Southern Vietnam: Saigon and the Mekong Delta

Hotels in Vietnam take your passports when you check in. Then they give them back once you’ve checked out. At least that’s what’s supposed to happen… Halfway between Dalat and Saigon we suddenly realised that our hotel had forgotten to give our passports back. After debating whether or not to get off the bus in the middle of nowhere, we managed to borrow a phone and call the hotel and they agreed to send the passports on the next bus. “The next bus” turned out to mean couriering the passports to a chaotic, overflowing parcel depot in downtown Saigon. Gulp. But luckily they were there. Phew! Almost losing our passports in month-11 of our trip? As we’ve become more experienced travellers we have also become more blasé travellers…

We didn’t have much time in Saigon, just a day to explore the city. We saw the War Remnants Museum (formerly called the Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression). It was an interesting and moving record of the war, but it is presented with a very narrow propagandist slant, so the need to be sceptical blunted our experience a little.

Here are some more photos from around Saigon:

Hanging out with our CouchSurfing hosts and some other surfers

After Saigon, we headed down into the Mekong Delta and based ourselves in Can Tho for a couple of nights. The main attraction of Can Tho is the nearby floating market. Each boat advertises its produce by hanging examples on a tall pole at the front of the boat.

The river equivalent of street food carts, with coffee, noodles and fruit

The family who showed us around the markets

We spent the day hanging out with a Vietnamese woman who was on holiday from Danang. It really helped to meet someone who speaks Vietnamese, as we were able to arrange a boat trip to see the markets and then explore the area by motorbike.

It was a Vietnamese holiday while we were in Can Tho, so the waterfront was bustling at night. In accordance with communist dictator chic, you are never far from a portrait or statue of Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam.

This temple in Can Tho was crammed full of huge spirals of incense, more than a metre tall. They must each burn for days. Extractor fans in the roof made the air breathable (just).

This was our last stop in Vietnam. Our three-and-a-half weeks here have been enough time to get a glimpse into almost all of the different regions of the country. We really enjoyed being able to hire motorbikes so easily, as they gave us the freedom to seek out smaller destinations and explore at our own pace. Vietnam is great for its diversity of landscapes, food and activities. We’ve gone from rugged mountains, to lush fields, to beaches, all in just a few days.

There are just two countries left in our world tour! Now we fly from Saigon to Sarawak in Borneo. We have an action packed last month of our trip planned, visiting some of the world’s biggest caves, delving deep into remote tropical rainforest and learning to dive on the coral reefs of an offshore marine park.

Written by Craig Drayton and Sally Robertson