In which we go 'off truck' again on route to Cambodia.
Apparently there had been a mix up between reception staff, and the room earmarked for us had been mistakenly promised to the couple already in it, who had asked to extend their stay. Having been told that that was fine, the couple, not unreasonably left for the day and, of course, no one could say when they would be returning to be told they now couldn’t stay and, ‘by the way, would you mind moving out as soon as possible so we can give your room to someone else.’ We thought it quite likely that they would mind, so took matters in to our own hands and went in search of alternative accommodation, which was found at the third place of asking, a very nice three-star hotel opposite a small park. We couldn’t afford a park view (nor, indeed, any view) but were quite happy with our ‘standard’ (no window) room, which we thought would be good practice for our cruise to Australia, for which we have a money-saving inside cabin.
Initially, we booked in for three nights like the rest of the group at the hostel, but changed to two after looking at some of the trips and tours we were able to book via the hotel. In place of a third night there, we booked onto a two-day Mekong riverboat trip to our next port of call, Phnom Penh in Cambodia. This would mean having one day less in Saigon (frankly no great sacrifice) and replacing it with various water-based sightseeing opportunities, including crossing the border into Cambodia by boat and travelling up the Mekong direct to the centre of Phnom Penh. But all that is for later. Let me continue instead with my account of our now one and a bit days in Saigon/HCMC.
Actually, ‘the bit’ was what was left of the day we arrived. What with the journey, the traipsing around trying to find room at the inn then going back to the hostel for our luggage, all in the heat of the afternoon, all we did for the remaining daylight hours was shower eat and sleep, and by the time we’d rested, it was time to eat again. We decided to try the hotel’s own restaurant, which was on the 12th floor – basically the roof, the lift only going up to the 11th – which had a terrace with views out over the city. We chose two of their set Asian meals (very tasty and included fresh pancake rolls, which the waitress showed us how to make) and rewarded ourselves for surviving the day – how pathetic is that – with gin and tonics.
Days 130 & 131 (Ho Chi Minh City and beyond)
The morning after our crazy golf and cocktails evening, we took the bus with everyone else from Mui Ne to Ho Chi Minh City (usually abbreviated to HCMC) formerly, and still referred to as, Saigon, where we arrived hot and exhausted at about 2.30pm after a sweltering six hour journey. A quick phone call from Karen to the hostel brought one of their staff to where the bus had dropped us to escort us on the short walk to where showers were waiting to receive and revitalise our tired bodies. The hostel was perfectly nice (as hostels go) but didn’t despite Karen’s best efforts, have a double en-suite room for us to go into straight away.Apparently there had been a mix up between reception staff, and the room earmarked for us had been mistakenly promised to the couple already in it, who had asked to extend their stay. Having been told that that was fine, the couple, not unreasonably left for the day and, of course, no one could say when they would be returning to be told they now couldn’t stay and, ‘by the way, would you mind moving out as soon as possible so we can give your room to someone else.’ We thought it quite likely that they would mind, so took matters in to our own hands and went in search of alternative accommodation, which was found at the third place of asking, a very nice three-star hotel opposite a small park. We couldn’t afford a park view (nor, indeed, any view) but were quite happy with our ‘standard’ (no window) room, which we thought would be good practice for our cruise to Australia, for which we have a money-saving inside cabin.
Initially, we booked in for three nights like the rest of the group at the hostel, but changed to two after looking at some of the trips and tours we were able to book via the hotel. In place of a third night there, we booked onto a two-day Mekong riverboat trip to our next port of call, Phnom Penh in Cambodia. This would mean having one day less in Saigon (frankly no great sacrifice) and replacing it with various water-based sightseeing opportunities, including crossing the border into Cambodia by boat and travelling up the Mekong direct to the centre of Phnom Penh. But all that is for later. Let me continue instead with my account of our now one and a bit days in Saigon/HCMC.
Actually, ‘the bit’ was what was left of the day we arrived. What with the journey, the traipsing around trying to find room at the inn then going back to the hostel for our luggage, all in the heat of the afternoon, all we did for the remaining daylight hours was shower eat and sleep, and by the time we’d rested, it was time to eat again. We decided to try the hotel’s own restaurant, which was on the 12th floor – basically the roof, the lift only going up to the 11th – which had a terrace with views out over the city. We chose two of their set Asian meals (very tasty and included fresh pancake rolls, which the waitress showed us how to make) and rewarded ourselves for surviving the day – how pathetic is that – with gin and tonics.
***
The next morning, we took a walk through a park (Tao Dan) with topiary dragons to the Reunification Palace, which has been left just as it was – fifties furniture and all – when the French pulled out of South Vietnam. Actually it’s history begins in 1868 after the French invasion and colonisation of southern Vietnam. When the palace was completed in 1873, it was called Norodom Palace (after the then king of Cambodia) and later renamed the Governor’s Palace and used by all the French governors as their residence and offices.
Fast forward now to after WWII, when the French were reinstated as colonialist after the Japanese, who had defeated the French there, surrendered to the Allies in 1945.
