Motos here - Motos there - Motos, Motos Everywhere

The land of conical hats and endless bowls of steaming white rice, where the cities are alive with beeping horns and striking architecture and the countryside is vibrant with tropical flowers, steep rugged cliffs and picturesque scenery. Welcome to Vietnam!

Our month in Vietnam began with crossing the border from Cambodia. I've learned that there is absolutely no truth in advertising anywhere in Asia. Although our bus company promised that the same vehicle would take us from Phnom Phen all the way to Saigon, we were dropped off at the border with no explanation of where to go or what to do. It was easy to check out of Cambodian customs, but there was no Vietnam office to be seen and we were left to wander within the imaginary border between the countries. When in doubt, just start walking, which is exactly what we did. We simply lugged our bags along the deserted road in the direction that we though Vietnam might be located. Luckily, we guessed correctly and, instead of winding up in the middle of some tribal village, we stumbled upon the border officials where, for 25 cents, they happily stamped our passports and gave us "official" seals. These seals declared that we were in excellent health and were not harboring any deadly diseases that could potentially wipe out all of Vietnam. Very professional!

Our bus eventually found us, complete with a little man waving his hat frantically out the window to flag us down. We were all too happy to climb aboard and relax for the rest of our trip to Saigon. Mr. Hambaugh, bless his heart, gave us a wonderful treat and put us up in the Saigon Sheraton for a few nights. I don't know what the hotel staff thought of us as we tromped in, carrying our backpacks and trailing water into the very plush lobby. We had gotten caught in a torrential downpour and were absolutely soaked to the bone but we put on our best smiles and asked for our room keys. They handed them over after asking us for identification. Heaven, heaven, heaven. Not that I am against $3 budget rooms and cold showers, but this place was amazing! We were on one of the top floors and had a gorgeous view of the city and night-lights and our beds were made of pure feathers. I took an impossibly long bath with bubbles up to my chin and then wrapped up in a comfy, fluffy white robe and lounged on the bed, sipping herbal tea. Yes, I know this is a bit out of the ordinary for a die hard backpacker, but after nearly five months of traveling, one needs a bit of spoiling to pump up your spirit for the remainder of the trip. Anyway, it was a great treat - thanks Mr. Hambaugh!

We were soon staying over in the main travel center of Saigon, where we quickly organized some tours around the city and to the Mekong Delta. Pictures don't lie. The countryside is simply stunning. Near the Mekong Delta, where the winding river finds its way to the ocean and leaves a path of fertile soil, the vegetation is an astonishing shade of green. We spend a morning on a tiny wooden boat, motoring up and down the river and enjoying the scenery. In the early morning hours, the river crowded with small canoes as local women sell fruits and vegetables. The boats are heaped high with pineapple, watermelon, and dragon fruit, a wonderfully juicy fruit whose name certainly fits its appearance. Somewhere among all of the fruit is the tiny little lady crouched in the boat, visible only by her pointy hat and shrill voice calling out her prices and wares for sale.

We also saw the Chu Chi tunnels, which was the stable resistance zone of the Party Committee Military and an integral part of the web-like tunnels built during the Vietnam War. We explored a few of the sites and were forced to crawl on our hands and knees through some impossibly long, small, pitch black tunnels. What amazed me was that these tunnels had several branches, but none of the branches were blocked off. Therefore, unless you had a keen sense of direction, you had to keep calling out to the person in front of you to make sure that you were heading in the correct tunnel (and of course, hope that they knew what they were doing too!). I found myself crawling along on my stomach for a large majority of the tunnel, especially when the bats decided to become friendly and began to fly around my head. It was quite an experience, if not an ordeal! However, it was extremely eye opening to see how the tunnels were used against our soldiers in the war.

