Potential future trip to Ho Chi Minh City

[explanade]

I recall seeing husks of old US helicopters and other military hardware.

Some have signs about imperialists weapons being defeated.

Probably meant to be object lesson about how they beat back a superpower.

OK Vietnam, sure celebrate but the victory happened half a century ago. Do you want to broadcast that you peaked that long ago?

I'm not sure traveling to Vietnam is necessarily good for history lessons.

Very beautiful country but for history?

I don't mind learning history about places but I don't go seeking out historical sites necessarily. For instance, haven't gone to Normandy to see al the WWII sites yet. I do want to go but would probably be more interested in seeing a place like Etreat than Omaha Beach.

If I go to some town and there's a medieval fort, sure I'll read about it.

 

[brett]

One real issue in Vietnam today is the amount of arable land that remains contaminated from Agent Orange. It is slowly being remediated.

Same for birth defects passed down to even the fourth generation.

Australia has the same issue to a much lesser degree stemming from it's military personnel who were in the field but it is is very much downplayed by their Government.

We were so surprised when someone who works this field of medicine in Australia described some to the issues that still surface from time to time.

 

[Gonz]

I have been to Ho Chi Mihn City a few years ago and it was perfectly safe. Nice friendly people. So many scooters and motorcycles. Hot/humid weather and pollution pretty much like Bangkok Thailand.

Normally don't stay at large hotels when traveling but I chose the Rex because of it's history and being the hangout for journalists during the war. I really dig that old world atmosphere with wide hallways,crown molding,large rooms,claw foot bathtubs,elephant statues,and whatnot.

We enjoyed finishing each day relaxing and hanging out at the rooftop garden/bar every late evening meeting interesting fellow travelers. Good memories.

I usually hire a driver in that part of the world but Vietnam was first time with driver/motorcycle for transportation.

 

[brett]

We went out for dinner and walked around after dark in Hanoi and in Saigon. We were in Saignon for four days, Hanoi for 5.

We felt safer there than we did in any large NA city.
The only danger was twofold. Crossing a 4 lane street. Best to wait an cross with the locals...especially in Hanoi.

OR....in Hanoi you needed to watch the pavement at night because in some areas is was very uneven and broken up. One could trip and do themselves an injury. We did not stay in any of the popular western style hotel neighbourhoods.

 

[mabuhay]

I spend winters in Southeast Asia, have traveled extensively in the region and recently built a house in the Philippines. We generally visit a different country every year. We don't do tours, but plan the trips loosely ahead of time, to ensure accommodations, and change/modify as required.

We went to the northern part of Vietnam in 2019 in April and the weather was perfect (too cold in winter). Spent several days in Hanoi exploring the old town, eating amazing food, and visiting the war museums and the prison. It rained a lot, which doesn't bother us much - that's just part of Southeast Asia.

We skipped Halong Bay and instead went up to Sa Pa, close to the border with China, where we stayed in a beautiful retreat on a mountain, Sapa Cay House. The food, scenery and hospitality was amazing, and we did some trekking with guides from a hill tribe.

It was a great experience, followed by a week on the coast, in Hoi An and Hue. Vietnam is large, and there is a lot to see - we plan to return again to tour the south - Saigon, Dalat, and the Mekong River delta. So much to see in Vietnam, the people are industrious, and the food is delicious.

 

[brett]

My spouse was very hesitant to spend a month in Vietnam for part of our snowbird trip.

Now it is 'lets go back for a month next winter'

Lots of places we have yet to visit in Vietnam. We are slow travelers. Not unusual for us to spend 4 or 5 days areas like Hue, Hoi An, Da Lat etc.

We had better internet and more available internet in Vietnam than we have had anywhere else in our travels. Important for us because we typically book accommodation a day or two in advance and rely on ipads for everything.

 

[Canoeboy]

Visited HCM City about 8 years ago on a business trip with a weekend stay over. Everyone was friendly. Studied how to walk across a wide street from my hotel window - quite fascinating. Key is to start walking at a normal pace and NEVER look towards oncoming traffic. Cars, scooters, bikes will go around you unless you make eye contact. Went to the War museum to see captured US equipment and see how Vietnam tells the story. Also went by what was the US embassy. While taking pictures of a marker on the sidewalk a guard from down the street kind of motioned that I should move on. Also took a day trip by boat up the Mekong Delta - getting off at a small rural village to explore and then a small town to have lunch. Glad to have visited once, but that was enough.

 

[Katsmeow]

I spent 3 weeks in Vietnam in 2000. We were in Hanoi and in HCMC along with a day trip to Thai Nguyen.

We really loved Hanoi. HCMC was fine but it is a much larger Westernized city. I don't know how Hanoi is now, but back then it seemed a more authentic experience. There is something to be said for going out into the countryside and seeing more about how life is as compared to the big cities.

The people in Hanoi were extremely friendly to us. People would come up to in the street to practice their English (you could send them away if you wanted). The most interesting thing in Hanoi was seeing the preserved body of Ho Chi Minh. There was a huge line of people go walk through the mausoleum, most Vietnamese people. If you were on a tour though, you got to cut most of the line. It seemed unfair to me that Americans (who generally don't think too well of Ho Chi Minh) got to cut the line while the people who revered him had to wait in line for hours. There was a very ancient woman in front of us in the line and she was absolutely overcome when she got to the body. You are supposed to keep moving and she was crying and stop. Staff came over and gently moved her along.

The people in HCMC were friendly also, but just not to the degree as those in Hanoi...