Sojourn to Vietnam - Part 1

Day One 3/10 -
We could only get an early morning flight from Krabi to Bangkok in order to allow enough time to connect with the flight to Ho Chi Minh City and so we were up at 0400 closing seacocks (which had to be done at the last minute) and generally doing all the final preparations to the boat and ourselves prior to leaving. We had arranged to meet Garn at 0600 for her to take us to the airport but our neighbour had made a last minute decision to go to Phuket and so he offered to take us to the airport as his route took him right past the entrance.
The flight to Bangkok (1 hr) was devoid of drama and we had no check in luggage so everything was as seamless as possible. However, leaving Thailand at Bangkok was a different story. The usual drama with Thai bureaucracy. First, we had checked into Thailand at Satun on the boat and here we were checking out of Bangkok. Second, our 5 year NZ passports were soon expiring so we had obtained new passports on-line. So, when we rocked up to Thai Immigration they had to check our visas in the old cancelled passports and get their heads around the fact that we had arrived by boat, as well as the fact that we had new passports which for them had to be linked to the old. It was just as well that we had allowed enough time on the ground at Bangkok because the whole exercise took upwards of 2 hours.
We had arranged bulkhead seats for the one and a half hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) and it was moderately comfortable although Air Asia, being a budget airline, still takes the no frills approach such as eschewing the use of air bridges in favour of steps and buses, which is a pain. Still, we eventually arrived after another non eventful flight. Didn't see much as there was quite a bit of cloud. There was then a complicated process to obtain our Vietnamese visas. We had applied on-line previously, but all that produced was a letter from Vietnamese Immigration to say that we could apply for a 30 day visa on arrival. That seemed simple but the reality was somewhat different. You have to provide 2 passport photos and then fill in another (this time manual) application. Then they issue the visa but the fee was USD90 for the 2 of us. They don't take credit cards and we didn't have any USD!! However, fortunately we still had some Thai Baht and they would accept those but the fee was 4,000 Baht. This equates to around USD110 so it cost us the equivalent of another USD20 for having the wrong currency! The whole process seemed cumbersome and unnecessarily bureaucratic, but Vietnam is still a totalitarian Communist country so that's what happens. Having said that, it's like China and is becoming more and more a benign dictatorship which tolerates an extremely high level of capitalism in its economy.
The next thing to get one's head around is the currency. At present there are approx. 14,500 Vietnamese Dong (VND) to one Kiwi dollar. We were quoted from 200,000 to 800,000 Dong to get to our hotel by taxi - that's a price range of between 14 and 55 NZD, so no prizes for guessing which one we took. The hotel is a resort located on a U-shaped bend of the Saigon River. It was only costing us USD17 per night so we didn't expect anything too grand but the room is clean and the property very pretty and well maintained. The only issue is that it costs around 150,000 - 180,000 Dong to get into the CBD of HCMC. The trip in the taxi is fascinating. They drive on the right (a legacy of the French no doubt) and the traffic is reminiscent of India. Thank goodness we weren't driving. A number 44 bus, on the other hand is only 10,000 Dong for the 2 of us.
The Binh Quoi 2 Resort is very pleasant - not new and rooms a little in need of refurbishment but very clean and comfortable. The bungalows are built over a tidal inlet of the river but that sounds way better than it actually is. The water is murky and there is no real view of the river except from the restaurant. But no mossies or midges so that's all good. There is also quite a good pool but we haven't been swimming yet.
We availed ourselves of a buffet dinner which they put on on weekends and we enjoyed the delicious Vietnamese flavours but we hadn't realised that the Vietnamese often add more MSG to their food than even the Thais do and so we suffered that night with the effects of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).
Jean is very allergic to MSG and so suffered all night but even Jim was affected too. We have since found out the Vietnamese for "NO MSG" and we flash that under everyone's noses now so hopefully all will be well. But we consider that the MSG issue alone would be enough to prevent us from ever settling permanently in SE Asia.
