Saigon

We flew into Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as it’s known today, after departing our sweet An Bang village. Last time we were here was January of 1998.  It was much more provincial then and slowly recovering from the 19 years of the trade embargo placed after the “American” war ended in 1975.

Now it’s a large sprawling modern city with high rises and towering buildings mixed with the old romantic architecture of the past. 

Unlike Hanoi, which has more motorcycles, this city has thousands of cars as well as millions of motorcycles. Traffic traffic traffic. 

Noise and pollution which would probably be worst if it wasn’t for the beautiful parks and huge trees. 

We are staying in a small hotel called The Silverland Yen. There are numerous young and earnest staffers. They really try hard to make your stay nice. 

I was delighted to find that our room has windows that open and from our sixth floor corner we have views of large green trees, the Korean embassy and across the street a beautiful music conservatory. 

Occasionally I can hear some of the kids practicing their clarinets and trumpets. It’s nicer in this section of town away from the chain hotels that tower above the skyline. Breakfast is very nice in a light bright room. In the afternoon they offer tea between 2 pm and 3:30. 

I am charmed by one of the young woman who realized I didn’t eat meat and offered to make me a vegetarian club sandwich. 

There are all kinds of small cakes and chewy dried fruits. It’s a nice refuge from the city streets. 

It’s exhausting walking here. Between having to pay constant attention to the endless traffic, motorcycles that drive on the sidewalks, the broken pavement, the people constantly beckoning you into their salons for massages, and sellers of fruit, flowers, and tchotchkes…it’s deafening and draining. 

We manage a few hours and then need to retreat back to our room. Not to mention it’s 93*. Evenings are much the same but cooler and maybe a little less street traffic. 

After two weeks at the beach in An Bang this is a real shock to the senses. Even Hanoi which was super congested and loud was small in comparison. 

As usual we’ve found some great places to escape the maelstrom. Iced coffee on upper balconies overlooking the street is fun. 

We stumbled upon a lovely Thai restaurant down a small alley and had dinner there. It was International Woman’s Day and the hostess gave me a small pouch filled with rose buds and tea as a gift. 

It’s very cosmopolitan and busy, but also very dirty with tons of garbage on the streets. A real yin/ yang… rich and poor, young and old, decayed and new. This city has it all.