It gets a bit confusing in the 1950s with southern Vietnam enduring something of a power struggle and changing hands a few times but ending up under the rule of the self proclaimed president of the Republic of Vietnam (not to be confused with the communist state of North Vietnam) who renamed it Independence Palace. (It was also referred to as the Dragon’s Head Palace because of some fengshui thing, but let’s not worry about that.)
In the early sixties, during the Vietnam war, it was bombed by a couple of rouge pilots, but rebuilt as the New Independence Palace by the mid sixties. However, in 1975, the North Vietnamese swept south and at 10:45 on April 30th of that year, a tank of the North Vietnamese army bulldozed through the gates of the palace and base of operations for the South Vietnamese, effectively ending the Vietnam war.
In November 1975, following negotiations between the north and south, and the signing of a convention between the two, the palace was renamed Reunification Hall, but now it’s known as the Reunification Palace. Don’t know when that happened. Sorry.
After lunch, we wandered about a bit, taking in the old French colonial post office, which looks more like an old railway station; Notre Dame cathedral, which was closed; the Diamond Shopping Centre, which was very much open; the opera house and a couple of posh hotels around there including The Rex, where so many news reports were filed by journalists staying there during the Vietnam war.
By then it was rush hour and getting kind-a chaotic, so we returned to our hotel for a cup of tea, a shower and a rest before venturing out again for dinner at the Ho Chi Minh City Hard Rock Cafe. Oh the irony of it.
Days 132 & 133 (HCMC to Phnom Penh)
We were collected from our hotel at 7.30 am and walked to the meeting point for our boat tour/trip to Cambodia. First stop (by bus) was Cai Be in the Mekong Delta, were we boarded our first boat, which took us through the floating market there. After a short ride, we got off and visited a house were a woman showed us how to make paper-thin and translucent rice pancakes, like the ones we had our first night on the roof terrace. Next stop was another house where they were making coconut candy (yummy) in various flavours and distilling rice wine (less so).
Back on the boat, we were piloted through a maze of canals and waterways to a small village where, after a bit of a walk through mangroves, we had a simple but delicious lunch of rice and vegetables with a bit of chicken thrown in for good measure. From there, the boat took us to Vinh Long and from there, a bus took us (plus some others on a converging tour) to Long Xuyen and the Blue Skies Crocodile Farm, where, we were told, they have some 15,000 crocodiles - mostly boys, as apparently their skins make the best handbags for girls.
From there the bus took us on to our floating hotel by the Mekong at Chau Doc, and it was here, when wanting to get the co-ordinates for my usual location tweet, that I discovered I had somehow managed to leave our phone behind in Saigon. Unfortunately, by the time we managed to get through to the hotel there, there was no sign of it. All in all a rather sad way to end what had been a good day on and off the Mekong and its delta that wasn’t made any better by our rather grotty cabin and a somewhat disappointing meal.
***
The next morning, after an early start, a cold shower, an okay breakfast and some confusion over where to put our bags and which boat to get on, we set off for the next of our touristy add-ons: a visit to a fish farm, where it was explained by the guide how very expensive the fish food is now just before he threw several scoopfuls of the stuff to the ready and waiting fish, who responded as if he’d chucked in a live wire. The boil of these frenzied fish was extraordinary, akin to a Hollywood depiction of a piranha attack.
Next, the last stop before the boat took us off to Phnom Penh, we visited a Cham village. (You may remember that it was the Cham people who built the temples and tombs at My Son before being displaced by the Viet people.) The day we were there happened to be the last day of their New Year celebrations and we saw cows being butchered, presumably for some feast or other. The Cham people – one of Vietnam’s 50 or so minority ethnic groups – though originally Hindu, are now mostly Muslim and we were taken to see a Madrasa, where one of the cows was being butchered in the Halal way.
Once on our way again, one of the boat crew collected our passports and some forms we’d been given to complete the night before. When we got to the Vietnamese side of the border, we all got out of the boat and waited inside the border post (where snacks were available) while the crew member took our passports and forms to be processed. This was accomplished with no fuss or difficulty and we were back on the boat and on our way to the Cambodian side of the border with half an hour or so.
At the Cambodian border post, which was only a few minutes up the river, we all got out again and waited. This was quite possibly the prettiest border post we’ve ever seen. Immaculately kept lawns surrounded seating areas with thatched sun shelters and paths lead to ornate shrines and small pagodas. The staff were friendly and efficient and quickly processed our visas and customs declarations. Sometimes at border crossings, we’ve felt like we’re not really welcome, always suspect and frequently a bit of a nuisance. Here, we felt welcomed as guests.
Back on board one last time, now inside country number 23, we sped on, past boats and villages, large and small, towards it’s capital, Phnom Penh. We arrived (just along the riverbank from the Royal Palace) mid afternoon, about seven hours after leaving the Cham village, of which about one hour max was border crossing.
By the way: although we’ve arrived at countries by boat before – France, of course, and Turkmenistan – I think that’s the first time I’ve crossed a land border by boat. Ironic since Cambodia is landlocked.
Next time, I’ll tell you about our time in Phnom Penh, where I am now, and Siem Reap, where we go tomorrow.
TTFN - N
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