Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC)
Our flight from Canberra to Sydney was good (Qantas). The Departure counter staff checked our baggage all the way through to HCMC which meant that we could go straight from the Domestic terminal in Sydney to the International terminal without having to wait for our baggage. The plane to Sydney was only about 1/3 full.
Our flight to HCMC was very good (Vietnam Airlines) although we departed about 40 minutes late. Gaye had nausea during the flight but apart from that everything was good. Pete and Chris said the space on the plane was much more roomy than Jetstar. The meals were Asian but they were also tasty.
We arrived at HCMC around 4pm and it was about 1720 before we got through immigration - lots of passengers from various planes. No problems with the immigration. Then we went off to collect our baggage. Everyone's baggage was there except mine. Probably all the batteries, battery chargers and cables in the bag caused a problem. Anyway the customs official was very helpful and explained that my baggage would arrive via Jetstar at 8pm - the following night.
The Liberty 6 Hotel staff were waiting for us outside the airport with the Liberty Hotels' minibus. The ride from the airport introduced us to the local traffic - very interesting to watch. The Liberty 6 Hotel is quite OK and in a great spot. The Ben Thanh market is just around the corner. Tip - always arrange for your hotel to pick you up from the airport as it saves hassles with taxis.
First night out. We had dinner in the hotel and then went for a stroll around the block. There are night markets in the street next to us. We browsed a bit and I bought a shirt and trousers to wear the next day as I didn't have my luggage. Tip - if you're travelling with your partner then put a pair of underclothes and socks and maybe a shirt in your partners luggage - just in case.
After Gaye, Pete and Chris turned in for the night I went for a longer stroll to buy water and milk and to get my bearings. The hotel staff said the supermarket was about four blocks down and on the right. Four blocks down and no supermarket. I asked around there and they said about four blocks down. Four blocks down and no supermarket. In that four by four block sweep I saw the Rex and Continental hotels but no supermarket. Every 50 metres and every street corner I was offered a lift by motor cycle riders, two girls followed me down one sidewalk on their motorbike offering me a massage and something else. The later it got the more it happened. I was looking for a supermarket that was facing the street, we found out later that they are tucked away inside multipurpose buildings and not on the ground floor.
On Saturday we went for a stroll to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, Rex Hotel, Continental Hotel, Opera House and the Tax Department store. It was very hot and humid but I think we did all right walking the distance. After a break we did the Ben Than Market which is just around the corner from the Liberty 6 Hotel.
On Sunday we visited the Chinese Quarter and the Bin Thay Market in Cho Lon. I have never seen so much packed into the one place and there were people everywhere and goods coming and going all the time. We got some good video footage of the area outside the market - bicycles laden with goods etc. Sunday night we had dinner at the Boiling Crab which is on the corner block down from the Liberty 6 Hotel. We were entertained by the traffic as we were seated on the balcony overlooking the intersection.
On Monday we caught up with Linda, Gaye's friend from school and went for a stroll to the old Russian Market area. We checked out several handicraft shops. That night we had dinner at Miss Saigon.
Tuesday we left in the morning for Hoi An. There is no airport at Hoi An so we flew into Danang. At Danang the hotel minibus and driver were waiting for us. More on the Hoi An page.
Saigon Traffic
The traffic in Saigon was unbelievable. There are basic rules such as you drive on the right hand side of the road most of the time, and you give way to bigger vehicles especially if they are travelling fast, and you beep the horn as often as you can. All the other rules are optional, like stopping at red traffic lights and pedestrian signs and zebra crossings mean nothing. Crossing a busy street for the first time can be very intimidating but after a while you get used to it.
We had dinner one night at the Boilng Crab which was on the corner of the block that the Liberty 6 was on. We sat at a balcony table and were quite amused at the night traffic crossing the intersection of two small streets.
Another night we went to a restaurant (not that good) on the top of the Tax Department store overlooking the Rex Hotel and a roundabout at a major intersection. There was more traffic but we were further from the action and the effect was not the same.
HCMC Markets
Markets are big part of Vietnam. I saw a market in every town we drove through either on the main road or just back from it. I saw one makeshift one on the rubble created for what might be a new housing development. In Australia we have huge farms, processing plants, warehouses, refrigeration units, trucks and supermarkets and volumes of regulations and middle men and inspectors controlling it all. If Vietnam goes the same way it will lose part of its character.
The big markets in HCMC are the Ben Thanh Market and the Cholon Market. The Ben Thanh Market is close to the backpackers area in Saigon and the Cholon Market is in the old Chinese district of Cholon. It is much easier to walk around the Ben Thanh Market than the Cholon Market as the Cholon market is crammed full of all sorts of goods and people and the goods just keep coming and going as a lot more dealing in bulk is done there. A new flash housing development at the back of the Cholon Market is a sign of successful businesses.
The Tax Department store has taken over from the Russian Market and is located near the Rex Hotel. It is airconditioned, has escalators and has a supermarket on the second floor. You can get fake brand goods there and cheap DVDs as well as reasonably priced lacquer ware and silk art.
If you want to purchase fake brand clothing and souvenirs and you are good at bargaining then the Ben Thanh Market is best. If you like a bit more comfort then the Tax Department store would be more suitable.
There are smaller niche markets around the place and one we visited had military clothing and equipment, switch blades and fake zippo lighters.
Created on 02/18/2007 08:30 AM by Phil
Updated on 03/25/2007 07:37 AM by Phil
|
|
