Advertisement
Published: June 25th 2017
Geo: 10.7592, 106.662
Well good morning Vietnam. We woke to wet streets in Ho Chi Minh and overcast skies. But this was just the teaser to a scorcher at 35 degrees with 80% humidity.
The alarm sounded at 6 am to ensure a 6.45 reconnaissance with the Sheraton Breakfast Buffet. What a spread. If you can imagine a particular food item - it was somewhere to be found. Ethnicity and culture and culinary preferences were no barrier in this setup. Acres of tables ladened with food and all manned and "womanned" by the most accommodating and friendly crew. Mixed up the cereals with fruits and yogurt, found the hot veggies and noodles, cracked the omelette bar and added lashings of bacon. Not content with the 16 spread offerings, Richard managed to produce a squeeze tube of Vegemite for the toast finale.
Today was a Trials of IndoChina Day and Bruce met us promptly in the foyer at 8 am. He was distinctive in his wide eyed dark glasses: according to him, he had experienced an altercation with a glass door the night before. He was sporting a massive black eye! But that didn't slow him down. He had the 10 seater vehicle and driver
at the sliding door in two minutes and then our nameless driver slid into the honking, creeping, melee that is traffic in District 1 of Saigon. Bruce may have been the history, tourism and English major at University but our driver definitely did not get his licence on a corn flakes box. He was a master - slipping into gaps that didn't exist, making turns that stopped scooters in their tracks and almost shaving the paint from passing vehicles.
It was impossible to know where to look. Pedestrians duelling with cars, scooters duelling with everyone and everything, trucks and buses swerving and braking and honking. There was a sea of vehicles and each load was more ludicrous than the next including balloons by the dozens sailing along the street tethered to a scooter, a series of musical toothbrushes complete with flag waving girls, side walk stalls and produce for shops piled on the front back and sides of scooters and riders of every shape, size and age wearing the weirdest assortment of head gear.
And that was the prelude to a 90 minute drive that was a feast for the eyes that included brides and grooms posing for wedding shots, security
guards in every shop doorway, buildings in various states of completion or dilapidation, rows and rows of hammocks under shed rooves and awnings, water buffalo and cows dotting the fields accompanied by the very occasional cat and dog.
The reality is this was just the background to Bruce. He spoke non-stop for two hours as we traversed the countryside heading to the Cu Chi tunnels north west of Ho Chi Minh. We peppered him with questions and he had it down pat. His animated delivery brought the history of Vietnam to life and his philosophical approach to life was refreshing. A married man with two children (a boy and a girl, aged 7 and 4), he is certainly deeply respectful of Vietnamese traditions and culture. There were many Bruce-isms on the day: the winners paint history; Uncle Ho would not be pleased; they have gone to heaven; the mother in law inspection front and back, top to bottom and sideways; and my favourite...the description of coffee drinkers in Starbucks who were described as happy Budhas because they are SO FAT from drinking milk coffee.
I do believe it was Bruce's acceptance of the past that really prepared us for the tunnels. What
happened over 2700 years of war in Vietnam has gone with the wind. Vietnam today is focussed on moving forward and building a strong economy through hard work with the country's new found friends eg Australia ... definitely no love lost on China.
Our trip with Bruce was a dispassionate recount of "what was." And this is the "version" from the history books of his primary schooling. Cu Chi is an interesting collection of recreations of the ingenuity of the Vietnamese guerrilla and the Viet Cong. There is very little mention of the specifics of the enemy.
Built by local fighters during the Indochina conflict, the Cu Chi tunnels served as a base from which the Viet Cong could operate from close to the Southern Vietnamese capital.The location of the tunnels was of significant strategic importance: they're at the end of the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail, and within striking distance of the southern Vietnam capital. Initial construction started in 1948 when the Vietnamese required somewhere to hide from French air attacks, and by 1965, the tunnel complex was estimated to consist of 200 km of tunnels. It included, hospitals, schools, meeting rooms, kitchens, and sleeping quarters. Life was difficult for the
inhabitants, and to protect against outside intruders, booby traps were laid throughout the complex.
LO_RI and just Wayne were brave adventurers and entered the 20 metre traverse of the under ground tunnel. The intent was to try for the 100 or 200 metre experience. But once down in the confines of the darkened space, the intolerable heat, cramped conditions and lack of ventilation sent the thigh cramping, sweating pseudo Viet Cong back to the surface. They certainly got a taste of the reality of the conditions. And Mac, charged with the responsibility of the camera, could do little more than hold onto it in the dark and was deeply apologetic for the 2 dozen shots of Loraine's bottom that he managed to snap on auto pilot. (Well, he claims they were accidental!)
I begged Mac to organise these tours for the start of our trip. For me it was a stark reminder of the cruelty and insanity of war. But it wasn't that way for Bruce. He was just dealing with facts. One of the Bruce-isms of the war stuck with me. It was a message from Uncle Ho that has relevance for today: walk without tracks, cook without smoke, talk without voice.
Tomorrow we have scored tickets to the War Remnants Muesum as part of the AO Ticket pricing. This will add more background to the history lesson. Looking forward to it.
Back to the city for lunch. There were a few mad dashes across streets flooding with scooters but we did get to try our first pho. It was worth the wait. Tucked into a big bowl each, a bit of sides and a cold drink for $18 for the four of us! This total included table service and air conditioning.
Backed it up with a hat search through the shopping centres but Gucci, Armani, Versace and even M.A.C.'s proved non productive. The walk home included a visit to the Saigon Opera House.
The Opera House has had a range of roles in its 100 year history. Built by the French architect Ferret Eugene, in 1898, today it is home to an amazing Vietnamese show appropriately name AO. The audience utters aaaaahs and oooooos during the acrobatic performance. We took in the 6 pm session and gasped and clapped our way through the show. It was so simple, but so effective. Twenty performers and two instrumentalists combined acrobatics, dance and bamboo cirque to captivate
the audience. Bamboo poles, bamboo baskets and bamboo plates were really all that were needed. If you could catch it, throw it, juggle it or spin it - that element was in the show. You know when you watch a show and then just shake your head because that couldn't possibly happen....that was this show! A unanimous 10 out of 10 - and according to the guide in the preshow theatre tour, it has received an invitation from Australia to tour. Keep your eye out for it!
Dinner was local. Just across the road at Mon Hue. Had a message from Glenn McPhee to avoid western haunts so we rocked up to a local. Translation was a little difficult but we cobbled together 8 totally different dishes and dipped and snacked our way through our personal smorgasbord. Still trying to work out what was in Richard's soup (looked and smelt like liver...but never having tasted it ever had nothing to compare it with.) Threw in a round of drinks and the grand total for that belly bloating extravaganza was $35. So good on the way down. Hope it is as good on the way out tomorrow!
Rounded out the night with
a walk for the men. Gave them a good opportunity to test the map reading skills and to figure out the possibilities for a market walk tomorrow. Ladies had a 30 minute start on the end of day wind down.
Definitely planning a sleep in for tomorrow morning.
Steps: 12 938
Temperature: 35 with 80% humidity
PS Our hearts missed a beat today. We had arranged for a 15 minute freshen up after the drop off to the Sheraton prior to lunch. We hadn't heard from LO_RI so headed down the hall to their room. Knocked on the door only to find it ajar. After repeated calls and no answer we decided to go in! It was a definite relief NOT to find them mauled and mutilated ......but at the same time was a wake up call about ensuring the doors are definitely closed when leaving the room
Advertisement
Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 6; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0842s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Dick
non-member comment
Food looked great I want some