Saigon and Situations

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My flight was at 6:30 am from Taipei to Ho Chi Minh City, so after sleeping in the airport, I got on the plane and passed out. Easy flight.



Day 1: Immigration was a fun thing. I had gotten my letter of approval and printed it and had passport photos and knew it all cost $45. I was ready. Except turns out they only take cash, and prefer USD. I had to leave the airport illegally, waving my debit card at anyone who asked going “ATM? ATM?” I found one and then had to get back into the airport and pay them and now I have a visa for 30 days. I got a cab to my hostel and after getting lost in the wicked narrow alleyways, I made it. I walked into the hostel and was immediately greeted by a very enthusiastic Vietnamese woman, who said that there was a guy who was really sick, so he has to stay another night and they're full and there's no room for me but they'll find me another hostel and would I like some breakfast I look really hungry. Yes, it was a lot of information. I ate a delicious breakfast that she cooked for me and then sort of watched me eat, talking the whole time.

“You look tired. When you walked into the hostel I say to myself 'She look tired and hungry.' I see from the way you eating that you are very hungry. Would you like more? I make you more food if you hungry. I make you more and it free. You still hungry? I can make more food. Get some fruit. Want more food?”

She told me to come back at 2, and they'd have another hotel that I could check into that was close. I left and headed for the market. On the way, I met these two English girls named Laura and Niki, and together we tackled the streets of Saigon.

Now, the best word to describe this city is INSANE. There are 11 million people and 7 million scooters, not to mention taxis, cars, and buses. We had to cross some streets on the way to the market, and cars don't stop for you. Really. Even when there's a walk signal, no one pays attention. Scooters go the wrong way down the road, run lights, and go on the sidewalk. 7 million of them. You just have to hold your breath, cross the road, and hope that all the vehicles avoid you. The market we went to was full of cries of “Miss! Miss! What you looking for? Miss! Miss! Miss!” We ate some food and walked around for a while. Then we went to the War Relics museum.

This was an intense experience. It was very anti-American and even though I wasn't alive during the war, I couldn't help but feel guilt. There were photos of massacres and a whole room dedicated to the effects of Agent Orange that will be felt through 4 generations.

I returned to my hostel where I was informed that I did, in fact, have a bed. I checked in and went out to eat. I found a place with pho and foreigners. I sat with a Kiwi, Polish guy, and two Brits. We had some beers and talked, and then everyone left but the Kiwi guy named Jack. We had some more beers and met back up with Laura and Niki. We got some more beers, hung out with some other English guys, played pool, and had a great night.



Day 2: HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. I am 25 years old today! And still in Saigon! I was rudely awoken by my alarm at 7:00. I was meeting the girls at their hostel at 8 to go on a tour to the Cu Chi tunnels. I got a message at 7:15 saying I had to be there at 7:45. I scrambled to pack up all my stuff and check out of the hostel because we were going to Da Lat later that night.

Side note: there's a thing in Vietnam called an open bus ticket. You pay $45 and get a bus ticket to 6 or 7 stops up and down the country. That's the whole transportation cost for Vietnam.

I got to the hostel and hadn't had breakfast and we waited. And waited. And waited some more. The bus pulled up around 8:45. Still no breakfast. Sad. We got in and picked up some more people before our tour guide, Mickey, introduced himself to us. Mickey was the best. He was hilarious and kept making fun of each of us and our nationalities before saying “Banta. Banta.” (banter). He laughed at all his own jokes and was super informative about everything. We first stopped off at a place called Handicapped Handicraft where people who are handicapped from the effects of Agent Orange make beautiful artwork out of eggshells and seashells. We got some unbelievable Vietnamese coffee and set off again. We arrived in Cu Chi, where Mickey gave us a great tour. Cu Chi is this town northwest of Saigon where the people built tunnels underground to fight back against the Americans and Vietcong. They had all these traps and weapons systems, and they had bunkers connected by tiny tunnels. We saw old hiding spots, traps, and went through the tunnels ourselves. They were tiny and claustrophobic and I only made it 80 meters (out of 120m) before I got out. The entire time we were on the tour we kept hearing gunshots, and assumed it was sound effects to give us the experience of what it was like during the war. Nope, there was a firing range. So Niki and I each fired 5 rounds off an M-30. The Rambo gun. And that's the first time I've ever shot a gun.

Everyone slept on the way home, and when we got back we had beef pho, took showers, and camped out at a cafe where we blogged and caught up with internet things. And drank loads of coffee. We had some dinner, and Laura kept getting berated for using her chopsticks wrong. A guy came over and just handed her a fork. Poor girl. Our bus left at 8:30, so we had to be at the hostel at 8. When we got there, the guy was like, “ok. We go one at a time on scooter.” And that's how I ended up on the back of oome guy's scooter in Ho Chi Minh City with all my worldly possessions.

Here's the plan: Get on the bus to Mui Ne. Arrive at 1:30 am. Wait a half hour or so for the bus to Da Lat. Get to Da Lat at 7. Find the hostel we've booked for 2 nights. Be in Da Lat.

Here's the reality: There is no bus to Da Lat until 7 am the next day. Get on the bus to Mui Ne. It's a sleeper bus, but it is sort of like sleeping in a coffin with no lid. Not a lot of wiggle room. Try to find a hostel in Mui Ne for that night. No dice. Attempt to sleep in said coffin while crazy bus driver swerves around. Get to Mui Ne at 1:00 am. Try to book the bus for 7 am. We're too late. We can be on the bus at noon, but we have to come back to the office at 7 am to confirm. Walk on the main strip of Mui Ne for about 30 minutes going into every hotel and hostel that looks open and asking for prices on rooms. Finally find a private room for 3 people for $5 each in a beautiful villa. Pass out. Wake up at 7, have reception call to confirm bus tickets. Walk down to the bus station and confirm tickets in person. Get bananas and passion fruit, spend the entire morning at the beach.

Ok, reality isn't so bad.

We got on the bus to Da Lat at noon, and it was probably the most cramped bus of my life. The drive was beautiful and now we're in the mountains. At the rest stop that 3 buses stopped at, there was a monkey, a cat that kept climbing on me, and a snake that everyone freaked out about.

Here are the things our bus avoided in the road during the 5 hour drive:

Trucks, cars, scooters

Cattle, goats, chickens

Steamrollers

Tractors full of hay/entire families

Piles of rocks

A man with a leaf blower blowing rocks out of the road

A table

A family having a picnic (not at the table. Just in the middle of the road.)

Now we're in Da Lat for the next few days. Here's to more adventures!

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Comments

[Home and Away]

Happy birthday!
I hope you enjoy Dalat. I went to school there from 1956 to 1964...I know...before you were born!

[D MJ Binkley]

Organized chaos
Saigon can be an assault on the senses with the people, noise and vehicles of all sorts coming at you. Sounds like you've got your travel stride....and the food is so wonderful