Fun at large in Saigon!It’s the end of my first full day in Ho Chi Minh City and am sitting in a little green restaurant just opposite from the hotel called Thanh Noi. No real idea what I just ordered but its been that kind of day – surrendering yourself to circumstance and the help of others.
So I got lost the instant I left the hotel to look for the gold shop to change money in. It was 10 metres and a whole world away. It is actually a little daunting, especially on your own – you’re completely the odd one out and who sticks out a mile and whom everyone is staring at. Stopped at a café for an iced coffee and some weird green water (its not a case really of “if” I get the squits, more just “when”) and to get my bearings. As suspected, I was heading in completely the wrong direction! With a little help from th
e people in the café, got back on the right track and started heading towards Reunification Palace and the War Remnant Museum. This place is insane with an unfeasible number of scooters - honestly, I’m glad Mum can’t see how you have to cross the road here! Its more a sport than a pedestrian activity – I will be truly amazed if I manage to navigate this place without getting dented! Got suckered into taking a pedicab to the Palace and heavily overcharged, but it was a fun experience even if, at one time, I genuinely did close my eyes shut in panic and whimper cos I was convinced we were about to get squashed by traffic!
My handy guide book tells me that the history of the current building dates from 1966, though the site’s relevance as a capitol winds back to 1868 when the French laid the cornerstone of a palace for the governor-general of Indochina. It was a romantic flight of Second Empire and Greek Revival fancy, with a
pediment, a mansard roof, arched galleries and jutting wings. However, in a failed coup d’etat in 1962, two pilots bombed the Independence Palace, destroying large parts of the interior. In the design of the new palace, a South Vietnamese architect worked the shapes of the Chinese characters for good fortune, education and consistency into the building’s floor plan and façade. The dominant exterior motif is a stone curtain of bamboo segments that shades floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, a grand stairway rises through the five-story core of the 95 room palace.
So I got lost the instant I left the hotel to look for the gold shop to change money in. It was 10 metres and a whole world away. It is actually a little daunting, especially on your own – you’re completely the odd one out and who sticks out a mile and whom everyone is staring at. Stopped at a café for an iced coffee and some weird green water (its not a case really of “if” I get the squits, more just “when”) and to get my bearings. As suspected, I was heading in completely the wrong direction! With a little help from th
e people in the café, got back on the right track and started heading towards Reunification Palace and the War Remnant Museum. This place is insane with an unfeasible number of scooters - honestly, I’m glad Mum can’t see how you have to cross the road here! Its more a sport than a pedestrian activity – I will be truly amazed if I manage to navigate this place without getting dented! Got suckered into taking a pedicab to the Palace and heavily overcharged, but it was a fun experience even if, at one time, I genuinely did close my eyes shut in panic and whimper cos I was convinced we were about to get squashed by traffic! My handy guide book tells me that the history of the current building dates from 1966, though the site’s relevance as a capitol winds back to 1868 when the French laid the cornerstone of a palace for the governor-general of Indochina. It was a romantic flight of Second Empire and Greek Revival fancy, with a
pediment, a mansard roof, arched galleries and jutting wings. However, in a failed coup d’etat in 1962, two pilots bombed the Independence Palace, destroying large parts of the interior. In the design of the new palace, a South Vietnamese architect worked the shapes of the Chinese characters for good fortune, education and consistency into the building’s floor plan and façade. The dominant exterior motif is a stone curtain of bamboo segments that shades floor-to-ceiling windows. Inside, a grand stairway rises through the five-story core of the 95 room palace. After my tour of the Palace, it was time for lunch at the renowned Quan an Ngon. I got there just after 12 and, because I was on my own, didn’t have to wait for a table (unlike later on when there were big long queues!). This is the best place to eat in the city where street
food is king, but without having to perch on tiny stools or be engulfed in traffic fumes! The dining areas spill from a gutted French villa into courtyards and up stairways to balconied perches in adjoining annexes. Best of all, it’s ridiculously cheap! I had no idea what to order, so asked one of the waitstaff to help me choose – ended up with some very tasty rice-wrapped prawn rolls followed by a pork patty-thing on a lemongrass skewer that you chopped into bits and then ate with vermicelli noodles, basil and 
salady stuff, wrapped in a rice wrapper and dipped in sauce. I had no idea what was going on with the second dish, thus making for one of the most memorable experiences of the day – the waiter donning a pair of plastic gloves and constructing a roll for me! Mildly embarrassing, yet somewhat endearing at the same time – was I guess the Vietnamese equivalent of showing a child how to use their knife and fork!After lunch, I walked over to the War Remnants museum but it was shut til 1.30pm, so I rested my feet for a bit in a nearby café and had another iced coffee. The War museum was very harrowing with many, many disturbing photographs. I spent just over an hour looking at the exhibits and left in a reflective mood. I didn’t take many photographs as it just didn’t seem right somehow. As I was leaving, the heavens opened (a sign of things to come on my bike trip, perchance?!) so I took a covered pedicab back to the hotel (and this time paid 1/5th of what I’d paid the first time!). Had a very emotional reunion with my backpack (it promised not to go
wandering off again), then crashed out for a quick snooze. Got up around seven, showered and figured out where to go for dinner. Considered going to one of the posh, old French colonial hotels but honestly, just was too knackered. I keep forgetting there is a 12hr time difference and that might have something to do with me feeling a bit spaced out! So here I am, having a very quick dinner – have since discovered I’m eating Bun Thit Nuong (BBQ pork with rice noodles). They’re OK but not a patch on the lunch! At least it was quick and cheap!! After dinner, it’ll be time to just come back to the hotel to crash and get ready for tomorrow’s fun to begin!! 
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