Visiting Vietnam

Just a few days before Ramadhan me and my wife had an opportunity to visit Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). My boss (who had another operations in Vietnam) was celebrating his 10th year of doing business in Vietnam. I was invited to go but the trip coincided with a business meeting with our potential partner of our operations in Vietnam.


This is not my first trip to Vietnam. I had earlier visited HCMC and Hanoi on two previous occasions. But this is the first trip for my wife. We arrived late on Friday and the dinner was on that night. It was therefore a hectic affair. To add to it, something was also brewing back in Malaysia (in our absence). So, I had to excused myself early from the dinner to check my mails and draft some letters. It was however a welcome reprieve for my wife.

The next morning (Saturday) we had our meeting and adjourned for lunch. My wife together with the other guests had a separate program where they were brought to see the famed Chu Chi Tunnels. You have to visit this site to appreciate what the Vietnamese had achieved during the wars. It also reflected their tenacity and ingenuity under the face of foreign threats. Just to reflect on the enormity of the tunnels, it is more than 200km zig zagging across the country, even into Cambodia. Inside the tunnels are hospitals, kitchens, places to make arms, living quarters and a lot more. I had visited this place during my first trip so I did not feel the lost having to attend our meeting instead of the sight seeing.


On Sunday, I took part in the City Tour where we visited the War Museum and also the Independence Palace. We had a good tour guide who spoke good English with a bit of American accent. Again, the tour was worthwhile despite it at times being disgusting to see the effects of war. The atrocities of the Americans (of course nothing was shown about the acts of the Viet Congs) left some of the visitors feeling nauseated. There was even a performance by some kids suffering from the effects of Agent Orange (the chemicals used by the Americans) at the War Museum.



One cannot but be left impressed by the spirit of the Vietnamese and their Supreme Leader, Uncle Ho Chi Minh fighting for their country under tremendous pressure from a world superpower. After going through what they have during the many wars, we should not be surprised at the rate of development that they are experiencing now. But looking at the developments (both in HCMC and Hanoi) one would not believe that they were bombed to the middle ages just a few decades ago.

In the afternoon we managed to find our way to the famed Ben Than market. Thought it has become very touristy, we had no choice but to do our shopping here as we have no time to look for other places. A lot of the shops attendants can speak a little Malay. It just shows how many Malaysians flocked to these places nowadays. My wife managed to buy 3 pieces of materials which will be made into baju kurung in less than 24 hours. They will even send them to our hotel. We even paid for them in Ringgits. In the evening all of us were treated to a dinner on a river cruise. It was an experience by itself, despite the intermittent rain.


On Monday morning before we left for home we managed to wander around the hotel to get some art which were rather cheap. We also managed to visit one of the earliest mosques in HCMC. There are a few other mosques in town. On the way back to the airport we stopped for lunch at Satay House a Malaysian Halal eatery.




It was a hectic trip but was worth it. I would like to come again and this time see Vietnam's beaches. I wonder when that will happen though.