Vietnam, meeting Fabrice. Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon & Mekong river (Apr 23)

When Fabrice told me he was heading out to work in Vietnam I knew it was only a matter of time before I ended up over here.  Sure enough, after consuming a few pints of Belgium beer with him last year I promised to pop over. So here I am!

So after a longer than average layover at Doha, I landed mid afternoon at Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) airport and headed straight for Fabrice’s residence in District 7.  

The city was bathed in sunshine and 38 °C heat.  We booked a “Grab” (the Vietnam version of Uber) and headed off to Banana Mama’s, a swanky rooftop bar in the centre of town. It was rush hour and the streets were chaotic. Now motorbike taxis are really THE only way to get around here given the volume of traffic, so after being handed a pint sized helmet by my rider and wearing my “protective” flip flops and shorts, I climbed on the back of a 125cc sized bike and joined the locals on what for them was a standard daily commute across town. Wow! Forget roller coasters – this is so much better! Hundreds of motorbikes, cycles and mopeds all jostling for position, somehow narrowly avoiding collision whilst trying to pin-point from which vehicle the warning toot has come from.  But not once did I feel nervous. Road rage just doesn’t appear to be an issue with everyone appearing to be more focused on making sure their fellow road users avoid a collision and injury – even if they often appear in front of you completely without warning, heading the wrong way down the road and carrying their wife and or two or three kids on the back of their moped. 

After 20 minutes we ended up at the rooftop bar where we polished off a few beers, cocktails and a meal and spent the evening catching up on each other’s life events before heading back across town on another Grab bike. The city lights and sights from our rooftop perch were awesome and it gave me a memorable first impression of both Vietnam and the city, along with my first Grab ride experience, something I have since grown rather used to. 

I first met Fabrice about a dozen or so years ago when Natty and his youngest son Django were in the same under 6s team at Trojans rugby club in Southampton. We’ve been firm friends ever since.  My eldest daughter even worked for him as a live-in au-pair when he moved to Belgium as a result of Marie’s (his ex-wife) work demands. He’s no longer with Marie, hence the change of lifestyle and location. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is that you can always guarantee wherever he is in the world, if France beat England at rugby (like this year) my phone will ring shortly after with Fabrice insisting on talking me through the moves that brought them the win (mind you, I do the same when England are victorious…!). He even insisted on talking me through their last win whilst out for a meal (again!) 🙄😂.

We last met about a year ago in Brussels when he gave me a bed for a few nights on my travels to and from the refugee camps on the Ukrainian border where I was doing some volunteering. He was itching to join me but couldn’t get the time off work, but being semi-retired, it’s a heck of a lot easier for me. 

Anyway, back to Vietnam…

I’ve been reading up on places to see and things to do and have worked up an itinerary which is quite broad, varied and punishing at times. I plan to take in the highlights of both the South and the North of the country and I’ll be doing most of the internal travel by train on overnight sleepers.  There will be a lot of trekking later on, and I will mainly be doing this on a tight budget, but have thrown in a few luxuries for balance! 

I’ve also planned a trip which is a lot longer than I usually do – given the time it takes to get here, plus the lengthy internal distances. Not that it matters for work (I don’t have a contract of employment), but it has meant juggling my weekends with Natty back home.  I’m on an alternate (flexible) weekend schedule with his mum so we’ve adjusted things so I was/am with Natty on the weekends immediately before and after so it all balances out overall. It also means I’m doing this trip on my own as Emma can’t do the digital nomad thing for this length of time. 

Anyway, my first few days here were spent wandering around the buildings, museums, markets and bars whilst Fabrice was at work. I just spent time getting a feel for the place and easing myself into the food and way of life. 

The French colonial style buildings are beautiful and in pristine condition, with two of the best being the old Central Post Office, and Ho Chi Minh City Hall. The museums here are a must-see in order to understand the brutality of Vietnamese life under both the French colonial period and the war with the US. The stories and photographs in the War Relics Museum were heart wrenching but also incredibly balanced from a reporting perspective. There is also so much to see in between the main sights especially in the central districts. I took a boat ride up river for an hour on one of the local city boat/bus which gives you a different view of the place, and at 15,000 Dong (64p) it is well worth the experience.  

The food market at Ben Thanh was huge (although there are other, less touristy and more authentic ones out of town) but it was a good first place for me to stop and experience some tasty street food. Bui Vien street is a little manic both during the day and evenings, its reputation as a party corner draws in the crowds, including a fair number of LBH’s (more on that acronym later). And as a lone male westerner I got offered a disproportionately high number of massages…

With my visit coinciding with Reunification Day celebrations, Fabrice had a couple of extra bank holidays to play with, so we decided to do something with the long weekend, heading off to Cai Bé, a small village in the heart of the Mekong River Delta about two to three hours south of Saigon. 

Given we were traveling with guitars, it meant going by bike was out of question, so we booked a luxury coach from District 6. True to everything that I’ve read on bus travel in Vietnam, the departure location on the ticket was wrong and it left about two hours later than scheduled… no point fretting, that’s just the way things roll over here!  We got there in the end! 

