Saigon, Vietnam, Oct.25
Every year, usually stretching around the first week of October, China gets it annual “Mid-Autumn Festival” holidays, or Golden Week as they’ve become affectionately known. It’s similar (but different) to the Chinese New Year Spring Festival holidays. Similar in the way that everyone gets the same days off, and therefore hundreds of millions of people all travel at the same time (and sheer pleasure that entails, as you can imagine) but different in the way that the Spring Festival holidays are a time for people to travel home and see family, wherever that might be. But Golden Week is a time for vacation, for travel, to see new places, new sights and smells, then simultaneously refuse to eat anywhere except Chinese restaurants, and then inevitably complain about the taste/price/authenticity etc etc etc. Oh yes, Golden Week is a barrel of laughs. And with flight tickets seemingly getting cheaper by the year, there are several tourist hotspots, around Asia and the world, for Chinese holiday-ers to gather en masse. Thailand is visa-free for Chinese people, so I avoid those crowds like the plague. Japan is another firm favourite of travellers here, but I feel so sorry for those poor lovelies having to deal with a week of hellish tourists, I feel it’s best to leave that well alone, too. But damn, it’s a holiday, I work hard (sometimes) and I need a break. So just to be as worldly adventurous as British holidaymakers are famous for, I went back to the exact same country I went to, for the exact same Golden Week holiday, at the exact same time, with the exact same person, as I did last year. Vietnam.
There’s plenty of things to like about Vietnam. It’s close, therefore the two- and-a-half-hour flight ticket is very affordable. As is hotels, AirBNB, guest houses and so on. The food is incredible, and especially good for my dear self as there are tons of vegetarian and vegan places dotted all over. The weather is hot (I’ll get back to that later) and the beer is cold and cheap. Last year, I went to the countries capital, Hanoi, and although it was super touristy, had a fantastic time. This time, just to mix things up a bit and cast ones eyes on something fresh, Saigon was the target (And I mean that purely figuratively, Saigon has unfortunately been the target before in another sense, which I’ll also get back to later.) My travel companion was, once again, the burly Czech, Frankie B, my partner in many things photographic and alcoholic. So, with cameras packed, off we set, Hong Kong airport to Saigon, for a week of fun in the sun. Last year in Hanoi I personally took it far less a photo-trip, and far more of just taking a few snaps and relaxing for a week, but if you’ve previously read my blog post on that trip (Hanoi, Vietnam, Oct. 24 — InnerReflection.net) you’ll know I was somewhat underwhelmed by the photos I got there. They were ok, but nothing more. Holiday snaps. So this year I wanted to try a bit harder, to focus on taking something a bit more meaningful, a bit more intentional. Something better. Did I succeed? Well, you be the judge of that. Anyhow, I’ll skip the photography talk to the end. Consider this scribble not so much like a written piece like I’d usually post here, and more like a very rough guide to my time in Saigon. And I mean really rough. So, here we go.
If someone asks me to take their photo when I’m on me’ travels, I happily oblige. These two asked, so here they are.
What did we see? Saigon, in comparison to Hanoi, is far less of a tourist city. Sure, there were tourists there, but nothing like Hanoi attracts them. And so with that, most things feel less… touristy. There’s less day trips here and there, although there still are some. Less souvenir markets, less pissheads on bar street. There are also less scooter-hire shops, and hallalujah to that. Saigon has about a billion scooters screaming past you all the time, so the less dumbass tourists on them the better. Every time I crossed the street in Saigon, my arsehole tied itself up like a balloon knot. It’s not for the faint hearted. But in a way, less tourists felt good. Saigon is far more of a city than a tourist trap. We spent the first full day there downtown, finding the shops we wanted to visit and all that stuff, then spent more time away from the bustling hub. The Chinatown area was fun. Much more “local” than anything downtown, and overall much more relaxed. The big indoor market there is great, and as the Vietnamese also celebrate some form of holiday/festival at this time of year, the street shops were filled with ornaments and decorations. Getting away from the downtown area was really the best places for me. If you went to Saigon and only stayed in the main downtown area, I can imagine you’d be bored after a couple of days. Stretch your legs a bit, go for a nice long walk, see whats hiding down back alleys and side streets . That’s where the gold is. Temples, churches, mosques, barbeque stands, people mending shoes, ice coffee being sold out of a plastic bucket… That’s the kind of things I want to see.
We’ve all had days like that, bless her.
Bar street souvenir-seller and her gun-wileding bodyguard, to keep the ruffians at bay.
