Good Morning Vietnam!

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The first thing you notice when arriving in Saigon is the crazy number of scooters and motorbikes on the roads, honking their unthreatening horns while narrowly missing unweary pedestrians. It’s quite a feat taking your first step onto the road just to cross to the other side. You don’t wait for a gap, as there never is one, you simply walk and keep walking, and the scooters will dodge you. Well, that’s the theory anyway!

Our second morning in Ho Chi Minh City was spent on a bus on the way to the Cu Chi Tunnels. A few hours outside of the city, the tunnels built by the Viet Cong during the war was one of the most amazing things I saw in Vietnam, and definitely something that should be on everyone’s travel to-do lists. Seeing the way they survived, the techniques they used to hide from the enemy and the absolutely terrifying booby traps was incredible. I loved how they created fake termite mounds as cover for air holes and cleverly directed the smoke from underground kitchens to a far off area to divert the enemy. Everything was so very clever. We also had the opportunity to shoot a Vietnam War era weapon! Our choices included an AK47, a M16, and about 10 others but I only know 2 guns so we shot the AK47. It was so much louder than expected, even before getting onto the shooting range I thought I would go deaf from the sound of it. I totally worked that gun, aimed and shot the hell out of it! It was awesome!

After Ho Chi Minh City we headed down towards the Mekong Delta for our homestay. Our little boat broke down along the way, the driver jumped out of the boat, fiddled around with the propeller for a bit before huge chunks of tree (trunk, branches and all) came away and floated down the river. With the boat working again, we made it to our homestay, an awesome little house right on the edge of the river, complete with hammocks, bunks with the obligatory bright pink and blue mosquito nets and plenty of table space suitable for hours of card playing. Our hosts, a lovely Vietnamese couple who would later that night entertain us with a live traditional music set, took us on a long bike ride through the countryside. We passed through beautiful scenery, lush green rice paddies, jungle-esque forests, and locals wearing their conical hats as they cycled from home to home. We stopped at a ladies home for refreshments, pineapple and tea, and enjoyed the company of her gorgeous kids and in particular her one month old baby boy. She let me hold him, and he had to have been the cutest baby I have ever seen! I think I had an Angelina Jolie moment!

After another night at Ho Chi Minh City, and a whole day of shopping at the awesome markets, we boarded our overnight train to Nga Trang. We definitely scored with our cabin, we had a huge room, thick mattresses and a TV that played nothing but Tom and Jerry cartoons. We were woken in the morning by the most awful music in the world blasting from the loud speakers, followed by a complete history lesson of Nga Trang in both Vietnamese and English, not something you need to listen to at 5 in the morning. We spent 2 days at Nga Trang, and spent them in their entirety at the beach. I had never pictured Vietnam as a beach destination, so I was so pleasantly surprised when I saw the golden sands, blue waters, and mostly deserted beach chairs. It was bliss! At around 5pm all the Vietnamese headed to the beach, packing the area to the brim, making a stark difference to the heat of the day where it was practically empty. It was so hot! I got so extraordinarily burnt, despite the amount of sunscreen I put on. I would peel and be in pain for days, my burn turning from red to a dark shade of purple. So disgusting, but being a beach bum for 2 days more than made up for it! Though having burns on your shoulders is not at all ideal when you’re carrying a 18kg heavy backpack.

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