Vietnam and Cambodia - Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon

- November 21, 2010

Hello, sorry there has been no updates for a few days ... have been in Ho Chi Minh City, stayed at the 5* Renaissance Riverside, and unfortunately there internet provider would not allow me to access the blog !!! and actually is the only Hotel on this tour that charges for internet .... and they know how to do that US$14 a day... daylight robbery .. and I told them so (that is over a weeks wages for a fisherman or farmer).
The journey from Dalat was nice, we started off with a visit to the market, it was amazing to see all the local fresh produce from vegetables to fish, chicken (dead and alive), bakery everything was available. We arrived into HCMC late afternoon missed a lot of the traffic which was good and arrived at the hotel at about 17.30... this was good usually it is about 18.30. Quiet night in ..well except for the thunderstorm that lasted for about an hour and half, with torrential rain and sheet lightning.... a quick decision, stay in or go out ... stay in won and room service worked for dinner.
The next morning we left the city early (07.00) to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels, this is the underground system used during the war, it is an amazing place, there was over 200km of tunnels throughout the area spreading as far as Cambodia. There is also the opportunity to go down into some parts ... not for me ... some of the walls are only 15-17ins wide ... but some of the folks went down .. and came out the other end....for more info on the tunnels visit (www.cuchitunnel.org.vn). On the way back to HCMC we stopped at the Cao Dai Temple, a coming together of religions happens here, it is a very colourful place. Later we made our way back to HCMC, and on the way the heavens opened and we had another massive thunder and lightning storm...streets were flooded is was crazy.
The following day we had a city tour first visiting the Presidential Palace, it was from here that a lot of decisions were taken during the war. Later we viewed the Notre Dame cathedral and the beautiful poet office building, it was then on to the War Remnants Museum, this is a very moving place as this show the atrocities that were carried out on the Vietnamese during the war. Later we had lunch and then visited a Laquerware factory. A few hours free time back at the hotel and then it was off for an evening cruise of the Saigon River, disembarking at the Binh Quoi Village, we had dinner and the watched a typical south Vietnamese wedding ceremony (show).

Below are a selection of pics from Dalat and and HCMC.