Life       Backpack

Ready for a new adventure we could not wait to begin our journey through a country we had heard so much about, but we were also excited to explore the entire length of the country on a motorbike. From the point at which we arrived in Ho Chi Minh city on the bus we were already looking to see if we could see any Motorbikes for sale. As we got off our bus, directly across the street was a Honda Win for sale, which is exactly the bike many travelers use to drive the length of Vietnam; Little did we know that that was going to be the bike we bought. After finding a hostel and having a look around for a motorbike in good condition, we found ourselves speaking to the owner of the first bike we saw. With a short test drive and a look over the bike, we took little convincing as we knew this was how we were going to travel Vietnam and so we bought the bike for $230. It came with a few essentials such Bungee chords, a poncho and a helmet which was unfortunately quite useless as it would have probably struggled to protect either of us from an insect let alone a fall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With our new bike and the seller

 

With the intention being to Leave Saigon first thing the following day to make the most of our three weeks, we had to squeeze in a short afternoon visit to the famous war museum which had in-depth details and accounts into the war between 1955 and 1975. Being in the city centre it wasn’t too far away from where we picked up the bike, however getting there on our new bike gave us a little taster into how crazy driving in Vietnam really is, with one women getting knocked off her bike.

 

 

 

War Remnants Museum

 

The museum was definitely a must as we were able to get a real insight as to what went on during the war with it documenting the crimes committed against the Vietnamese during that 19 year period. Along with it being extremely interesting and fascinating to learn about, at times it was also quite disturbing when reading some of the articles and personal accounts aswell as being able to view some of the graphic images. With not a great knowledge on this particular war it was shocking to learn about the full extent of what went on and how so many people were tortured and killed. This powerful museum gives every bit of detail from this dark period in Vietnam’s history, highlighting the amount of suffering that went on and how it still has an impact on their country.