Hanoi traffic

I was warned about Hanoi’s traffic.

“Cars won’t stop for you.”

“It’s madness.”

“I just walk and try not to look.”

I was expecting the worst. Instead, because many of the main streets were one way and there were plenty of traffic lights that motorists obeyed, I found crossing streets far easier than Ho Chi Minh City.

Yellow City – Hoi An

 

This old town on the Thu Bon River was roughly half way between Saigon and Hanoi. The buildings were mostly yellow with white trimmings influenced by the Chinese and Japanese traders as well as French colonialists.

Thinking of flying Vietnamese Airlines?

I flew from Can Tho to Con Dao, no problems, so I wasn’t prepared for my next ordeal.

A day on the river

Can Tho was not your quiet little city. It was the biggest town in the Mekong Delta so consequently motorbikes were almost as prolific as HCMC.

Vietnamese buses

I couldn’t have been more impressed with the bus I took from HCMC to Ben Tre. Can you imagine sitting on an air-conditioned bus with your feet stretched out like you would on a lounge with a footstool? As well, the bus was super clean; probably due to passengers having to remove their shoes once they stepped into the bus. There was no bellowing music coming from the television nor was the bus anywhere near full. But don’t think all buses are like that.

Ben Tre

I bused from Ho Chi Minh City to Ben Tre in the Mekong Delta. We past rice paddy fields, coconut and banana trees and even sugar cane farms. This part of Vietnam was even flatter than the Canadian prairies. A patchwork of different shades of green was a dream after being in a big city. 

Vietnamese treat

Where I live, there are oodles of Vietnamese restaurants. Being a lover of most Asian foods, you’d think I would have ventured into more than one or two especially since I planned to visit Vietnam. That wasn’t the case.

So before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City, I got my first introduction into its delight on the flight – lotus fruit.

The man on the money

In a small but neatly maintained park stood a Ho Chi Minh statue where a hoard of Asian tourists had their cameras poised. The statue faced a wide boulevard leading to the river. Behind was the tasteful People’s Committee Building.

Jade Emperor Pagoda

 

Not far from the Botanic Gardens stood the Jade Emperor Pagoda. While shaded by soaring trees at the entrance, the grounds were in need of a little TLC.

I entered to an over powering haze of incense before a multitude of statues in various rooms contained within the complex before I made my way back.

Ho Chi Minh City’s Botanic Gardens

I thought I’d take a rest from the traffic and visit the Botanic Gardens and while I found a bench where I took in the beauty of a giant African mahogany, it was hard being confronted with the zoo.