Vietnam (Part 1)

Crossing the border from Cambodia into Vietnam was uneventful. We choose to cross at the southern most crossing of Prek Chak/ Xa Xia and our bus driver took us right through. The border crossing is still developing and someday will look very different than it did for us. From the border crossing we went to Ha Tien and switched buses for Can Tho. The drive was pretty crazy and we saw life on the Mekong Delta bustling around us. The River is central to all parts of life in this part of Vietnam. 

In Can Tho we jumped right into the Mekong River Delta... Literally. The entire town was flooded with a foot of water. If you thought the Neuse River or the Cuyahoga River was dirty, well then you would be shocked by the flooded Mekong River Delta during the rainy season. Aside from the fact that the River (especially during the wet season) is super contaminated with agricultural chemicals from the delta and waste, the River is an important part of life for the inhabitants of the Mekong River Delta. The Vietnamese use the river water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, and fishing. A little rowboat with a horizontal engine picked us up at 5:30 am for a boat trip to the floating markets. Vendors pile their boats high with produce and float down the river for a few days, selling everything before returning home upstream. Big sticks are hoisted in the air with their product attached so people know that they are selling from a distance. We also visited a family that makes rice noodles and learned about daily life in Vietnam. Our guide for the day had great English and turned out to be quite the botanist, introducing us to edible plants and herbs we had never heard of. On the menu that night was Duck BBQ, which was actually pretty good! The Vietnamese living on the Mekong Delta will eat just about anything and commonly raise dogs for food. Our hotel even had rat on the menu for 60,000 Dong (~$3). Ugh. Veggies only please! 

We took a bus to Ho Chi Mehn City and found a nice $15/night hotel that includes breakfast, wifi, and a cute Burberry bedspread. We spent about 30 seconds in the local market but were too overwhelmed by the caos to stay any longer. Ho Chi Mehn City is insane and, like Bangkok, is intriguing after you get past the deep breaths of smog. Lauren had her first meal of Ostrich BBQ and most of the time Brian stucks to veggie or pork friend rice. One thing is for sure, we are both ready for some Chipotle. Three days, let alone three weeks is not enough time to see Ho Chi Mehn City so we decided to divide and conquer to see the sites. 

North Vietnam (backed by China and the Soviet Union) wanted to unify North and South Vietnman under communist control. The US was concerned about the domino effect in Southeast Asia that might lead to the entire continent being under communist reign. The US eventually pulled out and the North proceeded to take Saigon, now Ho Chi Mehn City. Lauren spent the day walking around the city to visit some lesser known historical stops including the Women's Museum, Pho Bihn (Viet Cong hang out), and Tan Dinh Catholic Church. The Women's Museum details the lives of women throughout history. Strong women, both physically and intellectually, have led Vietnam through some very unstable times.

Bihn Pho, is a restaurant, owned by the recently deceased, Ngo Van Toai. Here the Viet Cong served and American soldiers their renowned Pho, while planning the Tet Offensive in the upstairs room. The house is pretty intricate and has tunnels leading to it from various parts of the city for indiscriminate meetings. The soup hasn't changed at all since the war and is so delicious that the American's ate and ate while their counterparts planned an attack on the American Embassy. The family, who is now running the restaurant, was very proud to show Mr. Toai's many metals he received for his role in the Tet offensive. It was slightly awkward to see medals won for killing Americans. Family photo albums showing the restaurant's historic role offered insight into a time of turmoil.

Brian spent the day crawling around Viet Cong tunnels. The design and expanse of the tunnel network was extremely impressive, and scary. I can't verify this but it seems there are two sizes of tunnels, one way or two way. One way provides enough room for a single (small) person to simply crawl while the two way allowed enough room for two people to pass or one person to turn around. Either way, one can only imagine how terrifying it must have been to be holed up in these tunnels while massive amounts of ordinance was being dropped overhead for extended periods of time. The tunnels were nearly self contained living quarters with hospitals, weapons caches, and kitchens. There were also subterranean assembly lines where the unexploded ordinance was collected and converted into grenades, mines, shovels or spikes to be used in traps.