The location could not have been better. My home for the weekend was a tiny detached thatched house on stilts sitting right on the banks of the mighty Mekong river. Boats and ships of all shapes and sizes sailed past in all directions whilst massive clumps of water hyacinth (or lục bình), float up and down on the tide. Some of these clumps are bigger than the ships, having become previously detached from their home on the shores from where this invasive plant reaches out like a thick green blanket on either bank of the river. 

After sunset the whole place comes alive.  Monkeys, crickets, frogs (and God knows what else) generate a cacophony of sounds that hit you from all directions.  It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that on occasion we needed raise our voices and occasionally shout to be heard above the din, especially when one of those noisy critters piped up in the trees next to us.  Different species of bats darted across the sky catching insects that were now heading out in search of a meal – so it was time for the mosquito repellent!  And fireflies, so many of them pulsating their brights light every second of so, or sometimes faster.

We ended the evening playing guitars and singing songs by the pool and drinking local gin. It was a magical first night on the Mekong and one I shan’t forget in a hurry. 

We pretty much repeated the same thing for a few days, chilling out and relaxing, or venturing out to the local villages for some street food. We tried out kayaking and explored the delta on the cycles.

Of course while we were here we we had to go for a boat trip along the Mekong in a Sampan (traditional flat bottomed boat) where we visited some local markets.  

We woke on Monday morning at 05:30 in order to watch the sunrise, it didn’t disappoint, creating a beautiful heart shaped welcome for the day. Later I set out to get lost, cycling on the roads and paths which stretch along every tributary in this vast river basin.  Some paths lead to somewhere, others just peter out. Can’t find a bridge? No worries, take one of the numerous small pedestrian ferries that can be found wherever there are signs of life and a demand.  Oh, and when I did get lost owing to the main path disappearing, a local old lady came out from her house and gesticulated towards the direction I should continue (between two houses). She was right of course, and I was quickly able to find and rejoin the main path. 

The people here are so friendly, especially when venturing out of the town and cities. Smiles and greetings of “hello” come at you from all directions, with children eager to practice their English. When I stopped to apply some more “factor 50” under the shade of a shop awning, the neighbouring shop owner came over and gave me a bottle of ice cold water, I offered to pay but he quietly insisted it was a gift. 

I have now fully converted to eating the local food and enjoying it as the locals do, in street cafes and restaurants, with meals often being cooked outdoors or in sight of our table.  Hardly any westerners are to be found in this part of the Mekong, and on our last night we devoured plate of octopus, grilled oysters and a variety of shellfish, all cooked and flavoured to perfection. It was more than enough to eat and drink, and all for the price about 200,000 Dong or £7 each! 

Our last day in the Mekong and we had to catch a bus back to Saigon/HCMC; the experience was reminiscent of the journey down here – total chaos and confusion😂🤪.  Having arrived at our bus stop with oodles of time to spare, a coach (going to Saigon) pulled into the lay-by.  We showed the driver our “paid” ticket receipt and he told us to climb on board. About 20 minutes later he asked for money,…. Hmmm it was the wrong bus, but at least it was going to the right location.  

Smiles all round when the co-driver realised, not a grumble or bad vibe from him in the slightest. He made a few phone calls to the tour operator and presumably arranged to get paid by them, so we’re all good and it didn’t cost us any more.  Good humour and smiles all round. So Vietnamese! 

Then off to the central district of Saigon/HCMC for my last night there before heading off “up north”.  We ended up doing a tour around a few cocktail bars..: we even managed to find a tiny subterranean gem of a place with shuffleboard to play on (a cross between mini hurling and bowls). Of course, like every time I compete at anything with Fabrice, it turned into a “do or die” event with national pride at stake!  I won! 🤪🤪🤪 (this time). 

The final morning of the first phase of my trip has come along all too soon. A fantastic week in the south of the country, meeting up with Fabrice, catching up on news and exploring the Mekong. We grabbed breakfast at a local cafe before I climbed on a grab-bike with my rucksack and headed off to Saigon train station. I jumped on board the SE22 train to Da Nang, where an 18 hours northwards journey awaited and where I am to start of the second leg of my journey. 

I can see why people fall in love with Vietnam! 

Phone “travel hack” for Vietnam 

Avoiding overseas roaming charges. 

The “local VIETTEL SIM” I bought at the airport worked perfectly in my new (cheap) android smart phone that I bought for this trip. The SIM cost only £12 for the entire month giving me more data per day than I’d ever use (180GB), along with huge amount of daily minutes for both local and international calls. With 4g network covering the country, I am able to use the new spare phone and hotspot across to my iPhone which I have now stuck on “aircraft mode” for the entire month to avoid  the exorbitant daily roaming charges from my UK SIM provider back home. This was a hack I read about on a travel blog a few years ago so was pleased it works perfectly. It’s like having my own personal WiFi following me wherever I go for £12 (plus calls). 

*************