Ho Chi Minh is a very busy city. It’s estimated to have about 8 million people with around 6.5 million scooters. It is wild. I mentioned in another post how crazy it is to cross the street. I tried to video crossing one here:
Because the city is so populated and so busy, but with relatively small space, vendors are set up along every alley and every street selling food. We have tried some pretty amazing food for an absurdly low price. Our family of four can easily eat lunch for $5 total.
Another fun and cheap past time is strolling through the various markets. The biggest (and known for the best quality) is Ben Than Market. The vendors get their food at around 2am and then set it up to sell in the large market until it either sells out, or it gets too hot. While it doesn’t seem too sanitary (especially with the rats chowing down alongside the booths), we have all eaten well and have yet to suffer any intestinal issues.
There were too many amazing pics of the market, so they are in the video here:
We did throw in a full blown school lesson by visiting the War Remnants Museum. The outside portion was filled with various American military equipment. The kids loved looking at the equipment.
We were approached by one man (around 65 years old) who had had both of his lower arms and hands, as well as part of his face, blown off by a land mine when he was 8 years old. There is a lot of sadness going on at the museum.
And then, you walk inside the various torture chambers and jails that the USA/South Vietnamese used to torture and detain expected Viet Cong guerrillas. I won’t go on about the types of torture that the Americans oversaw during the war, but it was a stark reminder that America doesn’t always hold the high ground.
Inside the museum, you learn about the 3 million Vietnamese that died in the war. The most heartbreaking though for me was seeing the damage that the Agent Orange did to not only the people living during that time of war, but also to up to four generations of children later. This is a must-do stop for any Americans who want to know more about the Vietnam War. There is fair amount of communist spin to the museum, but it certainly gives the “other side of the story”.
We finished up the day by eating some of the most amazing sushi any of us had ever had. If you come to Ho Chi Minh City, go here.
