HCMC, Vietnam

To say it’s been a while is an understatement. I haven’t typed anything real in so long my fingers are fumbling over the keys. Since my last post, we’ve been to three countries (two and a half really) and multiple cities. Vietnam, China and Taiwan are done, and we’ll be porting in San Diego in exactly two weeks. I could probably write enough to fill your time until I actually get home, but I’ll save us all the boredom and try to cover the highlights as efficiently as I can. That being said, you should probably grab some popcorn and get comfy…this is bound to be a long post. For cliff notes and color, check out my Facebook pictures. This is the first of many….

Vietnam

The five of us (Ali, Allie, Gabi, Kim and I) all started out our first day in port serving our dock-time. Due to the tides, we were already hours behind our scheduled port time so we didn’t end up leaving the ship until around 2:00pm.  We checked out the markets and had our first experiences eating authentic Pho and crossing the streets of Ho Chi Minh City .

Everyone talked up the traffic so much in Vietnam, and to say the least, I was a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, it was pretty crazy and it took a while to get used to just walking out into hordes of oncoming traffic, but after being in Dominica, Brazil, Ghana, and India, I was expecting a lot worse. At least these motorcycle drivers had a method to their madness and would swerve out of your way if you kept walking. The best approach was to just walk. Not even look to your sides. If you looked, you would hesitate, and if you hesitate, you just might die. So, rules to follow when crossing in Vietnam: 1) Don’t look. 2) Don’t breath. 3) Don’t cross with large groups. 3) Don’t go with people who are going to spook and say “oh my god!” or “Look out!”—they’ll get you killed. I think that pretty much covers it.

But speaking of motorcycles, the taxis in Vietnam are awesome. You can either hail a real cab, one of a trusted company unless you want to get ripped off like no one’s biz, or, you can settle on a price and get one of the motorcycle taxi drivers to take you on a much more fun ride to your destination. A few years back a helmet law was passed. Previous to that no one wore them, but to the surprise of the city, the law has kept and everyone has some sweet designer headgear. When you get one of the taxi-bike guys, they’ll give you one to wear. Not incredibly hygienic, but having a clean helmet is the least of your worries when a cracked skull is on the line. And, for the most part they’re pretty stylin’ (except for that fishermen’s hat looking one on my FB).  Anyway, they zip you around as you clutch the back bar and take pictures of your friends—it’s awesome and now I want some form of two-wheeled motorized transportation more than ever. Sorry mom.

The rest of our time in HCMC was spent bargaining and shopping for all kinds of deals. (Dad, you would be proud of my skills and would freaking LOVE the markets. There are zillions of bags of all sizes, shapes and brands. If our attic had anymore room you could do some serious damage.) We had a good time experiencing the culture, getting some great food and seeing the everyday life of the Vietnamese people.

At night, we would usually head over (via motorcycle taxi) to the backpackers’ district. This was a really young and fun area of town that all the foreign, especially Australian, backpackers and travelers would go to. There were hostels and bars all over scattered between travel agencies and little shops. At the beginning of the week we were some of the only SASers there. By the end however, the place was covered is SAS and SASholes. We still had a good time.

Don’t worry though, we did do some of the important things. We took a day and went to the Cu Chi tunnels and it was really interesting. They showed a video before we went down in them and it was so one sided against the US. It was really eye opening. Americans were constantly referred to as White Devils and some other strong terms. I mean, why not-we did kill a ton of people. We got a tour after that and got to crawl through the tunnels and see how the Vietnamese operated under ground. It was all really interesting, especially to see it from their perspective.

Our hired taxi drove us back to the city after that and dropped us off at the War Museum. We only had an hour before it closed but it was honestly enough time. Not only were we through the rooms, but I couldn’t take being in there anymore. We saw Agent Orange exhibits, War Crimes exhibits, Destruction and Devastation exhibits…everything. It was awful. To think that my country did that to these people was awful. We saw picture after picture of innocent children in pieces from bombs, or deformed from chemicals. There was a preserved fetus to show the deformities from A.O. I’ve been to a lot of sad places through my travels. I’ve seen concentration camps, been to war cemeteries, seen children suffering. This museum however, had the most profound effect on me. I separated from my friends and walked through by alone urging myself to keep it together. If anyone asked me, I was going to say I was from Australia or Canada…no way was I going to admit my country did this. And, to think that this same thing is going on today in the Middle East is really disturbing. I wonder if George W. Bush ever took a walk through those exhibits before invading Iraq. Somehow I doubt it.

The day after this museum, we were supposed to go on a service visit to an YMCA Agent Orange orphanage. Our hosts forgot about us though and it didn’t turn out to be the visit we were expecting in the least. Instead of visiting in need children, we literally played hot potato and did the chicken dance with the 30 of us that went on the trip. Not exactly what I signed up for. Honestly, I was slightly relieved. After just seeing images the day before, I’m not sure if I could have handled it.

Overall, we took Vietnam pretty easy. Some of my friends went to Na Trang or Ha Long Bay and part of me wishes I did that just to see more of the country. I heard it was beautiful but I felt like I got a really good idea of everyday life in HCMC and we had a good time. I’d like to go back someday and see the places I missed, but for now, I’m content with my time spent in Vietnam and thoroughly enjoyed it.