Ho Chi Minh City & Mekong Delta
Days Nine & Ten - Vietnam - 2019
An afternoon in the hustle-and-bustle of Vietnam’s largest city, followed by a day in the quiet expanse of the Mekong Delta.
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
Map Credit: OpenStreetMap
Editorial Comment: Throughout this page, I use Vietnamese characters in the spellings of place names whenever possible; however, some Vietnamese characters are not compatible with some of the fonts used throughout this website, and -in those cases- I have used what I can determine to be the most common English language transliteration.
1. Ho Chi Minh City #1
As of December 2019, the Landmark 81 building is the tallest in Vietnam, and the 17th tallest building in the world.
We woke the next day to make our way to the Danang Airport for the hour-long flight to Ho Chi Minh City. The flight was pleasant, and -before we knew it- we were in downtown Saigon. First, we stopped at a pho restaurant for lunch before making our way to the Saigon Central Post Office. After a bit of milling around there, we headed to the War Remnants Museum for a couple of hours.
It is said, “history is written by the victors”, and this is certainly the case at the War Remnants Museum. It certainly fingers the United States for all of the problems Vietnam had during the period of the U.S.-Vietnam War. While certainly the U.S. military deserves criticism for its conduct during the conflict, the presentation is generally very heavy-handed and -predictably- one-sided in favor of the Vietnamese communist government. I won’t pontificate about political ideology here, but just know that -if you are a citizen of the United States or any other U.S.-allied nation from the Vietnam War period- this place will be a bitter pill to swallow.
On to better things, we checked into our hotel in central Ho Chi Minh City for a brief relaxation period.
2. Ho Chi Minh City #2
Ho Chi Minh City is the largest city in Vietnam, with a population of over 8.5 million...
Our tour guide (who, it should be formally noted, was absolutely amazing throughout the entire trek!) told us it was possible to have some drinks and watch the sunset at the EON51 bar on the 51st floor of the Bitexco Financial Tower building before heading to dinner. After an acclamation vote, we headed there, and the views did not disappoint.
3. Ho Chi Minh City #3
...And is the second largest city in terms of area, behind only Hanoi.
You can pay a ticket to simply visit EON51, or you can order a drink there, making the visit gratis. If you have some spare time around sunset, I’d say this is a worthwhile experience.
4. Café Apartment
The Café Apartment is, as the name suggests, an apartment building converted to house trendy cafés.
Afterwards, we had a brief period where we could walk around central Saigon before heading to Duong’s Saigon Restaurant.
5. Bitexco Financial Tower
The Bitexco Financial Tower is Ho Chi Minh City’s second largest building, and features a large helipad on its 52nd floor.
A view of the Bitexco Financial Tower. The EON51 bar is located next to the helipad.
6. Mekong Delta Life #1
The Mekong Delta is one of the most biologically diverse places on earth, home to over 1,000 species of animal.
The following day, we had a pre-planned boat tour of the Mekong Delta. After the bus ride to Ben Tre, we boarded our small boat for a full day of activity. Along the way to our first stop, we could get a sense for Mekong Delta life, which I’ve captured in the next six photographs.
7. Mekong Delta Life #2
8. Mekong Delta Life #3
9. Mekong Delta Life #4
10. Mekong Delta Life #5
11. Mekong Delta Life #6
12. Mekong Delta Life #7
13. Mekong Delta Life #8
We disembarked the boat and took a brief walking tour through a village in the Mekong jungle.
14. Mekong Delta Life #9
We then boarded a small paddle boat for a short ride through the jungle.
15. Mekong Delta Life #10
The whole experience was what you’d think of when you hear the word, “Mekong”.
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Now back to the travelogue!
16. Mekong Delta Life #11
Next, we boarded rickshaws for a quick ride to a coconut candy factory.
17. Coconut Candy Factory #1
Coconuts are one of the main sources of income in the Mekong Delta, and is used to make a variety of products locally, including foods, oils, creams, and waters.
At the coconut factory, we could see workers receiving coconuts from riverboats and processing the coconut drupe into product.
18. Coconut Candy Factory #2
We received a brief demonstration of how the drupe is prepared into pulp which is then converted into candy. A fascinating but seemingly dangerous process!
19. Coconut Candy Factory #3
Outside the coconut factory, I caught this butterfly resting in the sun on a branch. While I am thinking of it, I should mention that aside from Tràng An and very, very brief periods, it did not rain at all during the Vietnam trip. For this I will forever consider myself extremely lucky!
20. Mekong Delta Life #12
We boarded the boat again to make our way to our lunch spot…
21. Mekong Delta Life #13
…but not before some locals said, “goodbye!”
22. Mekong Delta Life #14
The giant gourami is a popular fish to eat due to a lack of fine or small bones in its flesh.
Our final group lunch was an interesting one, as we were served a giant gourami fish that we could pick apart and share. Certainly not my favorite food ever, but an interesting experience to say the least.
23. Mekong Delta Life #15
One last stretch on the boat to return to Ben Tre afforded us more views of Mekong Delta life. Three more photographs follow from this ride.
24. Mekong Delta Life #16
25. Mekong Delta Life #17
26. Mekong Delta Life #18
A fitting final photograph from Vietnam. After returning to Ben Tre, we boarded our bus back to Ho Chi Minh City (just beating the Sunday afternoon traffic, we were told). We then made our way to our farewell dinner at the KOTO Saigon restaurant. Naturally, I had to wear my smoking jacket; I was wearing cargo pants and tennis shoes with it, since I am classy like that; this obviously elicited some questioning looks from the other diners. After transferring back to our hotel, it was time for me to say my farewells to the group as I would be departing Saigon very early the next morning.
Overall, I had a great time in Vietnam. I emphatically recommend the Intrepid Southbound tour as a great option to see a large portion of the country in a very short time. The itinerary is intense, don’t get me wrong, but the days you spend out are some of the best traveling days you’ll ever have. If you’ve traveled to the other side of the world to be there as I did, you’d better make every second count!
