Today we go to Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon / HCMC.
Saigon – which is located in the south – was renamed Ho Chi Minh City by the government – which is located in the north – after the war. However, seeing as the North “won” the war, I don’t think the locals in the South were given much say in the matter, so to this day they still call it Saigon. The rest of the country just calls it HCMC for short. As Eric says, it’s a bit of a “Rogers Centre vs. SkyDome” thing.
The bus leaves Dalat around 7:15am, which makes us hopeful we will arrive in HCMC at a reasonable hour.
The ride is pretty uneventful, other than we stop three times in 8 hours at various touristy rest-stops. We’re getting used to making frequent stops on our bus trips – it’s a chance to use the washroom. However, most of the time you’re “encouraged” to buy a variety of over-priced and under-qualitied items, which can get a little tiring after a while. But the first stop today offers free ice coffee which is delicious.
I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m lovin’ the ice coffees in Asia – strong coffee mixed with some sweet condensed milk and ice… delicious! However in Vietnam they’re exceptionally good – the coffee has hints of chocolate and Kahlua… need I say more?
We arrive in HCMC around 4:00pm and are dropped off in the thick of the backpacker district, Pham Ngu Lao, which is both a blessing and a curse…
A blessing because it won’t be hard for us to find accommodation.
A curse because the minute we get off the bus we will get mobbed by swarms of people trying to sell us hotel rooms, taxi rides, package tours, sunglasses, tacky souvenirs, beer, fried balls of dough, etc.
Eric and I gather our things, and after muscling our way out of the crowd, we wander over to a small alley loaded with guesthouses. Pretty much every building along this strip offers accommodation, so it isn’t long before we find a great place with TV, hot water and quiet. It also offers a free cardiovascular workout…
Our room is on the 4th floor, but since the 1st floor doesn’t really start until the 3rd floor, we’re technically on the 6th floor. At least we only have to take our big bags up once…. unless you’re Eric, whose turn it is to check out the room before we commit. He forgets to leave his big bag with me in the lobby and carries it all the way to the top floor. But since we’re not sure whether we’ll stay or not, he has to carry it all the way back down so we can discuss it. And since we do decide to stay, he has to take it all the way back up again.
Silly boy… at least he’s cute.
We spend the rest of the evening wandering around the neighbourhood, grabbing a bite to eat and coming to the realization that HCMC is ridiculously busy with motorcycles. In fact, it’s probably the most we’ve experienced to date – apparently there are 12 million people in the city and 8 million motorcycles… I’m sure you can imagine the congestion!
Eventually, we make our way back up all the stairs and fall asleep.
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