Vietnamese Adventures

Hello once again and thank you for tuning in!
        I thought long and hard today about how to begin talking about Vietnam but I have failed. That alone says a lot about this particular country. First, I’d like to state that I did not get to see nearly as much as I wanted to but the parts that I did get to explore were fascinating.
        We arrived at the mouth of the Saigon River early morning of 26th and motored up stream for several hours before docking around 9:00am. At 10 we were cleared for customs and off I went. I traveled with a smaller group this time after learning that touring in small numbers makes the day much easier and keeps it more action packed. Our first stop was to chow down on some traditional Vietnamese “Pho” (pronounced like “fu” from that naughty f-word… if that makes any sense). It’s a soupy/ noodle dish mixed with your choice of meet and veggies. It sounds like a bit much for 10:00am but it’s actually a common Vietnamese breakfast.
Fortunately for us, this noodle place happened to be located a mere minutes walk from the port so after we ate we still had to face the daunting task of… get ready for this… crossing the street! Now, you may be thinking that crossing the street is just crossing the street however when you’re stepping off a curb in to a frenzy of speeding motorbikes and cars it’s a whole new ballgame. Even crosswalks across the busiest of streets had no cross signals. Before we disembarked we heard from a US Consulate Officer and his advice was “cross slowly and confidently.” With emphasis on the “confidently.” The rule of the game was to start crossing, walk at a slow and consistent pace, and for the sake of your wits do not look at the horde of motorbikes descending upon you. It’s kind of a wonder how I managed to survive the dozens and dozens of street crossings but the Vietnamese have it pretty well figured out. Speaking of motorbikes, what better way to get around the city than hopping on the back of one of those bikes with some local at the…wheel? Handlebar? And cruise to your destination for barely $1 USD? Regular taxis were always available but motorbike was my personal choice of getting around. After breakfast we hopped a few bikes and cruised over to one of the city’s must see markets. It was a wild place with lots of bargaining to be done, smells to enjoy, and humidity to suck the sweat right out of you! Following the market we headed to the War Remnants Museum. While it was a much different sight than Hiroshima, its emotional value was quite similar. The museum carries you through 2 levels of photographs, descriptions, and artifacts and exhibits all depicting war atrocities committed by the US Military during the Vietnam War (known there as the American War). The museum ends by leading you too a mock POW camp where you witness, in graphic detail, what it was like to be an imprisoned VC. For the sake of your stomach I won’t get in to any detail but it was certainly made the horrors of war all too real. Down the street from the museum stood the Reunification Palace, which was stormed during the war and marked the fall of Saigon. By early evening we headed back to the ship for a much-needed shower then visited the historical Rex Hotel rooftop for some drinks. The roof of this hotel served as a major evacuation point for US Soldiers after the fall of the city. In fact, a professor/ veteran on board was able to recap some dramatic war memories from there.
        The next morning I was up quite early and boarded a bus for an overnight trip at the Mekong Delta. It was probably one of the coolest places I’ve ever seen. Located about 2 hours from Saigon, the Mekong Delta is one of the countries most essential rivers, known best as one of main sources of rice. I hope my photos will do it some justice but otherwise it’s hard to describe. It’s one of those places that you have to see to understand. Aside from its uniqueness and beauty it’s a pretty poor area. Once there, we took a 3 hour river boat tour up and down the delta stopping off at various points to taste some of the local fruits, see how a coconut candy was made, and get an overall sense of the culture. On the morning of the second day we were back out on the river by 7:00am to check out the floating market. It’s best to see it in the morning during its busiest time and despite how crazy it looks it’s a really fun ride. Fisherman and farmers motor down to the delta with their fresh catches and produce, anchor in the middle of the river, and sell their goods all day. The environment was exciting and fun to check out. However, global warming is quite haunting for it’s inhabitants because 1m in sea level rise will displace 6 million people.
        My favorite day was when I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels located about 70km north of Saigon. Built by Cu Chi fighters during the Vietnam War, the tunnels served as hiding spots for the VC, taking shelter from heavy US bombing. There’s over 200km worth of tunnel and we saw only a small fraction of it. It’s located in what used to be pretty thick jungle but is now sparse from being blown to bits by bombing (noted by massive bomb craters located all over). Only a few segments were open for tourists and we got as far as 6m deep. Aside from its extreme humidity, they were lots of fun to crawl around in. As you’ll see in my photo being a 6’3” Vietnamese soldier would’ve had huge disadvantages when it came to being down there. Our guide, standing at just over 5’ flew threw these narrow tubes as a friend and I struggled through most of it. The bats fluttering by, hitting your head and flying in to your body add to the experience. Our last tunnel was about 30m long and even though that doesn’t sound tough, squatting through it was quite the challenge, but wlll worth it. To top it off we were brought to a gun range where we chose from a big selection of different weapons used during the war. It was my first time shooting a Colt-45 and an M-60 and I was blown away (no pun intended). The sheer power of those things, even from just one shot, is pretty absurd. I wish I could upload some video of these things in action. Afterwards, we headed back to Saigon, grabbed some food and boarded the ship to leave for India.
        As you can see, Vietnam is a pretty fun place. I don’t think this post does it nearly enough justice but I highly recommend visiting. If you’re ever looking for an adventure and feeling spontaneous, Vietnam is the place to go.     
        We left for India early this morning and after a quick fuel stop off the coast of Singapore, we’ll arrive in Chennai in about 7 days. I am doing wonderfully, feeling a little crummy but that’s okay, and am missing everyone from home! I have a pretty busy few days at sea but I will try and update once more before India. Thank you all for reading and stay tuned for more updates to come. I hope you are all well!

- Chris