Good Morning Vietnam (had to do it, sorry)

Vietnam rocked. When I got in line to check-in at the Jet Star counter for the flight to Ho Chi Minh City I was the only white person in line, it was awesome. When I landed I only had carry-on luggage so I was first past the baggage and immigration clearances and the first to walk out the doors of the secured area into the greeting area. Well, that was my last moment of any sense of solitude. When the glass doors opened I had around a thousand pairs of eyes on me as Vietnamese were there waiting to greet people arriving. I snaked my way through the barricades set up and through the throng of people. After a brief wait outside looking for a white face I heard “KRANSKY” being yelled from the back of a cab. Jeremy pulled up, I hopped in the cab, and he had a Tiger beer waiting for me. Instead of heading to his place we were off to a Christmas party he and his other expat friends were having that night.

My first day in HCMC… I picked up a Vietnamese breakfast sub for 6000 dong (~40 cents) and hit the streets. I just walked around for most of the morning in the heat, smog, humidity, and exhaust… getting used to crossing busy streets packed with motorcycles (scooters to us), cars, and buses. Supposedly there are 8 million people here, but they think the number is actually up around 10 million due to people from the countryside living ‘illegally’ in Saigon. I met Jeremy for lunch, then hired a motorcycle (with a driver) to take me to the sites. I paid 50,000 dong an hour, which was about double the going rate… live and learn. I made stops at the HCMC Museum, the Military Museum, the Vietnamese Museum, and the War Remnants Museum. This last stop is the big one where the Vietnamese shows the gruesome results of American bombing and military occupation and was definitely the highlight of the day. A couple more stops included a Reunification Palace, Chinese Pagoda, and Vietnamese Pagoda, and the biggest market I’ve ever seen. The Ben Tanh market was apparently set on the most valued piece of commercial real estate in the world according to Jeremy, so who knows if that’s true.

After that I went home to Jeremy’s house to wipe the fumes off my forehead. I know now why Asians wear those hospital type looking masks when walking/driving around outside. Next it was off to meet Jezza for a couple drinks and dinner. For the 5 days I stayed in HCMC this was typically the routine.

The next day I set off for the Cu Chi Tunnels. The area of Cu Chi is only 60-70 kms from HCMC and was where many villagers and VC soldiers hid from the American occupiers. It was a long 1.5 hours motorcycle ride and there was lots to look at along the way. After a brief orientation we went on a tour of the tunnels, crawling through sections that were enlarged for fat tourists like myself. The actual size of some of the trap doors is amazingly small, and it’s a wonder anyone could fit in them. It was an eye-opening experience, learning about people who lived down there for years and years. The Vietnamese are a determined, resourceful, and forgiving people.

Jeremy and I then took off to Hoi An, half way up the country and 30 minutes from Da Nang, for 5 days of relaxing… pshaw right! This part of my Vietnam trip was filled with great food, cool sites, partying with backpackers and other travelers, falling off motorcycles, shopping, getting clothes hand tailored, buying pirated DVDs, Christmas party at the Hoi An Hotel where we stayed, snacking in the market, beers, renting and driving our own motorcycles, the Marble Mountains, Pagodas, pool time, massages, and much much more.

It was whirlwind, and probably not very relaxing for Jeremy who was on his only 5 days off in a row since moving to Vietnam. But that’s what you get when you join me on my international pub crawl.

Back to Saigon for a rest after 5 days of Hoi An. This left me with 2 days to feel out the rest of the city… I spent some of that time in an International clinic licking my motorcycle wounds. Only a scratched and bruised elbow, but I didn’t want to risk infection in the jungle, you know how that goes, you’ve seen the movies…

Anyways, my flight is about to board, so I’m gonna jet.