Vietnam (part one)

If you have the chance to travel abroad, you should go to Vietnam. It’s beautiful, cheap, and beautiful (that's not a typo!)! When we arrived in port on the 12th, I went with my friend Dan to get a bus ticket and head to the beach! We had an 8pm bus, so we wandered Ho Chi Min City and did almost all the touristy things! We saw the Reunification Palace (though we didn’t pay to go in since it was just built in the 70s and we heard there wasn’t much inside), went and visited Notre Dame cathedral (built by the French when they occupied here but NOTHING like the cathedrals in France), went to the post office (which is on all the websites to visit but nothing to write home about) and found a pretty cool looking park. Almost all the traffic is motorbike. Sometimes people came by with huge cargo on the back, sometimes there were entire families of four on motorbikes. I could not even stand seeing the kids and babies on motorbikes without helmets but I guess it’s different everywhere. This is just what they know. To cross the street, you are supposed to look for a break and just start walking. You have to keep the same pace the whole way and make very predictable movements. The motorbikes just go around you! There aren’t really crosswalks or pedestrian walkways so it is slightly terrifying. I just found someone who looked like they knew what they were doing and crossed with them. HAHAHA! We had soup and beer for lunch and met a nice backpacker from California who is teaching English in China. (We met a lot of people teaching in China - they get six weeks off for New Year and a lot were traveling to the places we are porting! Jimmy-I am jealous of your 6 weeks off!)

Saigon VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The bus ride to the beach we went to (Mui Ne) was pretty painless (about 5 hours) and we arrived there at 1 am. On the 13th we started at the beach (OF COURSE!) after a free and delicious breakfast at the hotel. The beach was beautiful. It’s one of the windiest beaches in Vietnam and windsurfing and Kite surfing are very popular! It was awesome to watch the people kite surfing. When they jump they get a ton of air! I tried to get photos but none quite show just how high off the water these people were jumping. After spending the day at the beach we decided to go check out the red sand dunes. Apparently the white sand dunes are more magnificent and impressive than the red ones which I can’t even imagine but you need to rent a jeep to get to them. We were waiting for the public bus when a private one pulled up and asked where we needed to go. They charged us less than 50cents to get us to the dunes. It was hilarious. A huge bus with us, a family of tourists from Canada, and a few Vietnamese women. After getting to the dunes, we spent an hour or so, climbing and wandering and watching people sled. Then the sun started to set and it was wonderful. There was so much wind and sand and it was beautiful. We then found the public bus stop and waited there for what turned out to be an incredibly informational ride back into town. The public bus was small, and to say it was crowded just doesn’t do it justice. The Vietnamese people are touchy and seem to have no real issue with personal space so they just crammed us in. We were cracking up. The woman who was selling tickets somehow managed to keep it all straight. It cost us about 50cents. As people tried to get off and on she would literally move people into tiny spaces so there was room. Eventually a couple who were also cracking up and who my butt was up against got off and gave us their seats. We had a nice view of the madness. When children would get on, the older Vietnamese woman in front of us would just pick them up and put them on her lap. Even tourist kids. It was so interesting! Then when the parents got off the ticket lady would just pick them up and hand them off. What an experience. We found a nice Vietnamese/Thai place to have dinner, beer, and crepes and it was great. We walked a little on the street right next to the beach on our way back to the hotel. People were set up everywhere selling fresh fish and souvenirs. They literally had tanks set up in front of grills and you would pick a fish and they would butcher and cook it right there on the spot. It was about as fresh as it gets.

First day at the beach & Red Sand Dunes VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The next day we booked a tour to go see some remains of the old castle, a dragon fruit farm, the reclining Buddha, and the city market. We got up early, grabbed breakfast, and went to meet up with our driver. They asked if they could add two more people to our tour and gave us back $20 to thank us… this means we spent $25 for two of us to go on a five hour tour with a private driver (WHHHHAT things are so cheap). The couple who rode with us were pretty cool. They just moved to Vietnam from Algeria and were travelling for the New Year break. Our first stop (at 8am mind you) was the tower remains. It was SOOOOO hot… like ridiculously hot but the contrast of the brick to the bright blue sky and the views of the ocean were gorgeous! I could see why the French prince wanted his vacation palace at that sight. Our second stop was the reclining Buddha. First, let me say I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing Buddha statues. They are so magnificent. We took a cable car to what I thought was the top but really was 300+ stairs to walk up to get to the Buddha. Many people were bringing picnics up to the top so they could rest but I barely made it with just my camera! The steps were a hike but it was a cool thing to see. Our driver didn’t speak English so I’ll have to do some research. Most of the Buddha’s I’ve seen have been explained to me (position, colors, symbolism, etc…) and I found myself wondering what the symbolism behind the sleeping Buddha was. It was really interesting, and luckily, even though it was HOT most of the 300 steps were in the shade. On the way back to town we stopped at a random dragonfruit farm on the side of the road. When I passed these farms earlier I thought they were aloe plants but the dragonfruit leaves look a lot like aloe leaves. We posed for a photo and wandered for approximately 1 minute and then headed into the market (side note: Dan bought a dragonfruit later to try and let me have a piece. It reminded me of a kiwi but with less flavor). The Market looked like a lot of the ones we saw in Japan and China. There was a lot of fish and a lot of fresh beef. I know that in every place we go it’s different but I cannot get over how they leave their meat out in that heat all day. Women were manning most of the stands and butchering on sight. There was one street I went down that I wish I could unsee. Sometimes it was a lot to handle… especially when heads and things were just kind of out. UGH.

Day two: Mui Ne VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After the tour we headed to the CoCo Beach Resort where we paid $6 for full use of their facilities. We got towels, chairs on the beach, an umbrella, and pool access. It was well worth the $6 to be able to swim in the pool. I love the beach but the ocean has always made me uncomfortable… add in 100+ kite surfers and I was not about to go swimming in there! We had a super lazy afternoon in the sun and then it was time to kill 10ish hours until our 1am bus. We did a ton of walking, had an AWESOME pizza dinner and really great ice cream sundaes for dessert. Went in a few stores, hung out on the beach, and then got on the 1:30 am bus where I slept the whole way back to HCMC.

Today was my duty day and it was a lazy one! I took a nap and visited with my friends. Not too much going on and hopefully it will be a quiet night tonight! Tomorrow is shopping, followed by dinner at a restaurant owned by a friend of a faculty member on board and maybe some dancing with the girls! On the 17th before we leave I may go for a spa day. You can get a one hour massage, manicure, and pedicure for less than $20! I’ll see if I find an okay place :)