Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to Nha Trang

Hello hello,

Now in Vietnam, and how different it is! Cambodia was great - nicer than Thailand as less touristy, more 'raw' and fascinating. Vietnam is even better. The transport system works better here - well the roads are mainly tarmac, but this doesn't necessarily make them smoother... the people are friendly, their very fast jump into the technological and Western culture means that relatively fast internet is everywhere (very useful for us!) Many counterfeit products (Billabong boardshorts for less than 3 quid), Diesel jeans for next to nothing, whole series of TV shows for less than a fiver... they estimate that about 90% of products here are counterfeit, although many companies are trying to change that.

Ho Chi Minh City - HCMC - or still Saigon to people who live here - is great. Bustling, friendly, a little raucous, we stayed in the main backpacker area and were within walking distance of the Fine Arts Gallery (great exhibition, fantastic building), the Notre Dame Cathedral (seemed out of place in the middle of a busy road, no stained glass at all), the Reunification Palace (where tanks drove through the gates when Saigon was seized) and the War Remnants Museum. We had a busy day on Saturday walking around, (dodging the traffic on the roads, extremely difficult!)

The most harrowing experience was the War Remnants Museum (formerly called the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes.... objectivity didn't really feature here!) I understand that the international media pretty much focused on the US perspective, and that horrific things happened here, but it was such a one sided museum, it detracted from its message. Especially difficult to stomach were the stories and photographs of the new generation of Vietnamese people who are growing (and dying) with incredible deformities, (allegedly?) caused by Agent Orange. Awful to see, it was a sobering experience.

The backpacker area is full of cheap accommodation - we were offered accommodation by a guy who met the bus (a lot of business is done by touts that way) - for $4 each, we had a lovely room with a TV, fridge(!!!), our own en-suite bathroom, and the loveliest family who looked after us extremely well. Lots of delicious and relatively cheap restaurants around too, and many tourist agencies and shops. (Not tried the snake wine yet - scared of the actual bottle which contains a preserved little cobra and scorpion in it)...!

So yesterday we went to see part of the 200km network of the Cu Chi tunnels. A bus for the 2 hour ride there and back, we had the best guide. Chister regaled us with information delivered in a very engaging way, jokes, - generally lots of things that helped us understand the country and people more. Asked how the Vietnamese think of the Americans and the war, he says:
a) the war never happened (for the young generation who have embraced Westernism and popular culture, and who are focused on the future)
b) the war never finished (for those who are scarred or traumatised, mentally or physically, without adequate healthcare or mental healthcare). Very illuminating.

The tunnels housed the Viet Cong for 20 years (in Vietnam, they say the war lasted for 20 years against the Americans, very different to the American version). These tunnels were so cramped you cannot walk upright in them. They slept, cooked, washed, went to the loo, everything - down these tunnels. Saw a tiny foxhole and spider hole, and passed up the chance to shoot an AK47 as it was rather expensive, loud, and I got scared when we got closer to the gun shots! A fascinating day, we finished it off with a coffee in a lovely cafe, chilling out for a couple of hours until we got our overnight bus to Nha Trang (only 10 hours away).

Last night we were waiting for our bus when a 'sleeper' bus arrived - with about 30 seats that go nearly flat. Somehow, we managed to get on the bus! Because there was space, they put us on the bus and we were at the very back where the seats went back even further! We hadn't paid for this luxury! It was absolutely great, and meant that we actually managed to sleep at night, until we arrived in Nha Trang at 6am.

Again, lovely accommodation - fan, TV, fridge, ensuite - $4 each. About 100m from the beach, we sorted our diving out first before getting very red on the beach. We're taking doxycycline antimalarial drugs again now, which makes us very sensitive to the sun. We forgot. I put sun tan lotion (factor 30) on 4-5 times over a couple of hours, and still got burnt! Next time the factor 50 comes out...

So going diving tomorrow morning, seems to be a great company (rather than a couple of other companies in the area who are having issues with PADI) with good dive shop banter, always a must! I'm going to do a 3rd and 4th dive (for only $10 each! Bargain!) on Wednesday before we head up overnight on Wednesday night to Hoi An.

Anyway lots of love from us all,
Alice xxxxxxxxxxx