Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

My time in Vietnam was well spent. I did a few educational things, got to see much of the city, ate great food, and even went to the beach for a day. On the first day at port many people went to get dresses and suits made for them. Apparently that’s a really common thing to do here because it’s so cheap. I didn’t have anything in particular that I wanted, so I skipped out on that one. Instead, I went to a giant market on the first day. They had everything from knock-off wallets and purses to fresh ground coffee, fruits, tea sets, jewelry, scarves, and anything else you could ever want.

 

On the second day I went to the War Remnants Museum. The photography and displays there were incredible. I was upset with how little I had known about the Vietnam War prior to visiting the country. I think the most moving display I saw was about the effects of Agent Orange on innocent civilians. The images were shocking and hard to view. The museum also had a replica of a jail used to imprison Vietnamese soldiers. You could walk around it and see how small the cells were and some of the various torture devices used. Overall, the museum was a really powerful experience.

On the third day I went to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were used by the Viet Cong as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches, and living quarters. They were crucial to the survival of the Vietnamese soldiers during the war. We actually got to go down in them and crawl around. The entry points were tiny. I could barely fit my shoulders through the opening. Once we got down to the tunnels the space was a little bigger, but you we still had to crawl along. It was extremely dark down there. I would have been terrified if we hadn’t been with a guide. After a tour of the tunnels there was a shooting range they had set up. You could pick from any number of guns that were used in the war. I shot an AK 47! I didn’t actually have a huge desire to shoot such a big gun but I felt like it was an opportunity I would likely never have again. Once I got my bullets and walked down to the range, I began to get really nervous. I probably would have wimped out if it hadn’t been for the very large German man behind me cheering me on. I was quite uncomfortable shooting my ten bullets (as you can probably tell from the picture on flickr) but I guess I’m glad I can say I shot an AK 47.

 

The next day Emma and I were ready to get away from the city for a while and head to the beach. We found a shuttle service that ran to a beach town about 2.5 hours away and hopped on it first thing in the morning. Once the driver dropped us off he promptly warned us that all of the shuttles returning to Ho Chi Minh were full. There we were, just the two of us on the beach, no longer in a city were everyone spoke English, and having no idea how we would get back. “No worries,”we thought, “we’ll just relax on the beach and figure it out later.” Within 15 minutes of laying out on the sand we were approached by a Vietnamese woman who just wanted to talk to us. She had such a great smile and friendly demeanor. She wanted to know why we were laying in the middle of the sand. In the United States everyone wants to be tan, but in Vietnam lighter skin is more desirable. Emma and I ended up joining her and her family for a swim in the water. The woman and her sister were in their mid forties, but you never would have guessed they were that old from their bubbly personalities and youthful looks. The sisters were very eager to ask us all kinds of questions. They constantly apologized for their poor English, which was actually really good, and there I was not speaking a lick of Vietnamese. It’s embarrassing how much the local people go out of their way to accommodate and help us, when we know so little about their language and culture.

 

Later in the afternoon Emma and I found a travel agency that helped us arrange a ride back to Ho Chi Minh. On the van ride back I had another very friendly encounter with a local person. He was a man around 28 years old, had been married for about a year, and had a baby on the way. He was extraordinarily nice. Half-way through the trip we made a pit stop at a rest station and my new Vietnamese friend bought me a box of coffee. At the end of the ride we exchanged emails and he said he hoped I would return to Vietnam. He has already sent me an email, and I could not be more grateful for the couple of hours I spent getting to know him on the van.

 

Back at the harbor there was another ship docked next to ours –a Navy ship full of South Africans. At night they would stand outside their boat and beg us to just come over and talk. I’m sure they thought it was perfect timing that they had pulled right up to a boat full of girls. I talked to a few of them for a little while and was invited to a formal they were having, but decided against it.

 

Overall, Vietnam was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot and met some really great people. We dock in Hong Kong tomorrow and then I’ll be off to Beijing on Friday. That’s going to be a crazy trip. Hope all is well back home.