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Published: November 15th 2007
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Hello again,
Ok, so last we left you, we were boarding the plane in Hoi'An and heading to our last Vietnam destination - Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon).
We arrived at our hotel, the Lac Vien Hotel, around dinner time. It was a nice hotel, like the others we'd stayed at, only $27/night. It was also very new and especially clean. The hotel was located in "Backpackers' Alley," and so even though it wasn't as cheap as most of the other 'backpackers' hotels,' it was still located on a very happening street - with lots of cheap eats and shopping too.
After putting our things in our room, we decided to wander around in this new city. But, much to our dismay, it wasn't quite like Hanoi or Hoi'an. Whille we attempted to eat dinner at a small cafe on the street, we were constantly bothered by numerous locals trying to sell either gum to us, or a "Lonely Planet" book from their pile (most piles being nearly 10 feet high!) Yes, it was quite a sight to see, but we still weren't interested - especially since most of the books were cheaply "copied" with
a photo-copy machine.
So after we ate, we decided it would be nice and relaxing to go and get massages from a nearby 4-star hotel. Massages here, and in most nice hotels in Vietnam, only cost about $6...so we were quite excited. This one included a 1-hour body massage, and a 30 minute foot massage. But, when Larry was offered sexual favors at the end of his massage (I was only in a room right next door within earshot), I was really offended and wanted to leave - especially when our masseurs insisted that we tip them both 100%!! I don't mind tipping for a good service, especially at these cheap prices. But unfortunately, I don't consider it "good service" to ask my fiancee if he would like sexual favors. Oh, and of course, the fact that IT'S RUDE to ASK for a tip! Get a clue, hookers! Two days later we went to a massage place with BLIND masseurs just to avoid the sketchy sex scene!
After this experience, I was ready to call it a night, but Larry wanted to end it on a better note. So, we headed to a local bar on a busy
street and had a drink. This time, we chose seats INSIDE the bar, so as not to be disturbed by all of the local street vendors....but we soon found out that that did not matter. There are apparently no rules or etiquette in this country about not selling your goods inside of another establishment. So, as I once again told the numerous book and gum vendors that I was not interested in their goods, Larry was turning down a kid (who looked no more than 12 years old) who was trying to sell him heroin!! The real shocker though occurred on our way back to the hotel, when a child (this time who looked about 5 years old) grabbed onto my leg and wouldn't let me go - because I wouldn't buy gum from her. This just made me angry that someone would even dare teach this kind of work to their BABY, just to make an extra buck or two on the street.
But even though this city didn't impress us right away, we did find many great and exciting things to do here. One day, we went on a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels - the
tunnels where most Viet-Cong soldiers lived and fought the American soldiers during the Vietnam War. This tour was only $4/person, and was AMAZING - definitely one of my favorite things we did in Ho Chi Minh. Here, not only did we learn about all the different torturous traps that the Viet-Cong used against the American soldiers, but we even got to go through the actual tunnels (which were VERY dark and claustrophobic I must add). All in all, very educational and VERY interesting!
Over the next few days, we found many other great sights to see as well - The War Remnants Museum, The Reunification Palace, and the Notre Dame Cathedral, just to name a few.
Our last few days in Ho Chi Minh though, we went on another great tour. This one, to the Mekong Delta, lasted 2 full days and 1 night. On the first day of this trip, we cruised along the canal, visited some small villages, stilt houses, and even a coconut candy workshop. We ended the long day with a quiet cruise down a small canal, which dropped us off at some bungalows right on the water. For LESS money, we could've stayed
in a hotel (no that wasn't a typo)....but Larry insisted that we stay in a bungalow and "enjoy the nature." Well, I'm not really a "nature" kind of girl, but even though I complained most of the time, I'm really glad that we did it.
We stayed in a bungalow made of sticks, with a straw-like roof, and dirt floors. That night there was a storm, so that was especially "exciting." The toilets were in a separate building, although we did have running water in our bungalow - that was ice cold. The next morning we found a large toad near our bathroom entrance though, so I was too freaked out to even go in there. We had a mosquito net around our bed - in my mind, the official sign for "roughing it." It wasn't my ideal hotel situation by any means, but definitely an experience I'll never forget.
The next morning we woke up early for a walk around the nearby village and local market, a short & scenic boat ride, and breakfast. After all that, we gathered up our belongings and started the long trek back to Ho Chi Minh. On the way back, we
did a lot more cruising in the small canals, visited one of the largest floating markets in the Mekong Delta, and interacted with more of the locals. The children were all so friendly, and I never got tired of watching them wave and run alongside our boat as we rode past them. Similar to the Cu Chi Tunnel tour, this was an experience that we'll always remember.
Well, that concludes, err, uh, wait - one more thing. Our last night in Ho Chi Minh City, we went to a restaurant that we thought was just "upscale for Vietnam," when in fact it was really UPSCALE in general. Actually one of the nicest restaurants Larry and I had ever been to - and we were both wearing t-shirts and jeans! A little more embarrassing for me though because I had Chilly Willy the Penguin on the front of my t-shirt! 😊 Oh well, you live and you learn.
I hope you enjoyed reading the last saga to our Vietnam adventure blogs. As always, we hope everyone is healthy and happy...and we look forward to sharing more memories with you in person in the near future.
Love,
Larry &
Melanie
Vietnamese for the Day: Tam biet! - "Good bye!"
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Barnaby Ralph
non-member comment
Wow! A couple of things come to mind here... The first is that you don't tell us how quickly Larry turned down the offer from the masseuse (I'm assuming he did, of course). My guess is that, knowing you were in earshot, he waited an agonizingly long time before refusing... Secondly, your bungalow experience actually reminds me of my time in rural Queensland. In a very hot summer, green tree frogs look for water wherever they can find it, so, if a window is open in your hotel room, the chances are good that you'll find one floating in your toilet looking up at you. Gave me a nasty turn - but I imagine it was worse for the poor frog! Finally, the image of a child selling heroin is striking...and disturbing. Great blog - and amazing stories!