Day 341 - Good Riddance Vietnam?

Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon as they used to call it before reunification) is without doubt one of the craziest cities I’ve visited… anywhere. I don’t know if anyone has actually counted, but I’m guessing it must have the highest number of motorbikes/scooters (or motos as they’re known here) per capita of any city in the world - they’re everywhere and coming at you from all angles! I’d heard that crossing the street in Saigon required nerves of steel and, given it was the first challenge we were presented with, I can now confirm it’s true! Standing at the side of the road having been deposited by our bus from Cambodia, we realised within a couple of minutes that there was NEVER going to be a break in the traffic… EVER! So we ended up having to do what the locals do - which is to look dead ahead and then just step off the curb into it all. Actually there is a sort of system present - basically as a pedestrian your one and only responsibility in the whole gamble is to pick a spot on the opposite side of the road and walk towards it at a steady pace and in a direct line… and never waver. Anyone driving a vehicle avoids you... usually. So, trying to shut out the peripheral vision of a wave of motos heading straight for us, we did it. And what’s more amazing is it worked - we made it across intact (although my hand was somewhat crushed by Sarah’s vice like grip) and even more surprisingly no one even scowled - they just flowed around us, beeping their horns continuously as the Vietnamese do (I’m pretty sure it’s more of a form of echo location here than anything hostile!).

We were staying just outside the main centre of the city (in the traveller district of Pham Ngu Lao) but it was only a short walk (of course past dozens of cyclo drivers) to the city’s main attractions. During our time there we visited the Reunification Palace (what was Independence Hall until the tanks of the North Vietnamese Army crashed through the gates on 30th April 1975 marking the end of the Vietnam War), Notre Dame Cathedral (a reminder that the French were here too), the Opera House and the Rex and Continental Hotels (two historic hotels that housed many of the journalists who reported on the American War in Vietnam). Our timing was also so impeccable that we accidentally stumbled through a crowd just in time to see the Olympic torch go past on its way through town.

Along with watching every Vietnam war film available (for which I’m sure I’ll pay one day with a plethora of rom-coms), we furthered our knowledge of the events leading up to and during the war with a visit out of town to the Cu Chi Tunnels - an expansive network (over 200km) of tiny underground tunnels that served as a base for the Vietcong during their fight against the Americans and South Vietnamese. These tunnels were used as a launching post for the Tet Offensive in 1968 and the remainder of the time were a major thorn in the side of the US who were unable to breach them despite showering the area with bombs, napalm and the defoliant “agent orange” (the effects of the latter still supposedly being felt by some of the population today). The tunnel complex itself, given it’s all underground, is visually relatively unimpressive but struggling to crawl through a section of the tunnels was amusing enough and just about made up for the fact that at the end of it they encourage you to indulge in some military based escapism-tourism by picking up a machine gun and splashing the cash for a chance to fire some live ammunition (we’d been presented with a similar bad-taste “opportunity” in Cambodia where we’d even been told we could grab some leftover military hardware and rip apart live chickens and dogs). In another slightly odd side to the visit we also had to sit through an ancient and (after so many years) somewhat bizarre anti-American propaganda video that really, given the number of tourists today, bordered on inappropriate. The highlight of the visit to Cu Chi though was our guide Mr Bean - a 60 year old Vietnamese veteran of the war who fought for the South Vietnamese by serving with the US. He spent the entire bus journey and our time at the tunnels regaling us with history on the war peppered with tragic personal anecdotes and some amusing stories and really brought it to life for us. Sadly he’s retiring next year so I count us lucky to have been given a glimpse into the war by someone who knew what life was like first hand.

One of the most romantic images I had in my mind of Vietnam was taking a boat trip down to the Mekong Delta - I had visions of gentle waterways, expansive rice paddies and open spaces dotted with a few locals paddling around in their boats selling their produce. Sadly I was disappointed to discover that the Mekong Delta isn’t truly like that - at least not on the two day trip we took - there are a few nice moments here and there (well only the floating markets really) but after all that travelling to get there and back what left the biggest impression on me is just how populated and developed the area is - hardly a stretch of highway undeveloped for the entire 3 hour drive back.

