Palace Hotel

We flew this afternoon from Siem Reap, Cambodia, to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, a short flight, then checked into our hotel, the Palace Hotel. The hotel was located on Ngugen Hue Road, a pedestrian street––at least it was when we were here as a Tet Flower Festival was on the street in front of the hotel. We were where the action was.

Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon (and still called by many by its original name), would be boiling hot and humid tomorrow, but at night it was very pleasant. We met our Gate 1 tour guide for Vietnam, Tho, and we were already happy with him.

We had just left Cambodia where its people couldn’t have been nicer to us, always courteous and smiling. It was a culture shock being in Vietnam. I went to a cafe the next day to have a sandwich and drink and was nastily accused by a young man of cutting in head of him. I didn’t think I did but I apologized anyway, but he still gave me nasty looks. I ordered coffee at another cafe this evening and it was awful. They use sweetened condensed milk here as cream. I asked to have it remade with just regular milk. It was very strong and I didn’t care for it much, but many people like Vietnamese coffee. The counterpeople did not smile. Then when I went to the Flower Festival I kept being bumped into.

I thought that maybe Westerners are not liked much here. Or that the French had left an unpleasant behavioral influence in Vietnam––it is so easy to blame the French. But then I realized that the Vietnamese were acting like the Chinese do in China and we were talking about a Chinese behavioral influence. I asked Tho about this and he agreed.

However, in defense of the Vietnamese, everything changed two days later––Lunar New Year Day. Almost everyone was wishing us Happy New Year and smiling at us. It was as if a great weight had lifted from their shoulders.

Palace Hotel

The dragon head at the Palace Hotel.

Palace Hotel

The tail of the dragon.

Palace Hotel

Restaurant poster in the hotel.

Palace Hotel

One the poster: “Get Drunk!!! Get Full!!!” Yes, the action is at our hotel. 150.000 dong for the buffet would be only $7.22. 385.000 dong to get drunk would be $18.53.

Palace Hotel

Food on the poster. It looked good but I went elsewhere to eat as I wasn’t that hungry.

Miss Universe Vietnam

This tall woman was getting much attention. I took a photo of her even though I had no idea who she was. I asked someone and was told that she was Miss Universe Vietnam. Obviously, she is well recognized.

Ngugen Hue Road

A building lit up across the road.

Ngugen Hue Road

A hotel lit up.

Ngugen Hue Road

A nightspot lit up.

Ngugen Hue Road

And across the road.

Ngugen Hue Road–Movie

Seen at the end of the road, the Hôtel de Ville de Saigon, the French name for a city hall. It serves as the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Head Office. The movie shows some of the other buildings lit up.

Vietnam Motorscooters

The population of Ho Chi Minh City is about 10 million and it has 5 million motorscooters––and I don’t think 5 million is an exaggeration. A motorscooter is most Vietnameses’ car and there is almost constant heavy traffic with them speeding by. Also, much honking.

More Ho Chi Minh City Lights

I had walked over to a street with more lights on it. The Tet Lunar New Year Day display was very pretty.

More Ho Chi Minh City Lights

More lights.

More Ho Chi Minh City Lights

I think Times Square refers to a high–rise building that will be built here.

More Ho Chi Minh City Lights

More lights.

More Ho Chi Minh City Lights

More lights.

More Ho Chi Minh City Lights

More lights.

Ho Chi Minh City Lights–Movie

I took a movie of the lights in this area.

Tet Flower Festival on Ngugen Hue Road

I also walked around the Tet Flower Festival on Ngugen Hue Road in front of our hotel. I have put my photos of the Flower Festival at night and also the ones I took the next two mornings on a slide show. Go to Slide Shows, Asia, Vietnam, “Ho Chi Minh City: Flower Festival, Tour Days 3(B) & 4(A) or directly to

http://www.peggysphotos.com/ho–chin–min–city–flower–festival–tour–days–3b–4a/

People were taking many photos at the festival––a great photo–shoot––and many people were dressed up for the photo–taking. I went very early to the festival one day, but after 8 a.m., the sun was at an angle that made photo–taking hard. The crowds mainly left after this early hour and then returned at night. It was so crowded the first night there that I didn’t realize that everyone was moving, very orderly with no instructions given to them, in a counter–clockwise direction. I was walking in that direction but still got bumped into, but when I wanted to go back to hotel, I walked against the crowd but walked safely right behind three tall men also walking in the wrong direction.

Tet Flower Festival on Ngugen Hue Road

A photo of the Flower Festival taken the next day.

Tet Flower Festival on Ngugen Hue Road

Photo taken at the Flower Festival.