Smitten with Saigon

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I am falling in love with this city! Loud, crowded and chaotic … a well-known fact and if you don’t believe me, I have video! Hot, sticky and humid beyond belief … of course but what other way would you want it in Southeast Asia. Filled with charm, charisma, personality and warmth … absolutely! And if that was not enough … pho on every street corner!

In making arrangements with the hotel for a later check-out, it dawned on me that tomorrow evening I am flying back to Siem Reap, Cambodia to spend one last day before heading back home. I do not want to say that this has been a whirlwind because I definitely don’t feel like it was all a blur. I wanted to both experience the cities and countries I was visiting and yet find some time to rest and relax. So throughout the trip I have made the conscious choice of doing the things that I wanted to do, when I felt like doing them and not feeling rushed or pushed to fit it all in (truly the luxury of travelling alone, I guess!). It truly has been the best of both worlds and ultimately has made this a very special trip.

The day started out again with a steaming bowl of pho while gently being serenaded by Guantanamera (the Celia Cruz version!) and Julio Iglesias (no, no … not Enrique … Julio). I was also privy to a sideshow of a British gentleman getting quite upset and saying over and over again “THAT my friend is not a PROPER English breakfast” to the poor waiter who could barely eek out two words of English before essentially storming off. You know where I would venture a guess they serve proper English breakfasts … England. Have some pho, it’s fabulous. I mean okay the rooms are ugly but they make good pho … have a bowl! There were many patrons in the restaurant and we were just all looking at each other and pretty much all thinking the same thing.

After breakfast, I hopped in a cab to head towards the Cholon district of HCMC. I had picked out “Cha Tam Church” as what I would ask the taxi driver to take me to thinking that I could not butcher the pronunciation. I was met with the blankest of blank stares which inevitably leads to the international sign for “show me in the book”. I even said Cholon and everything! So after quickly looking at my map, the driver excitedly looks up and says “oh you want to go to Cholon” … I must not be picking up the subtle nuances of this language because when I say it and when he says it, it sounds the same and yet … blank stares.

Cholon is essentially the Chinatown area and so at the first sight of a pagoda, I asked the driver to drop me off. I was looking through the map to figure out at what temple I was and all the while there was a woman selling joss sticks saying something to me over and over again to which I would reply “no, no thank you”. It took a second (or two!) before I realized that she was saying Thien Hau which was the name of the pagoda (my dad at this point is saying to himself when reading this … wow that’s my daughter, four years of University and she can’t even …. Hehehehe). In my defense, I don’t think she was pronouncing it correctly.

The temple is dedicated to Thien Hau and it is said that “she can travel over oceans on a mat and ride the clouds to wherever she pleases. Her mobility allows her to save people in trouble on the high seas”. Mmmm I would like to be Thien Hau! For all of the pagodas that I would ultimately see today, there truly were no words that could explain how ornate and elaborate each of them were and yet each different in their own ways. A couple of things in this one stood out for me though. First, the smell of incense is practically overwhelming and you can actually see the smoke wafting through the temple. Along one wall were hundreds and hundreds of strips of bright pink paper with Chinese script, which I realized as I made my way down further into a temple had all been hand calligraphied. A woman was sitting in a small alcove with her calligraphy set preparing these strips as I was passing through the temple.

The next temple would be Quan Am Pagoda said to be Cholon’s most active pagoda. I always have a bit of trepidation when entering a temple as I don’t want to be disrespectful and especially not disturb any of the worshippers. Here as I slowly made my way in, essentially just soaking it in, an elderly gentleman kept waving me in as if to say “yes yes come in, it’s okay”.

From there I would walk to the Tam Son Hoi Quan Pagoda, which is dedicated to the Goddess of Fertility Me Sanh and said to be “particularly popular among local women who come here to pray for children”. Mmmm better not touch anything just in case …. Ironically, this is probably the temple where I spent the most time because there were just so many opportunities for photos. There were two small holes in the ceiling letting in this beautiful beam of sunshine which meant that you could see the smoke from the incense just wafting through the air. The doors were this rich red colour with these incredibly ornate demon-like door knockers. There were these huge bells and just so many interesting things to see including a young man practicing tai chi.

I then made my way towards Hai Thuong Lan Ong, a street filled with traditional herb shops. You don’t even have to see it to know that you have arrived. Your nose tells you. This particular street is filled with small shops filled to the brim with these enormous bags of herbs and spices, of which none I recognized except for chamomile! There were young guys sprawled out on the ground with a type of large knife just chopping away at what honestly looked like dried twigs but had this incredible smell. The whole time I was here I could picture myself with my mother and hearing her ask “So what DO you think they do with this?”

