Travels In Ho Chi Minh City

[PattayaOneTeam]

Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh

Part 2

Last issue, I began the story of my recent trip to Vietnam and our rail journey to the coastal town of Vinh. We arrived on a Friday night and spent the weekend seeing the sights of Vinh. Not many. The beach, some 20 kilometres away, was large and uninhabited. The city's only real claim to fame is that it is the birthplace of Ho Chi Minh. We paid a visit to the house where he was born which, naturally, has been turned into a shrine and tourist site complete with souvenir shops and memorabilia. Nonetheless, it was a revelation and the spirit of Uncle Ho has taught me the evil of my decadent Western ways and to denounce the US imperialists and all their running dogs. I saw the light.

But being a card-carrying socialist and Ho Chi Minh groupie didn't last very long, and Monday morning we booked tickets on Vietnam Airlines back to Hanoi for US$40 each. The north-bound train did not leave until 8:00pm and we did not fancy sitting around all day waiting for it. The only other option was the bus, but nobody in this town spoke English and we were worried about ending up on a small bus packed with farmers, goats and chickens. Arriving at the small airport early, we consumed 21 cans of beer before getting on the plane and the stall-holder subsequently went on holiday with all the money he made.

After the 45-minute flight on a small prop-engine plane, we headed to Hanoi's Old Quarter tourist area to find a hotel. Unbeknownst to us, the place was packed with people celebrating the Moon Festival. (I have not-so-fond memories of eating Moon Cake in Hong Kong. Being politically correct, it has an acquired taste.) The narrow streets were so crowded we got out of the taxi and walked, hoping to find a good hotel nearby. Our luck was in as we quickly found a nice hotel for US$25 a night.

After staying there for four nights we all agreed that the Rising Dragon Hotel II at 24 Hang Ga Street, only a short walk from the north-western side of Lake Hoan Kiem, was the best hotel in its price-range we have ever stayed in. The rooms were immaculately clean and comfortable and ours came complete with a computer attached to the Internet plus an electronic safe for our valuables. Best of all were the staff. Most spoke English and could not have been more friendly, helpful and cooperative. All went out of their way to make us feel welcome and comfortable. For example, the rooms come with free breakfast and the dining room opened at 7:00am. When we left, the taxi picked us up at 6:30am so the kitchen staff prepared three takeaway snacks for us. We did not ask, but it was very much appreciated. (Wouldn't happen in Pattaya!) If you ever find yourself in Hanoi looking for a budget place to stay, don't go any further than the Rising Dragon Hotel II. (Checking their website at http;//www.risingdragonhotel.net, I could not find room rates as low as US$25 so we must have arrived at the bottom of low season.)

Hanoi's Old Quarter has a very 'Chinese' feel about it, with narrow congested streets and shop houses selling anything and everything. Shops selling similar or identical items were all clustered together; one street selling coffee; one street selling herbal medicine; one street selling shoes and one selling cigarettes, etc. That is the Chinese way. Speaking of cigarettes, I am a smoker but I am very careful about smoking in the company of other people. At one restaurant I noticed an ashtray on the table and asked the head waiter if it was alright to smoke. His reply was, “Of course!” I smiled at the thought there are still places in this world where smokers are not treated as if they have leprosy.

During our four days we walked almost every street of the Old Quarter. We saw vendors selling tickets in the Vietnam lottery (the standard loophole for countries where gambling is illegal) with a first prize of 10 million dong or about US$500. Now, I don't know about you but I've always equated winning the lottery, any lottery, with a lifetime of financial security. However, winning 500 bucks is probably not sufficient to tell the boss to “take this job and shove it!” Perhaps those in charge still retain their class revolutionary dogma and don't want to see one of their proletariat supporters suddenly gain wealth and turn to the other side. Such a small prize guarantees no chance of that.

One of our goals was to find a good bar where we could while away our non-cultural time. Actual 'bars' were scarce and the Internet-advertised foreign or expat bars were expensive. Those at our economic level came in the guise of restaurant-bars or travel agent-bars. Really cold beer was out of the question and it was invariably served between cool and room temperature with a bucket of ice. We did find one friendly bar, called Le Pub, which served cold beer. We spent a couple of pleasant evenings there.

Late one afternoon we stumbled upon Easy Rider Bar which was large, well appointed and totally devoid of customers. Stopping in for one drink, we asked the waiter if the place ever got busy and he said yes, but only after 9:00pm. Heading back at nine o'clock we found he was right; it was packed with revellers all drinking, dancing and having a good time. The problem was, they were all male. It quickly became obvious that Easy Rider is a very popular gay bar. Check bin!

In the final instalment next issue I will describe some of the tourist sites in this historic capital. In between bar searches we did manage to get to a couple of interesting places.

… to be continued

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-- Pattaya One 2010-11-07