GOOD MORNING VIETNAM!

Although the death of Robin Williams has saddened us all it only seems fitting that it happened the day before landing in Vietnam. If you haven’t already you can watch the 1987 comedy, Good Morning Vietnam, starring Robin Williams… I haven’t seen it yet but it’s been added to my movie list.  

August 12 – 19

Ho Chi Minh/ Saigon:

We left Kristina at the airport in Nepal at 9pm. Kristina was heading home to the USA while Sarah, Kendra, and I continued our COS (Close of Service) trip to Vietnam with a 3 hour layover in Malaysia at around 4am. By the time we reached Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) around 9am we were drunk with sleeplessness and hunger. With our fuzzy minds and our lack of anticipated airport pickup we slowly made our way to the hostel downtown.  I would like to start off by saying that the staff at Town House 50 are phenomenal, extremely friendly, and helpful. When we arrived they gave us a map and a great recommendation for a place to go for some local Vietnamese cuisine. The menu was as large as an encyclopedia and had everything from ox penis (which Kendra got), snake, brain of some animal, feet of another, and a lot of other funky stuff. After filling my belly with a fresh coconut and some delicious soup we wandered around for a bit until we could check into our dorm room.

Backpackers district

After well deserved showers and naps we were ready for round two and headed towards the backpacker district a few blocks away (about a 10 minute walk). We found some bubble tea (which I have never tried) and wandered around the overwhelming indoor market.  After shopping we then headed back to the hostel to meet up with Sarah’s friend, Andrea, who just moved to Vietnam for a teaching position at an international school. We walked back down to the hoppin’ backpacker area to grab some grub. While we were waiting for our food on the second floor of the restaurant we saw someone walking across the street dodging traffic with plates of food… the food looked oddly similar to what we ordered and a few seconds later up popped the girl carrying the food from across the street! It was odd to see the kitchen across the street in a separate building and I wonder if other restaurants also got food made from them. So much I will never understand. On the walk home at night I felt relatively safe. The roads are a bit of a risk crossing with the amount of scooters and motorcycles but when you grew up playing Frogger the traffic becomes a breeze to navigate, especially when traffic slows down in the evening.

Durian at the top left (smells and tastes like an onion omellett) Dragon fruit on the right

The next morning we booked a tour for the Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were used by locals in the Vietnam War to protect themselves and their land by the means of guerilla warfare. I never learned much about the Vietnam War in school but the history is something everyone here knows. The Vietnam War was a civil war between the north and the south. North being controlled by communists at the time. The United States along with many other countries came and intervened with the civil war going on at the time in Vietnam. I won’t go into too much detail because I still don’t completely understand but I can go into a brief and vague history about the tunnels. The Cu Chi Tunnels were a series of tunnels dug by villagers living in the jungle. That particular area had a great location that was well desired for the military. The villagers in those areas did not want to give up their land. They also did not understand fully what was going on with the war either. The tunnels were dug for living, security, and fighting. Thousands of people lived in an extensive system of tunnels. We were fortunate to see and experience just a small section. The Cu Chi tunnels were three levels deep and hand dug with local shovels and baskets to extract the soil. The first level was for living (cooking, sleeping) and fighting, the second level was for protection from bombs dropping above, and the third level was for escape (connected to the Saigon River so they could swim out if needed). These villagers were smart and extremely resourceful. At night they would farm the fields and set up traps while in the daytime they would stay hidden or fight if needed. They fought against the US soldiers because they saw Vietnamese soldiers fighting against them. These villagers were unaware that the Vietnamese soldiers were Vietcong soldiers from the north. In their defense they saw who they thought were their fellow ‘countrymen’ fighting foreigners (US soldiers) and sided with their ‘countrymen.’ They did not have a leader and were not following orders but wanted to protect their land. It was a weird and strange feeling being in such a historic place. I found it interesting and educational but it was odd being painted as the ‘enemy’. After finishing the tour by crawling 100 meters through some of the historic tunnels we took the tour bus to the war museum. There was a whole section on the effects of Agent Orange, one of the main chemicals dumped over Vietnam during the war to reduce the foliage and jungle so that fighting would become less difficult. That was some nasty stuff and you can still see how it affects people to this day. Needless to say it was a heavy and exhausting day.

Cu Chi Tunnels

Although the history with the US in Vietnam has led to some problems in the past, when asked where I am from I never felt resentment towards me from any Vietnamese. The Vietnam civil war lasted 17 years. That’s a long war! Yes when the US intervened bombs were dropped and deadly chemicals were carelessly sprayed but that’s only a small part of what happened. Growing up that’s all I ever remember hearing about it the war in Vietnam. We fucked shit up over here and I can’t hide that fact. In Vietnam I got the sense that people just wanted it to end. All over the world at that time many people in many different countries around the world just wanted the madness to end. Peace is what we all deserve. Peace is not something we should have to buy or fight for to achieve. In 1995 tourism for US citizens re-opened in Vietnam and the relationship has been healing since.

Happy camper :)

The third day in Ho Chi Minh was a bit more relaxed. We enjoyed a large breakfast at Town House 50 and walked around the city. We went back to the market to do some shopping before heading to the AO Show which was an amazing performance. The show was a combination of acrobatics, and bamboo stunts featuring traditional and modern Vietnamese culture. Fun and entertaining for the whole family! (If you have one)

Cat Ba Island:

The next three days were spent on Cat Ba Island. To get there we hopped on a plane to Hanoi, got on a bus, hopped into a taxi, boarded another bus, got in a boat, then crawled in the last bus until we reached Cat Ba Town. The town is small and you can see the influence of tourism but there is still a very large presence of locals. From our hotel we had a spectacular view of the harbor and we were situated a few minute’s walk from just about everything. This is true for most hotels because they dominate the main street in Cat Ba Town. There are floating restaurants, tandem bicycles for rent, bars that sell laughing gas in balloons, and many beverage options ranging from fresh fruit to fermented sea creatures. Our last day on the Island we spent… off the island on a boat that took us to Lan Ha Bay, Hai Long Bay, kayaking around large limestone structures, and swimming in the sea. The reviews weren’t great about the island and it’s no paradise but it has its advantages. Decent amount of adventuring to do if that is your style (rock climbing, kayaking, hiking in the national park).

Cat Ba. up and coming tourist area/ coastline beauty destruction. 

Cat Ba! 

Beware fresh coconuts are about twice the price from the mainland… they must not grow here unfortunately… for me :/

Floating villages. I hear residents can get 'land sick' just how we get sea sick 

Ha Long Bay... B-E-A-Utiful!

Hanoi:

Unfortunately we only had a day in this capitol city. In the ‘tourist’ area scooters and motorcycles fly by in packs and dodging traffic while crossing the road and deciphering the city map can get dangerous. We walked to the market which was already closed around dusk and decided to sit at a local restaurant on the street to enjoy our food. Kendra was happy with her frog legs, Sarah with her veggies, and I enjoyed a gigantic dish of traditional beef pho with fresh squeezed sugarcane juice from across the street. The meals were cheap and portions generous.

On the way to the airport I saw more of the Hanoi that I missed out on and wish I got a chance to explore. The main roads we drove along were decorated with pictures created by mosaic tiles depicting traditional and modern Vietnam.

I did find the capitol of Hanoi a bit more overwhelming than Vietnams business hub of Ho Chi Minh city.

Maybe someday I will return but until then there is So. Much. More!

Street filled with fun shops!

Mosaic tiles :)