saigon. vietnam. february 28th – march 4th. 2009

Another place I have been drawn to for a long time. When last we were in south east Asia 9 years ago, my thoughts were of (now) Ho Chi Minh city (but it has always been Saigon to me (pronounces Shai-gon) and is still in the minds and hearts of most). We arrive after dark and are taken to the backpacker tourist area, but it is not so cheap. We settle on a room for the night, but thankfully find a far more airy one for the rest of our stay. We do little here, spend most of our time eating, walking around our area and chilling out. Our biggest adventure was going to the train station to buy our tickets. It really was an adventure though, we took a cab there, but it was a long walk back, through narrow streets back to huge intersections and it gave us a feel for the dichotomy that is Saigon. We decide to wander to an area north of our hotel, along the water, through the glitzier tourist area, past the open house. Visits to the night market, three different vegetarian restaurants, fruit stands, the circle K were punctuated with a visit to the Independence Palace, the old post office and a juice bar Monika had told us about. The rest of our time was spent eating within a block of our hotel, or next door where we met two sisters, born in Hanoi, working at this restaurant. It was hidden off the street , quiet and pretty unfrequented, a lovely respite from the rest of our street and really lovely conversation with these two women. The Saigon I had imagined? I’m not really sure. My focus seems elsewhere and Vietnam is falling through the cracks. I think both Stephen and I were getting tired of the tourism industry, how people traveling though South East Asia get funneled through and have little interest in taking the time to travel Vietnam another way. Our compromise? Only I stop on the way north to Hanoi, and we forgo the cheaper tourist bus circuit and take an overnight train.

laurels' saigon photos on flickr

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