I’ve been very interested in the Vietnam/American war (name depending on who you ask) since I was a teenager, and unfortunately Hanoi had almost zero there about it all. Saigon, thankfully, had more. The war museums there are fascinating, but, as expected, tell a very one-sided story. Some of the photos and images there can be quite graphic and distressing, and leave you with far more questions than answers. After hearing about all these horrific and unhuman events and massacres and such intense suffering, we went one day to the tunnel system there, used by Vietnamese soldiers against the US troops. The first stop, before the tunnels area, was to a shooting range. I had in my mind that I’d like to squeeze the trigger and pop off a few shells, as I’d done in Thailand a few years previously, but when I got there it just didn’t feel right. We’d heard all about these grotesque killings and the amount of innocent victims of US soldiers there, (they say that 3 million Vietnamese were killed in the war, and 2 million of those were innocent civilians) and then next day we can pay money to fire 50-year old US guns into the forests, where, 50 year ago, US soldiers were using those same guns to fire into villagers. I know people need to make money, and shooting guns is a popular tourist thing to do in some parts of Asia, but personally I feel like Vietnam has heard the sound of enough bullets for a while. The tunnel system place there was alright, but a bit of a disappointment. I’m not sure what I’d expected, but seeing as the guide kept telling us how the tunnels went on for 250km underground in that area, what we were allowed to see was a tiny amount. It was ok, good for a couple of hours, but I’d never feel the need to go see it again.
Life’s not fair, but nobody ever said it was.
Overall, Saigon doesn’t really have a huge amount to see and do, which I imagine defines why it’s less attractive to tourists. I’m sure if you dig a bit deeper than we did, you’d be able to find museums and galleries and exhibitions, theatre and so on, but it’s just not really a “holiday spot.” It’s a cool place, but don’t hold your expectations too high. In comparison to Hanoi, it’s poles apart. Hanoi is bustling with street markets, food vendors, train street, InstaGram photo spots on every corner, whereas Saigon is mostly just like another Asian city. In Hanoi, everywhere you look there’s something to do, something to see. In Saigon, you’ve got to go looking for it.
Just like in China, some people have the Olympic-level ability to not only balance, but also sleep on their motorbikes.
The rain was infrequent, unexpected, and heavy. This Grab driver took a break in a Banh Mi shop, and I don’t blame him.
What was the weather like? Quite simply, tiring. The sun was scorching hot most of the time, between 32 and 34 degrees, but with the humidity it felt much more like approaching 40. And I think it rained every day we were there, from mild showers to torrential downpours. After day 1, I learned to take an umbrella with me, everywhere we went. Thankfully, the umbrella doubled up as protection from the sun. I know sunscreen cream is the best protection, but I just sweat it out and then burn to a crisp. I may look like a total knob with an umbrella open in the middle of a blazing hot day, but I look far more of a knob when my face is red as a tomato.
These ladies were great. The rain hit, they all scrambled to don their plastic rain coats and were laughing so much, their happiness was a real joy to watch. They waved at me and I gestured to take a photo, and they were playing up to it all. Fantastic moment.
If you visit Saigon and you’re a fan of massage establishments and girls with huge fake boobs, I strongly advise you to visit the Japanese quarter. You truly will not be disappointed.
What did we eat? Here’s where Saigon comes into it’s own; The food is sensational. Frankie is a meat muncher and I’m a vege, but neither of us had any complaints about the food at all. Eating local fare in local eateries is going to cost you somewhere between 10-30rmb (so about $1.50-4usd) per meal, something like grilled beef or pork with rice or noodles. Banh Mi, their crusty bread stuffed sandwich, is available everywhere, and as little as 5rmb each, and they are perfect as a decent snack. As a non-meat eater, it’s super easy to find local places to eat all over. Thankfully, in Vietnam they use the alphabet, and on their signs and menus the word “Chay” means vegan (I actually spotted more places that said “vegan” than “vegetarian,” how I wish China was like this) so finding suitable non-meat food is a breeze. Getting far away from any tousist areas, there were still a lot of Chay-places, meaning that the local Vietnamese people must also enjoy going vege. Very refreshing to see that. Possibly the best thing I ate all week was these vege-curry noodles, with lime and beansprouts and all other good stuff. About 12rmb, from an old guy with a food-bicycle thing. Incredibly good. Even the couple of times we ate in Western places, the prices were super reasonable, less than 100rmb each, so around $15usd. One place that has to be mentioned, and it feels funny to do this but it’s so damned good, is 4P’s Pizza. Oh my word. They have a bunch scattered across Vietnam, and I can’t recommend it enough. Whatever your budget, whatever you like to eat, you will not go hungry in Vietnam.
