VIETNAM

VIETNAM

DAY 1

Coming into Ho Chi Minh City was pretty incredible. I could even say it was ridiculous, but some of you might be sick of that word by now. Once again we had to head up a river to get into the port, only this time the river was narrower and windier than the one in Myanmar. We entered the mouth of the Saigon River around 8:30am and sailed up the river until about 12:30pm. If you imagine what you think Vietnam looks like, it’s probably pretty close. It was hot and sticky and there were Vietnamese fisherman all along the river. There were people who lived right on the river in traditional Vietnamese houses that saw our huge ship and started waving to us. There were shades of green that you’ve probably never seen and a way of living that you would think could only exist long ago before globalization ever impacted the area.

Our stay at Vietnam coincides with the Semester at Sea Parent Trip that goes to Thailand and meets up with us in Ho Chi Minh City, so we couldn’t disembark the ship until the parents had a chance to come on and find their kids. This took forever it seemed, and those of us whose parents did not come to Vietnam had to wait until around 3:00pm to get off the ship.

Once we did get off we took about a 5 minute shuttle ride into downtown Ho Chi Minh. My main objective for the day, as well as Nicole’s, was to find a tailor to have dresses made for us. We had heard that many SAS students got clothes made while in Vietnam on former voyages, so we figured it wouldn’t be too hard. We were right too. There are tailors EVERYWHERE. We checked out a few stores before deciding on one. We found designs we liked in catalogs, picked our fabric, and got our measurements taken. It was very inexpensive too. Hopefully, when we go back on Wednesday to pick them up they will meet our expectations. I’ll let you know how it goes. You could probably cheat and scroll down if you just can’t wait, but for those of you with more patience I’ll continue.

After walking around Ho Chi Minh for a while we met up with a few friends (Yukari, Ashley and Kirstyn) at a well known restaurant called Mandarine Restaurant. Yukari had heard about it from a former SAS student and it was highly recommended. The food turned out to be very good and we definitely ordered enough of it. They kept bringing plates of food for about 2 hours. They even gave us a short intermission.

After dinner we took a taxi back to the ship, looked around at the souvenir stands right outside our ship and called it a night. Tomorrow I’m going on a SAS field trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels and a Cao Dai Temple, so if you want to hear more about that go on to Day 2…

DAY 2

What an interesting day! There was a lot of riding, but we also saw some pretty interesting things. My day started fairly early. My trip left at 8:00am. It took about 3 hours to reach our first destination, the Cao Dai Temple. Cao Dai is a religion unique to Vietnam. It incorporates just about all of the main religions that exist today. Its three most prominent influences are Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Cao Dai temples are insane. It’s like a religion carnival or something. I can’t really explain it all that well, but let’s just say it involves a third eye, Victor Hugo, Jesus Christ, dragon-like sculptures, Buddhist lotus flowers, and tons of other stuff. I took some pretty cool pictures and I even have to video of part of their 12:00pm service. It’s really a sight to see.

After we left the Cao Dai temple we took in lunch at a local restaurant, and then drove for another hour or so to the Cu Chi Tunnels. The Cu Chi Tunnels were tunnels that were used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War (or as they call it here, the American War). There are about 3 different levels of tunnels. As you go down further the tunnels get much smaller. They were made for tiny Vietnamese men and women (there were actually quite a few women in the Viet Cong) were quite successful in trapping larger American soldiers. I went through the first level only. I didn’t think my black butt would fit through the smaller ones. But even these tunnels were widened for tourists. It’s pretty crazy once you get inside the tunnel. They are only one way, so there’s no turning around even if you want to. You spend most of it crouched over or crawling on your knees. If you are claustrophobic you definitely would not like these tunnels at all. Throughout the tunnels you climb up through wholes and down wholes, and for the most part it’s pitch black. Most of us brought flashlights to see where we were going. Besides the tunnels we got to see the trenches and traps used by the Viet Cong. These were serious traps. I have pictures to share, so you all will be able to see some of these. There was also a shooting range set up on the Cu Chi Tunnel site, so as you walked through the woods you would here guns shots. I sure it wasn’t anything like what the war really was, but it was a nice touristy effect anyways.

