Back from Vietnam and it took me over a week so sort out all my photos before I could even attempt to start documenting our amazing trip on the blog. The heat and humidity in Ho Chi Minh City hits you as soon as you leave the airport - as does the noise of the millions of bikes on the roads. They say there are four bikes for every person in this crazy Asian city but four people on every bike.
Nothing about the bikes will surprise me anymore - they ride on the pavement, down the wrong side of the road, through red lights. Not to mention you can fit whatever you want on the back, your whole family, pipes, a ladder and when it rains don't worry about your poncho going over the headlights or mirrors. Another thing I found amusing was the men sitting on street corners with tool and a little generator to fix a bike if it broke down on the way past.
 |
| Ho Chi Minh Statue and Ho Chi Minh City Hall |
We spent two and a half days in Ho Chi Minh City at the start of our trip and 24 hours at the end before we flew back to Scotland. That left plenty of time for exploring and taking everything in. We didn't really do very much apart from walk the streets and see as many landmarks as possible.
One of our walks included a trip around Ho Chi Minh City Museum to learn more about the history of the city and the war which is still so close in peoples memories. We also saw both Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon and Tan Dinh Church both pictured below.
 |
| District One (outside the Independence Palace |
 |
| Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon | Tan Dinh Church |
 |
| Fresh spring rolls at Market 39 |
We also got to visit Ben Than market which was just as crazy as we expected (and actually not the best place to shop) but I didn't get any photos because of the building work going on right outside. We did some shopping in the streets outside and across the road at Saigon Square.
Choosing places to eat in a city as big as Saigon was difficult but we had a delicious buffet meal at Market 39 full of authentic Vietnamese food and delicious seafood. We also had a very tasty Mexican tea at Rico Taco.
 |
| Ho Chi Minh City Hall |
 |
| District One |
 |
| View from the roof of the Alcove Hotel |
 |
| Ho Chi Minh City Hall |
 |
| View from the Siagon Skydeck |
 |
| The Heineken Experience |
The next part of our trip involved an hour long internal flight to the north of the country and the beautiful river side town of Hoi An - the old town in a UNESCO World Heritage Site so we had high hopes.
 |
| Independence Palace |
Post a Comment
Would love to know what you think about the post! I read every single one but if you have a question tweet me @gisforgingers. P.s. Comments make my day...