Saigon 2023

[kerouac2]

This was my 4th trip to Vietnam but the first one in 21 years.  My last trip to Vietnam in 2002 was the end of my carefree travels.  When I phoned my parents after my return, my mother was wild with panic about not having heard from me (even though I sent letters and postcards almost every day) and asked if I was coming to see them "this weekend" as though the Atlantic Ocean (and my job) did not exist.  She was clearly off her rocker already, something that my father and I had been trying to ignore.  My father quickly died.  He held out in the hospital until I arrived and once he saw that my mother was safe with me, he let go and was gone the next day.  I have covered what happened in the years after that, so that's all I'll say here.

In my previous trips to Vietnam (the first one being in 1996), it was quite a different place, very intriguing but also relatively calm.  Saigon was always agitated compared to the rest of the country, but it was nothing like Singapore or Bangkok or Hong Kong.  Now it is trying hard to catch up.

You'll see a little of that in this report, but my focus was mostly on just the streets of Saigon.  I showed the monuments and lovely things in my old reports which you can find here, so some of you might find this report boring and/or ugly.  I apologise in advance.  There will be a few photos of the nice things here and there, but they are almost accidents in the throbbing activity of the rest of the city.

Anyway, this was a trip of only one week.  I rented a studio apartment in an unknown area but which did not seem far from the centre.  This was a mistake, but I did not regret it because it allowed me to see a lot more of the "real" Saigon (whatever that is).

I started by being cheated by an unscrupulous taxi driver who know I had no idea where I was going.  I paid about 350,000 dong from the airport to the address of the studio, whereas the trip back to the airport cost 160,000.  Amazingly, the taxis in Saigon all use meters unlike so many other Asian cities, but I could tell that the first driver was really taking me for a ride, just from the number of bridges we crossed.  Let's not get too outraged, though.  350,000 dong is 13.66 euros and 160,000 dong is 6.24 euros, so it was far from the worst swindle I have ever experienced.

Okay, enough of that.  This is the address at which I was deposited.

I had a photograph of the precise building and wandered around a bit to find it.  Here it is on the right with the green geometric motifs.

[kerouac2]

It was not the height of chic, but I knew it wouldn't be. After all, I only paid 100 euros for the week. It corresponded to the photos on the Airbnb site and was completely adequate for my needs. Unfortunately, I arrived there at 10:00 when I wasn't supposed to arrive before 14:00. The woman at the little shop on the left lost no time in ambushing me. She did not speak a word of English but clearly understood who I was. She got out her phone and called someone, Van, the owner. She passed me the phone and I apologised for the time, and then the woman took me to the top of the building to the flat in question. It only took about 2 minutes to see everything. I plugged in the refrigerator and managed to get the air conditioning to work (it was about 35°) while the woman watched me. I made a key-turning gesture with my hand, and the woman went back downstairs to call and find out where the key was (4 flights of stairs), she came back up panting and took the key out of a drawer next to the refrigerator. I thanked her ("Cảm ơn") and she left, looking disgusted. One thing about the Vietnamese is that they are always there to help, but never with a smile like the Thais. They are continually dismayed and make you understand that you are just an annoyance. (This is not true for tourist industry because they have received special training.)

I took off my sweaty clothes and jumped in the shower. After all, the flight is 13 hours. Then I lay on the bed, maybe even had a short nap. But then, hey, I was in Saigon and needed to experience a little bit of the city. I went down the stairs. There was a washer and drier next to all of the parked motor scooters. The appliances are accessible to everyone in the building, including me. However, I discovered that I could not get out of the building. There was a code to get in, but you also had to enter the code to get out, and I didn't know it.

I called Van, and she said something about it being 594. I also asked about the wifi code, and this was clearer. "12346789." The scowling woman appeared and talked to Van on my phone. I had written 594 in my notebook, but she wrote 594594# and that was the actual code.

And then I was out for my first real look at the street.

The was a little bridge over a fetid creek. I named it the "bridge of death" because it was not possible to walk on the footpath and you had to step into the street with the insane motorbikes to risk your life. The footpath was covered with trash and also a homeless person. It was apparently a tolerated place for people to dump their garbage, where it was picked up at some time or other. There was new trash every day and even almost no trash from time to time when it had just been picked up. The stench of the water was overwhelming and yet people clearly lived right on the water.

And then I just continued along the street with no plan.







As you can see, there is no urban planning in areas like this (or anywhere else, even in the centre).

[kerouac2]

These first photos of the street don't make it look all that dangerous. Wait until later.



