Xin chào từ thành phố hồ chí minh meaning hello from Ho Chin Minh City aka Saigon. Yes, y’all we are in South Vietnam and have been here for a few days. The weather is fantastic! I have been soaking up the sunshine and getting much needed R & R sine we were always on the go all the time in Tokyo.
Our aim on this leg of our oriental tour was to take things at a slower pace so we didn’t have much planned. Our hotel, Silverland Charne, had the best location – smack in the middle of the city meant getting to the touristy areas was literally taking a walk. We have been to the only post office in Saigon, which has been in business since the 19th century. Yes, it is still a functioning post office and it is quite the building – grandiose, original floor tiles, woodwork. We didn’t get to see the equally famous neighbour – Notre Dame Cathedral because it was getting a face lift, ah well..
Explored the famous Khu an Uong market where we had the best coconut smoothies ever whilst getting a reprieve from all the peddlers tying to sell us something. Can I just say that the the Vietnamese take the spa experience to a whole new level! i spent 5 hours in the Catmoc Spa and it was the best thing ever! Your body will thank you trust me! So yeah, the last few days has really been for playing tourist, winding down and chilling . we on holiday folks afterall..
Saigon is an earful when you are out and about not just because of the people but there are soo many motorcycles. There isn’t a national underground transport, so everyone is literally on the road. it was overwhelming when we landed and the first 2/ 3 days but as with anything, you adapt but watch out though, there are no rules with the drivers lol.
Today, we are venturing out of the city and into the jungle like literally. We have a tour planned with a tour guide called Thao who was just brilliant! Exiting the city centre, he showed us the real market where the locals go to. I was not overwhelmed by this unlike Neal, bless him, the sight of live sea food and other creatures was a bit much. We stopped by the road side to buy a coconut drink made from water coconuts which was really refreshing and needed for the heat!
Our first destination was the monkey island which is part of the Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere reserve. It was darn cool to be with the monkeys up close was very surreal. We also explored the mangrove which held historical artefacts about the Vietnam war.
Thao then took us on boat ride on the famous Saigon river to get to the other side of the jungle where we were had lunch, washed down with beer all less than 1000 metres away from crocodiles! Yes folks, our day was wild in every sense of the word.
For din dins, we opted for something less wild and sampled the cuisine in rice fields. I loved the space, all bamboo and open. The food was really good and a variety of dishes were encouraged. We had rice, pork belly, ribs, vegetables as well as squid and the local brew aka Saigon beer!
Day 3 in Ho Chi Minh City, check!
Cheers
Ndidi
