We left Hoi An early morning for the bus ride to Da Nang International Airport and then took the just over 2 hours flight to Ho Chi Minh City. I tend to call the place Saigon because its shorter and convenient, but really the correct name after reunification is Ho Chi Minh City.


First time flying with Vietjetair and my notes on the flight just say "negative leg room". So I can only presume I now have shorter legs.


HCMC is much bigger than Hue and Hoi An, much more similar to Hanoi, but while a big city like Hanoi, it felt a bit more spacious. So, same amount of traffic, but bigger roads, bigger sidewalks. Big city perks, small city stress levels. Our hotel for the next three nights was going to be the Lotus Boutique Hotel. A cute, small, but still 6 storey hotel with one lift, and after being spoilt by the Marina Bay Sands 57 storeys in under 30 seconds, probably the slowest one too.


We had a quick lunch round the corner at Pho restaurant Phở Phú Vương. Simple, very quick and cheap too. Being that it wasn't a touristy spot there was also a lot of menu pointing and finger numbers at bill time.

A quick post lunch taxi ride brought us to the War Remnants Museum a day ahead of our itinerary schedule.

Vietnam has a lot of beautiful buildings, countryside, food, people and there is so much to see and do, so it was unsurprising that it took this long in our trip to see some Vietnam war specific attractions.

The War remnants museums outdoor area was devoted to the US war machine, Chinook helicopters, Hueys, Phantom Jets, bombs and the like. Inside the floors were devoted to international outcry to the war, war crimes and chemical warfare committed by the US forces. It isn't for the squeamish. For me, a section on War Photographers I found particularly interesting. On the way out we spotted a section at the rear of the complex, dedicated to the "tiger cages" political prisons, secretly used even after their discovery in the 1970s. One of the upstair displays was filled with live bats!

After the museum we took part in a Cyclo Cross Tour across Ho Chi Minh City. First stop was Thích Quảng Đức Monument. I've written about the Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức before when we were in Hue. But this monument, opposite the then Cambodian Embassy was the location where on 10th June 1963 he self-immolated, to protest at the systematic oppression and discrimination against the Buddhist people by the Catholic minority. It's a terribly depressing event that I didn't know much about before visiting Vietnam.

Quick stop at the Reunification or Independence Palace, Notre Dam Church, the old Post Office, and as the grey clouds rolled in and the sky started spitting, we completed the flying tour through the french quarter then back to the hotel.

For dinner, we walked to the Ben Thanh Street Food Market. A collection of hawkers in a market setting and plenty of seating. Order at each counter but food was brought to the table. The food was bloody good too.

Now enjoy some photos of the cyclo cross. Excuse the distortion created by the super wide lens at 15mm...