Background

Conrad & Mareli are two recently married individuals hailing from sunny South Africa. They recently decided to pack up their lives and travel through Southeast Asia, starting in Vietnam. Visit their webpage (http://www.findingcloudcuckooland.co.za/) where you can follow their story, look at their photos or just drop in to say hello. They are photographers, designers, organisers and are always on the lookout for new opportunities and adventures, so please don’t hesitate to contact them!

Good Morning Vietnam!

Veni, vidi, Amavi! Loosely translated: “We came, we saw, we love!” Saying this, it has only been 72 hours since the beginning of our adventure, but we are breathing in Ho Chi Minh City and love every moment.

Arriving on Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport, suitcase in hand and tired from a long flight, we headed straight to the visa counter. We applied for our visas the day before (extremely last minute) and were quite sceptical about the process. After we gave our papers to the small, friendly government officer on the other side of the counter, we were told to wait five minutes. 5 minutes turned into around 45 minutes while tour guides with lots of passports were passing by. At last our visas got approved, our passports stamped and we were ready to take on the city.

We have arrived after days of wondering, months of talking and years of dreaming. This was our reality now: new age nomads with no idea of what our future may hold. Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, is a city that never sleeps, with friendly people and scooters everywhere. Phạm Ngũ Lão Street, just around the corner from where we stay, is filled with bars, restaurants, massage parlours, shops, travel desks, etc. Naturally we headed there first for a well-deserved beer. As we sat down at a little bar called Happy Life, it happened to be right next to two of our country (wo)men; they gave us some advice on where to eat, where to shop and where to go. It’s always comforting to find friendly people when travelling and even better if they are from your homeland. We spent the rest of the night wandering around this famous street, enjoying local beers – Green Saigon, Tiger and Biere Larue to name a few – all delicious and very affordable. Here people enjoy the company of fellow travellers and locals sitting on small plastic chairs facing the street until the early hours of the morning.

The following day we headed to a restaurant recommended by our country (wo)men the previous night, a little place called Bún chả at 145 Bùi Viện Street, where we had some amazing Vietnamese food: Bún chả and bò nướng lá lốt. Bún chả is a dish that consists of pork patties, rice noodles and a hand full of herbs, while bò nướng lá lốt is beef wrapped in pepper leaves, also accompanied by rice noodles. Both dishes were equally delicious and very filling. With our tummies filled we started walking, in my opinion the best way to explore a city – a lesson learned in India from two very eager travellers who wanted to see a fort 10 km away. We headed for Bến Thành Market, a place where everything– from the newest Nikes to a new North Face Backpack – can be found at half the cost. (Tip: Just head outside the market to the surrounding streets; you’ll find the same products at an even better price.) And haggle, haggle, haggle. For westerners this may be a strange concept, but prices sky rocket when you arrive at a shop not looking like a local. Don’t worry to go too low; locals won’t sell their products to you for less they can afford to. We picked up two Samsonite bags at a very low price and continued our walking excursion through Ho Chi Minh.

We happened to come across a few interesting places, namely the Notre Dame Cathedral, the Mekong River, a Hard Rock Cafe and a street dedicated to books. Our journey ended at the Sunflower Spa with a foot massage, which comes highly recommended and very affordable.

Ho Chi Minh City has many things to offer and we have seen but a glimpse. Each day is more promising than the previous; we are eager students on a journey and can’t wait to see what the future holds.