We’ve spent the last week learning about the Vietnam War, and being here in Vietnam seeing where this war took place and the effect (or in some places lack thereof) it has had here is truly interesting. I definitely understand it a little better, even though I don’t necessarily agree with everything that took place there on either side.

Tomorrow seems as if it’ll be a market/shopping day and I might go to a museum. I’m not sure. You can just continue to read through Day 3 to find out what actually happened. I’m going to go to sleep, myself. :o)

DAY 3

Well, today was definitely a shopping day! I think, so far, Vietnam has been the best place for shopping. I think I got more for my money here than anywhere else. It was pretty amazing. They have cheap knock offs of good brands like North Face and Puma, and only slightly more expensive real brands. If they aren’t real, then it’s a pretty darn good fake. Bargaining is huge here too. Sometimes if you just walk away they drop down the price 50% than what they originally asked for it. It’s great!

Between shopping I also managed to find an internet café. This place had the best rate: 1hr for $1. It was amazing. Too bad everyone back home was sleeping, so all I got were away messages on AIM. Oh well. I’ll be home soon. We only have 30 more days as of today. This voyage has gone by so fast! I can’t believe it! I also went to a café while I was out today. Vietnam has great coffee! Shopping has never been as relaxing as it was today. I got a lot done, but I’m not worn out.

Tonight I’m just going to relax. Maybe I’ll watch a movie. DVDs were $1 each. It’s funny, a lot of the covers have the actor’s names spelled wrong or the cover has a random picture of someone not even in the movie. I bought the sixth season of Friends today and the back summary is completely wrong. It talks about some French film I think. Haha. Hopefully, they all work and if not it’s not like I’m out of a lot of money.

Anyways, tomorrow I go on another SAS field trip, so continue reading if you would like to hear about that!

DAY 4

Today I got out of the hustle and bustle of Ho Chi Minh City and went to the Mekong Delta for the day. We took a boat ride to different islands on the Mekong River, tasted exotic fruits, jasmine tea and homemade honey, and freshly made coconut candy. One of the boat rides went took was down a narrow channel of the river in a row boat. That was my favorite part of the whole trip. You just get to sit back and admire just how beautiful Vietnam really is. I can’t even describe it to you. However, despite its beauty it still managed to be pretty hot and for another day on this voyage I sweated like a man. It’s become a daily thing when we are in port. I’m not excited about this and I hope that Hong Kong will prove to be cooler. I know Japan will be.

Anyways, after we finished to the Mekong River trip we headed to a local restaurant in My Tho for lunch. They say that you haven’t been to the Mekong Delta until you have tried their local beer Bai Bai Bai (333 – the #3 is very important to Vietnamese) and the fried elephant ear fish, so I opened my tastebuds. You had to wrap the fish in rice paper along with vegetable and noodles. It was alright, but probably nothing I would care to try again. The beer was beer. I don’t know. I still can’t acquire a taste for the stuff. Sorry Dad. Maybe, one day.

Now, I’m back on the ship and extremely exhausted so I’m going to get some rest before my last day in Vietnam.

DAY 5

Today is our last day in Vietnam. :o( I spent it in Ho Chi Minh City. I picked up my dress that I had made. It turned out well, and I’m sure most of you will see it eventually. I also spent some time at the internet café where I talked with some of you on AIM, drank some more Vietnamese coffee and visited the War Remnants Museum.

The museum was pretty disturbing. Seeing the pictures from the Vietnam War really put things into perspective. I can’t really explain it, but as we know war is never a good thing, and this museum was a great illustration of that fact. Many of the things that happened during the war (as well as other wars) have no justification, and they seriously make me sick to stomach to even think about.

Ok, well I obviously can’t end the blog/email on a note like that. My final impression of Vietnam? Vietnam is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve been to with some of the most kind and entertaining people I’ve had the pleasure to meet. It is a country that I will hopefully get a chance to visit again and a country that I will miss. However, as much as I liked Vietnam, I am excited to be in Hong Kong in two days. I’m sure Hong Kong will bring more interesting experiences to write about. :o)

I hope all is well with all of you. I love you and miss you!