Saigon - 11th - 14th August

So after another very short flight (30 mins compared to the 14 hour train journey from Hoi An - we are still confused why anyone would take the train - something to do with this thing called money we have heard so much about - not sure what it is, we just use a little piece of plastic that seems to get us everything!!) we arrived in Ho Chi Minh - the new name for Saigon, though most people still call it Saigon here.

The city could not be more different to Vietnam's capital of Hanoi. Saigon is a western city, high rise office buildings with all the Americanised restaurants, bars etc, quite ironic given the history between the countries. However, we have a learnt a lot about the history of vietnam whilst being here. Prior to it becoming communist, there was a mass divide in the country between the communist north and republican south. This divide has yet to dissapear, and this is blatantly obvious as you make your way down the country. Never the less, talking about politics events
today is a very stupid thing to do for the locals, especially if you speak out against the communist party (you will be arrested). In fact when they came to power, many people (from the south) were sent to "re-education camps" to change their mind status from republican to communist. From what we have been told, these camps were not the sort of holiday camps you would want to go to - one tour guide told us his father was in one for 2 years and his uncle for 10!!

We found our way around the city fairly easily - there is a definite parisian feel to it, given vietnam was controlled by the french for many years. We visited the palace (which was more like a government building than a palace!) and the shopping malls, and market. We also visited the history museum from the Vietnam War (titled the American War in Vietnam), which needs to be taken with a pinch of salt given its very pro-vietnam attitude, for example right by the entrance is the american decleration of independence -

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...

And right next to this statement were pictures of deceased, burnt, tortured etc. bodies from the vietnamese that were killed by the Americans - a sort of 2 finger salute to their former enemies. However, this was the only anti-american element to our whole trip. Our tour guide told us that there are two views if the war - for the older generation the war never ended and for the younger generation the war never happened!

We also took a trip to the Cu Chi tunels which were the network of tunnels that the Communists lived in for up to twenty years during the war. The tunnel were extremely narrow and very low and this was the tunnel that had been renamed the 'international tunnel' as it had been widened for tourists!!! It was unbelievable to see how they had managed to live for all those years and well worth the long and bumpy coach journey there! Sam also had a go shooting an AK47 which made him very happy! One of the most interesting parts of the trip was our tour guide who spoke to us about everyday life in Vietnam and gave a real insight into the workings of the country, as like a lot of places many things are 'covered up' for tourists.

We also have to give a shout out to Kath and Maz - a couple we met whilst in Halong Bay (see earlier). We managed to meet up with them in Nha Trang and were staying at hotels next door to each other in Saigon. We hope we get to see you guys soon and hope u get back to Southampton safely!!!

We had a really great time and met some really nice people on the way, but were excited for our next adventure -Kuala Lumpar Malaysia!

Love Sam and Emx