Hoi An to Saigon (or Ho Chi Min City)

Our hotel in Hoi An was located on the river bank and was quite majestic. We were only a 10 minute walk from the old town where we had to make several trips so that “clothiers” could make shorts, trousers etc for a third of the price of Australia. Helen now has a new wardrobe but the good news is that purchases were not so excessive as to need a new suitcase.

After some enquiries we found a local show of music and dancing. The stage was not welll advertsied and we walked past the building a couple of times.

Inside we heard some interesting instruments and saw some local dancing. I was taken by the instrument played by the lady in blue (who also had a solo). Her instrument was a single string with a small amplifying cone at one end. The string could be tightened or slackened through a lever and was hit with a small stick. It had an extraordinary range and was quite calming to listen to in stark comparison to other Asian instruments I have heard. Mind you we were all taken aback by the last song being a rendition of "Auld Lang Syne".

Whilst waiting for the show to start we watched the rush hour clamber aboard ferries. Quite a system of pushing aboard and then stacking motor bikes against one another so they don’t fall over.

However when night fell you the town takes on a different ambience. The lights give warmth and colour while hiding the less attractive elements.

Even the road side stalls start to look attractive.

And the pedestrian bridge to the old town was almost magical as if you were stepping into another world.

Not to be outdone our hotel illuminated the entrance trees with lanterns so it was very difficult to walk past the Heritage bar.

After our two nights in Hoi An we caught a plane down to Saigon. On the way to the airport we drove past China Beach where the Americans had their R&R during the war. The lady Buddha on the island opposite really stood out.

We arrived at the Grand Hotel in Saigon just in time to catch the end of Happy Hour on the 20^th floor of the hotel. There were some amazing sights of the river.

We were also taken by the nearby Sunwah Tower which with its helicopter platform looked similar to the Burj al Arab in Dubai.

Mind you at night the top looked more like a mouse about to be launched into space.

As if the heights were not enough excitement for Sue the following morning we were treated to some demolition work on a building across the road. All you need is a lump hammer, the need to be left handed so the wall can be hit from out to in and some substantial praying. The following day the process was speeded up with the use of Jackhammers whilst standing on the columns being demolished. Safety First is obviously not a policy here.

For our first evening meal we went to a restaurant in the next block. The façade was very unobtrusive and if it had not been recommended by the concierge it would not have been considered. We passed some huge spice jars as we were escorted to the cavernous rear of the restaurant. The 5^th jar along contains cinnamon. I did not realise the sticks were so large. We were given a bit to nibble and I was taken aback by how powerful the flavour was.

The meal was perhaps the most expensive to date and with 2 bottles of wine came out to some $100 per couple (or in local currency 2,200,000 Dong – we are millionaires).

After a good night sleep Helen, Sue and myself had opted for a cookery class. The first step was to go to the market and select some vegetables and noodles. Everything is fresh, plentiful and well laid out,

There were a couple of items where animal welfare people would have been appalled. The least of these items were crabs all neatly tied up but still alive. I will not go further as there are also some young followers of this blog.

If you like Tofu then you would have been in heaven….

Once we had done the shopping our cook prepared the food and we sat with him to cook three meals.

Here are tiger prawns with salad

Pork with noodles

We also made rice and pork dumplings and had a desert. Finally we were presented with a folder with the recipe of the meals we had cooked. A lot of fun and very tasty. Visitors at Darmody House need to be aware (not alarmed).

The following day we did our own tour of the city. It is quite attractive with some interesting older buildings. These include the Opera House.

The Government HQ or more correctly the People’s Council and People’s Committee.

Reunification Palace

Notre Dame Cathedral (yes this is Saigon)

The interior of which had an attractive colour scheme (unlike Paris)

And finally the Post Office.

This was just wonderfully decorated and huge. One could be forgiven for thinking you were in a railway station.

Either side of the entrance there were ‘phone booths with clocks for telling the time in various cities including Canberra. One of the bank of booths had been fitted out with ATMs. Around the main area were counters with offerings from air tickets to parcel packaging as well as the more conventional postal services.  It was doing a roaring trade.

After that exhaustive trip we decided a quiet drink on the 20^th floor had been earned. It was a good takeaway view.