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We will Miss Saigon.
A not too early start of 8:30 am this morning for our trip to Saigon in Vietnam. We had booked an on our own tour which drove you the hour and a half to the city and then left you there. This is much better for us because we have time to do the things we really like, visiting markets and tasting the local food!
One thing I noticed was a little difference in Phu My, the port we docked at today, was it is very much flatter than the other part of Vietnam we visited. This flat terrain continued as we made our way through the towns on route to Saigon.
The houses and shops which lined the side of the road were similar to those we found on the way to Hue the day before yesterday. Everything seemed to be a bit run down but not lacking in charm at all.
You might notice in one of the photos a baby perched on the front of one of the mopeds which zoomed past our coach. This was a very common sight indeed. I actually saw a scooter with 5 people on. A man at the front who was steering, three children sandwiched in the middle and then a woman at the back. Incredible. Interestingly, only the man had a helmet on..... O_o
It was not unusual to see babes in arms or even children STANDING on the scooter seats, all the while their parents drove either on the pavement or the wrong way up busy duel carriageways. No rules what so ever it seemed! I took some video which I will upload when I have some free wifi because it might take a while.
Once we arrived in Saigon, David and I headed up the busy streets and popped in and out of the quaint shops selling everything from trinkets and jewellery to giant lavishly decorated mother of pearl desks and drawer sets. It was going to be our kind of place and we both fell in love with the city very quickly.
We had been warned about the market and told to expect to be pushed, grabbed and herded into different stalls. Getting to the market actually proved more dangerous than actually being inside it! It seemed utterly impossible to cross any of the roads. Motor cycles came up the wrong way, the right way, side ways....whatever way they chose and they absolutely did not stop for red lights.
Before we took the trip we had been given some advice which was to just cross and the motorbikes would figure a way around you. The one time we tried this method, one almost ploughed directly into Dave! On more than one occasion, nice men dressed in green with epaulettes helped us cross over. I think they were the police but it is hard to tell!
We grew in confidence with road crossing the more time we spent in Saigon. It was actually true, the advice to just cross. If you waited on the curb for traffic to stop, you would be waiting forever. You just have to hold your breath and go for it.
The Ben Thanh market was only about a fifteen minute walk from where the coach dropped us and, on the way, we stopped and had a Saigon beer at a really nice cafe. Everywhere in Vietnam seemed happy to accept the US Dollar so that was handy. The cafe was so nice and the staff so friendly, we said we would go in again on our way back and have something to eat.
The market itself was huge and under cover which was really nice. It was not so hot today but the humidity was still quite high due to the low cloud cover. I forgot to mention.....on our walk to the market there was a sudden and torrential downpour of rain. It was brilliant! Well I loved it because I was wearing crocs on my feet and no socks. I am not sure Dave was so happy about getting his feet wet!
It is the rainy season right now in this part of Vietnam and rain showers like that are commonplace. I would say it lasted for only 3 or 4 minutes before it stopped completely. The temperature, which had dropped during the shower, rose again very fast too. As well as the rain shower....we were stopped on a street corner studying our map as only tourists do when I noticed a security type guard who looked helpful. Just as we wandered over to ask him how far we were from the market, this strong and sudden gust of wind hit us.
It was hard enough to knock both David and I off balance, several people on bikes fell off and shop stands were upturned. Just incredible the power of that single gust. David had seen some metal work fall from somewhere and get blown along the pavement, it was quite frightening for just that split second but then it was gone and all was calm again. It turned out we were right outside the market as well!
When we made our way inside I think both David and I grinned at the same time. It was awesome. Yes okay, people grabbed your wrists and pulled you into their little stall but they were friendly, very very friendly and it was impossible not to smile when they smiled at you. The most common line used by the sellers was...
'Madam, Sir, what you look for? I have very nice stuff! You come see.'
Those who spoke more English were able to explain that we were their only customer of the day and please would we please buy from them. But it was all said with a big grin, like they knew that we knew they were trying it on. I like the Vietnamese people very much indeed.
We managed to buy several football shirts, bartering the price down from a ridiculous 35 dollars to a much more acceptable 13 dollars. (I actually got one down to ten dollars too.) That was the key in the market, you had to barter. The Vietnamese people might be friendly but they are also very cheeky!
David found some cool salts, similar in style to the ones we found and LOVED in Grand Turk. They are flavoured with lemon grass and another with chilli. I found the coffee sellers and bought a couple of bags of whole beans. Gareth, if you do read this, I will bring some back for you...I know how you love your coffee too.
We found the food area of the market by smell rather than sight. I have to admit, I could not stomach the stench it was disgusting. In very grubby looking tubs were various sorry looking peices of fish. There was another of tub of something which resembled gruel and some dodgy looking prawns. Remember, it took us an hour and a half by coach to reach this part of Saigon. I dread to think how long it took those things to arrive from the sea to the market. It was really hot under the market stalls too and that only exaggerated the smell.
I took some photographs so you can share in that part of our experience and try to imagine how bad it stank!Down most of the tight aisles under the market were people perched on tiny chairs eating. It looked as though they were eating the things the food stalls had been selling so it couldn't be too bad....Neither Dave or I were prepared to risk our tummies!
I saw one lady lifting armfulls of what looked like dry noodles from one large container into another. She dropped much of it on the floor and, when market goers had finished treading all over them, she scooped the lot back up and laid the container out on her stall for selling. I am not happy enforcing the ten second rule for food dropped on the floor when I am in a market place in the middle of Vietnam. Especially not when people walked all over the food!
Anyway....we finished at the market and, true to our word, headed back to the cafe for some food. Dave had some traditional Vietnamese noodles in a soup and I had some spaghetti noodles with onions and chilli. Both were sooooooo good! Mine was very very spicy and, by the time I had finished, my nose was running a lot lol. Dave accidently chewed on a piece of chilli and started sweating profously. Little little and I found it very amusing.
Ah yes! Little little. We had been warned of the dangers in the market, pick pockets and the like. So little little was tucked safely in her bag with just her nose poking out. It became clear very quickly that there was nothing to be worried about and the locals were very interested in little little. She came out of her bag completely and had LOTS of hugs and pats on the head. There was just one scary moment when a lady came over and waved a 20,000 dong note at me. She said:-
'You gimme monkey.....you give me. yes?'
I made it very very clear that little little was not for sale, she is utterly priceless to us. But the lady kept insisting until I had to just walk away laughing. Oh I got it wrong yesterday...one Dollar is not 2000 dong. It is 20,000 dong. So she was offering one dollar for little little!
Little little is now the proud owner of a 1000 dong note. Although we paid in US dollars for our meal, our change was in dong. So....1000 dong is about 5 cents lol. She is pleased with it though and it is tucked into her dungaree pocket along with a one dollar note for emergencies.
We are now back on the ship and making our way down river and out toward sea. I am not sure of the river's name that we are travelling down....Maybe Gary can help. It is about fifteen miles until we reach the sea and our port was Phu My.
Signing off now and just a small sea day update for tomorrow.
miss you guys xxxxxxxx
- comments
Daniel O'Dane Ok I have read enough! You were going to sell Little Little to the slave trade ?! Stay there and I will arrange the ransom. .........Ok so far I have my sucky blankie, Moose has donated his Pillow and Sunny his BALL now get her back ! Of course the pool should be drained ! Der! They will get wet ! Don't like the look of the food . ,
Gary Glad to see that Little Little is enjoying herself, especially now that she knows that she is priceless. Your storytelling just seems to get better. Regarding the river name, I think that even though they renamed the city, they left the river name as Saigon.