What did we drink? Beer! And lots of it!! Local beers like Saigon Bia or 333 is around 4rmb per can, less than a US buck. I also had very little trouble finding my favourite Asahi, Sapporo, even Special Brew (or “Tramp Juice” as we lovingly call it in England.) Had a couple of nice ciders, too. And into the trip, busting for a pee, we stopped in a bar called 7 Bridges, to cool down, use the facilities, and enjoy a brew. They have a superb selection of quality craft beers, great service, and very good prices (around 40rmb for a 400ml craft beer, which is way cheaper than most places I’ve been to.) The thing I liked most about them though is they have a “Zero Waste” policy, meaning that all the ingredients used for making their beer gets reused in other ways. They re-use yeast, old beer, vinegar, everything, into making their own mustard and hot sauces, soap, tons of stuff. Check out their website if you’d like to find out more (it’s www.7bridges.vn) How I wish more establishments would take a note out of their book and follow suit. 7 Bridges have locations in several cities across Vietnam, I strongly suggest you give them a visit. In another Irish-esque type bar place we paid around 14rmb per bottled beer, still very reasonable indeed. Apart from beers it’s all the usual stuff. I enjoyed a few iced coffees that were, unquestionably, fantastic. Even asking for oat milk wasn’t an issue. Vietnam is coffee lovers heaven. If you’re not a coffee person, on every side street you’ll find fresh juice and smoothies, all cheap and delicious, or fresh coconuts just waiting to be choppped open and drank with a straw. You will not go thirsty in Vietnam.
This little sweetheart was selling small bags of fish snack things. She asked, in perfect English, if I’d like one. I said no. She replied with “If you buy one you can take my photo.” Now that’s an entrepreneur right there.
Similarities and differences between Vietnam and China; Seeing as these two countries are neighbours, you’d think they’d be pretty similar, but there’s some big differences, some good, some not so. One thing I loved is that so few people smoked there. After noticing it, I was keeping an eye out for smokers, and I saw maybe 3 to 6 people per day smoking a cigarette. Come to Shenzhen and you can see 6 smokers a minute some days (and don’t get me started on people smoking in restaurants, malls, elevators, shops… Christ I hate it.) Another thing that really impressed me there is that a lot of people spoke English to me and engaged in conversation. And I don’t mean tourist place workers, I mean fruit sellers, shop keepers, local, normal people wanting to speak. Hallalujah for friendly people. Another huge difference to me was the lack of brain-dead phone zombies walking obliviously through the streets. So few people use their phones while walking there, praise the lord. In Shenzhen it seems like people cannot do anything, from riding a bike to taking a shit, without mind-numbingly staring at a phone screen. And oh my word, in a week there I didn’t hear ONE PERSON HOCKING THEIR LUNGS UP AND SPITTING. This is probably the thing I find most disgusting about living in China, is all the spitting. It’s beyong revolting. I’d make it illegal if I could. Who, ever, thinks its socially acceptable to spit all over the place, in public, with zero shame. It’s repugnant. (Apologies; This is not a rant.)
Markets can be great for photos, especially in the evening.
But, in comparison to China, there has to be a bad side too. Although Vietnam is probably considered “less developed” in many ways, it’s still a very open, warm and friendly place, but the thing the really got me was the children on bar street. Firstly, bar street is incredibly noisy, with bars blaring out electronic music, rock music, at deafening volumes. And there’s a bunch of young mothers there, with babies just a few months old, begging on blankets on the floor. Those kids are gong to grown up with issues. There was surprisingly few beggars in other areas we visitied, very few, but mothers begging on the floor with tiny babies is not a pleasant sight to see. Another spectacle was the fire-eaters. There’s some adults doing it, some young men doing it, and two little girls, I’m guessing around 6 or 7 years old, also doing it. Yes, let me say that again; 6 or 7 year old girls, breathing fire. That’s taking gasoline into your mouth and blasting it out through a flame, and hoping nothing goes wrong. I’m not a parent, but this still really hit me. We almost never see beggars in Shenzhen, or any other places in China, and thankfully I’ve never seen children in such a heartbreaking situation as in Saigon. I’ve seen far worse in the Phillippines, Cambodia and Thailand, but yeh, kids or animals suffering is what can really affect me, wherever it may be.
Why the fuck have dogs if you are just going to make them live on a chain. Four legs good, two legs bad.
