Scorching Saigon

My sister hasn't been sleeping well the 2 weeks we were in Vietnam. But that was not the case with me. I dozed off easily every night even when we were on train, despite waking up every now and then as worried that I forgot to get down from the train, but I got my quality sleep. The only time I dare not sleep (Read: I dare not sleep, not cannot sleep) was on this SE3, hard sleeper from Danang to Saigon.

The journey to Saigon itself was uneventful. It was by far the longest train ride we had, boarding at around 1 pm and reached the next day at 4 am but that was the fastest train available as the rest of the trains had more stops. We shared the 6 beds carriage with another 5 person - 4 adults and a 6 years old looking kid. To keep the story short, the reason I dare not sleep was... a lady (the mother to the kid) let her son peed into this 500 ml mineral water bottle and kept it on her bed. Of course its her side of the bed, I couldnt complain. The problem was this little kid would try to get hold of THAT 500 ml bottle and open it. I didnt want to risk to have ammonia-smell-yellow-liquid sprinkled on myself when I was sleeping. Hence the only time safe to sleep was when the little kid went to bed. = ="

We were relieved to leave the train as soon as it pulled in the HCMC Railway Station. The walking tour in Saigon only started after we left the station and found a place to stay over the night. As the walking tour in Hoi An was good, we decide to follow the walking tour recommended by LP for Saigon as well. We found a room in Duong Co Bac. From there, we walked to Pham Ngu Lao as the starting point.

Unlike Hoi An the cozy old town, Saigon is huge and with the sun shining with all its might, we were sweating in no time. Walking from Pham Ngu Lao to Pho 2000 for a bowl of pho took quite a fair bit of time. Opposite Pho 2000, was the status of Tran Nguyen Hai.

This is a roundabout

At another side of Pho 2000, located the famous Ben Thanh Market.

We had to cross this busy road to get to the statue of Tran Nguyen Hai (read: the roundabout) to get a clearer picture of the statue and from there, a better view of Ben Thanh Market as well.

To avoid we spend too much time in the market and missed the rest of the place, we decided not to go in yet, but to return later.

Next building in line is this Hotel de Ville.

Currently home to the local People's Committee

This picture above is taken from another angle. If you take 90 degrees from the front, Uncle Ho is there greeting you.

Nearby is the Opera House

Notre Dame Cathedral

Reunification Palace

It was 12++ pm, the palace is closed for lunch and will only reopen at 1 pm. Figure the 2 travellers were contemplating if they should wait or go off. Oh well, they took a couple of pictures and left. How I know? We were shooting while sitting in shade under a tree :P

That was our last stop. Of course the original walking tour is much longer and covers more places but some were seriously a little too far to walk especially under the hot sun. If you notice, the pictures are all getting a little nicer colour. Yes, its because of the hot sun.

From there, we retrace our steps back to Ben Thanh Market and got the famous Vietnamese coffee. On the way, we stopped for this superb sinh to (fruit shake). I still miss it now.

Side note: *Yawn... sleepy. Good night :)

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