent Orange, a toxic gas the US released during the war, and its impact on the children born in the families of those involved or in the area at the time. It was hard walking around the museum knowing maybe in 20 years time there may be a museum in Afghanistan telling similar stories.
As well as visiting the War Remnants Museum we also took a half day trip to the Chu Chi Tunnels. Even today I still can't really understand why the US were attacking families so far away from the main Saigon city making them find shelter under the ground and creating tunnels to live in. I even had a chance to crawl through a tunnel (
it wasn't one of the originals as no way in hell would I have fit through one of those) and found it so hard to move and breathe whilst in it. At one point I also encountered a spider on the wall just after an exit but knew it was only a little way to the end but powered through. Little did I know the tunnel would get a little narrower towards the end and was grateful to hear the tour operators voice (
and the light) at the end of the tunnel.
The rest of the time in Hoi Chi Minh city was pretty cool. Amazing night skyline where a lot of the bars and places lit up at night, amazing food (
as always) and friendly people.
During our walk to the museum we decided to indulge in a light snack (
and Vietnamese coffee) and met a lovely local who directed us to the museum and just wanted to talk to us to practise his English. There was a big thing about safety though as crime was high. During our stay we were told of a few horror stories about people's stuff getting pulled off them and pick pocketed in public by motorbike people so we were extra vigilant (
even though one night I was openly walking and playing with my phone and purse in my hand... stupid stupid stupid)!
One night we had a fun little game of the feather in the park with a local boy (
who was purposely 'bumping' into Mark before), a lovely local man (
who was teaching Charlotte how to kick it) and two Australians (
who called us Poms- I hadn't heard that in ages, not since being in India with my lovely cousins years ago)! It's a really cool kind of culture seeing the park being used, again at night by all ages.
This would be our last stop in Vietnam and we had decided to catch a day bus to Cambodia for the visa thing!
Myself, Charlotte, Ed and Mark had travelled from the top of Vietnam to the bottom in nine days and what an adventure! Sleeping on sofas, sleeper buses, double beds and bunk beds its been an awesome historical, cultural adventure... bring on Cambodia (
fingers crossed they let us in at the border)!
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| The roundabout in Hoi Chi Minh was a nightmare to cross |
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| Visiting the war remnants museum in Hoi Chi Minh was a little gruesome |
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| This was a pretty inspiring quote. |
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| Mark found his mangosteen eventually in Hoi Chi Minh |
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| The Chu Chi tunnels. My ticket. |
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| Bamboo traps which were in and around the tunnels and the area which were created by the VC. |
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| Shooting range. I actually got to shoot an AK47 at the range which was incrediby weird. I was not expecting the force of it hitting my shoulder. |
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| Mark going down the tunnel. I also went down the tunnel and crawled on my hands and knees through the whole thing. |
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| My poor knees once I got out the tunnel... |