We experienced further evidence of the hustle and bustle of this country by accidentally choosing a national holiday weekend for the beginning of our northbound travel. The chaos that surrounded the bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat was something to be seen: at the bus stop hundreds of locals trying to catch their buses out of town meant the arrival of an empty bus caused small scale rioting as people pushed and shoved their way to any available bit of space on it. Drivers refusing to open doors and pulling passengers with tickets out of the crowd and up to safety made it look more like a UN food drop than the modern transport network it normally is! And then we were presented with the journey out of town: 3 hours of gridlocked traffic jams just to reach the suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City was to be the start of what led to our supposed 7 hour bus journey becoming 14. Seems Bank Holidays Weekends are the same everywhere you go!

We made it though and, partly to recover, passed a few days in the cooler (and wetter) climes of Dalat - a mountain town that, for some reason unbeknownst to us, is considered to be the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. From there we headed on, east to the coast of the South China Sea and up to the historic trading town of Hoi An.

Hoi An (another UNESCO World Heritage Site) is situated on the estuary of the river Thu Bon, in an area historically populated by the Champa people. The town itself grew to become a major trading centre between the 15th and 19th centuries catering to the likes of Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Dutch, Portuguese, French and British traders and merchants. Many of the old warehouses, stores and shops are still standing today (quite an achievement given the war and ruthless development since) and have been taken over by a new kind of trade: the cutthroat commercialism of the tailoring world - today catering to the tourists. Here… there… and pretty much everywhere, you can find a shop, pop in and get measured before breakfast, have a fitting before lunch and they’ll have whatever it is you’ve chosen to have made ready for you to wear to dinner.

Although Hoi An is undeniably a very touristy town (and a pretty tacky one at that) we actually ended up staying for a while as it was about the first place we’d come to in Vietnam that felt like there was a bit of old history and culture to it. We wandered the streets, did some more cooking (a local dish called “claypot fish”), cycled around the town and a bit of the neighbouring countryside, had an afternoon at China Beach and caught a cold. And from there we decided to try and get away from all the development and head on to Vietnam’s second most touristy town.

Sapa is an old French hill station set in the mountains of the northwest of the country, in the corner between Laos and China. To get there we had to pass through the capital of Hanoi and then take an overnight sleeper train into the mountains. Arriving bleary eyed I was relieved to find that it’s nowhere near as built up as Dalat (even if there are some ugly high-rise hotel developments sprouting up now) and that despite a few clouds the views were stunning. We’d reserved a room in a seemingly well rated “boutique” hotel but having arrived exhausted to find that the “free lift from the station” we’d been promised was no longer free and the “boutique” hotel was still being refurbished and wouldn’t be “boutique” for what looked like months, we told the naughty man off, turned on our heals and traipsed round town until we found a place for less with a stunning mountain view and a nice clammy damp atmosphere (which if the sun isn’t shining and the hotel doesn’t have heating seems to be par for the course wherever you stay in Dalat due it being situated just about in the cloud belt).

After some torrential rain the first afternoon, which along with the tail end of my cold sent us running for soup and a log fire, the sun just about came out for the next couple of days and gave us a chance to do some walking out to see the beautiful countryside, rice terraces and local hilltribe villages (much the same as the Thailand experience in terms of the ruthless hard sell from the villagers but somehow a better feel in Sapa given we weren’t surrounded by coach loads of people).

