Saigon - apparently I never published this.. oops

On to Saigon - thank god this is my last one of these

The prospect of 24 more hours on the open tour bus was inconceivable and I was short on time so I shelled out 60 dollars for the flight to HCMC (which everyone calls Saigon Btw).  At the airport in DaNang I caught the attention of two little vietnamese boys who kept edging up to me and then running away squealing as though I had poisonous tentacles.    After a few repetitions of this they became bolder and wanted to shake my hand and say the only english words they knew: Thank You - over and over again.   At one point I turned around and realized that a good 15 people had their faces pressed against the glass watching all of this - I had no idea I was so entertaining.

Above: Us playing with my camera, and devoted watchers from outside.

Got to Saigon and tried to get a cab into the city, which the bible said would be $5, but I wouldn't find one for less than 15 and ended up bartering passage on a motorbike instead, which was 3.  This was the best way to enter Saigon I think because then, being in the middle of the chaos, you can fully comprehend just how many bikes are on the streets.  Its like massive rapids at full flood with currents going in every direction, condensing to pour through narrow passages and then sweeping out and slowing down in the wider sections, with an odd car or two being borne along in the flood like a pieces of driftwood.

I ended up just going to a random hotel when I got there since I had nothing booked. Bad Idea. After dinner and a drink I settled down to try and sleep at midnight to find that my bed was infested with little tiny ants.  At first I tried to tough it out, brushing them off of me when the climbed up, but at 3 in the morning I was going crazy because they were so small you could hardly see them and so I felt like they were everywhere.  The AC also did not work and I was at this point slightly delirious from: lack of sleep, the heat, and because it was 3 in the morning. I left them some money on the table and went to a different, slightly more expensive (3 dollars more) hotel I had passed earlier that looked nice. Luckily there was one more key left and so I was able to sleep there the rest of the night (after checking the bed for bugs of course).

In the morning I was rejuvenated enough from my bug-free sleep to be able to go walk around and see the city.

Just to start out on an upbeat note: Saigon was by far my least favorite city among the three I went to.  The main reasons for this were: 1) the lack of any interesting architecture / old quarter 2) Its completely hectic pace that was a little too much for me 3) The bug bed.

HCMC is really just a huge city, with lots of good food and a relentless stream of motos running around on the streets.  To steal a quote from another traveler to Saigon: "crossing the streets is like playing frogger on the highest level with one life left" and it really was.   The city is much more modern and in comparison to the interesting french buildings and tree lined streets of hanoi it is lacking soul, but that is only my opinion.  As someone who does not spend a huge amount of time in big cities, I tend to gravitate in preference more towards the laid back than the chaotic.

There were some cool things though:

1. Riding around on motorcycles was awesome.. you could easily die at any second, so at least they wore helmets in Saigon.

2. I went to a really cool big market that sold anything you could ever want, including lacquerware bowls, which I wanted, and spent an hour bargaining with an awesome vietnamese girl for them - I fell like we were friends in the end.    Digression - That was one of my favorite things about vietnam vs. china: in China bargaining always ends up being an angry war of wills, in vietnam everyone was so friendly I felt like bargaining was actually fun, not a chore.

Saigon River - very dirty with lots of debris floating in it, and fabric at the market

That night I went and walked around a bit more, took some pictures of the area around my hotel.

Overall Reflection From The Trip:

It was off the hook.

I love vietnam and want to go back immediately.  I feel like I kind of did the trip wrong, so if there are any of you out there trying to see all of vietnam in 10 days, take heed: you will be sorry.  I think there is no way to do it without breaking it up into two ten day trips, 10 days in the north and ten in the south. I missed Sapa, which looks amazing from Adam's pictures and so I really wish I had tagged on an extra 4 days in the north and done that. Also in the south the Meekong Delta and Qu Phoc Island are supposed to be magnificent, so I really would have needed 8 more days in the south to do that. Below are the "perfect trips" to Vietnam that I would recommend:  (I'm assuming 10 days)

Tips:

-Also, Hanoi Backpackers Hostel was awesome - I highly recommend it if you like to drink and want to meet people.

-Fresh springrolls are not the fried kind

-All the cruises in Halong bay are pretty much the same - book through HBH when you get there - its cheaper and more fun

-The tailor shops near the downtown of Hoi Anh are better, make sure you look around

-The guy at Everybody's Fashion (shoes) is awesome.

-Cargo in Hoi Anh has awesome sandwiches, I ate there three times in a row. Also Green Moss is pretty awesome and for $2 extra you can learn how to cook the dish you order.

Northern Vietnam

Trip A: Saigon, Sapa, and Halong Bay

Over the course of the trip spend: 3 nights in Hanoi, 2 nights in Halong bay, and three or four nights trekking in Sapa.

Trip B: Above + Hoi Anh

1 night in Halong Bay, 2 nights in Sapa, 2 nights in Hanoi, night train to Hoi Anh, 2 nights in Hoi Anh, Fly out of DaNang.

Southern Vietnam

Trip C: Saigon, Meekong, and Qu Phoc

Fly into Saigon, one night in Saigon, two nights in the Meekong, 4 nights on Qu Phoc Island

Trip D: Saigon, Meekong, and Jungle Beach

Fly into Saigon, 2 night Meekong, Fly to Na Trang -> Jungle Beach, 5 nights at Jungle Beach, back to Saigon.