Having put the wrong time frame on our Vietnam visa back in November, we had to get an extension on arrival in order to stay in the country for more than 3 days. After arranging that with our guesthouse/travel agency, even with an express service we had to stay in HCMC for 5 nights. Not ideal as we were really pushed for time in Vietnam, and the big city wasn’t that appealing to us country bumpkins for 4 whole days. No other way around it we just settled in and relaxed more than anything. We went on a walking tour of the city and our first stop was the War Remnants museum, a very well done but obviously quite one sided account of the horrors done to the Vietnamese during the war. War is war, and it is never easy on the civilians in the war-zone but reading the accounts of the people and seeing the photo evidence was hard to take. There was also quite a big exhibit on the chemical warfare used and the heartbreaking effects of Agent Orange, and Agent Purple that not only damaged people directly exposed but it damaged their DNA so thousands of children were born still born, deformed, handicapped, mentally handicapped, etc. They did make the point that the Vietnamese were not the only people exposed, many American soldiers were directly exposed and suffered illness along with having children with the same handicaps as the Vietnamese.
Agent Orange, or dioxin, was used as a chemical defoliant to destroy the jungle with the idea that it would flush out the VC as well as make the tunnels the VC used more visible to bomb squads and foot soldiers. Millions of gallons of these types of chemicals were sprayed over the countryside and even now the environmental effects of destroying that much forest, as well as the run-off of the chemicals into rivers and water-ways are still being seen. There are still hot-spots in areas of Vietnam where dioxin is still found in the soil and water and people are still showing effects of exposure and babies are still being born dead or with handicaps and deformities from their parents exposure. It is a heartbreaking image and after leaving the museum, you can see the direct effects on the streets as people you once just saw as beggers or special, now became victims of chemical warfare.
Our last day in HCMC, I went on a ½ day tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. These were tunnels built by the Vietnamese people decades before the war, but were used during the ‘American resistance’ for guerilla warfare. The tunnels were already there when the war started, and the Vietnamese people are quick to tell you how the American’s put the main military base right on top of one of the most extensive parts of the 3 level tunnel system when they arrived. Even with the tunnels being widened, to get western bodies through them for a tourist attraction, they were still extremely cramped and I was crouching down and scooting along the 100m length tunnel. We were shown how they made fake termite mounds that were hidden air vents for the tunnels, as well as the different boobie traps that were used to maim and kill soldiers. In between the tunnels we were taken to a shooting range where we could be bullets in packs of ten to shoot AK-47’s, and throw grenades and set off land mines… somehow it just didn’t seem appropriate. I wasn’t hungry and hunting an animal that I planned to eat, or putting something ill or maimed out of its misery, so I saw no point in shooting a gun and thought it a little sad that others thought it was entertaining.
On our way home we were re-routed to a warehouse of souvenir crap supposedly made by ‘victims of the American resistance’. There were many of them walking around and diligently beating away on something resembling an unfinished craft, but the items were EXTREMELY over priced and everything there could be found in every other souvenir shop around the city. But being the bleeding heart that I am and the fresh dose of guilt from the tunnels tour, I managed to buy some chop sticks for 4 times the price they were in town. My naïve mind wants to think that the ‘extra’ I paid goes back to help the real victims of the war but the real world fact is that it was likely a huge scam. DOH!
After being reacquainted with our passports with our new visa extension, we hopped on an 8 hour bus to Nah Trang beach, which we stayed at for nearly an hour before getting on our first sleeper bus of the trip for another 10 hours. We quickly found some dinner and some cocktails at a bar to fill our stomachs and attempt to knock ourselves out for the journey but we were put in the very back and top of the sleeper bus… behind the rear axle… we BOUNCED for 10 hours but some sleeping was done. Matt’s seat had a pro a can. His seat terminated at the aisle so he had plenty of leg room, but everytime the driver hit the brakes, which was nearly every 30sec it pushed him towards the end of the seat and the aisle 3 feet below. He quickly decided to buckle in to keep from sliding into the aisle completely.
