Exploring the City Centre on Foot

We had an early headstart and were probably the earliest to have breakfast which was a simple fare of bananas, bread and jam, coffee, juice and eggs. It's ironic that Chanh the head staff wasn’t familiar with half-boiled eggs. Our instructions were not well complied when the staff merely immersed the egg in hot water in less than a minute before serving. Jeff had to request for it to be scrambled.

With map in hand, suntan lotion and shades, we confidently started out on foot towards the City Centre. All along the pavements we saw street peddlers with makeshift tables and chairs selling everything from drinks, food, cigarettes, sunglasses to pirated bestselling books! You see all walks of life sitting on low plastic chairs enjoying their coffee cuppa or Pho Bo and lepaking. Now we know why Vietnamese love to squat to wait for buses back home!

Crossing the roads took some courage and major estimations. Thankfully my days as a pedestrian in Penang roads helped tremendously. But I had to keep reminding myself that they drove on the right-side. So look left first before crossing. The trick is to cross when there’s a gap between the motorists. They do not speed and will just go around you but not before honking. It is a futile battle with cars and buses so it’s best to let them go first. The upside about the Vietnamese drivers is that they do not swear and are very patient people.

Although we could blend in with the locals easily but our dressing and demeanour gave us away. Cyclo riders and motorbikers eyed us like a hawk with the former tailing us and discouraging us to walk. Once we revealed our country of origin, they automatically pulled out a testimonial book with handwritten praises from global customers. They instinctively flipped to the Malaysian pages and reviews from Kuantan, KL, etc counterparts are there for us to scrutinize.

Some of the roads that we took looked a lot like in Penang or KL in terms of landscaping. The Notre Dame Cathedral has lovely architecture and a nice front lawn. A lady selling postcards was unsuccessfully trying to get me to part with my money. Once inside the church, it reminded me somewhat of St Francis Xavier in Melaka. The uniqueness is surely the adoration sections they have on the left and right side of the church. Countless name plaques of the departed locals and foreigners adorn the walls.

Opposite the road is the Post Office (top pics). A lovely air-conditioned place with a dome-like ceiling. I wouldn’t mind queuing up often to buy stamps or pay my bills, unlike back home where it can be a hassle with the scorching heat and unsightly interior.

We viewed the Reunification Palace (top) where Ho Chi Minh resided, only from the gates as there were admission fees and it was boring to view rooms.

We were starting to get tired from the walking and it was not 10am yet! Next stop was the War Remnants Museum which was nothing much like a museum but more of an info cum small exhibition centre. For less than RM4 per pax, there were former US war planes, tanks, chopters and bombs on display at the courtyard.

Inside there were posters and photos of the victims and massacre. You cannot help but feel uneasy looking at the deformed foetus in bottles affected by Agent Orange, a gas chemical used by the US to counter the Vietcong attacks. Once inhaled, the men will pass down the mutated DNA to their offsprings who largely bore the brunt of the effects. Cerebral palsy, harelips, physical deformation of the hands, legs and abdomens were some of the inherent effects. The My Lai massacre pictures were troubling with press photographers capturing pictures of the victims before their cruel fate. Many were either shot or slain at the throats or bellies. There were US medals awarded to GIs for bravery on display. Many gave up these awards in shame of their deeds – “I was wrong. I am sorry.”

Towards the end of the exhibition, there were posters and children’s drawings on a better and new Saigon, showing a glimpse of hope and forgiveness for the war. There were local students on tour and we could see the indifferent expressions on their faces as they could not have understood the atrocities of the war.

Tucked in a different corner of the premises were the tiger cages where prisoners of war and local political defiants were imprisoned. There they tell of the cruel tortures the Vietcong inflicted. Prisoners were beaten and chained until they gave up on life. The water torture meant that a prisoner was tied to a chair with his head shaved bald. Water was dripped slowly on his head for days. Survivors related the experience like painful blows to the head. Prisoners were given a cup of water to last them for the whole day. Aside from drinking and answering nature’s call, I feel that women suffered the most during their menstruation days.

We stopped at a nice looking eatery with air-con (life-saver) before going back towards the city centre. The intersection of Le Loi St / Dong Khoi St was certainly posh. Think Bukit Bintang or Orchard Road. Here there were more cars and traffic lights where motorists actually stopped to let you cross! Nothing much interesting here except for the Continental Hotel (bottom left) and Saigon Opera House (right) with its nice French architecture. There were plenty of lacquerware, arts n craft shops but all too pricey for my liking and can’t haggle much!

We then boarded the bus at Ben Tanh Market to Cholon (Chinatown) for 3,000 dong. A young boy of 8/9 enthusiastically informed me of the correct bus and shouted directions to board the bus! Cholon was a disappointment. Based on the reviews, Binh Tay Market (bottom) should be another Ben Tanh Market only cheaper but there were no handicrafts for sale. It was more like a wholesale market with daily sundries. Of course there were the mandarin characters on signboards and the coffee was significantly cheaper which we found out only later. But all was not lost when we tasted our first roadside meal – Goi Cun (Spring Rolls) wrapped in rice paper + shrimp + veggies dipped in fish sauce. Not bad but the rice paper was a little stiff. Cost us a bloody RM5 for 3 pieces! Believe the lady ripped us off!

We decided to have a proper Vietnamese Dinner and were delighted with a quaint restaurant near the Reunification Palace which was recommended by Chanh. We decided to take a cab this time costing us USD2 to the city centre. On our way back to the hotel, I succumbed to pampering myself with pedicure costing 60,000 dong (RM15). My pedicurist who was mute did a great job.

At the hotel, there was blackout and it was really pitch black everywhere. We walked along the alley and bought sotong bakar for RM2-3 which tasted great like the ones back home.