At the Airport…Waiting

TG-4, f6.3, 1/160, ISO 800, RAW

Last Day in Saigon

Last day in Saigon was spent mostly taking it easy and getting my flight back to Hue sorted.

Saigon wasn’t any more interesting after getting back and without a motorbike it wasn’t easy to get around.

Instead of sitting around in my hotel, I decided to go to the cinema in the evening.

It was nice and a good way to spend the remaining time in Saigon although I’m looking forward to get out of here tomorrow morning.

A Day in Saigon

Stepping out from the backpackers area makes Saigon a bit more bearable but only slightly. You soon notice all the coffee shop chains and western influences that make Saigon just a bland city that could be anywhere else in the world.

It becomes tiring very soon when as a foreigner you have to constantly argue and haggle to pay the correct price for a bottle of water or anything else for that matter.

Overall, I am happy to be leaving the city tomorrow. I can’t really recommend anyone to visit Saigon, if you want to actually see Vietnam go to Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue or any other city but not Saigon.
On the other hand if you want to see the same things you can see back home or in any other tourist places in Asia then it might be a place you enjoy.

Evening in Saigon (or the 2nd Worst City in Asia)

I’ve been to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City twice but never spent any real time here. While I really like Hanoi and spent a lot of time there, Saigon never really clicked with me.

Since I had a few days off and it was Get holiday in Vietnam, I figured another visit to Saigon could be fun and I can see more of the city.

Well, my first impressions were even worse than what I remembered, people who try to cheat and overcharge you, a backpackers area that looks like the worst areas in Bangkok, people trying to stele things and nothing to see of the Vietnam I love and that made me move here.

Maybe it’s just the first impression if you stay around the backpackers area but Bui Vien seems to be the worst street in Vietnam and so far Saigon is just above Manila for being the worst city in all of Asia.

Hopefully my impression will change during the day tomorrow. So far I can’t wait to leave the city again and never come back.

Day 75 – HCMC to Phnom Penh

After having my GXR and Surface charger stolen, I spent the morning running around every computer shop in Ho Chi Minh City in the hope of finding a replacement charger.

Unfortunately my search was unsuccessful as nobody has this charger. The Surface Pro is a fantastic device to replace your computer and especially as a travel device for photographers but the proprietary charger is the biggest problem. I hope I will find a solution or a charger in Phnom Penh.

At least I managed to pick up a new Ricoh GR for Tom so he can use while joining me on my trip through Cambodia and Thailand.

After all the running around trying to find a charger, I just about managed to catch the 13:00 Mekong Express bus to Phnom Penh.

Day 74 – Saigon Surprise

The day started quite nice with me sleeping in a bit and then enjoying the views while sorting through my pictures.

The surprise came once I arrived at Saigon station, it was also a lesson for the day. A lesson I knew but did not follow properly.

The lesson is that you should never leave your bags unattended in a train and especially never ever leave your camera with expensive lenses in this said bag.

During the train journey I decided to go to the restaurant car and get a coffee while leaving my big backpack in the compartment with my Ricoh GXR A12-M, Jupiter-8 and Heliar 15mm lenses in there.

On the way back, I had a chat with some locals and another traveler before returning to my compartment to find my bag in the hands of the train attendant. She was looking after it once she noticed I was gone a bit longer.

At first I was very glad about this and the great service provided, until I realized the bag felt too light. Upon inspection I noticed that my Ricoh GXR A12-M with both lenses was gone, together with my Surface power adapter and some small stuff.

I was pretty annoyed with the whole situation, especially after losing my Fonepad only a few days ago. Think the worst for me was losing the Surface power adapter as I knew there was little chance of me finding one anytime soon.

While I really liked my GXR A12-M and both lenses, they were less important for the immediate journey and also easier to replace once I will return from this trip. The loss of the power adapter meat that I could not use the Surface anymore for my pictures and for posting.

This whole thing also meant I spent the best part of the evening at the station police office trying to get them to look for my stuff and to get my statement recorded in the hope of getting a bit of money from my travel insurance back.

So overall it was not the best of days and now I will be without a GXR for the remainder of my journey. I guess the positive aspect is that I will be travelling lighter and don’t have to worry about charging two cameras.

I doubt they will find my stuff, no matter how rare it is and how little chance the guy will have at selling this stuff on.

Now, if you wonder why I sound so calm despite someone stealing my stuff, it’s because I learned that shit can always happen, it was mostly my part for not taking enough care of my stuff and it’s only stuff so I won’t let this or anything disrupt my journey.

Tomorrow will be a busy day with me running to the different computer shops in the hope of finding a new power adapter for the surface and trying to get some other stuff sorted before taking the bus to Phnom Penh in the afternoon.

Day 73 – Hoi An to Hue Then Hue to Saigon

Initially, I planned to stay longer in Hoi An but due to the longer time I spent in Hue, I had to get back on the bike and head back to Hue so I could catch the evening train to Ho Chi Minh City.

On the way back, I stopped at Marble Mountain for a visit and to take pictures. The first time I drove past it, I thought it was relatively small and not worth the visit. I realized how wrong I was when I entered one of the caves with hidden temples and statues inside.

Marble Mountain is definitely worth a visit for the caves alone, you feel like Indiana Jones exploring some lost and hidden temples like this. Especially if it’s raining as was the case today.
You also get great views of the surrounding landscape from the top of the mountain itself.

Since I had to get my train at 19:20 in the evening, the drive back to Hue was a bit faster then on the way to Hoi An. This did not stop me from not taking the right turn and ending up a bit off the planned route at first bjt it meant I could check out another sight near Danang.

Crossing over the Hai Van pass was again a fantastic experience, both the drive and also the views without fog this time round.

After the Hai Van pass, it was time for a quick lunch by the lake before continuing on to Hue where the train to Saigon ended up being 2 hours late. This means I will arrive tomorrow late afternoon in Ho Chi Minh so will have a bit less time there for photography.

Day in Saigon

Arrived in Saigon at 5am this morning for a one day stopover on our way to Cambodia.
It is funny how much you get done by getting up early, by lunch time we have already seen most of he sights in Saigon.
Saigon feels very loud and busy, especially after Hue and Hoi An but is quite interesting.

Did not get any amazing pictures so only a very small series with my main impressions of Saigon.