High energy Ho Chi Minh City

Saturday, April 11, 2015
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
This high energy city is wild, it makes Hanoi look slow and sleepy. For what was once a city in total turmoil it is now a seething mix of commerce and culture, from the typical cluttered alleyways oozing full of wares and beers, to the most high end malls and bars and skyscrapers. 
We tested the water for a short wander after breakfast . I have finally converted to Vietnamese soup for breakfast, it really does taste better than any bacon and eggs could.
Today we have a high of 34 and a low of 27 with only 70 % humidity. Pretty pleasant really. One thing I do long for though is a bright blue sky and we both hanker for clean air. My one lunged wonder has done surprisingly well considering the pollution. Our guide was quite proud to have had his first one lunger on tour, and he didn't hold anyone up either. 
We visited the War Remnants Museum which was chilling and grim, quite crowded and with many people quietly crying as they perused the graphic images of all the damage done during this time.
A couple of days ago we stopped on our bikes and watched a man chipping slowly away at a huge granite boulder, eventually it cracked and broke into two, he had a pile beside him of much smaller cubes and due to the conversation our guide had with him, we then learned that he earned three thousand dong for each block. That is 15 cents and this is the stuff many of us have on our kitchen counter tops.
We wandered the night markets hopeful of finding some gifts, retreating fairly quickly due to the city style of haggling from the vendors, it must be a tough way to make a living but it must drive many people away.
Our dinner was in the open market place, tasty and very cheap, only problem was we had to keep our feet off the ground throughout. " this is a first for me, to be eating dinner with a local rat poking around below " was David's comment. This man has come a long way on this trip. 

Other Entries

Comments

2025-02-11

Comment code: Ask author if the code is blank