Day two 4/10 -
Not feeling at all well this morning due to the MSG poisoning. However, we needed to do something about our bus tickets to Dalat in 3 days time so we first of all decided to catch a "44" bus into town. However, it began raining quite heavily and so we abandoned the bus idea and took a taxi instead. Taxis at least are cheap. We were dropped off at Saigontourist where we had been told we could buy bus tickets but that was incorrect. We were then directed to the "bus station" where we were told we could buy tickets. We set off on foot but became lost again so at that point we were approached by two rickshaw operators who appeared knowledgeable as to where the bus station was. Jean was not keen but Jim felt that we needed to be taken as they appeared to be friendly and actually had written testimonials from some New Zealanders which appeared genuine. However, it was a scam and they dropped us at a local bus station. There was then an argument about the fare and Jim made the mistake of pulling out his wallet and pulling a couple of notes out. It's necessary to that because the notes re confusing with all the zeros and the 20,000 and 500,000 Dong notes are the same colour. Anyway, they then snatched the money and vamoosed. We're not sure but we think they grabbed maybe 1,500,000 Dong which is NZD103. A salutary lesson in not displaying money on the street but of course all we wanted to do was pay a fair amount and get rid of them. Never in a rickshaw again - that's for sure. We were lucky they didn't snatch the whole wallet, credit cards and all.
However, we finally found the ticket place for the bus and bought two tickets to Dalat (an 8 hour bus ride apparently) for 440,000 Dong (NZD30) and the buses are quite luxurious so at least that part seems quite cheap. We got a new battery for the camera and then found a reasonable looking restaurant where we had a local beer and an indifferent meal. However, the MSG message was rammed home! We returned to the resort a little chastened by the experience and glad to be back. Had a very pleasant dinner in the riverside restaurant. Jim had squid and Jean had grilled fish which was all delicious. We made sure they fully understood the requirement as to NO MSG as well!!!
Day 3 5/10 -
Woke this morning feeling much better as the effects of the MSG seem to be finally wearing off. Sore eyes, upset stomachs, a general malaise and leg muscle pain are all symptoms which one can well do without at any time and especially when travelling.
We decided we were going to go into town again specifically to see the Reunification Palace and later the War Remnants Museum. We are getting bolder so decided to go in on the bus - no. 44. Apart from a slow leak in the LH front tyre, the trip was uneventful. We met a very helpful young Vietnamese girl on the bus who spoke excellent English and she told us that when we got to the bus station we should change to a no. 35 bus. However, in a completely typical situation it turned out that the bus schedules had been changed a week ago and we should be catching a no. 6! We had no idea where to catch that and with the language difficulties we were unable to find out. Very frustrating. So we found a coffee bar where we had some Tiramisu and coffee and caught our wits. We were given directions and so headed off on foot along Duong Louis Pasteur - amazing they're still using a French name here. There is also a Duong Dien Bien Phu here after the famous battle in 1954 where the French were given a bloody nose - more than playing the All Blacks! They then left Indochine for good.
We found the Palace first after negotiating the street crossings - it gets quite unnerving when walking across even on a pedestrian crossing in front of 3 lanes of charging motorbikes. They have no intention of giving way, but if you just keep walking steadily they seem to go around you and everyone survives to fight another day. Anyway, we found the huge wrought iron gates that North Vietnamese Army tanks smashed their way through on 30th. April 1975. A North Vietnamese officer stormed the building and raised the flag of the VC on top of the building and then made his way to a reception room where the new Head of State (for only 43 hours) of South Vietnam, General Minh was waiting. General Minh said "I have been waiting since early this morning to transfer power to you". The VC officer replied "There is no question of your transferring power. You cannot give up what you do not have". The Palace had been built in the 1960's and was in fact bombed by a dissident South Vietnamese airforce officer in 1963 in a successful attempt to assassinate the then president, Ngo Dinh Diem. That was the catalyst for the USA to invade in a totally misguided attempt to control another country - but they've been doing that for years, usually via the CIA initially. Diem was a hugely corrupt leader doing great damage to his people. But that should have been left for Vietnam and its people to sort out.
