Saigon Special

I have been living in Vietnam for about eight months now, and just last week I took my first trip down to Ho Chi Minh City. Everyone who visits HCMC, formerly Saigon (most people in Vietnam still call it that), raves about it. The people who live there think it is better than Hanoi, although they are a little biased. After my first visit, I have to say I was quite impressed. It was sunny, which is a huge plus over Hanoi since we haven't seen too much sun since winter began and it was raining the day we headed down south. HCMC is bigger than Hanoi, but it feels less chaotic. There are tons of motorbikes and more people, but the streets are wider and they even have sidewalks that you can walk on! What a novelty! In Hanoi, I usually find it easier to walk in the street than on the sidewalk because inevitably you will have to move off of the sidewalk several times in each block for a motorbike parking area, a sidewalk restaurant, or a random group of people who have decided to congregate on the narrow sidewalk for the afternoon. There was great Vietnamese food, but also a lot of international food options. They even have Mexican in HCMC! We all crave it in Hanoi, but you might as well make it yourself.

I can see the appeal of HCMC, but it doesn't make me want to relocate. I like that the seasons change in the north as opposed to sweating year round down south. I like the little alleys in Hanoi and the character of the city. In the end, HCMC is a great place to visit and a must on anyone's list if you are visiting Vietnam. I will definitely be making more trips south to explore all of HCMC. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from my trip.

* = Pictures taken by MS, one of my travel partners in HCMC.

Street scene in HCMC.*

Notre Dame of HCMC.*

Night view of HCMC from the rooftop of our hotel.*

People's Committee of HCMC (government building).

War Remnants Museum in HCMC.

The front of our dinner cruise
boat down the Saigon River.

Me and J with Uncle Ho! This one
is going to Clemson World!