Ho Chi Minh- first impressions

When I woke up from my nap on the bus we were already somewhere within the limits of Ho Chi Minh city. We were cruising down a narrow street lined with shop houses, goods like clothing, gold and food displayed outside on the street on mannequins or in glass cabinets.

The narrow streets and shop houses reminded me a little of the suburban streets of Taipei, the wares outside was reminiscent of China Town in Bangkok. I felt like I was arriving somewhere familiar.

But I was still nervous and not sure what to expect. Reading in various guide books and listening to the stories of other travelers I was preparing myself for a frenetic city where the traffic is an endless nightmare and everybody is trying to get you to buy something off them.

Our bus arrived at its designated spot in the backpacker area of town and we disembarked, expecting fifty or so touts to jump on our bags and expecting to take us off to the guesthouse or hotel of their choice.

There were only a handful of touts and a simple ‘No thank you’ seemed to be acceptable to them so we were able to pick up our bags and cross the street to the hotel with whom the bus company is affiliated with. We found a clean and neat room with hot water for US$9 and stretched out on the bed. We have arrived in what may become our new hometown.

A peep outside the window revealed another the upstairs patio of another slim, three storied building where a Guanyin statue resided and some back alleys down below. I could be somewhere in Taipei or even downtown Hsinchu, I thought to myself. Even the bathroom looked like a standard Taiwanese bathroom, complete with tiny tub.

We went to a seedy bar/bubble juice shop next door to wait out the rain and ordered iced mocha bubble drinks. The interior reminded me of some tacky places I’ve seen in Taiwan. The kind that wanted to create something funky or classy but the whole aim just got lost somewhere in a sea of fake wisteria and too bright furniture. The mocha was good though and the feeling of being somewhere familiar kept on growing in me.

We waited out the enormous downpour that started just after we arrived and then decided to go for a stroll past the city’s biggest market and to Dong Khoi street where the nicer hotels and restaurants are.

We were walking down a broad boulevard lined with enormous trees. The architecture a combination of attractive French colonial buildings, Chinese shop houses and some modern office blocks and hotels.

This was not what I was expecting and it felt great!

We walked into two bookstores. The one stocked stationary, tacky notebooks and books in Vietnamese. The second one had some English selections as well as really unattractive toys. Reminded me of the kind of book stores I would frequent back in Hsinchu looking for stationary items and the odd English magazine.

The area around Dong Khoi was a complete surprise. Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Mango and Versace are all here. Sushi restaurants and pretty cafes seems to abound. I was thrilled.

What definitely lacked, and this is a great thing, was touts. A couple of men approached us offering motorbike rides and then in a lower voice marijuana. One creepy fellow walked up to us and in one breath grumbled, “Sex. Massage. Marijuana.” Otherwise our walk was hassle free. Sure, crossing the streets was a bit of a mission at times, but not as bad as I thought it would be.

It has been weeks since we left Bangkok and for the first time we were back in a city with a truly urban and cosmopolitan feel to it. And it reminds me of Taipei a lot. And Alexander pointed out that it still has a bit of a European atmosphere. And we had awesome noodles at a noodle chain for dinner.

So my first impressions of HCMC or Saigon are overwhelmingly positive. Hopefully I will not be disappointed and if all goes well we will really be calling it home soon.