Anyway, the rest is history, as we know.
Our next port of call was the War Remnants Museum. This commemorates (if that's the right word) the Vietnamese victory over the US invasion (they call it the American War) and the horrors and atrocities committed during the course of the war. Outside there is an amazing collection of American war materiel - aircraft, tanks, self propelled guns and a host of other equipment - all left behind when the US forces evacuated in 1975.
The bulk of the displays were photographic depicting the horrors of war and dwelling on the American atrocity committed at My Lai - about half way between here and Hanoi. The soldiers on that day took people away from their villages and killed them all - some very brutally. Pregnant women and children included. And the villages themselves were destroyed - all because they believed that everyone was in some way helping the Vietcong. Possibly that was correct but certainly was no excuse for the brutality, and after all the Vietnamese were entirely justified in fighting invaders of their country. The US and its allies may have been "invited" originally but the regime that did so was totally corrupt and its leaders were puppets the US had installed. It is reminiscent of the atrocities committed by the Nazi SS in Europe and by the Japanese in Asia - including Vietnam. There was a court martial for one individual (Lt. Calley) but somehow he only served 3 years.
America of course is still waging illegal wars where they deem it to be in their national interest, but they have done untold harm and left a legacy that will haunt them for a long time to come. Having said that, there doesn't appear from our short time here to be any lingering resentment towards westerners - but you would never really know. It will probably take several generations to die out before the memories really fade. The Vietnamese people are totally admirable - they won the war through sheer tenacity. War materiel was shipped into North Vietnam and carried south over the Ho Chi Minh Trail for 6 months before it reached the fighting units of the North Vietnamese Army near what was then Saigon. The Trail meandered for many miles back and forth across the Lao border and in the wet season was a quagmire. In spite of this and continual USAF bombing by B-52's those tenacious people managed to carry upwards of 35 kgs on their backs. Whatever one's political leanings then or now, this was an amazing feat and ultimately ensured Vietnam's independence.
Day 4 6/10 -
Last day in Ho Chi Minh City. Had a slight touch of MSG poisoning again this morning and even contemplated aborting our trip because we cannot be as sick as this for 3 weeks. We would never make it, especially on 8 hour bus trips! However, we decided to just get on with it and be very diligent about trying to avoid it. The Vietnamese seem to be far more addicted to the stuff than the Thais. We went into town again on the bus and went to the Ben Thanh Market where we bought 2 umbrellas. The tourist publications talk up this market but really it is just a large retail area selling loads of tourist kitsch, although there were some reasonable clothes. We then found a very good Japanese/Vietnamese restaurant where we had a pleasant lunch, and not expensive. 340,000 Dong - NZD23. On arrival both of us were suffering stomach pains again - possibly from breakfast. We are getting really fed up with this MSG related stuff - anyway, we had to pay visits to their loo in quite a hurry!! Let's hope this is the last of it. We also bought some snacks for the bus and Jean now has a Vietnamese ph. no. which is +84 1264020788.
Our impressions of Ho Chi Minh City are mixed. In hindsight it may have been better to have stayed closer in to the city, but the tariff here more than makes up for the taxi costs. The city seems hard to find one's way around in although we are now just starting to get a feel for things. The Vietnamese are generally friendly and helpful and a surprising number speak reasonable English, except taxi drivers it seems although there are exceptions. The buildings are a mix of lovely old French colonial, modern, and scruffy Asian which you see everywhere. The "tube" buildings are fascinating. These are 4-5 story buildings on impossibly narrow footprints. They all seem to lean on each other so they hold each other up but every so often you see one on its own. It wouldn't take too much of a shake to see it falling onto its neighbours. They usually have some type of business on the ground floor and residential above. There are heaps of shops and you wonder how they make a living. Of course they don't - it's just subsistence living.
We leave by bus for Dalat in the Central Highlands tomorrow so the next blog will be from there.
Cheers and love from us.........
Jim and Jean
Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam.

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