Together, we visited the War Remnants Museum, which houses items and photos of the Resistance War Against America or The War of American Aggression. Previously called the “Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes,” the name pretty much sums up the museum's anti-American sentiment. The museum had several exhibits titled “Historical Truths,” “Aggression and Atrocities,” and “Agent Orange Aftermath in the US Aggressive War.” Quotes from the American constitution are displayed on the wall next to photos of American's taking Viet Cong prisoners. This museum was absolutely not designed to give Americans warm and fuzzy feelings. Regardless of our opinions of the Vietnam War, we found some of the exhibits to be quite biased and distorted into anti-American history. Many of the displayed out of context images had detailed, graphic descriptions, while others just said “American soldiers killing women and children.” We went through every exhibit and didn't learn anything about the historical politics or causes of the war. Surprisingly there wasn't even a pro-North Vietnam sentiment... purely anti-American. Sheeesh. Bill Clinton was the first US President to visit Vietnam. We ordered pho at Pho2000 and sat at the same table that the President and Chelsea did in 2000. 

The one hour flights to Hoi An were too cheap to pass up ($40) so we decided to forgo the 22 hour bus ride ($22.) In Hoi An, Brian spent a day trying to get around the Vietnamese internet censorship so we could actually use our computer. We counted our blessings knowing that when we return to the Land of the Free we will be allowed to legally use Facebook.

Our homestay, Flower Garden, was very nice and included a big breakfast and comfortable atmosphere. Hoi An is known for being an historical port village and also for their famous tailors. The Old Quarter is considered a World Heritage Site by UNSECO. Brian had a suit custom made. At the first fitting the pants were SUPER tight, but the lady eventually got it right. She said she was going for something “funky.” We kindly explained that Brian's potential employers might not appreciate the “funky-ness.” We rented bikes for a few days and a motorbike for a day. On the motorbike we scooted to the beach, a few kilometers away. The Old Quarter is closed to traffic and biking is a great way to see the lantern lit streets along the river. Beer was 25 cents, which made our stay in Hoi An affordable and fun! At night, lanterns and soft classical music give the town a majestic vibe. 

Walking down the street one afternoon, we stopped and asked a barber how much it would be to trim Brian's neck. He said he would do it for “no money” and Brian happily sat down in the chair. What happened from there is still confusing (and slightly traumatizing). This guy's shears were flying at 500 clips a minute, which was pretty terrifying. He opened a fresh razor blade and shaved Brian's neck, ears (inside and out), nose, and forehead. As Brian is sitting up, this little old Vietnamese guy pushes him back down and pulls out a wiry piece of metal, little brushes, and a headlamp and proceeds to pick earwax out of Brian's ears. This guy pretty much has a coat hanger two inches from Brian's brain. Apparently, he wouldn't take no for an answer. Lauren couldn't watch. Brian was cringing by the time the guy finally finished. We payed him a dollar, thanked him, and walked away feeling extremely traumatized. 

Our first night in Hoi An, we walked into a hole in the wall restaurant/street stand because it looked like they had fresh baguettes and it was dark and rainy. Much to our surprise, this street vendor had been visited by Anthony Bourdain's show, “No Reservations.” We tried a few different menu items (all baguette sandwiches) during our stay and all of them were delicious, with the exception of some strange pate thing. 

Asians, particularly the Vietnamese have a very interesting sense of hygiene. Everyone is hacking up crap and spitting it. People blow their nose without tissue and soap or paper in the restroom would just be way too much trouble. Hygiene is a definite afterthought. Like the rest of Asia, theres quite a bit of bargaining involved in getting a fair price. It was explained to Lauren in Ho Chi Menh City that there are 4 pricing scales (from lowest to highest): South Vietnamese prices, North Vietnamese prices, Foreigner prices, and American prices. The people in Vietnam are fairly receptive to Americans visiting their country, but they plan on taking as much of your money as possible while you are here. We wouldn't say Vietnam has been the most welcoming of places. The younger generation seems much more friendly than the older generation. Students stopped us several times wanting to practice their English. 

Our Vietnam adventure continues North to Ha Long Bay, Hanoi, and Sapa.