And of course the footpath is not really for pedestrians. It is for street vendors, motorbike parking and merchandise display.





Crossing my first major street was terrifying. The crosswalk is for decoration. No vehicle stops for pedestrians.



What would it be like when I tried to go the a more modern part of the city?



I retreated to my side alley, where you still have to watch out for motorbikes.



After dark (18:00) would be the time for a new dangerous exploratory foray.

[mickthecactus]

You’re certainly selling it to me.

[htmb]

Oh, me, too.

I’m looking out my window now, pleased with the quiet, peaceful view of the harbour, but I can already tell I’ll enjoy hearing your tales and seeing your photos.

[whatagain]

At least it is not like here.
Is it back to Saigon or is it Ho Chi Minh ville ?

[bixaorellana]

[kerouac wrote:] And then I just continued along the street with no plan.

I read that sentence & thought, "Did he write that deliberately? Usually he writes non-ambivalent sentences."

Then, after three photos of the street, he writes: As you can see, there is no urban planning in areas like this (or anywhere else, even in the centre).

:-D Guess that answers my question!

Rather nice that you arrived in daylight & admirable that you got up from a much-needed nap to go take a look around. The alley looks homey & friendly after the shots of the bigger streets. I'm appalled by all the people in zipped up sweatshirts with the hoods up in all that heat.

Airbnb hosts who do not write down crucial information are maddening.

[kerouac2]

Jun 23, 2023 20:09:21 GMT whatagain said:

Is it back to Saigon or is it Ho Chi Minh ville ?

No one ever stopped calling it Saigon. Ho Chi Minh City is just an official administrative term.

[kerouac2]

All of the same chaos, just in a different light...

[kerouac2]

I never saw a single Westerner in this neighbourhood the entire week.



This is the local police station, just in case.









The trash can be a bit distressing.





No thought is ever given that somebody might want to walk here.  Okay, just me and some random old women.



Time to go to bed. The "John Henry" shop was the landmark for my alley.



the official washer and dryer for my building



The downstairs of every building always serves for motorbike parking, even when it's the living room.

[kerouac2]

Keeping in mind that about half of the motorbikes choose not to stop at traffic signals and that "right turn on red" is authorised for them anyway, try to determine the strategy that you would use for trying the cross the street with the assistance of this brief visual aid.  However, the helmet requirement seems to be perfectly respected now, which was not the case on my last trip.

[mossie]

Not for an old dodderer like me!!

[kerouac2]

The next morning, I was ready to walk to the centre. Unfortunately my map was inadequate and I had no GPS access outside of the flat.

The giant scary road to cross was Dien Bien Phu. Once you get across this the rest seems easy.





Some people have to make do with personal vehicles that demand a certain amount of stamina.



In no time, I was dripping with sweat so I dived into a big church to try to dry off a bit.



It seemed to also have a school. Are religious schools even allowed in Vietnam?



It had a recreated Lourdes grotto.



And the merchants of the temple were there, as they always are.



I still have no idea what the name of this church was.



Next door there was a big sign telling us that using drugs is not a good idea.



And then I forged ahead into the city.

[kerouac2]

I was definitely nearing a different kind of Saigon.







I needed to stop and sit again (too hot, not yet too old), so I chose this empty playground.



The benches made me smile. Children have a very precise vision of ecology.









Back on the street. Should I buy a fish to decorate my studio? I don't think so.

[kerouac2]

The streets were definitely much more civilised.



Architecture of the smaller buildings still remained creative.









a few simple rules for sitting in the park



The motorbikes love to get on the footpath to avoid traffic, but that is discouraged here. There were lots of these things.



I finally got a free map of central Saigon at the tourist office here.



If you're looking for the Rolls Royce dealership, it is directly across from City Hall. Would Uncle Ho approve?



The City Hall was modeled after the one in Paris but on a smaller scale.

[htmb]

I love the photo of the bikes (in a market?) loaded down with fruit. There certainly seems to be some ingenious ways to transport products.
I’d like to know about how far, or how long, you walked to get from your rental to the area where you located the tourist office.

[kerouac2]

On that first day, although I did not exactly walk in the wrong direction, I walked at an incorrect angle so it took at least 45 minutes to get to the centre. Later, with a map of the central area, the walk was only half an hour. That's still quite a hike compared to all of the places in the tourist area, but I felt that it did me a lot of good to walk that distance. I will admit that I never walked back to the studio and took a taxi instead. The taxi fares ran from 100,000 dong to 150,000 dong. That's 3.90€ to 5.85€ so it did not break the bank. It is interesting to note that the cheapest fare (100,000) was because the driver relied completely on his GPS. The others did not.

