Vietnam!

I strongly believe that all Americans should make a visit to Vietnam. With such a strong, drastic history between our country and theirs, it was eye-opening and very interesting to spend time in the country. It may seem surprising, but the Vietnamese people were incredibly interested in us and accommodating. We docked in Ho Chi Minh City, in the south of Vietnam, which may attribute to the kindness of the people (I heard that people in the north weren’t quite so excited about their American visitors). This port really made me realize the importance of understanding the history of the countries we visit. I wish I had known more about the Vietnam War before arriving in Ho Chi Minh City. Since our departure, I have spent ample time researching the war and beginning to understand the reasons and implications pertaining to it. History and culture display an entire new level of relevance now that I’ve actually been to these places and seen these people.

One nice thing about our stay in Vietnam was that I didn’t really GO anywhere. I spent my nights on the ship, so I never had to plan much or pack a bag or sleep somewhere new, and that’s always relaxing and relieving. After clearing immigrations on the first day, I walked a few blocks to the War Remnants Museum. This museum displays the “American War” from the Vietnamese perspective. It includes a number of artifacts and photos, including an extremely heart-wrenching wall of pictures of people disfigured by Agent Orange. This museum brought tears to my eyes and really ignited my desire to learn more about the war that we fought in Vietnam. After this, I walked around Ho Chi Minh City, exploring and shopping and people-watching. We got Pho for dinner- a traditional Vietnamese dish of broth and noodles and various other ingredients, which was very good, although difficult to eat with chopsticks. Luckily, the waiter brought me a fork about 7 seconds into my unsuccessful chopstick attempt. After dinner, we walked through the late-night outdoor market before heading back to the ship for what I thought would be an early morning.

I missed the bus to my service visit the next day; a big mess of meeting in the wrong places and the wrong times and ultimately missing the entire trip. So I went back to bed! I slept in for a couple hours and then met up with a friend to hang out in Ho Chi Minh City for another day. It was a very laid-back today, lots of walking, meeting locals, and learning how to effectively cross Vietnamese streets (general advice: no crosswalks, no stoplights, no signs, and lanes that have no purpose. The strategy is to step off the sidewalk and maintain a steady pace while walking as the cars and motorbikes make their way AROUND you. No stopping and no running). We went to the huge market and bargained the morning away, purchasing all sorts of souvenirs and gifts. We walked to a touristy area and through a park where people were practicing martial arts, engaging in intense badminton games, and running around with their friends and family. This led into another area where a large festival was taking place to commemorate the Asian Olympic Games that were currently taking place in Ho Chi Minh City. This festival had lots of Christmas lights- it was like walking through a fairy land, entertainers, play areas for kids, food stalls, shopping tents, music, and giant inflatable chickens- the mascot for the Asian Olympic Games. Drew wanted to eat at Milwaukee grill and café, named after his hometown and a must-see for him. It was surprisingly good and a nice taste of American food. We went back to the festival to investigate the after-dark sights of millions of little lights and live bands and then made our way back to our floating home.

I woke up early the next day to make a day trip outside of Ho Chi Minh City. I hopped on the bus and took it to The Rex Hotel, to meet with their tourist desk and book a trip for the day. A van picked up my friend and I to take us to the Mekong Delta for the day, and we had a fantastic English-speaking guide named Kha. It took about 2 hours to get to the Delta, and when we arrived there we were immediately swept onto a boat that took us up and down the Mekong. We were given coconut milk and enjoyed looking at the other boats, fishing rafts, and homes on stilts. I loved seeing all the boats and people lounging around on them, wearing rice hats and swinging in hammocks. All the boats have giant eyes painted on the front, to look out for and scare the dangerous animals that used to occupy the Mekong, like tigers or cobras. The boat eventually took us to an island, where we sat down for food and musical entertainment. We were served all different types and fruit and Kha explained what they were and how to eat them. We then walked through the fruit orchards to the other side of this island, where we met a much smaller rowboat that would take us down this portion of the river. Two women sat at either end of the boat, sitting on top of the deck and paddling us down the river (a job that pays a whopping $1/day for all that physical work). I felt like I was the Disneyland Ride “A Jungle cruise”, with all the scenery and flora around us. This boat took us to another remote island which surprisingly was the home to its very own little business. Once we exited the boat, we were able to watch a group of women making coconut candy. The candy was AMAZING and I bought 6 packages to bring home. We saw the entire process, from gathering the coconuts to packaging the small morsels, and we were even able to make some of our own! The women served us tea and introduced us to their python, who was quickly draped over my soldiers for a photo op. The first boat came back and got us and took us back to the main area where it had picked us up. We were treated to lunch at a great restaurant with 8 courses and beautiful décor. Once the van got us back to Ho Chi Minh City, we stopped by the Saigon Square shopping center and discovered the greatness that is cheap DVD’s from Vietnam.

The next morning was an early wake-up for a service visit. We took the bus to the Hy Vong 8 School for the Deaf, where the children were absolutely elated to see us. After a dance performance from the kids, game-playing, and coloring, we loaded the bus to take the kids to the zoo for the afternoon….from here, the visit took a downhill turn. The zoo was less than adequate for entertaining children for more than 4 minutes, and the double-language barrier made it impossibly difficult to have any control over the kids. Not only were they hard-of-hearing, they also only spoke and understood Vietnamese, and were no longer elated by our presence at all. So I spent the entirety of my afternoon chasing my two assigned children throughout the zoo, and celebrating when we finally loaded the bus and both of my kids were still in tow. I went straight back to the ship for a nap before going out that night.

Our last day in Ho Chi Minh City was also laid-back. Chloe and I visited the post office for postcards and stamps, and were excited to find phone booths with cheap service to America. We both called home, family, and friends for about an hour, paid for our time and purchases, and then decided we wanted to see a new marketplace for shopping. We hopped on the back of two guys’ motorbikes and made our way to a huge market that we hadn’t seen before. We spent awhile at the market but didn’t find anything worthwhile so another duo of men motorbiked us back to Ho Chi Minh City. We had some delicious pizza for lunch and again visited Saigon Square for last-minute shopping. Between me and Chloe, we have well over 100 dvd discs of television shows and movies…all of which cost us about .50/disk. Great deal and a good investment for upcoming long stretches at sea!