Sweaty Sai Gon

Mason with city skyline in background

The first thing we noticed when stepping off the train was the heat, the thick and heavy air. It was a departure from the cold of the North and I felt like I was back in tropical South East Asia. Saigon was very different to Hanoi, a huge, sprawling city with high rise towers and wide, motorbike clogged boulevards. In the tourist quarter it was impossible to move five meters without someone trying to sell you sunglasses, tuk tuks or marijuana. At one breakfast we had about 12 sunglass sellers come into our restaurant and try and sell us some shades, despite the fact we were already wearing such items. It reminded me of Bangkok, a busy, bustling international city. Some parts of the city could have been taken from Paris or New York, with high end fasion labels, mega malls and BMW car dealerships. It was clear Sai Gon is on the rise. I found it hard to reconcile that Shu, upon whose dirt floor I had sleept in her smokey, not so wethertight home, could live in the same country as this. North and South, rich and poor are worlds appart.

Entering the tunnels

Mason and I visited the War Remnants museum, a harrowing depiction of the attrocities of the War in Vietnam and the ongoing suffering inflicted by agent orange. This was deeply sadening. Another highlight was the Presidential Palace, the former office of the south vietnamese government preserved just as it was the day the North's tanks crashed through it's gates in 1975,  ending the war. Cu Chi Tunnels, the 200km long network in which the Viet Cong hid out during the war gave additional insight into the war, a particularly tight squeeze indeed.

The real highlight of Sai Gon (and yes everyone calls it that despite it's official name of HCMC) were the friends we met there. At a restaurant on the second night as we munched on some excellent spring rolls we began talking with a group of local students. They were our age, aproaching the end of year 12  and their final exams, an experience all too fresh in our own minds. They invited us for ice cream the next afternoon. It was great fun meeting Kim, Duong and all their friends and finding out more about their lives in Sai Gon, their highschool and their plans for the future. After ice cream we were taken through the Sai Gon night on their motorbikes to an area that reminded me of a flashy Darling Harbour. We had a great night together.

Ice Cream in Sai Gon 

So ended my journey with Mason at HCMC airport. All of a sudden I was alone once more.So too was my time in Vietnam comming to a close. After 5 weeks I have come to love this busy and colourful country steeped in history and with people I  shall not forget.