Bia Hoi, Saigon!

12-15.12.11

As the weather was still not so good in Nha Trang, we decided to skip diving for now and head to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City).

The bus was supposed to arrive 8am but instead it arrived 5am. Luckily in Saigon this was not a problem. We sat down to enjoy some nice ice coffee until around 7 we went to find a guesthouse and got a room almost immediately, releaving us to do some footwork to find the best bia hoi place in Saigon!

Cool motobikes everywhere! Btw near this place we witnessed an unpleasant event: the police took one sales lady’s beverages just because they were on the sidewalk and apparently it is “illegal” to have a bar on the sidewalk. At least that is if you didn’t pay your bribes. The Vietnamese police is probably the most useless in the world. They are basically paid to be a royal pain in the ass for everyone. But not enough to stop them from looting tourists, merchants and anyone they can.

Our search for cheap beer took us to the other side of the river. On the way we ran into most peculiar shops on the wheels (flowers, dried squid, sunglasses, snacks, you name it) here is my favorite: the goldfish shop! And there were many of those too!

Water purification station? Actually I think they are just pumping the waste to the river…

One of the interesting concepts for a toilet. I guess I could just as well go on the rubble 🙂

Saigon wedding! Love the intense look on the guy.

The whole day walking was rewarded with a jug of bia hoi! (same jug is used to pour gasoline btw)

Sitting in one of our regular bia hoi places, the endless river of merchants passing by. All hoping to get a slice of our fat western asses.

Next day we went to the war remnants museum, which was quite an intensive and unsettling place. The Vietnam war was so wrong. And no-one had to pay for it except the Viatnamese. And it is still ongoing with all the leftover mines and after effects of agent orange. Not excactly a feel-good place but highly recommended for anyone, especially the US citizens. This should never happen again. (even though seems like it is)

War, war never changes.

To lighter topics then:

This is funny, on the other side of the street of our regular place, two very familiar looking guys settled in. Maybe it is just us but we think the resemblance is uncanny! It is me and Antti ten years from now 😀 sitting on different tables but still talking to each other, still stuck in Asia xD. I wish I got a better picture. Elise! If you are reading this, would you send me those please?

Right! What kind of a visit to a Vietnamese city it would be without meeting up with Jasper & Elise? We hung out the first night togheter. I was dehydrated and not very good company. Nevertheless we managed to empty yet another bottle of vodka 🙂

Next day we rented a bike (just one because I felt like holding on to my life for just a while longer) to drive to Cu Chi tunnels (the one Vietnamese used to hide from the US aggression) just 70km from the city. The ride was quite pleasant as I didn’t have to worry about driving 😉

The entrance fee was not that expensive and the visit well worth it. It included a short old propaganda video (which I always enjoy) then a guided tour around the tunnels, bunkers and the traps.

Almost impossible to detect! Also, the Vietnamese used to rig the hatches so that they would blow up unless you knew how to open it excactly. This is an entrance to the tunnels. I could hardly fit through!

This termite mound serves as a ventilation inlet for the bunkers underground. Genius!

A nasty revolving bamboo spear trap. Step on, spin under, ready for the next customer.

Had some tea with our new underground friends.

Claustrophobia? I would advise to go on low season on a time that there are less people (we went quite late in the day which was good, only 3 of us). Otherwise you are in for an extra-claustrophobic experience with 20-30 tourists tailing you inside the narrow tunnels.

On the way back we saw a BIG FAT PIG!

…and of course the sky ripped on us just 20km before reaching Saigon. Naturally I didn’t even bring my rain poncho.

Our reward for courageous action: Midnight snack. Thought we bought some normal eggs but as it turned out, they were Baluts. So half-developed chicken fetuses! 😛 Yammy. You can actually see the wings, the beak and some legs too. The taste is just as an egg. Except with a little different texture. Of course the mental image of eating an aborted chicken fetus was hard to bear. However, it is a delicasy almost all around Asia, so I recommend you eat the whole thing at once and think it is just a normal egg with some extra chewing 😉

Enjoyed some more familiar tastes in a local street restaurant. Noodle soup with jellyfied blood and some fish balls was not bad. Price around 20cent.

Càm ón! (thank you)