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Published: October 4th 2007
Despite a not so pleasant sleep at the Hong Kong Airport, my excitement brought my body back to life as our wheels touched down on the Saigon landing strip. As many of you know, Tam, a long time friend of mine, was born and lived the earlier part of his childhood in Vietnam. I spent many high school weekends at Tam's house harassing his younger sisters and devouring every morsel of food his mother had prepared in the kitchen (her spring rolls are to die for). I'd heard much about his distant homeland and always hoped to one day visit. That time is now here and I couldn't be more excited, well, despite Tam being here of course. So, let me tell you what I have experienced in this country we all have heard so much about.
The following ranks in the top 10 craziest things I've experienced while circling the globe. Mom, I ask that you please skip the next paragraph - this is for your own good. Also, Dad, whatever you do don't show this to Memaw (my grandmother); we wouldn’t want to worry her anymore - she already thinks I’m crazy.
After arriving in Saigon (aka
- Ho Chi Minh City), my plan was to catch the local bus to my chosen place of lodging (Yellow House Hotel). As I stood waiting at the bus stop, numerous taxi drivers hounded me claiming that the bus wasn't coming for at least two more hours. I brushed them off and continued to wait; determined not to fall for their lies. After roughly a half an hour of waiting, a light sprinkle began to make matters worse. The area I stood was not covered, so I had to make a decision quickly. I asked the price for transport by taxi and of course got high quotes (now that it was about to rain). Then a young fella (maybe 18 yrs. old) told me that he'd drive me there on a motor bike for less than 3 dollars ($1 = 16,000 dong - quite the conversion). I agreed with his offer, well, that was until he came pulling up on his little scooter. I laughed and said "you've lost your mind, son! There is no way my stuff and I can fit on that kid's bike with you." Able to speak only a few words of English, he replied "No
problem, no problem" and stuck my large pack down between him and the handle bars (the pack came up to his chin - no joke!). This is one of those moments in life you look back on and ask "what in the world was I thinking?" I threw my little pack on my shoulders and eased my rear down onto the seat to see if this was even possible to do. Before I could determine if I was going to go threw with it, the little crazed booger took off for the highway. Feet dragging along the pavement, I wiggled to raise my legs high enough for the foot rests (the bike swerved side to side from my movement). Finally I gained my footing and this was about the time we merged into highway hell! Note that Guatemala is no longer in the top spot for craziest drivers on the road - welcome the new champ - Vietnam. What makes these roads more dangerous than any other place I've been, are the hundreds of motor bikes weaving all over the place. I now realized that I was in a tight spot and, oh yeah, no helmet. The light mist of
rain wasn’t helping matters, but it sure didn’t faze my little teenage friend. Looking like a mad clown cycle gone out of control, we barreled down the road adhering to not one single traffic law. Lights and signs meant nothing to these children of the road. At intersections, all sides merged and simply weaved about the congestion. At one point, my little driver hopped up on the side walk to avoid a traffic jam and continued on dogging his way through pedestrians. How we managed to survive beats me, but I have to admit I had a blast. I was cruising lawlessly through Saigon on the back of a motor bike and it was only my first hour in town. The ride went on for twenty action-packed minutes and I'll never forget it. I just wish I had a picture of us crammed onto that little bike - priceless.
Before leaving the states, I corresponded with a girl through my travel blog site that lived in Saigon. The girl offered to show me around her city for no cost. She was a student who hopes to one day travel around the world. She said it would be her pleasure
to teach me a little about her culture and at the same time learn of the places I’ve been. She e-mailed me her number to contact her after I arrived. By coincidence, the girls name was Tam. So, for the next little bit, when I refer to Tam, I am not talking about my buddy from the states Tam, but the Vietnam local Tam, or shall I just say - VietTam. Are we clear? Please try and keep up!
At first I was a little hesitant about meeting some random girl I met over the internet (no thanks to Sean and Ash for planting the Dateline scenarios in my head), but it turned out to be a good thing. Tam picked me up on her scooter and toured me all over Saigon. She took me to her Buddhist temple and walked me through her traditions, showed me the government headquarters, town center, markets, the Saigon River, Vietnam War Museum and introduced me to different Vietnamese dishes (my fav - pork, rice, sprouts, sliced carrots and cucumbers, wrapped in rice paper w/ a big splash of fish sauce - delish). I am really appreciative of Tam and her generosity. She
helped expand my knowledge of Vietnamese culture and gave me a view from the local’s side.
The next two days, I took my site-seeing outside of the city. I visited to Cu Chi tunnels to the northwest of Saigon and the Mekong Delta to the south. These are definitely two areas you need to see while in Vietnam.