I was surprised to see as many bicycles as I did. Competing with the motorbikes and cars, it seemed like an invitation for death to me.

[kerouac2]

The Caravelle Hotel on the left was about the only tall downtown building during my last trip to Saigon in 2002.



The Rex Hotel next to City Hall is very famous in Vietnam War literature. All of the foreign correspondents stayed there.



At least this area is spacious.



I saw (heard) that this was a French tour group.



In France it is the Eiffel Tower and the Trocadéro. In Saigon, wedding pictures are taken in the City Hall gardens.







This is the Ho Chi Minh City municipal museum. I've never been inside, just to the war museum.







If I recall correctly, this used to be the Saigon governer's palace. Now it is the Reunification Palace.





Looks like I will not be visiting the cathedral Notre Dame de Saigon on this trip.





But I was happy to go to the post office next door, built by Gustave Eiffel.

[kerouac2]

The thing I liked the most about being back at the Saigon post office was the motivation to actually send some postcards again. There are stands selling postcards inside and magnificent writing desks. So I wrote and sent ten postcards, mostly to family but also to a few other people. I immediately noticed that it is becoming more and more difficult for me to write in script because I am completely out of practice since I retired. Some of the people who will receive the cards will probably think that I suffer from a nerve disease. Actually, I only sent 9 cards to other people because I always send a card to myself to have an idea of how long it will take to receive mail from somewhere. In any case, I have not yet received my own card.

The old phone booths are magnificent but no longer contain telephones.



An old telegraph line map of southern Vietnam and Cambodia from the 1930s





The side galleries of the post office have filled with shops, as has a lot of the central floor space.





a familiar hotel chain



Just to show that most places still use the term "Saigon" and not "Ho Chi Minh City" in their location name.



This is "book street" right next to the cathedral.





There is a little stage to honour local authors and their fans.





Believe it or not, Saigon has a municipal bike sharing programme. There were stations everywhere but I never saw anybody using one.

[whatagain]

Old boy, you capture the chaos, noise (yes i can see the noise in your pics) and feverish activity of a thriving asian city.
I usually love your reports but this one got me back to many trips i made over there.
I d love to go to Saigon too.
Great job.

- si j'en fais trop et que je bascule du panégyrique au thuriferaire, tu me le dis 😇

[fumobici]

Very cool little tour of a place I am curious about. I'd be a lot more enthusiastic about visiting if there were a cool season.

[kerouac2]

Jun 25, 2023 17:41:09 GMT fumobici said:

if there were a cool season.

You're out of luck for that, although I went at the worst time (June > September).

One thing that amuses me about this sort of report is that I know in advance there are some people who will think "I'd like to go there" and at least as many (probably more) who think "I would never want to set foot in such a place."

[bjd]

I guess I am somewhere in the middle -- Never especially wanted to go to Vietnam, but some of your pictures make it look interesting. Although it's probably not high on the list of places I would go, especially since I don't like heat and humidity.

[kerouac2]

coming up on the Ben Thanh market, which is considered to be the heart of the city



I used this ATM even though it would be the perfect location for an ambush.

[kerouac2]

Who doesn't love Asian markets?







Actually, I didn't take all that many photos inside, but I'm sure you can find more in my old Saigon reports.

[kerouac2]

One does not see very many temples or churches in Saigon, so I don't know what this one was.



Many of the avenues and boulevards of Saigon have pleasant lush vegetation.



Remember that sign a bit earlier about not sleeping in the parks? This is that same park.

The sign also forbade skateboarding, but at this same location I sat as the local skaterboyz congregated to test their skills. Clearly they do not have any yet, because not a single one was able to jump and slide over a bench without falling. I confess that I winced a number of times because none of them were wearing kneepads or any other protective equipment. But on this particular day, I did not see any broken bones.

Okay, back at the studio, this was the night scene from my balcony.



Peering down into the alley, there was nothing to see, but this would not be the case in a day or two.



Armed with my map the next morning, I had learned that I should not cross Duong Dien Bien Phu to get to the centre. No sane person should do this.

[onlyMark]

Post number 25, first photo. It's the Mariamman Hindu temple.

[bixaorellana]

I guess my question is about whether, after all these years of wanting to return to Saigon, you were gratified or disappointed?

[htmb]

The people sleeping in the park photo! Perfect

[kerouac2]

Jun 26, 2023 19:13:11 GMT bixaorellana said:

I guess my question is about whether, after all these years of wanting to return to Saigon, you were gratified or disappointed?

A  bit disappointed, but I expected to be.