First things first, I never want to set foot on a plane again. Miami to L.A. - 5 hours, L.A. to Hong Kong - 15 hours, Hong Kong to Ho Chi Minh - 3 hours. Plus layovers, losing a day to time zones (for anyone wondering I'm now 12 hours ahead of east coast time), and tons of turbulence. That being said, I made it without any issues and got to watch lots of movies I'd been wanting to see on the way: Blue Jasmine, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Star Trek into Darkness... as well as a great British sitcom called "Vicious" with an impressive cast including Ian McKellen. The Hong Kong airport was pretty awesome - I wanted to buy ALL THE FOODS because they looked so interesting but I restrained myself. (And at this point I was afraid to turn on my phone so no pictures, sorry.)
One of my biggest fears in all of this travel business has simply been getting from place to place, and the ride from the Ho Chi Minh airport to my hostel was the first challenge. Luckily, on the plane from Hong Kong I met MK, an art curator from London/the U.S., who offered to share a taxi with me. So we rode together and I got dropped off right at my destination. After checking in I wandered around trying to find a SIM card for my phone, and long story short - after several attempts and a pricey long distance phone call to Verizon Global Support, I learned that my phone simply does not care for SIM cards and has decided only to work where there is Wi-Fi, effectively turning it into a kind of mini-computer/ camera and not really a phone at all. Which is fine just not what I expected. C'est la vie, things could be worse.
View from the rooftop of the hostel!
After a taking a much needed nap I woke up to another girl moving into the 12 bed dorm. Lauren, from the UK, turned out to be a wonderfully friendly person and I spent much of the next few days with her and her other friends: Emma, Ilsa, and Chris (even in Vietnam I can't escape the guy Chris's!). That night we walked around District 1, also known as the "backpackers area", in the heart of Ho Chi Minh city (a.k.a.: Saigon). We got dinner from one of the hundreds of cafes and restaurants and later sat down at a bar where the chairs spilled out of the front doors, across the sidewalk, filling the street. I was told that later the cops came through to clear the streets and the waiters of all the bars ran around screaming "Up, up!" in an attempt to collect the chairs and avoid a fine. Obviously, as soon as the police were gone, the chairs went right back into the streets.
The next day I got up early and wandered the busy streets of Saigon, dodging motorbikes and grabbing lunch from a little market which I enjoyed in the park directly across the street from the hostel.
Hooray for mystery fruit!
And these amazing painters working out of studios all over the city.
Later, I met up with the group from the night before and we visited the War Remnants museum where I nearly had heart palpitations going through the agent orange section. While it's true that most of the writing is so staunchly anti-American (specifically anti-DC) that it boarders on propaganda, this museum was, in it's own horrific way, a highlight of my trip thus far. I can't say I blame the creators of the museum for taking such a stance, but thankfully it appears that most of the Vietnamese people now have a much kinder opinion of the Americans who come to see their county. After dinner we finished the night on the rooftop bar of the hostel, drinking draft beers for roughly $0.70 a glass and playing pool.
I awoke early the following day with every intention of setting out to see some of the city sights. Instead I proceeded to get thoroughly lost for most of the day. Wandering around I stumbled on the most beautiful parks, filled with statues and gardens and places to sit and meditate.
Sorry about the orientation on these photos, I can't figure out how to fix it =(
For a major city, Saigon is a very green place. I walked past the Reunification Palace and was attempting to find the Jade Pagoda when I bumped into several girls from the UK looking for the same site. We decided to team up and finally found the pagoda, which was hidden down an alley.
There I met Leza, a lovely girl from Harlem, and despite the rain, we walked past the botanical gardens, through a Hindu temple,
(Ugh, so blurry! But you get the idea.)
and navigated the famous/infamous Ben Thanh market.
We finished the day with a great meal at an Indian restaurant. Who knew Vietnam had such great, authentic Indian food?
Saturday I did a full day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, which were used by the Viet Cong as a primary tool in Guerilla warfare. Our guide Alex was wonderful and played the guitar and sang for us.
On the way we stopped at a factory where amazing crafts are handmade by workers who are living with the continued after effects of agent orange.
(Before coming to Vietnam I watched a documentary about the children born here with mental and physical deficits most likely caused by the past use of this chemical warfare. It's fairly graphic and focuses mainly on a specific child, but I found it interesting so here's the link: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=720wDpDOtQY)
After the factory we stopped at the Cao Dai Holy See, a temple dedicated to the Cao Dai religion,
and had lunch at a local restaurant with these guys!
before finally visiting the tunnels.
There we learned how the tunnels were constructed, why the Cu Chi area was specifically chosen, and all about the makeshift weapons and booby traps created by the Viet Cong soldiers.
From my perspective, Alex did a great job of not being too damning of the US soldiers, and he spoke a lot about the awful cyclical nature of the war: the Viet Cong soldiers looked no different than innocent civilians, the US soldiers didn't know who the enemy was so they killed everyone, the civilians became angry at the US for this so more people joined the VC, etc, etc... Interestingly, women were also encouraged to join the VC and were given specialized tasks, often only leaving the tunnels at night.
We had the option of lowering ourselves into one of the original tunnels, which of course I did!
An odd thing to smile about but a reflex to the camera I suppose.
Alex assured the other visitors that later they would have the option to go in larger, model tunnels, more suited for "Western physiques" obtained through all that "Heineken and KFC." I passed on firing weapons at the shooting area, which was set up towards the middle of the tour, I think, in part, so the sound of gun fire could be heard thought the entirety of the experience. I did partake in trying some traditional Viet Cong food, which was some sort of root vegetable similar to yucca dipped in sweetened crushed peanuts.
After that it was back on the bus to Saigon where Lauren, Ilsa, Emma, and their friend Katie and I went up to the sky bar that overlooks the whole city.
So ends my adventures in Ho Chi Minh / Saigon. The only things I didn't get to do that were on my list were karaoke and seeing a water puppet show, but there's always Hanoi for those things. In conclusion, after 4 days in Saigon, given the right set of circumstances, I could see myself living here. Plus, toilets under showers = brilliant.
I've decided to travel down to the Mekong delta for the next day or so to see the famous floating markets and farmlands there. Wish me luck! (I promise future entries will be shorter, haha.)
