Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon

| 476 Views

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh on the early afternoon just at the begining of that day’s showers over the city. The idea was to wait for a release of the rain by having a natural fruit juice in one of the many cafe-bars in Phan Nung Lao area, where the backpacker hotels and scene concentrate. Time passed by and it never stopped raining, so we decided to move and look for suitable accommodation to our needs… something cheap. Since we were still travelling with Empar and Juan we thought to share a room for us four, which should be cheaper than two double rooms. Nothing as far from reality. In Ho Chi Minh City the price for the accommodation was expensive –for Southeast Asian standards so far. We finally stayed at a place with free internet in lobby and a non-operating fridge in the room, not before getting soaked under the heaviest rain we have seen so far.

During our stay in the city, we did not do much sightseeing but wandered around many areas of town and found lots of beautiful corners and houses to stop at. It is a shame of the traffic all around the city, which pollutes the air acousticly and environmentally. The most interesting area was China Town, where we spent a whole day admiring the herbs shops, the scripts on the facades and the architecture.

Much more interesting than the city itself is the man who gave name to it. “Uncle Ho”, as Ho Chi Minh is referred to by every admirer, spent his life fighting for the independence of the country and he did it apparently quite well, since he has become the most admired figure in Vietnamese history. It is not strange that his face is to be found everywhere in Vietnam –although it is not as repetitive as the King’s face in Thailand.