Final thoughts; So yeh, as you can probably tell, it was a very enjoyable trip, but I doubt I’ll feel the need to visit Saigon for some time. Hanoi last year was a lovely break from the heat and mosquitoes of Shenzhen, but Saigon was just as hot, and just as many rabid insects waiting to feast on you (writing this blurb 5 weeks after returning, I still have half a dozen obvious red spots from the ferocious flying bastards that dined on me.) Saigon had far less tourist stuff, but sometimes tourist stuff is a lot of fun. The price for everything, from the flight to the AirBNB to the meals, was all very reasonable indeed. I’d probably recommend Hanoi over Saigon to others, but it all depends what you’re looking for in a holiday. We had fun, ate well, saw some sights, had a few laughs, and got home safe (but tired, damn we walked bloody miles) and got some happy memories from it all. There will be another Golden Week holiday at the same time next year, but will I visit Vietnam again? Probably not.
Nearly everyone was very welcoming at us taking their photo. But not all.
Photography Notes; So this was a good trip to actually kick myself in the arse a bit and try to get some reasonable photos out of it. I wanted photos that might have a bit more individuality to them, so instead of packing my usual Canon 5D4 workhorse, I took along the original gangster, the 2005 5D-inosaur. I wanted shots that were a bit softer, a bit less clinical, something that might give the streets of Saigon a sprinkle of fairy dust. I also didn’t want to be weighed down too heavy, so my main lens was the cheap and cheerful nifty-thrifty 50. Light, plastic, inexpensive, and good enough. When I started to take photography seriously, I used a 50mm lens probably 99% of the time for several years. I’m just used to it. It’s not perfect by any means, but it’s very usable. I also took one film camera, the EOS 55, and a couple of rolls of Lomography film, expired 2012. My back up/evening camera was the Canon 6D, and I also dragged along the Tokina 105mm f2.8 macro lens, but barely used it at all.
I was using spot metering and exposure compensation to get the background shadows to black-out, but what I didn’t initially notice was this beautiful dogs companions behind, smiling and waving at the camera…
One issue with the original 5D is that it’s a capricious beast, and has a tendency to either under or over expose, depending on its current mood. And the 5D screen is bloody awful, you might as well ask a fortune teller if the photos are in focus or not. But, if you can work within its limitations, I love it. If the 5D had auto ISO, I would happily sell all my other cameras and just keep that one. I love how it feels, I love the shutter sound, but most of all I love the images and the colours it produces. Some people say “painterly,” some others say “filmic.” I just say they are somehow nostalgic, less digital, and far less perfect than modern camera sensors. The main drawback with the beast is that it’s only 12mp, so any drastic cropping in post processing is a bit of a bugger.
5D-inosaur with the thrift-fifty, 6400iso at night. Grainy, but usable.
Over the previous 2 weeks before the trip, I’d taught two photography workshops at one of the international highschools here in Shenzhen, and part of those workshops were slow shutter speed photography. With that firmly impressioned in mind, I attempted to snap off a few slower shutter speed photos, sometimes with manual focus to give it a bit more blur. Most failed, but a handful worked. I’m happy with those that did.
I may have been a little heavy-handed in LightRoom with this one, but so what.
Photography Etiquette; Generally, I prefer to shoot street photography alone. It’s fun to be with friends on a photowalk or whatever, but I rarely get anything worth keeping. I get talking, drink some beers, and my mind strays from the job at hand. On this trip we were together pretty much all the time, so we often spotted the same thing at the same time, and both tried to snap it. And this is where Frankie, temporarily, got a new name. On a few occasions during the trip, I christened my travel partner “For fucks sake, Frankie.” Unknowingly, he would often just be there, in my view and in my frame, his looming Czech presence and body, anytime I was trying to get a shot or shoot some video on my phone. This, to say the least, is annoying. He didn’t mean to of course, but guys, if you’re with a photo-buddy on an outing, please, watch where they are, and if they pull their camera up to their eye, GTFO of the way. One time I did it to him, on purpose, and he gave me a Paddington hard-stare that seemed like he might pop a vein on his neck.
To sum up the trip, photographically, I’m happier than last years trip to Hanoi. This time I was definitely more focused on taking photos, and even though there were a couple of days I got absolutely zero, the other days I got a few. There’s nothing amazing, but some keepers. Last year in Hanoi I just took the Sony RX1 digital, and although that’s a monster of a tiny cam, it focuses so slowly sometimes it can be painful. Someone once said “If you want to take better photos, stand in front of something more interesting” (or something like that) and for this trip at least, I couldn’t agree more. Taking your camera to a museum or bar street probably isn’t going to reap the photo-gold we all crave. Take a walk away from the bright lights. Follow your nose. This year I’ve come away happier, with what I consider some better photos. And the amazing, incredible, photographic bangers I saw, yet sadly missed? I’ll blame that on “for fucks sake, Frankie.” :D
