Our 3 week Vietmanese adventure started when we landed in Saigon. The airport was incredibly clean and really efficient. All the immigration booths were full of people wanting to check our passports and there wasn't a queue at all. Wow, we thought, this isn't anything like how we'd imagined the country to be. Upon leaving the airport however, we entered the real Vietnam, the unpolished, hectic, unplanned, completely crazy world that is Saigon.
The roads are incredible. There are rules (apparently) but the only rule seems to be go where you want. There are millions of motorbikes and they come at you from all directions at incredible speeds. Most just have one person on, but some have 2 or more. We believe 1 man with 5 pigs is a record, although many here would take that as a benchmark to try and beat. Everything is taken on bikes here, from babies to trees. The best thing to do is settle down at a bar, preferably one at a junction, and watch the madness. We've done exactly this a few times now, and loved it. The traffic lights are considered street decoration, and might is right, a bus takes priority over cars, which take priority over bikes. Although there aren't really any buses or cars. Who needs them when everything you need to transport can fit on a scooter?!?
Crossing the road can be a life changing experience. The suggested way to do it is slowly but surely. You just walk slowly and hope everything misses you. It seems to work. Leanne told me her method is to hold on to my hand and walk slowly with her eyes shut!!!
We've been on two trips, one to the Mekong Delta to see the floating farmers markets and one to the Chu chi tunnels. The Mekong Delta was wonderful. We spent a lot of time on the river, firstly on a smallish boat weaving in and out of other boats at the floating market, then later on a tiny rowing boat being steered by an old lady. Seeing the lives of the farmers was a real eye opener. They pretty much live on the river whilst selling their produce and they use the water to bathe in, cook with and the kids use it as a giant playground.
The Chu Chi tunnels were used by the Viet Cong during the war for hiding, for transporting supplies and for communication. Some even lived down there. The tunnels are tiny. We got in some of the original ones and were lucky to get out. The main tunnel system is now largely collapsed, but the existing portion is open to tourists. They've widened them a bit to accomodate the "larger" person but i was still doubled over and only just fitted through. They are hot, dark and claustrophobic. We only managed 30m of a 150m tunnel before the need for light and space overcame us.
Saigon is home to the Reunification Palace and the War Remnant Museum. Both are must sees but the Reuni Palace although being probably the most significant building of Vietnam's recent past, was built in the 1960s and suffers from a lack of granduer. It has a very communist feel to it and isn't overly welcoming. However the War Museum is fascinating. It has helicopters, tanks, and other assorted weaponry outside and inside thousands of photos from the war. The photos were horrendous and showed, in graphic detail, the injuries caused by war. The worst photos were ones taken recently (in the last 5 years) of landmine victims and children born with disablilities due to the effects of Agent Orange. Although the war is long finished, it still is very much part of the daily lives to some here.
On a lighter note, we are now waiting to get our overnight sleeper train to Nha Trang. Leanne is worrying about who our sleeping companions may be. Update to follow soon!!