.Đặc biệt.
Đặc biệt
.Unique.
adjective
being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.
Somehow, when the bus leaves at 1:30 am, the most fitting option seemed to be to go dancing until 1:00 am. This made for a sleepy walk on our arrival to Saigon at 6:00 am. The hot bustling city greeted our sleepy eyes with many taxi drivers waiting at the door.
'We'll walk', we said. Our hotel being only 4 city blocks away seemed close enough. When we finally navigated the area and completed our 15 minute walk with our 40lbs bags, through tall city buildings and car horns, we realized that this hotel, with the same name, was not the correct one.
A taxi was taken, after all.
'We'll walk', we said. Our hotel being only 4 city blocks away seemed close enough. When we finally navigated the area and completed our 15 minute walk with our 40lbs bags, through tall city buildings and car horns, we realized that this hotel, with the same name, was not the correct one.
A taxi was taken, after all.
On arrival at our actual hotel the staff could not speak English but guided us to our room at 7:00 am, which we were so grateful for, and we fell into a nap.
Bang bang bang, someone at the door, the door slammed open, luckily the small lock was on. Men yelling in Vietnamese in the hallway.
It stops.
Then again, the same, yelling and trying to open the door.
'Can I help you?' I call from around the corner.
They leave.
Not our most comforting hotel experience to say the least, we never did find out what the commotion was about.
Being the Tet celebration day when we arrived, we set out and walked the city of Saigon for 14 hours. What a busy, exhausting, amazing experience. The city held spectacular light displays, streets closed completely to vehicles to showcase the lights and other Tet pieces. Men were performing routines with dragons in bright colored costumes.
Music and concerts, singing and dancing.
Thousands of motorcycles.
Trying to cross the streets and round abouts were interesting to say the least. Our goal was to get to the river! We followed the lights and after hours of heading in that direction, we reached our destination.
Now for the 'fun'.
Getting the next city block to the actual river side took about 45 minutes of shoulder to shoulder, front to back, inching through the crowd. There were thousands of people all trying to make their way to the river’s edge for the perfect view of the night’s fireworks. Being as short as I am, I often couldn't see anything beyond the person ahead of me. People actively blocked us with their shoulders when we tried to pass. If we asked to squeeze through we got dirty looks.
The heat within this moshpit of people was unbearable.
Eventually we decided to 'cut across' the seating area. This area consisted of hundreds of people all sitting on the ground in small circles, almost as close together as we were standing, playing card games. Taking our chances we tiptoed and hopped through and over the seated crowd. Finally reaching the other side and some open air we found a spot amongst yet another large crowd and stood our ground. The fireworks show was incredible. Worth every painful moment of the moshpit.
The 20 minutes of consecutive fireworks displayed were the best fireworks I have ever seen and the best ending to an incredible first time experience at a Tet celebration.
In Saigon the backpacker area is a well lit set of streets lined with vendors for shirts and books, necklaces and other goods, all in between many restaurants and bars where everyone sits in the streets and has their evening drinks. This area is where we booked our tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and set out to the War Remnants museum. These two adventures were fascinating war memorials and the War Remnants Museum is hands down the best museum I have ever been to in my life.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are a network of underground tunnels used by the Viet Kong in during the Vietnam war. The tunnels of Cu Chi are located in Saigon, however these tunnels about 4 feet in height spread thousands of km through Vietnam, into Cambodia and parts of Laos. At times the Vietnamese would not come out of these tunnels for weeks or months.
Music and concerts, singing and dancing.
Thousands of motorcycles.
Trying to cross the streets and round abouts were interesting to say the least. Our goal was to get to the river! We followed the lights and after hours of heading in that direction, we reached our destination.
Now for the 'fun'.
Getting the next city block to the actual river side took about 45 minutes of shoulder to shoulder, front to back, inching through the crowd. There were thousands of people all trying to make their way to the river’s edge for the perfect view of the night’s fireworks. Being as short as I am, I often couldn't see anything beyond the person ahead of me. People actively blocked us with their shoulders when we tried to pass. If we asked to squeeze through we got dirty looks.
The heat within this moshpit of people was unbearable.
Eventually we decided to 'cut across' the seating area. This area consisted of hundreds of people all sitting on the ground in small circles, almost as close together as we were standing, playing card games. Taking our chances we tiptoed and hopped through and over the seated crowd. Finally reaching the other side and some open air we found a spot amongst yet another large crowd and stood our ground. The fireworks show was incredible. Worth every painful moment of the moshpit.
The 20 minutes of consecutive fireworks displayed were the best fireworks I have ever seen and the best ending to an incredible first time experience at a Tet celebration.
In Saigon the backpacker area is a well lit set of streets lined with vendors for shirts and books, necklaces and other goods, all in between many restaurants and bars where everyone sits in the streets and has their evening drinks. This area is where we booked our tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and set out to the War Remnants museum. These two adventures were fascinating war memorials and the War Remnants Museum is hands down the best museum I have ever been to in my life.
The Cu Chi Tunnels are a network of underground tunnels used by the Viet Kong in during the Vietnam war. The tunnels of Cu Chi are located in Saigon, however these tunnels about 4 feet in height spread thousands of km through Vietnam, into Cambodia and parts of Laos. At times the Vietnamese would not come out of these tunnels for weeks or months.
"The tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and helped to counter the growing American military effort."
