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Published: March 8th 2013
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Cyclo
Chillin' in my cyclo in front of the Saigon Notre Dame (Sorry I haven't been able to update the blog recently; after searching high and low, I finally found my good friend Wi-Fi again! So prepare yourself for a flood of entries in the couple of days while I can take full advantage of free hotel access...hope you enjoy!) Picking up from my last entry, I did indeed spend the entire day exploring Ho Chi Minh city on my own, and I honestly had a fantastic time.
Stepping out that morning made me realise that what I had previously thought was horrendous traffic, was in fact nothing compared to the huge numbers of cars and motorbikes on the roads before me. My near-death toll pretty much tripled in the first hour. The 'traffic lights' are ignored and it's really just a mass of vehicles going in whichever direction they want to. Pedestrians have only one tool to survive the streets; sheer bravery. I initially watched in both horror and confusion as the locals stepped out and walked into the road, expecting that everyone would move around them. Deciding that I really couldn't just stand in the same spot for the whole day, I ventured out, and survived. I recall feeling
Agent Orange Exhibit
An iconic, and disturbing photo. quite smug; in my head, it was like a film scene where I was the hero walking in slow motion through flames and arrows and burning debris, but nothing could touch me. (Insert Y U SO BADASS???? meme here.)
My sense of direction was, is, and probably will continue to be pretty pants. What was meant to be a short walk to the Reunification Palace ended up being a frantic hour spent with a furrowed brow and my head buried in a map. Trying to ask locals for help was no use either - I ended up going round in circles, and in the blistering heat (around 35 degrees, and I was still wearing trousers and a long sleeve top!) I gave up and sought out a cyclo (a 1 person metal seat with a bicycle on the back for the driver..I'll upload a photo soon!). Not that I actually had to look for them - numerous taxi drivers, motorcyclists and cyclo drivers called out 'Miss! Miss! You wan' go somewhere?!' to me.
After riding around and seeing some more sights such as the Ho Chi Minh Museum and the Saigon Notre Dame - interestingly the French colonies who invaded Vietnam still left a big mark in the city's architecture and shop names - I left the cyclo and my empty stomach drew me to the nearest restaurant. I felt SO foreign; met with unwavering stares, I found that I had stumbled into a traditional Vietnamese restaurant and was the only tourist there. Despite spending 15 minutes struggling to explain that I was vegetarian (hand gestures were no help) I ended up with some fried tofu, vegetables and bean curd. Yumsical. Then the weirdest thing happened; as if I didn't feel like a freak show already, eating rather sloppily because I am a slight retard when it comes to chopsticks, a lady came over to my table with her baby and just kept pointing at me and talking to her baby. So she was probably going 'Wow look! Look! Brown girl! Look at the weird brown girl! Look at her trying to use those chopsticks! Har har har har!'. Self conscious between levels 1-10? 11.
Next, I passed through the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda; the oldest in the city. It was a beautiful Buddhist temple surrounded by colourful flowers and a peaceful atmosphere. This is one thing I love about Ho Chi Minh - it is full of contrast. On one hand there are crowds of people, noise and market traders shouting for your business. On the other, there are people relaxing and chatting on plastic chairs, sleeping on their scooters and watching the world pass by. On one side, it is an urban city with huge roundabouts, cars, and streets lined with shops and Starbucks. On the other, it is extremely lush with plenty of trees, parks and greenery. What an awesome mix! Having said this, there was one constant - that the pollution was disgusting. One of the simplest things known to mankind - breathing - became ridiculously hard with all the exhaust gases. Somewhere between seeing the locals wearing masks for protection, and coughing my guts out, I grew very jealous of the Vietnamese...
On my way back to the hotel, I stopped at the War Remnants Museum. The entrance was filled with both Vietnamese and American weapons used during the War, and they were HUGE. Can't quite comprehend how you would face such monstrosities with the courage to fight. Inside the museum I quickly established that they weren't going to hold anything back. Pictures were disturbing, followed by brutal captions. Some of the exhibits included the life for children; for many, taking their stretchers to school along with their books was the norm. Another was full of pictures of global protests to the war, and I was surprised at how many got involved - even African countries such as Nigeria were angry at the moral corruption associated with the war. (Slightly ironic, I know.)
There was one section that really broke my heart through; the Agent Orange exhibit. The pictures of deformed children and adults were very upsetting, and I think I had been quite ignorant as to what their families had to go through as well. The use of real names and places made the stories I had only heard or read about in school, a lot more...REAL. For example, seeing the iconic picture of the naked children running away before me? I was astonished.
In the evening at around 6.00 pm, I finaly met the rest of my G Adventures team who I would be spending the next 12 days with. My first impressions were positive; everyone seemed easy-going and a lot of fun, and the group really is a great mix; girls from Norway and the Netherlands, some English chaps, and ME :D! During dinner and a drink afterwards we got to know each other a little better, and enjoyed singing along to the classic Vietnamese hit, 'Moves like Jagger'. Surreal. I got a bit lost on the way home...classic prem...but it was all a very good start in my opinion.
Happy days. Sorry this was so long!
Lots of love,
Prem.
P.S. #badassMC #soforeign #realityisharsh
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