We caught the red eye from Nha Trang, the 45 minute flight cost a fraction more than the train, but saved us around 6 hours. Ho Chi Minh city is far bigger than Hanoi, 5 rows of two-wheelers and 2-3 lines of four-wheeled vehicles inch along the four lane motorways. Even in the centre of town the roads are far wider than those of Hanoi and so the greater numbers of people and vehicles are better accommodated.
We stayed round the corner to the backpackers area and it seemed that the people that were staying there didn't venture much further than the bars and restaurants at their immediate disposal. Every bar and restaurant was busy, yet away from this road, we saw very few tourists.
First of all, we had a mission to get our iPad repaired, there was an authorised dealer around 30 minutes walk away and we headed there as a priority. We found the shop easily, the huge Apple logo was a bit of a giveaway. We sat in there for 4 hours while they tried to fix the problem. There was something about the disorganised way they were approaching the job at hand that caused me to double check the shop number. We were in the wrong shop, we might as well have been sitting in a greengrocers. The official shop was next door and they took precisely 5 minutes to tell us that the iPad was irreparable and that it would take more days than we had left on our visa to resolve. Super!
A wasted day, and it looks like we'll be carrying round a heavy, square frisbee until Kuala Lumpur.
Our starting point for the sights of HCMC was the War Remnants Museum, the horror of this exhibition is hard to put into words, the atrocities documented in both text and photography from this period of the country's history shows mankind as nothing more than barbaric. Body parts taken as trophies, chemical weapons - Agent Orange, sprayed over millions and millions of acres of agricultural land and which still to this day affects large numbers of the population in the form of physical and mental defects at birth. The array of different types of guns used to kill everyone and everything in sight was truly shocking. Despite the war having been ended over 36 years, we both came out of the museum feeling such anger about it and it's impossible to understand how the acts that were carried out can be denied, excused or ignored.
We headed over to the Reunification Palace, this was the last bastion of the southern government prior to the the north overrunning them and ultimately reconciling to once again become a single nation. This was the location of the famous scenes of the northern tanks breaking through the iron gates. The building is not as interesting as its history, as we wandered round, it felt more like we were being shown around office space rather than an important historical site. The meeting rooms are set up for business, auditoriums look like the presentation is just about to start. It was only when we went down to the basement and saw the museum that we were reminded of the building's historical importance.
The grounds of the palace are maintained to the highest standard and along with the numerous tennis courts are open every day for the public to enjoy. The ancient trees offer sympathetic shade from the heat of the day and the various flowers provide a visual and aromatic feast. We sat outside a small cafe and listened to some live Vietnamese music, there were just two instruments being played, a kind of upright glockenspiel made from varying lengths of bamboo tubes (a k'longput) and a single string instrument (a dan bau), the string laid horizontally to a board and at one end the string was attached to a thin reed which was played like the neck of a guitar. The notes could be altered be moving your fingers up or down or reverberate a note by wobbling a finger on the reed. It sounded enchanting.
We spent our last day in HCMC in the Mekong Delta, we hoped for a day cruising along the Mekong, however, we ended up on an uber-touristy knick-knack tour of the area. We drove 2 hours to the boat jetty and jumped on a 10 seater wooden boat, we cruised for a whole 10 minutes before we got off to see how coconut sweets were made and we could buy some if we wanted, no thanks. Next we're led through an 'orchard' to sample some exotic tropical fruit. We had pomelo, pineapple, papaya, sidulla (which tasted like a date but with the texture of an over-ripe pair) and a milk apple (tasted like a sweet set yoghurt). The fruit was accompanied by some pandan leaf tea and would have been lovely if it wasn't for the Vietnamese love songs that were being sung. It was like nails down a blackboard, the shrill voices of the women scrambled our brains and when they burst into a rendition of "if you're happy and you know it" we just wanted to leave.
Next on to some row boats that took us 200 metres along a highly congested backwater. The narrow canal was choked with unused rowboats and so our two old lady rowers bumped and barged us for 5 minutes or so along the creek. Occasionally another boat came in the opposite direction at which point a jolted ballet of boats ensued. As the two boats passed, we smiled at the other two rowers and most times we were sniffed or glowered at. It made it all a little uncomfortable. For the short trip, our guide constantly reminded us of how poor these people were and how they led such simple lives. She was quick to point out the ramshackle houses set back a little way from the waters edge and went quiet when we passed the row of beautiful two storey homes just next door, complete with 4x4 cars. There's no doubt that there is poverty in the area, but I'm not entirely sure it's being portrayed truthfully or highlighting the plight of those who really are in need. The aim was to get us to tip the rowers, but as it happened, with only a day remaining in Vietnam we had only the equivalent of £1.30 on us and this also had to cover the cost of our dinner. This was a game changer, our guide Feung suddenly, disengaged. We were led in silence for tea, where we were told all about honey and 'bee powder' (pollen) and if we wanted we could buy some (no thanks) and then on for lunch. Lunch was a strange experience, we were sat in an empty part of a riverside restaurant that was only partially covered from the rain, the dishes that were brought out we were assured were vegetarian, yet everything looked very meaty (fried chickens feet). Most definitely was vegetarian but with a couple, I honestly couldn't tell. Jan stuck with the steamed rice and soy sauce.
Lunch was rounded off with a Russian guy drinking the blood and eating the beating heart of a snake, something Vietnamese men do for wellness, the women don't need to. We were taken back to shore for the drive back. Our tour was cut 2 hours short, Feung said it was because there was just the two of us, lunch took less time than usual, but like the coconut sweets, the honey tea and the conical hats, we weren't buying it.
And so our time in Vietnam drew to a close, we were pleased to be leaving, we found it a tough place to be, for us it was a country of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The Good, there were some places of outstanding beauty, Halong bay and the snorkelling near Nha Trang for example. The Bad, On so many occasions people tried to scam us, whether it was taxi drivers demanding extra money once a fare had been agreed, extra items on a bill or shops making up prices for goods. The Ugly, the awful events that occurred during the Vietnam/America war. If only we could 'unsee' things.
On to Cambodia.