Saigon, The Mekong

Our group departed Sydney on the 24th May 2001 bound for Vietnam arriving at 4.15 in the afternoon. The airport was not as modern as we thought and we were greeted by our tour guide Tom and our wonderful driver. Saigon is now called Ho Chi Minh City and the largest in the country. It used to be known as the Pearl of the Orient during the 1940's and 50's. There is a French Colonial atmosphere with lots of tree lined streets but the bustling markets are indicative of the real Saigon. Our adventure began and we were off to the Grand Hotel for a few days stay. Lovely old hotel with lots of character. Very comfortable too! The traffic is amazing here and one of our early morning starts was to visit the river and check out the early morning bustle of business, exercise and just families enjoying the morning. The next day we had a city tour to see the Ben Thanh Markets, the Old Post Office, a walk down Dong Khoi Street and the Presidental Palace.

After a good night's sleep we met Tom and left for a tour to the War Remnants Museum (incredible pictures and war memorabilia), Tay Ninh and the Cuchi Tunnels. This was a fascinating day as we saw many unique buildings including the Cao Dai Church. The food in Vietnam is wonderful, and even the smallest restaurant presents the food just beautifully. A real diner's delight! The Cuchi Tunnels were dug by the Viet Cong and on arrival we were given a talk on the tunnels, their history and how they were used. They are 250 kms long and some engineering feat. As we walked our local guide asked us to spot the tunnel entrance and after we were shown it was apparent just how camouflage worked. The opening was very small abut Gary managed to lower himself in and try it out. "Pretty squeezy" he said! The tunnels we climbed through had actually been widened for us so we could imagine the size when soldiers were running through. It was pretty hot too and we ere only in a small tunnel.

The Mekong

The next day saw us driving from Saigon to Vinh Long where we took a boat to the local handicraft villages. First stop was a tile factory where I tried to make a tile in the traditional way (as they do). It was not bad but wouldn't earn any money at this! The tiles are all handmade and there is a definite art to it. We then looked at some carving factories, including a coffin business and then went to the river for our next adventure. We met another local guide Tam, who was to stay with us for our Mekong excursion. She was a lovely guide who spoke very good english. Along the way our boats stopped at a local home for fruit, tea and snake wine. The fruit and tea was good! The owners were very hospitable and after a delightful visit we moved on. Our rowers were all ladies who rowed in the style of crossing the oars and we all found it incredible to watch. Just lovely floating down the river even though it was very hot. We arrived at our homestay which was owned by a lovely French gentleman and his family. We laughed when we saw our overnight accomodation as it was upstairs and we had camp stretchers complete with mosquito nets! More surprises as we had to help make dinner and we were given the task of making spring rolls. What fun - the boys made theirs and then we had our turn. The kitchen was just some bricks and mud along with the local chooks and cats. very different we thought! However one of the owners sons, who spoke good english explained he was the cook and showed us a huge elephant fish. Into the hot oil of a well seasoned wok went the fish, scales and all and it only took a few minutes to cook. When we came to dinner that was served outside, we were stunned as the meal was beautifully presented and tasted just great. A fabulous end to a beaut day!