Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City

The trip from Phnom Penh into Vietnam saw us board our trusty stead, the Mekong Express (bus) and venture towards the border towns of Bavet (Cambodia) and Moc Bai (Vietnam). Here, armed with our visas that we had obtained in Singapore, some sort of chaos ensued whereby our passports were passed back and forth numerous times between ourselves, the bus stewardess and various Cambodian and Vietnamese officials. This culminated in a rather stern looking Vietnamese official calling out what somewhat resembled our names, handing us back our passports, and just like that (over an hour later) we were in Vietnam. So back on the bus, where Ho Chi Minh City lay a few hours ahead.

On the drive to HCMC, it was immediately striking that Vietnam is much more developed than Cambodia, and much busier. Ho Chi Minh is the city of many, many motorbikes and scooters, which are really the only feasible way of getting around in this city of 8 million.

Known previously as Saigon, HCMC was the capital of South Vietnam from 1955, when it became independent from the French, until it fell to the communist North and the Vietnamese People's Army at the end of the 'Vietnam War' in 1975. Today, the locals still use the name 'Saigon' to refer to the city's central district.

We were lucky enough to stay with a GP from the UK, who is working in a teaching role at the medical school. Having been in Vietnam for over 3 years, she was able to give us an insider's guide to the city, including all the best spots to eat. Just around the corner, literally, from where we were staying was probably the best restaurant we have encountered during our entire trip, so good in fact that we went twice. For some fresh, authentic Vietnamese food, we cannot more highly recommend Cục Gạch Quán (http://en.cucgachquan.com/).

The city itself is an eclectic mix of French colonial architecture, traditional Vietnamese 'Tube' houses and shops, a smattering of communist propaganda, and did I mention many motorbikes?

The Notre Dame Cathedral in central Ho Chi Minh City. Remarkably resembling Notre Dame in Paris (see earlier blog post), it was built by the French between 1863 and 1880. All the building materials were imported from France, including the red brick, which came from Marseilles.

The constant stream of motorbikes which await you

The shopping district in downtown HCMC, one of the more picturesque parts of the city. The building in the background is Bitexco Financial Tower, Ho Chi Minh's tallest, which the locals found ludicrous due to the helipad sticking out to the side, similar to Dubai's famed 'Burj Al Arab' hotel. This can be seen just above the building in the foreground of the picture. The reason such a helipad is laughable is the fact that there is only one private helicopter in Vietnam.