Pre 2009 : Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam) - part 1

(a recollection of memories and photographs from before 2009)

Ho Chi Minh City. Formerly known as Saigon, which still is to the locals, is the largest city in Vietnam.
Arriving at Tan Son Nhat Airport, one can only imagine how hectic the traffic is here. Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for the long haul journey as the city is compact, congested, full of life and culture surrounding it and does not stop breathing.

You'll be mesmerized by the waves of motorcycles that pass by in the streets without showing any mercy to pedestrians. This was basically due to the surge in import of 'kapcai' motorcycles in the late 70's. A local I came across during my trip once said, "Crossing a road in Saigon is somewhat like a ballet recital. One must be perfectly timed, composed, confident and always alert to avoid becoming street mash". I shit you not. Best survival tip I picked up for crossing a road in Saigon : CROSS WITH THE LOCALS. The kapcai drivers here are quite skilled so you don't need to worry so much about the oncoming onslaught of hundreds of motorbikes heading towards you while you cross the road. They will skilfully avoid you as they normally do on a daily basis.

The traffic here is far by the worse I've experienced than other cities. At least in Jakarta and Bangkok you have traffic lights. Not here in Vietnam. Only certain areas have these lights of luxury. Last I heard was that the government is currently solving the issue by adding more traffic lights. I guess it took them 20 years to figure it out. Surprisingly, accidents on the roads in Saigon on are very rare unlike some other countries with so called proper road systems.  Going to work, performing errands seems to be a survival test they go through on a daily basis.

Like most of all south east asians, hospitality towards tourists is one of traits you can hardly find in other parts of the world. It's always that 'I don't give a shit about you, foreigner' attitude. Being the assholes that we all are, our kindness towards these tourists (more likely if they're hot) will always come first rather than being nice to our own countrymen. Vietnam, being no exception, is the same. Finding your way around town wouldn't be that difficult especially if your finding all these touristy places.

Cheap food and shopping can be done at the Ben Tanh Market, where you can find food, souvenirs such as key chains,shirts and other stuff such as raw foods, etc. The market is also a shopping heaven for all those textile lovers. These textile lovers would straight away have an orgasm just by entering the market. One thing I also noticed was that most of the rucksacks such as Deuter, Jack Wolfskin, Karrimoor, North Face etc are actually made in Vietnam. At the market you can find a long range of quality backpacks with the price way more cheaper that what is usually sold in retail stores. I actually bought my first 70 litre backpack here. 3 years counting and still having no problems with the bag. Like any other markets around the world, the sellers will quote ridiculous prices which is usually 5-10 times more than the original cost. Haggling, bargaining, negotiating, walking away and returning back would be the standard negotiating procedure here.

Streets of Ho Chi Minh

Vietnam has always been at war. You had the Soviet war, you had the French war, the American war, and the North-South war. The country actually achieved peace from 1975 onwards when the Americans finally pulled out of the country. Just imagine, you had French fighting Soviets, Vietnamese fighting Vietnamese, and you had Vietnamese fighting Americans. Life couldn't suck even more for the locals.

Being quite recent, a lot of influence from the war played such an important role in the Vietnamese lifestyle. Military merchandise such as caps, helmets, balaclavas, uniforms are being sold almost everywhere in Saigon. If you're into military merchandise, the 'American Market' is the place for you to be. The market basically sells everything you need. If its war related, then most likely you'll find your stuff here.

Then you have the War Remnants Museum. Tanks, airplanes and military vehicles are displayed outside. But inside is where the cool shit is. I can't remember how much was the entry ticket, but I think it was really worth it to pay to go inside. Inside the museum basically describes how the war actually started between the  South Vietnamese and the Northern Vietnamese and the Americans and what eventually happened during the course of war. One thing that really caught my attention from the museum was the usage of 'Agent Orange' by the Americans. Agent Orange is a type of phosphorous chemical which actually burns off your skins and it is so fucking evil that even if you don't get burnt the fumes would actually make your future offspring full of birth defects.
For more info on 'Agent Orange' please click here.

Effects of 'Agent Orange'

The first picture is one of the most famous war photographs ever taken and is still considered quite the iconic picture from the Vietnam War era. Photographed by Nick Ut, the photo had won numerous awards throughout the years. The girl was actually running from her village after The Vietnam Air Force dropped a napalm bomb from a plane on 8th June 1972.

Here are some stills from around and inside the museum :

To be continued......