From Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City.
Okay, off to Ho Chi Minh city, which most people here clearly still call Saigon. Perfect pick up by my Grab driver, although I went a little later than landed as I realized I was giving myself too much time at the airport before the flight, but still a good thing I got there when I did as the Vietjet check-in line was pretty long. Still it moved quickly, and about 45 minutes later I was checked in and past security, with about 45-50 minutes before boarding.
The flight was smooth, and upon landing landing at Ho Chi Minh airport, while disembarking the plane we were treated to patriotic music sung in English, which were like songs from a Robin Hood or Davy Crockett TV show from the1950s, or alternatively from a Monty Python skit. “Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh.” Very corny. Still, fun, and I heard people singing the song (humorously) while waiting in the bag pick up area. By the time we landed, got my backpack, and picked up a Grab, it was around 1:30, and maybe 2 by the time I reached my hotel, the Liberty Central Saigon Centre, another 4-star hotel, and my second in two days, this time costing me $62 for the night. Hey, big spender…
Actually, it wasn’t as 4-star as my Da Nang hotel, but still pretty swanky. But here, my room was smaller with not much of a view, and you had to pay for extras, which came with the package at the Haian Riverfront hotel.
I booked three walking tours, one for tonight, Ghosts, Power, and the Godfather, which sounded interesting and started at 7 pm, and two for tomorrow, covering some of the main sights and history and a second late afternoon/early evening tour. I may also do a hop on bus tour. In part, this is because I want to see as much as I can in my one day in Ho Chi Minh, but also because after I check out from the hotel this morning, although I’ll leave my backpack here for the day, I’m sort of “homeless,” as I’ll be going directly to the airport this evening for my late night flight, so have to fill the day without having a hotel room to come back to during the day.
I wrote a little in my blog, catching ip from yesterday, and laid down for a little bit as I was up pretty early… and promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours. By the time I woke up, it was nearing the time for me to meet with the evening walk, so I took a small walk around the town on my own, and it was already dusk, and then went to the pickup point.
Ho Chi Minh is a huge city, and I’m in District 1 (although the districts are now descriptive terms only, as the city has done away with these at the city and region administrative level). A lot of the city tourist attractions are in District 1, where my hotel is located, and well-located at that, and the area is what you’d expect of a large and modern and commercial city, with commercial and often European-style buildings, including many French Colonial style features, dating back to the 1860s–1930s, nixed with new and contemporary well-lit high rise buildings and towers all over, built from the 1950s to the present day, dominating the cityscape. In parts, although not as busy and frenetic, it’s Times Square or Tokyo like, with lights flashing and loud sounds coming from everywhere. Fine for a day or so, but I’m much more interested in those parts of the city that are not like that, but more the “real” city, where people live and work.
That I got plenty of on this evening tour. I was actually the only person on the tour, and the first person to take this tour which has only been offered for the past two days. Actually, I was not the only person, as in addition to me and Duc, my guide, two other guides came along so they too could learn the route. So, it was three of them and me, which made it great. I was the inaugural customer for this tour, which they were testing out for the very first time. It wasn’t anywhere near as defined as pretty much all the other tours I’ve taken, and they are clearly still trying to figure out the ropes with this, and wanted my feedback at the end of the tour, but it’s the kind of thing I like. A lot of the tour covered the rise and history of gangs in the city, from the early 1950s to the mid-2000s, as well as other history, customs, and stories. Despite its history, Vietnam and Saigon are today considered exceptionally safe places.
We moved through different parts of the city, and I really had no sense of where we were headed or in which direction, or where we were at any given point. I loved it though, as this was another off the beaten track walk, and we passed through the maze of back alleys, and many of them, unsurprisingly, were the homes of many of the young gang leaders, impoverished and starting out at an early age, who later went on to become major gang leaders, until themselves being imprisoned, killed by other gang members, or executed by the government. It was a great look at the underbelly of the city, with a lot of very poor and dirty conditions, and small homes and small businesses often run out of those homes. I learned about local customs and businesses, and the differences between the districts, which even have different local street foods. It was also very interesting as I got to talk to each of the guides, all Saigon-born and raised locals and professional guides, about their experiences here, and their thoughts about the city and the war. Duc, for instance,was in the army for two years, and I was definitely interested to hear about that experience. and saw and heard sights and sounds and visited places I would never have otherwise experienced. A great way to spend the evening, and to see “deep” Saigon.
The tour ended after a couple of hours, and I met the tour guide owner, who was out and about with his wife and kids (on a scooter, of course), but wanted to be at the end point to see how the inaugural tour went. Finally, we exchanged feedback about the tour, and I was as interested to hear the feedback of my three guides as they were to hear mine. They decided they will actually do the tour in the reverse direction, as starting out where we ended can help make the tour more coherent and joined chronologically as it moves from point to point.
Then back to the hotel… although after my room key wouldn’t activate the elevator and I went to the front desk, and after a few moments of confusion for us both we realized I was at the wrong Liberty Central hotel, and am actually staying at a sister Liberty Central hotel, about 20 minutes away. Hah. That was fine with me, as I got to keep walking, and on the way back passed through the very swanky part of District 1, and the upscale hotels and stores, as well as passing through Ho Chi Minh Square at the northern end of Nguyễn Huệ Walking Street, and directly in front of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Building. It was a lucky find, actually.
Back to my hotel for my one night here, took a shower, hit the sack. Tomorrow is my one full day here.