A Tour Around Ho Chi Minh City

Our hotel room included breakfast, which the owners had boasted about a lot when trying to convince us to stay with them. It turned out to be a bit of an exaggeration. We got tea, eggs, and baguettes... every day. The food was served in their living room, so we felt almost like part of the family. The cheapest way to get around in Vietnam is by cyclo. Often, the driver is also a good guide and knows the city like the back of their hand. Most cyclos aren't designed for two Europeans, so we each took one. It took a little getting used to the Vietnamese traffic, which seems very chaotic and uncontrolled. There are very few traffic lights and absolutely no pedestrian crossings. Despite the few cars, the many motorbikes make the traffic feel completely overwhelming. Several times, we felt like we were putting our lives at risk, but the cyclo drivers had the situation under control. It also took us a while to learn how to cross the street on foot the true Vietnamese way – which actually works. You have to cross the road by walking very slowly. If you run, the many motorcyclists won’t have time to swerve around you. On our city tour in the cyclos, we first stopped at a post office so we could send some postcards home. Then we headed to a four-story market, Adong, which was really exciting to wander around in, but we didn’t buy anything. There were many begging children hanging around outside the market, having realized that a lot of tourists come here. We were looking for a pair of sandals for Honny, so he wouldn’t get more infected blisters. It took a long search through many markets before we found a pair of sandals in size 45. The seller insisted they were genuine Nike sandals, so they were a bit more expensive than expected... 330,000 dong. A few days later, we met an Englishman in a bar who worked for Nike and examined the sandals, which turned out to be real. So it ended up being a really good deal. At each stop, our cyclos waited for us outside, even though sometimes it took us up to an hour to get ready to move on. The whole trip cost 40,000 dong per cyclo, which is about 20 kroner. For lunch, we tried a Vietnamese specialty – fresh spring rolls. It wasn’t really to my taste, but Honny loved the dish. Fresh spring rolls consist of fresh uncooked ingredients like shrimp and various vegetables rolled in thin rice paper. Massage is very popular in Vietnam – but a bit pricier than in Thailand. We tried foot massage, which also included massages on our legs, arms, and back. It cost 50,000 dong per person for an hour. The girls were sweet and very chatty, but unfortunately, our impression of them was soured when they asked for tips – a lot of them. There was no indication anywhere that tipping was expected, and they weren’t satisfied with a little. So the massage ended up being expensive, and the girls looked really sulky when we left. They "requested" 20,000 dong in tips, so we felt a bit cheated by their friendly demeanor. As we walked down the street, the cyclo drivers were suddenly there again. Had they been following us to get us to take more rides with them? They seemed very nice and eager to show us more of the city, so we took a trip out to a war museum – about the Vietnam War, referred to as the American War in Vietnam. The ride there cost 30,000 dong round trip. Entrance was 10,000 dong per ticket. There were a lot of pictures from during and after the war, depicting all the horrors. The aftermath of the war was especially chilling. The many chemical bombs caused women to give birth to deformed and severely disabled children. The torture chambers and stories of their victims were equally horrifying. People had become crippled after torture, with limbs torn apart and growing back together randomly. There was also an exhibit of the planes and tanks used during the war. In the evening, we got a little taste of the monsoon rain. We borrowed an umbrella from our hotel so we could go out in the rain. In a small side street, we found a restaurant to have dinner. There were also some bars nearby, which we went to afterward. Beer is very cheap – about 15,000 dong for a locally brewed beer. Drinks are a bit more expensive – around 40,000 dong for the cheapest drink. In one of the bars, we met some Danish TV folks who were in Vietnam to interview and film people’s lives. The show was later aired on DR2. A bartender gave us the address of a karaoke place, which turned out to be a very nice flamingo bar. The entrance to the bar was small and resembled the entrance to a cave, where you had to "climb" up some stones to get in. Inside the bar, the walls were also made of stone and rocks, so the cave atmosphere was complete. However, there was no karaoke machine; instead, a flamingo band was playing.