After a quick stop for a drink (which gave me time to look at my guidebook) and another pagoda (no idea which one because it was not even identified in the guidebook but stunning nonetheless), I decided that I would visit the Giac Lam Pagoda. I had highlighted it in my book but had not truly planned on going to see it because it was a little farther off then all of the other sights that I had decided on visiting which were essentially all in District 1. Having already made my way to Cholon, I realized that I was actually only a few kilometers away and the guidebook made it sound quite enticing. Spontaneity paid off this time around and in spades I might add! And in case you are wondering, no I also cannot pronounce Giac Lam and yes the taxi driver asked to see my book …

This particular temple is thought to be the oldest pagoda in HCMC, dating back to 1744. The Lonely Planet guidebook described it as “fantastically atmospheric” and indeed it was. You reach the pagoda by coming down this long pathway and crossing these traditional Chinese gates. The grounds surrounding the pagoda itself are quite large and include a number of sights. The first are small stupa-like structures that are actually tombs of venerated monks. Then comes a sight to behold, an enormous white statue of what to me looked like a Buddha sitting on a large lotus flower (the guidebook says that it is Quan Te Am Bo Tat, a symbol of purity). The statue is so large and white that it was almost difficult to look at it in the bright sunshine.

Then I made my way into the pagoda which is essentially split up in two general areas; a dining area and a temple. As I made my way in, I realized that there were about a hundred Buddhist nuns (and a few monks) about to sit and have lunch, which was preceded by this incredible chanting coupled with the sound of bells. Once they were done, they started eating and so I made my way to the temple area which is filled with these incredible statues and ornamentations made of deep dark rich wood. The room itself is quite dark with only two beams of sunlight filtering through two small holes in the ceiling and through the small windows. At this point, I realized that I had not really done any offerings on this trip; something I had done multiple times in Bangkok. It was only fitting that I take a moment and take time to reflect in this incredible room while in the background I could hear the murmurs of hundreds of Buddhist nuns enjoying lunch.

By the time I had done that and actually spent time to look at the temple itself, I realized that the Buddhist nuns had started chanting once again so I made my way back. I was not prepared for what happened next … they continued chanting and eventually all of them slowly started making their way and queuing up behind a young monk. They started chanting this one phrase over and over and over again as they circled around the room. They filed right past me, many nodding and smiling to me warmly. My mother is going to kill me because I cannot for the life of me tell you what chant it was but mom it definitely had the word “namo” in it. Too bad it wasn’t Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo because I could have joined in right with them, right mom? Honestly, the sheer energy that came from those voices uniting brought tears to my eyes. An incredible experience and one that I will not soon forget!

I left the temple and had to find a taxi. It was proving a little difficult and so I was just slowly walking up the street and thinking that eventually I would be able to find one. After trying to flag one unsuccessfully, this young guy who was unpacking stuff out of a truck realized that I was trying to get a cab. I had literally walked about 100 feet away from him when I heard this loud whistle … it was him and he had flagged down a taxi and pointing me out to the driver. He then looked up, waved and gave me this huge smile … how nice is that? So I asked the driver to go to the Ben Thanh Market to do a little souvenir shopping …. Blank stare, pull out book, point to map and “aaaw Ben Thanh …yes yes I take you” … yep those subtle nuances escape me apparently!!

This market is insane and I just browsed for a little while and if you must know Tintin has apparently also been to Vietnam so now my tacky souvenir is now a matched set! I did find some weasel coffee but decided to pass on the delicacy but Theresa let me know and I can bring you some back if you want!!! I didn’t spend too much time there because pho was calling and so I made my way back to Pho 24. My waiter was amused that I was writing down notes and by my guidebook so either he thought I was cute or he thought I was a food critic but he brought me a crème caramel. When I said “oh I didn’t order that” he winked and said “oh special gift for you”. Man plying me with food, I love him! And no not a scam where it magically appeared on my bill!

So now I am done for the day … just relaxing in my ugly room with a yummy Saigon beer. I just found out that I made another photo sale; fourth one in about a week and a half! How fun!

And dad … to answer your burning question, hands down winner for tacky music is still the Mandarin!! Although I still have one day to go ... you never what tomorrow may bring.

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