Going, Going, Saigon

By -

Our final stop in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh City, previously (& still quite commonly) known as Saigon and formerly the capital of South Vietnam. It's home to over 9 million people, and our friends Sophie and Stu who were the most wonderful hosts over the 3 days we spent there, guiding us to all the best non-touristy places to see, eat and drink, as only locals can do.

On our first night in town we all met up and talked like crazy to catch up while chowing down on plate after plate of fantastic food in an outdoor restaurant alongside the Saigon river. A scene that was to repeat itself every evening (& some lunchtimes), each time in a different fascinating corner of town, and away from the Tourist zones. Ace.


They also introduced us to Walt, an Australian Vietnam War veteran who took us out one day on a kind of war tour of the city, flying around the streets on the back of motorbikes. Through his charismatic descriptions, and the use of old photos from the 1960s and 70s that he showed us via his iPad, he brought to life the closing stages of the war and some of the iconic photos from that time.


NB: Ignore Jo's ramblings on this video saying it's Hanoi, it's definitely Saigon

 Sophie also took us out on a tour of the city. Her fabulous and very highly recommended Sophie's Art Tour cleverly takes a look at Vietnam's incredibly turbulent history through the eyes of the artists who studied, fought, witnessed and documented its major changes in the 20th century. Taking in visits to private collections, museums and contemporary art spaces, whilst weaving the country's dramatic story along the way, Sophie created what was probably the best tour we went on on our entire journey... so if you're ever in Vietnam it's a must.

On our final night in Saigon, Sophie and Stu chartered a little fishing boat and took us out on a charming little tour of the Saigon river backwaters (video clip here). Followed by a trip up the city's highest building to check the view from its skyline cocktail bar. And then back down and along to a cool little party run by their friends, called Shimmy Shimmy Coco Pop.


Massive thanks and love to Sophie and Stu for their super-special hospitality ... next stop Cambodia!

Popular posts from this blog

gross [inter]national happiness

By -
Image
The Tiger's Nest (aka Taktsang Palphug Monastery), Bhutan What's in a name? One of the inspirations for our decision to go away travelling was an article entitled  'Find a Kingdom of Happiness' in Colors magazine about a small Himalayan country called Bhutan . It introduced us to a country that uniquely bases its policy-making and measures its success on Gross National Happiness (GNH) rather than Gross National Product (GNP). Suitably inspired by this wonderful piece of fresh thinking , and more than a little depressed by the state of the economies of the western world, we decided it was a fine time to jack it all in and head east in search of mysterious cultures, beautiful scenery, friendly people, peace and quiet, hustle and bustle, new flavours, sights and smells... and our very own slice of happiness. We departed the UK on 18th October 2012 and returned on 4th June 2013 having visited  Nepal, Bhutan, India, Burma,  Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos,  Vietnam
Read more

Proposal in Patnem

By -
Image
After a hot journey 3 hours south , in the company of a rather large spider who refused to leave the vehicle, we arrived in Patnem. Another gorgeous beach. Different to Mandrem in that it is a horseshoe bay rather than a wide expanse, prettier in a way because of that. We were staying at Salida del Sol and knew that Paul Harris should already have arrived. After over 2 months without seeing friends you could say we were a tad excited! And lo and behold, there he was. Hugs all round, happiness and catching up. Over the next few hours and days more arrivals, hugs and happiness and finally we had the full gang together - Robbie, Grey, Amy, Nina, Liz, Vix, Jim, Kirsty, Paul, Angus, Jo and myself. And what fun we had! Days were whiled away lazing on sun-loungers, swimming in the sea, doing Yoga (well I went once), playing football, kayaking, reading books and having the odd snooze, while nights saw us working our way through healthy amounts of fresh fish and even healthier amounts o
Read more

Suan Mokkh: Silent Meditation & Us

By -
Image
Image "borrowed" from the Suan Mokkh website Duncan and I had long talked about meditation. We both have friends who meditate and rave about the benefits. So, what better an opportunity than on this trip to book ourselves into a 10 day silent retreat? We opted for Suan Mokkh an international hermitage attached to a local Buddhist monastery in southern Thailand. It came recommended and fitted well with our travel plans. Bloggers who had been to the retreat recommended that we take up the offer of staying the night before registration at the monastery, so that was the plan. We booked an early train for the 8 hour journey south from Bangkok. For the first time on our entire trip I set the alarm wrong. A whole hour later than we were supposed to be up, ie. 7.15 instead of 6.15. So a crazy last minute rush to the train station ensued on empty stomachs as we had no time to eat the breakfast we'd arranged with the hotel. On arrival at the station, the tanoy announced t
Read more