Kitchens, homes, laundry areas etc, were all used underground. The Vietnamese built traps underground the ground, during the war, using many different techniques. On our tour to see the tunnels we were able to walk through a short section of tunnel to see what this small atmosphere was like.
The tunnels are dark and narrow, I cannot stand tall. The air is hot and thick. It's incredibly uncomfortable for even a short amount of time.
The tunnels are dark and narrow, I cannot stand tall. The air is hot and thick. It's incredibly uncomfortable for even a short amount of time.
The War Remnants Museum is a highlight of my 3 months trip. I don't say this because it was fun or because it was beautiful but because of it's meaning, it's education and how exceptionally well it gets the point across.
Vivid. Graphic. Devastating.
The War Remnants Museum educated me in so many ways about the Vietnam war. As I wandered around for hours with constant tears in my eyes, afraid to even see the next exhibit, I was so grateful for what I learned each step of that day. The exhibits are so vivid and graphic but portray a story of destruction, devastation and of loss that deserves to be told and felt. I only wish I could have started my trip of Vietnam with this experience and education instead of ended.
Our last destination was a Mekong Delta Home Stay. We'd read online of amazing trips to far away villages living with, living like, and learning from, the local people.
Yes!!! Sign me up, now!!!
We took a series of busses and were dropped off on the side of the highway. The heat was unbearable. A lone woman, spoke no English, motioned for us to sit in the bit of shade under her small umbrella fit for one, as she sold sweet corn on the road side. Not long after we took a seat an older man, also unable to speak English except for the golden words "home stay?", pulled up on his motorbike. We smiled and nodded! It's happening, we're heading to our home stay and we're not going to have to flag down a bus on the highway!!!
Our last destination was a Mekong Delta Home Stay. We'd read online of amazing trips to far away villages living with, living like, and learning from, the local people.
Yes!!! Sign me up, now!!!
We took a series of busses and were dropped off on the side of the highway. The heat was unbearable. A lone woman, spoke no English, motioned for us to sit in the bit of shade under her small umbrella fit for one, as she sold sweet corn on the road side. Not long after we took a seat an older man, also unable to speak English except for the golden words "home stay?", pulled up on his motorbike. We smiled and nodded! It's happening, we're heading to our home stay and we're not going to have to flag down a bus on the highway!!!
He called another man and we set off on the back of the motorcycles. A few roads away we came off the pavement on to a dirt road, hit a pothole and headed straight for the oncoming motorcyclists. Me being naive, I thought perhaps this was a friendly prank trying to play chicken of sorts. Then we swerved at the last second and skidded out across the gravel. I feared for the frail 70 year old bones of my driver but he was alright and I only had a minor cut!
Not playing chicken after all.
Not playing chicken after all.
Once at the home stay we realized no one spoke English at all. One neighbourhood young boy greeted us and he spoke English well, however, he was not part of this family. Once he left it was open to body language and hand gestures. We biked through cement paths lined with banana trees through the small village where the local adults and children called out to say hello and wave as we went by. Small roads only fit for a motorcycle or bicycle stretched along the river side, crossing small bridges from time to time. We toured through the fruit fields owned by the home owner and he explained quite well, using no English, how he grew his palmelos and beans. For dinner we made fresh spring rolls with rice paper, sitting beside a creek in front of our bungalow. As we finished our fresh rolls, I glanced at the water we'd been using for the rice paper.
"You don't want to see this" I said, looking at Kristi. My face must have said it all. The water was moving.. Small little organisms swimming around the bottom of the dish. We waited out the night and next day for symptoms of some illness, none came.
Incredibly thankful.
"You don't want to see this" I said, looking at Kristi. My face must have said it all. The water was moving.. Small little organisms swimming around the bottom of the dish. We waited out the night and next day for symptoms of some illness, none came.
Incredibly thankful.
Early the next morning we set off for a river cruise to the floating market. We watched people throw pineapples and other fruit from boat to boat after the purchase. A smaller boat with Vietnamese coffee floated to each vendor and passerby to sell their hot coffee in the cool morning.
After a one night stop in Chau Doc we set sail (on a long boat) for our trip to Cambodia! Taking a boat to the border crossing was the best decision. The open wooden boat cruised slowly through the smaller channels where I watched duck farmers, mushroom farmers, and small local children. The children ran along the river side to wave as the boat went by. Small huts and river side villages were beautiful. The perfect cherry on top of an amazing stay in the Mekong Delta area.
After a one night stop in Chau Doc we set sail (on a long boat) for our trip to Cambodia! Taking a boat to the border crossing was the best decision. The open wooden boat cruised slowly through the smaller channels where I watched duck farmers, mushroom farmers, and small local children. The children ran along the river side to wave as the boat went by. Small huts and river side villages were beautiful. The perfect cherry on top of an amazing stay in the Mekong Delta area.
Vietnam was a fascinating country from North to South. The diversity in culture, landscape and temperature makes you feel alive and crave travel to the next city. The people were kind and helpful, the food fantastic and the memories are once in a lifetime.
To all the people we met along the way, you added so much to this portion of my adventure. So thankful for all the people and all the memories!
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| Cu Chi Tunnels |
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| American Tank |
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| Inside The Tank |
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| Example of the Traps |
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| Shoes warn, these shoes appeared to be walking the opposite direction when looking at the print on the ground. Used to confuse the enemy. |
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| Saigon |
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| Binh Minh, Homestay. |
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| Mekong Delta Floating Market |
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| Chau Doc |
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| Riverside Village |
