Motoadventures2up: Ho Chi Minh City and Hanio?

Ho Chi Minh City...Saigon or HCMC, the capital of Vietnam and one big and loud city, full of scooters honking horns at every corner, sidewalk and passing vehicle. We have never seen so many scooters in one spot! The noise just doesn't quit. But...it is a very cool city with loads of museums to document the years of war this country has been through (the Chinese, French and then the Americans), to say these people are resilient would be an understatement.

Of course we took in a couple of markets, but we also took the time to visit the post office (sounds weird but it is architecturally beautiful), and the Reunification Palace. It was a busy stop for us but the food and the hotel, the Bi Saigon, in District 1, were really good. We ate most meals in the hotel restaurant and Ken was thrilled when he found old fashioned oatmeal for breakfast on the menu, a real treat for him. And for the first time since we left Chiang Mai we found a great (and cheap, less than a dollar) place for mango smoothies, actually mango-passionfruit is our new favorite.

When we came into Vietnam we entered the country half way down and we were content to see the southern half of the country but as time went on and we talked to more people (and the weather warmed up a little) we decided we really needed to see Hanoi and Ha Long bay in the north. So...one night we made the decision, went to the tourist office, bought plane tickets and flew to Hanoi the next day, it's good to be flexible. We took only our small packs and left the rest of our luggage with the hotel, they were so accommodating. We were warned to watch for crocked taxi drivers at the airport so we got a ride on the Vietnam Airlines minibus which dropped us at their office in Hanoi, for only $2 p/p what a great tip. Once settled into our hotel we booked an overnight tour on a junk (a real nice boat, with 12 staterooms, dinning room and sun deck) and set sail, Ken's first cruise (he said he wanted to start small). The trip was absolutely beautiful and worth every penny. Ha Long Bay is one of the new Natural Wonders of the World...Oh Ya!

After a relaxing time on board the boat we hit the pavement in Hanoi and visited the War Museum and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. We spent many hours wandering the streets and walking around Hoam Kien Lake one of the beautiful lakes around the city center. Our hotel, The Prince 2 Hotel, was close to everything and I would highly recommend it (thanks to Jean-Guy for recommending it to us).

After 5 days in the north it was time to jump on the plane again and resume our trip down south, in way warmer weather. In Hanoi and Ha Long bay we were once again wearing every piece of warm clothing and even used the heater in our hotel room. Remember our cheap ride into Hanoi with Vietnam Airlines minibus? Well as we were heading to our departure gate in the Hanoi airport we ran into a couple guys who had just bought taxi fare for $30 into the city, crap sorry guys! And to make it worse the lady at the tourist booth who sold them the fare all but laughed at them when she head us telling them about the minibus. At the airport in HCMC, yet another bus/taxi story...being in the know, we got off the plane and headed for the street in front of the airport to catch the local bus which was suppost to cost us 5000 vd p/p (it is a posted price, printed right on the ticket) but of coarse, because we are "tourists" the cost is 7500 vd p/p (I know it is only a few cents but it is really starting to wear on us!) Oh well! In HCMC, we returned to the Bi Saigon to retrieve our bags only to find the hotel was full and we had to find another...at least our bags were there and safe. No big deal, there are lots of hotels and the stay in HCMC was only one night anyway then as usual it was time to catch another bus...to the Mekong Delta.