Two days ago I finally managed to remove myself from Cat Ba island, waves shooing my boat across the sea to Haiphong, as if telling me it was about time I left. A whole week I spent blissfully doing fuck all on the island.
Now, I’m on the other side of the country in the roasting streets of Ho Chi Minh; the southern city that feels much more like the capital than Hanoi, and is referred to by all the locals as Saigon. Unlike Hanoi it’s a modern city and nowhere near as mysterious, but far better for ease of comfort. You can actually walk the sidewalks here; not something I can take for granted anymore. While it may not have that historical feel that enriches Hanoi, Saigon still has loads of character. The endless foreign restaurants stationed along every street produces an overwhelming international feel. Thai and Korean dominates, but there’s also numerous French bistros, patisseries and cafes, Japanese bakeries and the occasional Italian.
After eating almost nothing but club sandwiches for breakfast on Cat Ba island, all I’ve wanted to do in Ho Chi Minh is order more club sandwiches for breakfast. And today luck dealt me the discovery of the Lebanhmi Café, where I was welcomed in by an incredibly friendly waiter with great English who showed to a table well equipped with plug sockets and a menu that suited my needs perfectly. After savouring my breakfast for as long as possible, I made my way through the city. There was someone I needed to go and meet…
On the ground floor of the War Remnants Museum, in district 3 of Ho Chi Minh, I reunited with Tiberius. He’s been loving life, roving all over Vietnam. His face was alight and filled with the joy of travel. He’s decided he wants to travel more than he previously planned. He wants to go to the Philippines and the Middle-East. We sat down in the museum café and informed each other of our differing experiences of Vietnam – one of whose was a lot more eventful than the other’s; no prizes for guessing the answer to that.
But Tiberius was alone. Caligula has been lost. The last we heard from him he’d leaped back to Hanoi. Alas, that’s not a city I’m in any hurry to return to. Tiberius told me more about his travels, about Hue and Da Lat…
When we had finished catching up and reminiscing, we turned our attention to the remnants of war. I thought the museum would serve as an interesting, casual stroll. This was naïve. The War Remnants Museum contains one of the most harrowing exhibits I’ve ever walked through.
Expecting it to be mostly full of captured US war planes and tanks, I was taken off guard when confronted with endless and endlessly painful personal accounts and stories, which only got worse with the photographs of the victims of Agent Orange that filled my stomach simultaneously with sickness and sadness. Tiberius also admitted to getting teary eyed.
We left the museum and, having little idea on where to eat, accidentally subjected ourselves to the dreaded wrath of coriander. Our pork sandwiches were stuffed full of it. Tiberius and I have both come to detest the existence of coriander during our time in South East Asia.
Thankfully, I’ve already had some brilliant meals here in Ho Chi Minh. Take this black dough mushroom and vegetable pizza for example.
Or this fancy sausage roll from the French cafe Tous les Jours…
Tomorrow, Tiberius and I are heading on an excursion outside the city… but we are both reaching a crossroads, and our reunion here in Saigon may be but a brief and temporary thing.