We had an extra night before leaving for the beaches so we decided to volunteer and teach English for an evening. An Australian couple had told us about Mr. Lee, a sweet five foot Chinese man who ran a school on the other side of town. He picked us up and gave us a short tour of China town before taking us to his school where we each taught two classes. Many of the children already knew English but wanted extra help with their pronunciation and accents, which we were more than happy to oblige. Afterwards, Mr. Lee gave us a bag full of cokes and chocolate and took us out to dinner. Over noodle soup, he told us stories of his family and life back in China before he moved to Vietnam. Such a nice little man!

The next morning, we left for Mui Ne, a small coastal town. Our $5 bungalow was right on the beach and we fell asleep at night to the rush of the waves on shore. One of the big draws to Mui Ne are the red sand dunes where you can sled down on top of big silver sheets. You have to remember to keep you mouth closed though or you end up with a mouthful of sand at the bottom of the hill. The town is also has a big fishing industry and the shoreline was full of red and blue boats. The fisherman were often crouched next to their boats, weathered and wrinkled from the wind and sun, but always smiling as they inspected their nets. Some of the boats looked like reed baskets and were manned by a stick rudder. It was beyond me how they managed to steer the little bucket boats, but they managed just fine.

Our next stop was Da Lat, a charming city up in the mountains where the air was cool and the fresh breeze was constant. Da Lat's specialty is candied strawberries and mulberries and these were found in massive quantities in the market, along with football-sized avocadoes. We only stayed two nights as we are in a hurry to get up to Hanoi before our visa expires, but it was a short relaxing change from the heat and humidity. From Da Lat, we will visit Hoi An, Hue, Sapa, and HaLong Bay.

Vietnam has sure been a change from the quietness of Cambodia and laid back life of Laos. The entire atmosphere has been an assault to our senses. Crossing the street requires a PHD in physics in order to gauge the correct speed and angle to venture across the path of traffic. The secret is not to stop or vary your pace for you will upset the “very organized” flow of traffic veering around you (even though I am sure that some of those drivers were headed straight at me.) It gets even more exciting when you get the chance to cross a four or six lane street! I imagine it is comparable to bungee jumping or some other extreme sporting event.


The country is also very noisy, where the roosters compete with the blowing of moto horns and cries of street vendors. The Vietnamese have also taken the liberty of, not only installing a great variety of extremely loud horns on their vehicles, but out of tune melodies as well. A bus backing up will therefore emit a version of “Happy Birthday” or “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” while maneuvering in the alley right below your window at 4 a.m. A sweet dreams lullaby!

Driving is also a bit different than in the states. Instead of the usual three point turn, drivers in Vietnam practice the common nine point turn. This enables them to upset the flow of traffic even more than the frightened Westerners trying to cross the street, but at least they are providing a musical melody as they back up, pull forward, back up again, etc. Other drivers attempt to drive their motos while eating their morning breakfast with chopsticks. I don’t know how they manage to do that, especially with three little kids straddling the seat.

Walking the streets is fun. Various street vendors compete to win the “visual imagery” award using neon lights and flashing bulbs. You can also find anything your heart desires along the allies and busy sidewalks. In a span of twenty feet, I was offered a massage, a manicure, new shoes, a beer, a hotel room, corn on the cob, a knife, mangoes, a haircut, a bicycle, and my very own, personal companion for the remainder of the evening (I politely declined that one.) The market is always a colorful place to visit, complete with a wonderful selection of cheap and enticing food. I’ve given up my more traditional worries of “street food” and will eat basically anything now. The trick is to not think about what is actually in the sandwich or noodle mixture and just dig right in. The funny part is that the seating area consists of childlike stools and little tables that reach only to my calves. The locals are already eating with their knees hunched up to their chins so you can imagine what it looks like for a tall person like me. The locals get a kick out of it and often laugh at us. I have to admit that I have become a virtual master at using chopsticks though!

Next sto pis Hoi An where we are going to take advantage of the wonderful, cheap tailors and get some suits made. We have heard great stories about the speed and quality of the clothing in Hoi An. There goes my travel budget for the next couple of months!

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