The Cu Chi tunnels give you a first hand look at the battlegrounds of the Vietnam War; from the thick jungle terrain to the tunnels that lie beneath. The tour (which was a little crowded) shows the Viet Cong (VC - aka. Victor Charlie) sniper holes dispersed throughout the jungle, the various types of deadly traps used, the different VC style camps, the assortment of weapons used (I got to shot an M-16 automatic - do that on an American tour), the giant craters formed by B-52 bombings and finally, the extensive tunnel system beneath the jungle’s surface. These were amazing. The network of VC tunnels stretched from Saigon to the Cambodian border. In the Cu Chi district alone, there are more than 200km of tunnels. By the time we had reached the tunnels, I had befriended a couple of
British nurses (Rachel and Louise) who were traveling around the world. They joined me on my crawl through the tunnel system, which added a little humor to the experience (I guess you can say I get kicks out of messing with girls when their scared - I know, it’s a problem). The distance and size of the tunnel was amazing. The Viet Cong sure were tiny and definitely not claustrophobic (you would have freaked out Mom). I spent 15 minutes crawling beneath the surface in a tiny, dark tunnel (dim lighting was scarcely spaced throughout, but most was pitch black), flashing my camera to see my surroundings and mentally torturing the girls who regrettably took my company. All in all, it was great fun despite the temperamental rain showers. But, I can only imagine how terrible and frightening this place was during the war.
The Mekong Delta was my next stop. This is where the Mekong River (stretches from Tibet to the delta) meets the South China Sea and is the nation’s rice basket. We travelled for two hours south passing along rice fields and small fishing villages. The traditional cone-style hats could be seen scattered throughout the fields,
on ladies bicycling in town and a top the heads of those piloting down the river. To see this side of Vietnam is a must. At the delta, there are floating markets where sellers and buyers come together by boat. Floating within these waters, the locals make their living.
My tour of the Mekong region lasted the entire day. I observed locals making popped rice, coconut sweets, rice paper and crafts. I did lots of taste testing and picture taking. I had lunch in a small fishing town, biked around on one of the islands and finished with a peaceful canoe ride down a tributary. It was a good day.
To finish up my time in Vietnam, I decided to head 9 hours north to the beautiful beach village and former hometown to Tam (that’s Tennessee Tam) - Nha Trang. I only had a day and a half to spend in Nha Trang before heading back to Saigon to catch my flight, but I just had to visit Tam’s roots. The first thing I noticed was that Tam is twice the size of the locals here, so either it’s the beef and power shakes of the U.S. or
Tam is really an islander. The next thing I noticed was that this place is a hidden gem. The beach is absolutely beautiful and the costs are very minimal. I rented myself a motor bike (only $2 for 4 hrs.) and zipped all over the town. I visited the local pagoda (Buddhist palace), the giant Buddha that overlooks the city and then I spent the rest of the time flying back and forth along the ocean drive (imagining the wind blowing through my hair). I really enjoyed my time in Nha Trang; I only wish I’d had more time.
Vietnam is a country once rittled by war and oppression, but is now building itself up once again. I have seen many a movies and heard numerous stories of the war that plagued this land. It was until I walked through the jungle, saw the relics and looked into the eyes of the disabled locals, that it really sunk in. It was a war that everyone lost and that I pray we learned from.
I would like to wrap up with a few funny tid bits of my stay in Vietnam. First off, I had my first doctor’s visit
of the trip on my second day in Saigon. The bug bites I got in China had not gotten any better; they actually looked worse, itched more and were driving me crazy. My elbows were covered with welts and my sides weren’t too pretty. They were now making random appearances on my knees, feet, hands, back and shoulders. I’d washed all of my clothing and covered myself in bug spray and hydrocortisone, but this wasn’t helping. Lucky for me I had Tam (that’s VietTam) to accompany me to the doctor (in order to translate and explain to them how bad I wanted these bugs dead). The diagnosis was that they were some kind of Asian bed bug that I seem to have a small allergic reaction to - that’s lovely. These aren’t your usual bed bugs with the little red bites that you can simply get rid of with a visit to the laundry mat, oh no, their mutants. You know all of the Asian movies with the mutated insects and monsters like Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, etc., well, it’s no joke. There are mutant creatures running around Asia and they’re feasting on me while I sleep - I need ya
momma! The doctor prescribed me some pills and a cream, so hopefully I’ll be feeling better soon. Then, there was my first night in a single room hotel (Nha Trang - $7), when I decided to spoil myself after two weeks of sleeping in dorms. I went out to grab dinner and left some coconut taffy lying on my bed. When I returned to my room hours later, I discovered that my bed was covered with ants (who also like to snack on taffy). What is up with the freakin’ bugs! My first night of peace and quiet turned into a bug smashing brawl with my flip flops. God grant me peace! And finally the last discovery I made was the Vietnamese translation for “Tam” - sorry buddy, I have to. Wouldn’t ya know it; the Ju Jitsu fighting, tough guy's name means “Heart.” It’s beautiful buddy; don’t be angry. Now, there are several different meanings, which I’m sure he’ll tell you - like maybe “powerful warrior” or “mighty storm,” but I’ve got to go with the cute and cuddly one, because it touches my heart - it touches my “Tam!”
Alright, that’s enough, I’m sure he’s going to
kill me when I return, but just know that you can’t post any comeback comments on my blog, because I’ll simply delete them - ha! ha! So, I’ll leave you with that. Now I’m off to Singapore and Malaysia. Take care and I’ll write you all soon. Tam beit!
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zac
non-member comment
Good stuff
First off, I knew Tam was a woman's name (you can tell by the way he screams), just mess'n Tam. Well, sounds like you've had another successful leg of your trip. Keep up the good stuff and stay safe; by the way, did you miss the typhoon that hit where all the people were being evacuated? Hope so. Until next time. Take it easy brotha.