It was a long bus trip to Saigon which took nearly 6 hours longer than expected meaning we arrived late evening which showed off the spectacle of the Saigon scooter drivers who were crazy! Never seen so many scooters but thankfully the city was organised enough to take it.
We had lots to do in Saigon so we started with the War Remnants museum which was really good. Opened in 1975, the museum displayed helicopters, boats, planes and various weaponry in the yard and inside it was 3 floors of photographs of action in Vietnam with lots of blurb to match. Particularly interesting were the photos of the news photographer's last rolls of film. Also displayed were the 'tiger cages' used to torture people and various other methods of torture listed which was a little disturbing, including a rather interesting use for sand mats!
It rained a lot in Saigon so I did a very quick walk of the city to see the Notre Dame cathedral, the post office (French design), Reunification Palace and city hall.
The second day was spent with a tour around the Cu Chi tunnels which was good despite the torrential rain. The tunnels were built on 3 levels for the hiding of villagers during the war. Our guide showed us models of the traps built and one which was still in place (thankfully with a surrounding fence!). There was a 100m stretch of level 1 tunnel that you can crawl through. At 90cm high and about 60cm wide it was very claustrophobic and I was pretty glad to get out after 40m. The tunnels were definitely built for the Vietnamese as I was on all fours and there wasn't any turning around space! Thankfully they don't let anyone into the lower levels which are even tighter!
With Angkor Wat coming up, I decided a new camera was in order, so I painlessly bought a new one (thankfully there were only 2 within my budget so choosing wasn't hard!) so hopefully some better pictures coming up. I've also replaced my rucksack but sadly crossing over into Cambodia the straps broke so I'll be looking for a little lady to fix them!
All in all, Vietnam was a great country with plenty to do for everyone. I could easily have spent more time in Hoi An and Saigon so no doubt I'll return one day.
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