So on April 2nd, we flew to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam to start our Spring-Break-Backpacking-Through-Southeast-Asia Extravaganza (I am a TRUE backpacker...see picture). Because it was our first destination, we were all overly excited, full of expectations, picture happy, and ridiculously ambitious. We arrived in late at night, settled into our hostel and enjoyed our first (of many) cheap street food meals. We were all pleasantly surprised by the mystery meat and rice...however, the lizards and cockroaches that surrounded us as we ate on the ground did unnerve me a little!
On our first day, we toured the Reunification Palace, which was rather disappointing. Despite its several strange similarities to UVa.'s Rotunda (which I love), it was uninteresting, and was worth only about a 30 minute stop. I am glad we went, however, because I enjoyed being in this significant place where history was made in Vietnam and in America. (FYI: The Reunification Palace is where Saigon fell to the communists once and for all and the Vietnam War ended.)
After the Reunification Palace, we went to the War Remnants Museum, which will not be given any more than a few sentences in my blog here. Basically, as an American, I was offended, horrified, and spurred to research more. The museum was filled with awful, violent pictures with captions that were clearly biased. I understand that I learned the American version of the story, and the Vietnamese learn the Vietnam version, but I am looking to find the truth...hopefully future readings will show me.
While walking around Vietnam we were able to experience first hand the insane motorbike traffic that we had heard about from many of our friends who had travelled to Vietnam before us. You can not even imagine how many motorbikes are speeding around the streets all the time. There are very few driving rules, so it is complete chaos. By the end of the trip, we realized that, when crossing the street, it is best to keep a steady pace. If you speed up or slow down the motorbikes won't be able to predict your movements and will likely hit you. I had a hard time doing that at first, but by the end I was fearless!
The next day, we went on a Mekong River cruise which took us to a village on the river. We got to try local coconut candies, ride on canoes down the river (with rice hats provided to shield us from the intense sun!...see picture below)), and explore the local village. The trip was (as we learned to expect) too touristy, and we vowed to do fewer "organized" tours and do more things
on our own at our future destinations.We decided to get a decent dinner that night (rather than street food), so we chose to go to a Korean BBQ place recommended on WikiTravel and in the Lonely Planet book. We were starved when we left the hostel, and if I had known it would take us 2.5 hours to find it, I would have settled for a $1 meal on the street! We asked around and followed directions, but could not find it. We hopped in multiple taxis that pretended to know where they were going, and then dropped us off in random places (taxi drivers...UGHH!). People would point us in different directions every time we asked, and we were all just fed up. Finally after almost giving up, we found the place...surprise, surprise it was on the main road (right next to many of the tourist attractions in the city), so we have NO idea how no one knew how to direct us! Anyway, we got there, and had a great meal. The rats that were running at our feet, however, REALLY did not do it for me. How can you go to a nice restaurant and have rats running around!? This story sums up the 2 things that I can't stand in Asia: the scams (taxi drivers taking you random places and making you pay) and the cleanliness (or lack there of). However, that is the only complaint you will hear from me. Because although I don't really appreciate those things, I still really liked Ho Chi Minh (and the rest of Asia, of course) and the things I do like far outweigh the negatives.
On the final day, we went to the Chu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were used in the Vietnam War by the communists. You will NOT believe how tiny the tunnels are (see picture). We went in ones that were enlarged for visitors (specifically "fat Americans"), and they were still so small that I felt claustrophobic being in them for a short time. The ones that the VietCong soldiers actually used were tiny (see picture)...I could fit in it, but I would DIE of fright and would probably not be able to move around with a bunch of gear. The tunnels were also rather anti-American, but interesting nonetheless (we got used to the anti-American sentiment after a while).Ho Chi Minh was a great first stop. The city is not like many other large Asian cities. There are
really no skyscrapers and it is pretty spread out (so we took Tuk Tuk's around...see picture). The city is full of small shops, travel agencies, parks, and delicious restaurants. If I could describe the vibe of the city with an analogy I would say that it is like an ant colony: residents running around purposefully and practically. I cannot say it was one of my favorite places, but it was definitely enlightening and I enjoyed experiencing the culture.
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