Saigon and Cu Chi

The last Vietnamese stop for Tom. I really like Saigon as a city: it's big and busy and clean and there's lots of historical spots to see and great pho eating to be done. The traffic is the usual chaos but using my old trick of keeping locals traffic side ensures a safe crossing. The wealth there was unbelievable: ridiculously plush hotels and lavish designer stores aplenty which was all quite unexpected.

Veggie pho: broth, fresh noodles, mushrooms, egg, tofu, carrots, tapioca, bean sprouts, cabbage, mint, chilis... Bill Clinton ate here in 2000.

We did the usual touristy route and went to the Reunification Palace which had great interior design: very geometric light fittings and a minimalist lounge. I'm not sure that was what I was supposed to appreciate here! The basement was kept in a pretty authentic condition as it was in the time of war with maps and telephone rooms in tiny rooms down clinical corridors.

Very stylish interior!

Uncle Ho

We went to the War Remnants Museum which was an upsetting, shocking, depressing reflection of war and humanity. Most of the space is taken up with photography exhibitions taken by various, well-known war photographers documenting the Vietnam War capturing moments and expressions in a thought-provoking yet starkly factual way. I found the whole exhibition hard work for my sensitive soul but it was an extremely worthwhile, informative and emotional visit.

We took a day trip to the Viet Cong Cu Chi Tunnels which was pretty touristy yet eye-opening. We got to crawl through a small safe section of the tunnels (which span 75 miles in total), which have been widened and heightened for the fat Western tourists, to give an impression of what it would be like: hot, sweaty, small, cramped, and very dark. One of the tour guides leading another group was actually in the Viet Cong and had bullet scars on his shoulder which he displayed to his captivated audience. He had a brilliant attitude to life and explained his own life experiences in the Viet Cong and in the tunnels with humour and pride.

Crawling through the Cu Chi Tunnels