Ho Chi Minh City (previously Saigon)

We spent our remaining time in Vietnam in HCMC.  I don't think I've written about this yet - we had tried to extend our one month visa in Da Nang, but it was impossible to do so without paying a bribe.  There is no reason why we shouldn't be able to walk into a visa office in any major city in Vietnam and request a visa extension - this can be done at any Vietnamese embassy in the world, and in other offices in other cities.  However, in Da Nang they insist for you to go through a tourist agency to "help with the process".  We don't need help - we've already found the embassy, and the extension form is in English, and it's very simple.  The visa extension should cost $10, with the "help" of an agency, it becomes $50 to $100, per person.  Maybe a bit less if you shop around, more if you want to "expedite" the processes and wait less than a week.  We went to 2 different visa offices, both said the same thing.  One of the officials even showed me the form - when I asked for a copy, he said I could get it from the travel agency.  Even though he had the copies in his hand!  So, Caryl and I got angry, and decided not to extend our visa, but to move on to Cambodia.

So, Ho Chi Minh City was pretty crazy - it's the largest city in Vietnam.  We liked it, but it's size and chaos were a little overwhelming at times.  A little background on the name - when the Khmer (present day Cambodians) ruled the area, it was called Prey Nokor.  Then, it was annexed by the Vietnamese in the 17th century, who renamed it Gia Dinh.  When the French came to power in the 1860s, they westernized the name, calling the city Saigon.  When the communist northern Vietnam took over South Vietnam in 1975, they renamed the city after Ho Chi Minh, who, of course, was the communist leader of the north.  Today, both names are in use - for example, Saigon was written on the train boards and on our bus tickets.  Most of the Vietnamese who fled the county after the war refer to it as Saigon for political reasons.  Additionally, Saigon is still the official name of District 1, the touristy old city center.

Picture 1: Caryl enjoying the main market.
Picture 2: Holy cow!  Seriously, a lovely sacred cow statue at a Hindu temple.
Picture 3: Parliament building.
Pictures 4 & 5: Crazy window washers near the Parliament building.
Picture 6: Municipal Theatre/Saigon Opera House - built under French rule.
Picture 7: Captain Planet graffiti (currently my tablet background).
Pictures 8 & 9: How is this OK?! Tying cabels around trees is NOT up to code.  This is how fires start.
Pictures 10-14: We saw these all around town (and all over the country).
Picture 15: Old Saigon post office.
Pictures 16 & 17: Notre Dame Basilica (established by French colonists).
Picture 18: Framing shop in HCMC.  Dep means beautiful.  :)
Picture 19: So many crazy motorcycle drivers!  We have some awesome videos of us trying to cross the streets here.
Pictures 20-26: Phuoc Hai Tu pagoda.
Picture 27: Reunification Palace (in District 1).