Bird’s Nest Bevarage – 25% bird’s nest

Every asian country has a variation on the rickshaw theme. In Vietnam it’s the cyclo. Imagine sitting in a slightly upturned wheelbarrow with a bike attached to the back and an old skinny man powering the contraption with legs of steel. That is a cyclo.

We hailed one vehicle each and hopped in for the short journey to the Reunification Palace. So began our first journey on the suicidal roads of Vietnam.

In other forms of rickshaw it’s not always possible to see where you are heading (a blessing trust me – its usually in the direction of an oncoming car) but in a cyclo you are exposed, essentially forming the front bumper of the vehicle. Hence you are the first part of the vehicle to pull out onto a street of speeding cars, the first part to smash into the back of a bike that broke too suddenly, and the first part to scream when you cross over into the wrong lane and hundreds of modpeds are steaming towards you. Driving down the M25 in an armchair is the best way i can describe it.

Built in 1966 to serve as South Vietnam’s presidential residence, the Reunification Palace is now a museum full of historical exhibits. The building itself is also of interest.

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Ho Chi Minh is Vietnam’s biggest city. Another bustling asian metropolis, it’s streets team with activity at all hours; buying, selling, eating, washing, gambling and occassionally sleeping.

Saigon (which it is still affectionately called by its inhabitants)
was once described as the Paris or Pearl of the Orient, reflecting French control of Vietnam after 1858 for almost a century. The influence of France lies heavy over the city, architecturally and culturally at least. Traditional, quaint wooden shophouses jostle for space with historic, crumbling colonial mansions. Narrow alleyways crammed with noodle shops and stalls lead onto wide, elegant boulevards lined with boutiques. Worshippers flock to Chinese inspired pagodas or neo-romanesque cathedrals and catholic churches.

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