December 6, 2010

We left Can Tho in the late morning and headed back to Saigon.

Can Tho Christmas store.

Wet, rainy drive from Can Tho to Saigon.

After dinner, we decided to visit the Saigon Saigon Bar (http://www.caravellehotel.com/en/1/11/3/products.aspx) at the Caravelle Hotel. This iconic watering hole is where legend has it that the foreign press spent the last days of the Republic of Vietnam and watched the advance of the North Vietnamese forces from their seats on the rooftop bar. The bar has long-since been renovated. However, the location is the same and still offers a rooftop view of the Saigon skyline. We have to say; it was rather surreal to sit in an icon of the Vietnam War, drinking Single Malt Scotches, watching staff scurrying around in their Christmas-themed uniforms, listening to a live Cuban band playing “Guantanamera”, seeing paunchy/creepy old white-guys sitting with their tables of young Asian girls, and smoking fine hand-rolled cigars… all in the heart of communist Ho Chi Minh City.

Saigon Saigon Bar at the Caravelle Hotel, Saigon.

Eron having a cigar on the rooftop patio of the Saigon Saigon Bar. Caravelle Hotel, Saigon.

December 7, 2010

It’s “Pearl Harbor Day”. So, we visited the War Remnants Museum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_Remnants_Museum). While most of the exhibits are an amateurishly one-sided propaganda-display painting the Vietnamese purely as victims and the Americans as evil perpetrators of war crimes. What made the visit truly worthwhile and memorable was, “Requiem”; an intense, personal, and emotionally powerful exhibition featuring the stories of and images taken by 134 international photo-journalists who lost their lives covering the hostilities in Vietnam from the 1950’s through to 1975. This exhibit was donated to the War Remnants Museum by the State of Kentucky.

The front plaza area of the War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City.

Main floor of the War Remnants Museum, Ho Chi Minh City.

Okay… enough with the sombre reflection… back to cigars at the Saigon Saigon Bar.

Dusk view of the skyline, Saigon Saigon Bar. Caravelle Hotel, Saigon.

Late afternoon cigar at the Saigon Saigon Bar. Caravelle Hotel, Saigon.

Sunset from the Saigon Saigon Bar. Caravelle Hotel, Saigon.

December 8, 2010

We went on a hunt for the La Casa del Habano that was fabled to reside in Saigon. We found it… it was wall-cabinet-sized humidor located in the Bacchus Corner Wine & Spirits(http://www.bacchuscorner.com/index.php).

Casa del Habanos humidor in the Bacchus Corner shop, Saigon.

We also found there was more to rice than white and brown…

Rice and more rice, Ho Chi Minh City.

That evening we had dinner at the Hoa Tuc Restaurant (http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Restaurant_Review-g293925-d1569216-Reviews-Hoa_Tuc-Ho_Chi_Minh_City.html). Sure, their prices were not street-restaurant cheap but their food was well-prepared, the staff friendly, and their outdoor dining patio was a great place to have a cigar. An absolutely fantastic spot to wind-down your day.

After-dinner cigar at the Hoa Tuc Restaurant, Ho Chi Minh City.

December 9, 2010

This was our last day in Vietnam; we would be leaving for home that evening. Knowing that we had a loooong flight ahead of us, we chose to take it very easy. And what better way than to pamper ourselves with a little 5 Star treatment… we purchased day-passes to the spa and pool at the Caravelle Hotel and chilled out for the afternoon… lounger-side food and beverage service and even an ashtray for my cigars.

Rooftop pool at the Caravelle Hotel, Saigon.

And then we had a leisurely last-dinner-in-Vietnam at the Hoa Tuc Restaurant. Yep, we liked it enough that we went back.

Dining patio at the Hoa Tuc Restaurant, Ho Chi Minh City.

After dinner, we had our last “in-country” cigars and it was off to the airport. Good-bye Vietnam… we had a great trip! We met so many genuinely nice people, always felt safe, and (to this day) wish that we had spent at least one more week on this trip. There are so many places to see and so little time, but Vietnam is one of the few places we’ve been that we are truly looking forward to returning to. Until we can return….