Off to Ho Chi Minh City

Up early this morning, had a quick breakfast and met our driver in the lobby at 8:45 for the ride out to the Nha Trang Airport. Our flight to Ho Chi Minh left at 11:20 and was only an hour and 5 minutes, so by the time we picked up our luggage, found our driver and put our lives in his hands on the crazy streets of this city, got to our hotel around 1:15. It was a steaming 33 degrees outside, so it was nice to get into our air conditioned room!

Got freshened up and took to the streets looking for the Pasteur Street Brewing Company for some lunch - we had been to the same establishment in Hanoi, but the one here is the original. It did not disappoint - had a great lunch and refreshments, then took to the streets to get our bearings and have a look around the former Saigon. We walked by the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, seeing some old planes and tanks on display.

There is a long pedestrian only road in the middle of town called Nguyen Hue Boulevard, at the top of which is City Hall (or the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City), and at the other end, the Saigon River. This road was originally a canal that brought water from the river into town, then it was used for bringing goods into the city, but it became so overused and polluted it was filled in around 1870 and made into this lovely street. There is a real French influence in a lot of the buildings in this area, and in contrast, lots of new glass and steel office buildings, banks and hotels.

We walked down as far as the river, then headed back up and found a street market, selling mostly food and household goods, then into an area that was filled with bars and clubs, some with interesting names! Our feet were getting tired by this time, so we decided to head back to the hotel for a dip in the rooftop pool, which was nice and refreshing!

Got changed and headed out for dinner, although we were not very hungry after a big lunch, so just had a light dinner and a glass of wine. We walked back down to Nguyen Hue Blvd., which was beautifully lit up from one end to the other, as were most of the side streets in the area - looked so pretty! Started heading back to the hotel, and (as Forest Gump says) “then it started to rain” - and it was big fat rain! We took shelter for a while under an awning, but it wasn’t letting up, so we booked it back looking like drowned rats by the time we got back! Oh well, if it only rains at night, I’m good with that! Up early tomorrow for another adventure down a famous river!!Read more