Our arrival in Saigon was hardly auspicious. While Adam is feeling much better again, he hasn't been sleeping terrifically well. Being in a different room each night, surrounded by different thumps, bumps and sounds doesn't help. So when he fell back asleep early in the morning, I let him enjoy a lie in, with the result that we began our journey from Bien Hoa into downtown Ho Chi Minh City later in the morning when the heat and humidity were already settling in.
It took us just over an hour to cover thirty kilometres in dense traffic before we began the hunt down the narrow back alleys for our accommodation. Typically, we have been booking our hotel mere hours or minutes before we check in, once we're certain we can reach our destination comfortably by day's end on the motorcycles. But when we began investigating the hotel scene in Saigon a few days ago, we were mildly concerned to note that the vacancy rate was much lower than we have experienced elsewhere. So we pounced at an auspicious looking place and booked it, before delving into recent reviews which confirmed the lack of elevator (a minor pain if we were assigned a room nine flights up) and recent construction activity in the building.
We therefore had some reservations about our choice before we arrived and discovered that it was more akin to a hostel than a hotel, and a bit careworn. To our relief, we were assigned a ground floor room but when we realized it was immediately adjacent to the lobby and separated only by a translucent glass door, we balked. We put a premium on good sleep and knew that we were unlikely to manage this with the light and noise streaming in from the lobby. So we paid the generous cancellation fee and walked.
We repaired to a coffee shop nearby, booked into another hotel and then, refreshed by the cold drinks, headed over to the new place. Here we are very happily ensconced in a nautical themed room on the upper floor. Yes, we have to climb one flight of stairs as the elevator only travels to the sixth floor, but this is a minor inconvenience for our comfort otherwise. We are more centrally located to the things we have wanted to see in the city, so despite the cost of the cancellation fee, all has worked out well.
This is the only hotel to date that has not had motorbike parking available. Elsewhere, our bikes have been typically parked in the lobby or a secure underground garage. As the XR 150s attract a lot of attention, we've been grateful to have them securely attended to. We assured the hotel clerks here that we would take our motorcycles away just as soon as we could drop our luggage, and then we were off to return the bikes. Adam and I are in complete agreement that we'd prefer to navigate Saigon on foot going forward.
It was with some regret that we bid goodbye to the motorcycles. They've had a few quirks: dumping oil all over my right boot each day, or Adam's footpegs held on by nothing more than a hope and a prayer instead of the more typical cotter pin (until we identified the problem a few days ago and corrected it with some spare lead wire I had kicking around), but the bikes have served us well. I got a bit misty-eyed saying goodbye. So Adam treated me to an ice cream. It was delicious!
Over the past couple of days, Adam and I have really come to appreciate Ho Chi Minh City. The sidewalks are easier to navigate than those in Hanoi, and the city generally seems to be tidier. Plus there are cosmopolitan touches like French patisseries and fashionable brew pubs.
We visited the Independence Palace yesterday, a microcosm mid-60s design. There were some lovely examples of lacquered furniture on display, and we were given access to the basement bunkers and situation rooms. The best sight however was that of a tour bus driver who had opened his otherwise empty lower luggage compartment from both sides to allow air circulation, and then hung a hammock in this shady spot to nap while his colleague guided their gaggle of passengers about the palace.
We tried an excellent local Vietnamese restaurant last night then drifted over to the brew pub. Their core beers are solid but Adam and I regretted branching out and trying a coffee porter and a sticky Belgian brew.
We had an early start today and headed out in the coolness of the early morning to the War Remnants Museum. Here the adage that history is written by the victors comes true. While the story-telling was entirely one-sided it did at least lack the hysterical tone of the similar narrative at the museum at Khe Sanh. It was interesting to see the photos taken by international war correspondents all gathered together, but I didn't learn anything factually new. Most harrowing were the photos showing the after-effects of Agent Orange as it continues to impact the population today.
We found lunch in a delightful bakery, an oasis of cool, before venturing out in the scorching afternoon sun to visit the Jade Emperor Pagoda. We were delighted by the pool of tortoises outside the pagoda and the delicately intricate wood carvings within. I was a bit taken aback by the infiltration of colour-changing LEDs surrounding Buddha and the main Taoist shrine. I confess my aesthetic sensibilities lie with the more traditionally austere shrines I visited in Japan, but it is wonderful to see the Jade Emperor Pagoda as an active and vital part of the local community with continued relevancy.
Tonight, Adam and I treated ourselves to a delightful meal at a French bistro before retreating from the heat to watch the (thankfully undubbed Avengers) before catching up on the news of the day.