On July 25th we flew from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. This was my third time in Ho Chi Minh City in the past 9 weeks, but my first time really experiencing the city as a tourist. The first time I was here I was sick and in the hospital, the second time I spent it with Mads unpacking and repacking to prepare for our backpacking trip. This time I have the time to finally do some sight seeing.
My first few days back in Ho Chi Minh City I spent them acquainting myself with the city.
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is the largest city in Vietnam, with a population of over 7 million people. When you include the surrounding area, the population of the Greater Ho Chi Minh City Metropolitan Area is over 9 million people.
Unlike us in Canada, Ho Chi Minh City only has two seasons: the rainy season (May – November) and the dry season (December – April). But no matter what the season, it is always hot! The temperature here ranges from 16o Celsius (in the very early mornings of December) to 39o Celsius, with an average temperature of about 28o Celsius. Mads tells me that at the school where she teaches English they import their books from other countries. The children get so confused with exercises relating to seasons - for example: picture matching exercises, where a child has to match an umbrella or mittens to the appropriate season: spring, summer, fall or winter. She has to explain to her students that in other countries they experience different types of weather than they do in Vietnam.
The last time I was in Ho Chi Minh City I wrote about the motorbike culture, and how motorbikes dominate the roads here. Almost everyone has a motorbike here, and very few people have cars. This motorbike culture still fascinates me, so I feel the topic requires more attention on my blog! Vietnamese people are so resourceful, and will use their bike as their transportation vehicle for all sorts of items:
They also use their motorbikes as a family vehicle, cramming as many people as possible onto the bike. I’ve even seen families drive around with their dogs on their laps at the front of the bike! The dogs love it, and especially love their fur blowing in the wind (unfortunately every time I’ve seen the dogs I wasn’t fast enough to snap a photo). I actually one time saw someone driving around with a chicken in his lap!
During rainy season (which is right now), it can rain on a daily basis, but not even the rain will stop the Vietnamese from using their motorbikes! They are well equipped with ponchos that cover themselves and their belongings on the bike.
While Mads and I were out on the bike it started raining, luckily Mads whipped out her poncho and we continued on driving!
I enjoyed watching the Vietnamese people on their bikes, I found them so interesting, especially their seamless reaction from sunny weather to rain. When the rain starts, everyone pulls over to the side, takes out their ponchos and continues driving as if nothing were wrong.
For passengers who do not have their own ponchos, they will huddle underneath their driver’s poncho:
Apart from observing the interesting motorbike culture, Mads and I also made a trip to the backpacking area of town. In that area you can buy every possible movie or TV show for a dirt cheap price. Since all the DVDs are copies, I’m pretty sure they are illegal, so it surprised me to see how open and on display they were in the stores!
You can also buy fruit from street vendors for very cheap:
We then went into the Ben Thanh Market, one of the largest markets in Ho Chi MInh CIty, established in 1912, where you can buy anything from textiles, souvenirs, fruit, vegetables, seafood, kitchenware, and much more. I did a bit of souvenir shopping there. Everything is bargainable here, and nothing is a fixed price. The general rule is when they tell you a price, you offer them half of what they ask for, and then you negotiate back and forth to a price in the middle.
My first few days in Ho Chi Minh City were very enjoyable! Once I was acquainted with the city I was ready for some more major sightseeing in the following days.
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