.... of Ho Chi Minh City and South Vietnam (Part : 1)

Yours Sincerely ( Y s ) is back on holidays again after spending 6 days working in South Vietnam - waking up in the wee hours of the morning, having people to make your bed for you, zipping and unzipping luggage, checking in and out of hotels, feasting on hotel buffet breakfast, dinning at choicest restaurants on exotic food, going up and down the tour bus, visiting sites and places, snapping photographs ........ and that is what Y S calls WORK.










As Yours Sincerely ( Y S ) entered Ho Chih Ming City from the airport, Y S was head ached by the buzzing over loaded ( Y S saw one with 6 riders, practically the whole family. If there were some more space, grandpa and grandma could also travel along. ) "Kap Chais" ( In Cantonese, they are small C.C. motorcycles) which buzzed in and out of traffic with their incessant " pip.... pip......pip .......pip" announcing their presence on the road. The "pip...pip..pip...." and even seeped through the crevices of the windows of Y S's budget hotel, smacked right in the city centre, like hordes of mosquitoes. Crossing the thoroughfares of city is a chilling experience, not for the faint hearted, of course. The "Kap Chais" are kings of the road.

Anyway, in a city with practically no public transportation: city buses, LRTs, MRTs whatever how do you expect people to go about ? However, Y S was enthralled by the abundance of glistering, poshy , bourgeoisie MPV taxi plying the roads in the city. So much for communism, eh ?

Y S' visit coincided with the Vietnamese' New Year of the Cat. So, there was a double celebration of the Cat and the Rabbit. Both seem to get along well in Vietnam.

The double event also coincided with a floral and book exhibition. So, the streets of Ho Chi Minh City was overflowed with locals and tourists.


This is the Chinese made tank that crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace and reunited north and south Vietnam. A brave reminder of what people's power could do !

Eating on low stools and tables on the five foot ways or on the beach seems to be the national pastime. A family is having a meal together at Vung Tau.

In Vietnam, do as the Viets do. Y S was having some bean curd on a low stool. Btw, it was hard to get up after the meal, not because of the meal but the lowness of the stool.

When you travel, make friends and share experiences. Strangers are friends we have not met and spoken to.


This is the statue of "Christ The Redeemer" at Vung Tau. To reach the statue are many flights of steps, about 500 hundred, I panted and lost count. Then you have to go up some more steps to the top of the statue. The view of the city and coastline of Vung Tau from the shoulders of Christ is rewarding, well worth the effort of climbing up.

This is among the weirdest fish Y S consumed. It has been very deeply fried until the scales stood out and curled up. The waitress will then peel it up for you. The flesh is then enveloped in a piece of thin rice paper with some vegetables. It is dipped in chilly sauce before being consumed.

This is the happiest Buddha statue Y S has ever seen in all his travels.
When you travel, loosen up and merge with the locals. What a treat Y S had with four pretty Vietnamese damsels singing their folk songs. Of course this photo costs money : D 100,000.00, Don't worry that is about RM8.00. ( About 2 USD) In Vietnam, you spend like a millionaire.

This is the Notre Dame Cathedral of Ho Chi Minh City. Imposing architecture, resembling its namesake in Paris but it has no compound, saved for a patch of green at its facade and this is also taken up by hawkers as their trading space. Two busy roads traverse on its left and right.


Y S took a sampan ride on a tributary of the Mekong River. This activity is specially created for the locals' livelihood. Well, it is one of its kind, somewhat like those gondolas on the canals at Venice.