Finally arriving in Hoi An we bypassed the moto drivers, and taxis surrounding us with hotel offers and ‘cheap rooms’, and headed towards the rivers edge to search out our own accommodation that didn’t pay someone to stalk westerners at the bus stops. I crashed for a few hours then we walked around town seeing the historical sights and trying not to be talked into having anything sewn or tailor made for us. Difficult with every other shop selling clothes and hand-made shoes. Hoi An was spared somehow during the decades of war and had minimal damage so most of the old buildings and homes are intact, creating a very old, and quaint feel to the town. There aren’t the boring, box shaped, socialist buildings seem around most of Vietnam, but a combination of Chinese, Japanese, French and traditional Vietnamese architecture throughout. It was also extremely liberating to be OUT of a big city. You could casually stroll the local markets, still full of taunts and souvenirs but plenty of produce, meat, and every day items like fans, motorbike parts and tires, and a plethora of homemade medical masks. These are EVERYWHERE in Asia and I think they are worn more from misinformation of how disease is spread than actual protection of the wearer from disease and smog. They only protect healthy people if the DISEASED person is wearing one and sneeze. It’s a sneeze guard, not a disease guard.
At night the city was dressed up in glowing lanterns and lit animal sculptures on the water and after a supper of tradition Pho Bo ( a beef soup with noodles) and some Whites Roses (seasoned shrimp puree in rice paper, YUM!) we strolled along the streets and across the bridge just enjoying the scenery. For awhile we watched what looked like musical Bingo, where numbers were picked by a man and woman leader and they would sick a few lines taunting each other back and forth then end in a drama outcry of the winning number spot. The audience members with the called number on their paddle were rewarded with a flag. We didn’t watch enough to see what happened when someone won but it quite popular with the locals and tourists alike.
The next morning, staying with the pattern in every other country, I signed up for a cooking class to learn the Vietnamese style. We took a tour of the local market where they pointed out local fruits, produce and meats as well as coffees, spices, and cooking items specifically used in Vietnam. Then we loaded onto a boat to go down the river to the restaurant. We were shown around the herb garden, and then settled into our course with a very enthusiastic and funny chef, that knew lots of English slang and knew how to put it into joke format. It was entertaining to say the least. My favorite dish was an eggplant stew with onions and tomatoes that was to DIE for. I was excited to finally learn what to do with an eggplant, an underused vegetable in my kitchen.
I met up with Matt and we walked to the bus to get to Hue, our next city, and 3rd of the 5 ‘H’ cities we were visiting in Vietnam. We walked to the King’s old palace, now mostly ruins since the way but restoration efforts are in full swing. We also rented bikes and biked 4km to a famous Vietnamese pagoda, and then onwards to the kings tombs. Before we found the tombs though, our Indiana Jones ‘map with no names’ took us through some locals veggie garden and the local cemetery where people kept pointing and saying HELLOOO, road! A nice food stall lady gave us ‘free parking’ at her shop so we could go see the tombs, with maybe a promise of buying a cold drink when we got back. The king and queens tombs were quite elaborate and we found out that the king that had them built put so much money and labor into building his royal refuge that a coup rose against him which he quelled with secret assassinations. It’s good to be the king.
We indeed go back and get a cold drink where our lady was patiently waiting for us, and another tour guide that came by for a rest and his lunch had us deep in conversation about his family, that he studied as a monk for 12 years, and many of the basic concepts of Buddhism. It was quite a relaxing and educational cold drink.
We indeed go back and get a cold drink where our lady was patiently waiting for us, and another tour guide that came by for a rest and his lunch had us deep in conversation about his family, that he studied as a monk for 12 years, and many of the basic concepts of Buddhism. It was quite a relaxing and educational cold drink.
Back in the city, we packed our bags again and boarded the next sleeper bus that night to Hanoi, that lasted 15 hours. The sleeper buses are perfect for people 5’2’’ and shorter, for Matt being 6’2’’, it was a slight nightmare. He also chose the shortest seat on the entire bus. When we did our first, and only stop for the night, I couldn’t stand watching him in pain any longer so I swapped seats to give him an extra 6in of space. I was a bit more cramped but still manageable.
Pictures will come later (I'm posting from China after the computer was stolen...)
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