Saigon Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

Seven years since we were last in Ho Chi Minh City and many things have changed but one thing that has not changed is the full on sensory overload that hits the minute you arrive.  The assault of sight, sound, smell and colour. Motor bikes laden with 3-5 people, buses, trucks, cyclos weaving around as you cross the road.  The onslaught of women trying to convince you they have your size miss, mister mister come buy many sunglasses, watches, t-shirts - very handsome mister - Ah very beautiful miss - You married?  And the people still remain as intriguing as ever, aloof but friendly, naive but savvy.

What has changed with the new modern updated Saigon - a more conservative War remnants museum with many less deformed preserved still-born babies on display (I still remember the recoiling at the shelf of formaldehyde preserved babies last time).  The anti-American sentiment of the past seems well diluted now.  Ironically, a noticeable shift from the once revered love of the American dollar in Vietnam to a reluctance to accept it when offered.  There are new glossy high rise apartments (referred to as mansion apartments) and Coco Chanel, Bulgari, Burberry and True Religion on every other corner.  Some changes for the better some maybe not so - one thing is for certain, it is a dynamic and rapidly expanding place.      

 

The narrow laneways and streets of HCMC are literally overrun by motorbikes merging in every possible different direction, the endless tooting of horns and street vendors trying to procure your dollar (or dong as they now like here) pulling and tugging every at you as you try to navigate the traffic.

On our first day in HCMC we really did cram it all in and this is possibly due to having been previously and knowing exactly what we wanted to see again and not see again.  The War Remnants Museum  remains a stark reminder of the horror of war regardless of which perspective it is told from.  The imposing Independence (Reunification) Palace is so austere but kitsch all at once. The basement is a maze of war rooms and communication rooms - The Austere.  For more austerity you need not venture further than the Conference Room adorned with a gold gilded bust of Ho Chi Minh, reverentially placed in front of the Vietnam flag and rows of evenly placed brocade chairs.  The presidential entertainment area is lavish a la 1970s style - The Kitsch.

On the gourmet side of things there are many culinary delights to be had and it did not take us long to find The cutest little vegetarian cafe in HCMC located on Bui Vien - La Feuille - Divine divine divine. The service and food were all to rave about and all for next to nothing.  The Dong goes such a long way in Vietnam. After reading an article in Asia Life, the cultural attache decided we should check out the nearly opened restaurant Quan Bui, a new Vietnamese restaurant, which has just opened in District 1 at 8 Nguyen Van Nguyen.  It is a little out of the way (off the tourist track, but a taxi will get you there and get you back for next to nothing anyway) We were greeted with such enthusiasm and warmth and ushered up to a private ambient second floor room with glowing orange decor.  We went with the recommendations of the owner and were delighted starting with the Goi Quan Bui a salad of seafood, lotus stems and pomelo, several courses later and many beers later we were assisted to return to our hotel district which we had forgotten to take a note of, but there was no drama there anyway.  The entire evening was delightful - lovely company, ambient atmosphere and great food.    

Mr Lyons Gets the Treatment - New Man in Saigon

Mr Lyons goes MIA in Ho Chi Minh City (supposedly for hair cut which is a little ironic) returns some hours later having been subjected to the torture (as he describes it) that is the male beauty therapy regime - Saigon Style - primped, preened and definitely hairless now - Looking and feeling like a million dollars and he can hear now as they performed some bizarre ear cleaning procedure upon him whilst his face was covered in cotton wool and potion, lotion and other magical man beauty products.