Ho Chi Minh City Adventures
We began our Big Experience journey as we boarded the plane from Melbourne to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The plane journey was a long nine hours, but we arrived safely and excited. We were greeted at the airport by our two friendly tour guides Hai and Quien, who took us to our first hotel, Bong Sen Hotel, and gave us an insight into the city. After settling into the hotel, we all went on a night walk to first experience the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City. Our first impressions of Vietnam were: the high humidity and heat, the intense smells and the friendly people. During our walk we stopped for dinner and had our first taste of Vietnamese cuisine. After a good dinner and an exhausting day, we returned to our hotel for a well earned night’s rest.
Today was our first official day in Vietnam. We started our day with a traditional Vietnamese breakfast of fried rice, chicken and dragon fruit. It was different to what we are used to having but still delicious and filling. We then were briefed by our tour guides and leaders about our first activity – the Great Race around Ho Chi Minh City. We were spilt off into groups and set out, by ourselves, on our journey to learn and understand more about the city. The Great Race was very different to the one we completed in Melbourne, as there are different traffic systems in place here and because we weren’t familiar with the city at all. Crossing the road here is challenging because not only do they drive on the opposite side of the road, but there appears to be fewer road rules at traffic lights. Crossing the road is challenging as there are so many motorbikes and cars constantly on the road that don’t stop for you. The key to crossing, we all learnt, is to stay as a group and cross like there’s no tomorrow.
After the Great Race, we were all tired, sweaty and ready for lunch. For lunch we went to Pho24, for a traditional Vietnamese soup called pho. The locals here eat this food as it is quick, easy to digest and fills you up. We then went to the War Memorial Museum, where we learnt about the Vietnamese War and the effects it had on people and families. The museum was confronting as we saw and read about all the terrible things that happened during the war and the effects it had, not only of the soldiers and their families, but even the later generations. It was really interesting to learn about the Vietnamese War and its history as it isn’t something we learn about in school. To finish the busy day on a high, we went to the Ben Thanh market to do some shopping. We were able to bargain for cheap prices and purchase many different items, including shoes, bags, clothes, etc..
To finish off the day, we went to a restaurant where we were served fried rice, chicken, beef noodles, a Vietnamese pancake to share and watermelon to finish. We all had a great first day and are really excited for what the rest of the trip has to bring.
Gemma and Kim!