The Reunification Palace - Ho Chi Minh City
I will never again complain about BT wiring
One of the many striking pagodas in Cholon district - HCMC
The general on a cyclo
The young jockeys of Saigon
Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), sprawling, international and on the move. We visited the strikingly handsome Reunification Palace, which has pretty much been left in the same state as it was when North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the main gates in April '75. As per usual on arriving in a city, Western and Kiss have done a fair bit of walking, but occassionally we would hop onto a cyclo - a great mode of transport , a reclining seat fixed to the front of a bicycle.
We won some dong at the races last sunday, enough to pay at least for our bus journey up to the racecourse and back. The horses are small, but the stakes are huge, and the jockeys are barely out of nappies.
Food was great, feasted on snake - served up rather ammusingly with onions - tasted a bit like chicken, and we found a top Italian place which served up the best pasta we have had since we left. The restaurant was unimaginatively called 'Good Morning Vietnam'. We are still desperately trying to find a couple called Fi & Stan to hang out with! There has been less dog on the menu than we'd anticipated - but we are on the look out for a 'quarterhounder' and a 'spaghetti poochanesca', anyone with any other suggestions?!
Last month in Phnom Penh, we had sorted out our Vietnam visa in a day, so we were a tad disappointed to find out that in HCMC, a straightforward extension would take 4 days, and that it would cost $25, eventhough its true price is$10. Its a complete rip off, with immigration officers refusing to process your claim directly, insisting you go through one of their designated travel agents, between the 2 parties, they take $15. Thieves.
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