Emily : With the prospect of 3 more days travel on a dodgey bus to get to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), we took the liberty of flying (cheap tickets thanks Jetstar) straight there and it felt so good (not cheating at all!). Catching the public bus into the city centre was easy and cheap, Scott figured out where to get off which was very close to our hotel, Happy Inn 2. It was down a friendly little alley, away from the loud horns and bars of the main road, but with a great selection of restaurants and other hotels.

HCMC was very different from Hanoi; larger, busier, more developed (and more rats), but still a pretty cool place. The nature of the south Vietnamese is also a little different, more capitalistic and therefore can be overwhelming at times. We found an awesome shop with an upstairs cafe that reminded us so much of Cuba street in Wellington, and their coffees were amazing – definitely the best I’ve had this whole trip! As we’re their hot chips! The shop was full of creative useful things for a home, which we might try to replicate a few once we get a home. We had a lot of Pho for meals (rice noodle soup with chicken or beef), but also had a delicious Malaysian meal, and ate at a restaurant that hires disadvantaged adults including former street kids.
Scott : One restaurant we went to was a sister restaurant of one we frequented in Hanoi. It was great therefore to see the change in cuisine from north to south. From spring rolls and rice based dishes in the north, to noodles and soups in the south.

Emily : The war history museum was another mind-numbing experience, explaining and portraying (via some incredible war photography) the Vietnam War (or American war as it’s known here). The on-going effects of Agent Orange are still very prevalent, with children being born with deformities due to their parents becoming contaminated by eating fish from infected streams and food from contaminated land. The AO alters DNA, and often people don’t know they’re affected until they have a child with a disability. The HCMC museum was in a magnificent old palace, and took us back to Saigon 100 years ago, showing the major trades, and also culture of the Vietnamese people. We also witnessed another three weddings at this venue!
Scott : It was interesting to come back to various places after so many years. The reunification palace, where VC tanks famously crashed through the gates was still very much how I remember it. As was the Rex hotel; famous for being the base of many foreign correspondents during the war. We didn’t manage a drink there on the rooftop balcony as a coke was 11x more expensive than on the street.
One afternoon we went on a self directed walking tour, getting suitably lost a few times but getting a chance to get our orientation of the city. The architecture here is incredibly diverse, one image can have a French built bridge, a Russian style soviet concert hall, and a huge modern skyscraper (which honestly is very disproportionate and sticks out like a sore thumb). The old French designed concert hall and intercontinental hotel are beautiful, beautifully restored. This is in contrast to other governmental french colonial buildings in the heart of town which are in serious need of a water blast and new paint.

It was interesting to head to China town and the various pagodas dotted amongst a few city blocks. We visited the famous Cha Tam church, where President Diem (essentially a puppet president installed by the US) was killed in a coup after fleeing the presidential palace in 1963. The local buses were a great and incredibly cheap way of getting around – not a tourist in sight for most of the day. We had some fantastic rounds of bargaining at the local market, bags full at the end of the day.

Most days were hot with a welcome down-pour at about 2pm in the afternoon which brought the temperature down the the mid-20’s, at one point a actually felt cold with goose-bumps and contemplated getting my jersey (merino) but thought it would be strange in such a warm climate! On Sunday we went to a local Christian church run in English, and met some other expats which was refreshing and quite fun.

Scott: It was nice to stop for a while and truely experience a place, rather than rush through it. Now off to the mekong delta.