By this point in our travels we’d come to the conclusion that travelling Vietnam on a budget (at least if sticking to the main “highlights”) is a bit of a pain. Vietnam is not a difficult country to travel in terms of getting around and finding accommodation (in fact I think what with the open-tour hop-on-hop-off buses that run between guesthouses and cheap flights and trains on offer it might be the easiest yet). But what does make it a challenge is having to deal with those that think that visitors will pay a price and can then be ripped off and given as little as possible in return. I experienced it in some form or another (be it from hotels, restaurants, taxis, tour agencies, guides, even ticket collectors) every day, and it was a constant battle to actually feel like you were getting what you’d agreed to pay for (let alone value for money!). I’d like to think that I was unlucky and it doesn’t just stem from low morality and a belief that all tourists can be treated this way - but I’m not sure. There are plenty of blogs out there with similar conclusions. On many occasions it felt like we just weren’t wanted and overall I certainly didn’t get a feeling of warmth and welcome from the Vietnamese like I have in other countries. In fact thinking about it, with the exception of a waitress in Sapa who leant us an umbrella so we could get back to our hotel during a sudden downpour, no one ever really went out of their way to be nice (not that they should I suppose) unless it was financially motivated.

So our knee-jerk reaction, given we only had 4 days left in the country and we were determined to try and be happy, was to throw money at the problem. And so for the last major site in Vietnam we booked onto a cruise aboard a junk called the Santa Maria for a 2-night trip around the karst scenery of Halong Bay. And that was a really good move because actually it turned out to be fine - we’d heard some stories about the junks of Halong Bay taking you round litter covered filthy water whilst plying you with bad food and rat infested accommodation but there was no sign of it on this one I’m pleased to say. We had a good mixed group of fellow passengers and managed to get the perfect balance of a sociable and very relaxing time whilst taking in the stunning scenery that for me brought back images of sailing in Thailand last year.

From Halong Bay we’ve ended up back in Hanoi where we spent a morning wandering around the atmospheric old quarter of town where all the streets have particular industries associated with them (e.g. funeral street, flower street, spice street etc. etc.). We’ve also taken a cyclo over to visit the Temple of Literature in the area where the government buildings and embassies lie and had a walk around the One Pillar Pagoda and the outside of Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum.

One of the most interesting things we’ve done here is to see a Water Puppet show - this is a traditional Vietnamese form of entertainment that originated in the rice paddy areas where the farming communities would put on rival shows using mechanical puppets supported on handheld rods under the water all accompanied by traditional music. The stories all bring in some elements of mythology and legend and it was a nice ending to the trip to finally see something of this country’s culture being celebrated.

So right now we’re moving on again… only this time, I’m sad to say, in separate directions. Sarah’s travels have now come to an end so she’s flying to Bangkok and from there back home to the UK for a little time with family before starting a new career in London. It’s a shame that Vietnam was the last country we’ll be travelling in together on this trip but I’m happy to report that, despite the added stresses of travelling in a country like Vietnam, we’ve passed the six month mark and things are going really well. People (or certainly other couples) seem keen to keep telling us that travelling together is a major test - you spend every hour together and see each other at your lowest and worst… But I’ve never had a moment’s doubt about us so I’m looking forward to us both being based in London after I’m back home, and doing our best to make it work “in the real world”.

And as for leaving Vietnam - is it good riddance? Well to be honest I’m delighted to be getting out of here. Today I feel that I could shout the subject title of this blog louder and with more passion than Robin Williams ever could (although perhaps once I'm back behind a desk my opinion may change!). I sincerely hope I’m not becoming a jaded traveller (you can call me an ungrateful moaner if you like though) - I like countries that are a challenge to travel in but this has been difficult for all the wrong reasons. Taking the entire time in Vietnam into account and remembering that we tried to travel the country in a variety of ways to give it a chance, on balance I just don’t think what scenery, culture and history was on offer was worth the daily effort of dealing with the people that prey on the budget traveller. So despite leaving more educated and culturally aware than when I arrived, the truth is I’ve got more out of other places. And in hindsight I rather wish I’d gone somewhere else.

And right now that’s what I’m going to go and do. The clock is ticking and there’s one more place I want to take a look at before travel-time is over for me too. So in an effort to either kill or cure the jaded traveller that may be forming within me I’m going to do my best to experience as much as I can… in China.

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