Saigon and Hanoi

Yes - Saigon. Whilst it was renamed Ho Chi Minh City after "the American War" as the Vietnamese call it, many people stick to the name of Saigon.  Both cities were bustling / mad cap affairs. You cross the roads with care, no regard is given to red lights / zebra crossings by the manic scooter riders! each has it`s share of temples , markets , street traders and street food. Pavements are not for walking 0n. Here you park your scooters using every inch of space, cook up a meal, sell your wares or if you are feeling cold just start up a fire. It`s magical just to walk around with a 50mm lens on and shoot life around you.
No more words just a load of pictures!

Saigon

Market foodtsalls

Buddhist temple

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Notre Dame Cathedral

The Post Office

Post Office interior

The Opera House

Market stalls

Street food

Street Lights

 We went to the Cu Chi Tunnels too. Amazing warren of tiny tunnels that the Viet Cong used in the jungle to outflank / trap American GIs. They`d widened a few of the tunnels to enable western tourists to access - a totally claustrophobic experience that made you scramble on all fours. Our shooting range practice failed too!

Demonstrating the little hiding holes

Our mad guide

Peter struggled to understand him but his regular bursts into song were amusing ... at first!

 We visited the presidential palace and saw that famous shot donated by the photographer to the display

Hanoi
Slightly less mad and frenetic traffic wise was Hanoi - but only slightly less so. We had out only rainy day of the holiday here and did a mega "city walk" on the 2nd day taking us out to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

The famous red bridge

Bribery and corruption. Our taxi was stopped for a "licence check" - cost him a bit!

I see you!

Fancy paint, fancy wiring!

Bag of goldfish anyone?

The only railway in town!

 Bumped into these cuties at the Ethnic Museum who happily posed with teachers for tourists. Wouldn`t allow that in the UK!

Strange handrails!

Hmmm! All the appendages had been broken off somehow and glued back on!

The Water Puppet show was odd

The Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum was a heavily policed affair with no frivolity allowed. Ignoring his wishes of a cremation his body is shipped to Russia every 7 years to be  treated and kept in a glass box for all to file past. Looking as lifelike as Michael Jackson he lies serenely under armed guard.
His palace was very nice.

Time for rooftop cocktails

 Perhaps the oddest pavement fire was this arsonist in front of our hotel. She was burning wads of what seemed to be American dollars. Our guide explained that this was to purify the air around her and to honour her ancestors. Given that the money was fake I`m thinking the ancestors in the air around her might have sussed this was not such a grand gesture!

All in all a fantastic trip. maybe too much travelling in a fortnight given the various plane journeys, coach and riverboat trips but all made for a fantastic holiday full of laughs with good friends. What more could you ask? If you`re thinking of going to that neck of the woods - just go! It`s a fantastic experience.