Most of the streets looked this way.
The power lines were crazy like this everywhere!
We left Hong Kong the night of the 11th after a long day of school. The flight to Vietnam was a lot of fun! It was only a few hours and since there was no movie playing, we entertained ourselves by listening to the airplane radio station and singing aloud in our seats. This plane ride is where it was discovered by Steph and Mike that I apparently have an accent. I don’t think I do, but I guess when I say certain words I sound like a “country bumpkin”. For the next twelve days (and possibly for the rest of the school year) I will never live down them imitating my “accent” and telling me I live on a farm (which I guess growing up in Stanwood almost constitutes as farm life).
We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City pretty late in the evening. Earlier that morning I picked up my visa from the consulate in Hong Kong so I had no trouble getting through immigration, although they barely looked at my passport anyway. I then had to exchange my money to Vietnamese Dong. The exchange rate turned me into a millionaire with $1,000,000 Dong equally roughly $52 USD. Once clearing customs we caught a taxi to our hostel where I sat in the front seat. It was my first experience of all of the crazy driving I was about to experience. There were lines on the road, but it seemed that no one cared. For most of the car ride we were in the middle of two lanes and the driver was honking every couple of seconds. Once we settled into our room which smelt of mold and had ants all over the place, we found a local restaurant to grab something to eat. When I say local, I mean that there was no westerner in sight and the staff didn’t really speak any English except for this one boy who looked about seven and I think was one of the workers sons. His name was Ryan, and he got bumped up from his busser position to be our waiter since he was the only one who could communicate.
Just a few hundred thousand.
Our waiter Ryan!
The next day Steph, my Canadian friend, and I woke up early to find a tour that went to the Cu Chi Tunnels from the Vietnam War. After finding and booking a tour that was leaving in the next twenty minutes, we went to wake up the rest of our group and grabbed some continental breakfast our hostel was offering. The breakfast was much better than the quality of our room: I must admit, the coffee I had was the best I have ever tasted (even better than Starbucks) which all made sense when I learned that Vietnam is the second largest coffee bean exporter in the world! Once we got the Cu Chi Tunnels we started our day in a guided tour which ended quickly after watching part of a documentary that kept talking about the “ruthless Americans” and the “crazy batch of devils that blew up innocent people who were just trying to live their lives”. I seriously felt like I was being brain washed. We decided to just explore the tunnels by ourselves after that. We saw all sorts of booby traps and the original entrances to the tunnels. We actually got to go into the tunnels and walk/crawl around. They were so cramped and hot and dark—I’m taking pitch black! It is crazy to think that people actually lived down there for months. The tunnels are over 200 kilometers, some are even three stories underground, and part of the tunnels even expanded under the American camp near the town!
One of the original entrances to the tunnels.
Without the flash on the camera it would be pitch black. We were all scared and holding onto each other.
Some booby traps.
On our way back to town, our driver asked us if it was okay if we listened to music. Of course we said yes, and the next thing I know we are having a dance party to Barbie Girl by Aqua while driving passed rice patties. It was quite the experience. Before we got back to town, we stopped by a shop called Handicap Handicrafts where the name basically describes who made the handicrafts. They were beautiful but way overpriced!
We then had our driver drop us off at a restaurant where I ate some amazing pho and then later found out from Lonely Planet that the restaurant we were at was one of the best restaurants in Ho Chi Minh City. After lunch we walked around some street markets and went to the center of town where they once did a task on the Amazing Race. Crossing into the center was an adventure all in its own. There are not really such things as cross walks in Vietnam. It is like you cross and hope cars and scooters dodge you. On our way back to the hostel, Steph and I bought some rice hats for only $15,000 Dong ($0.75 USD). She ditched hers half way through the trip because they were a nuisance to carry, but I still have mine! By the time we reached Thailand, everyone got annoyed with it because they were always tripping over it and people would stare at me when I wore it.
Bravely crossing the street.
Running so we don't get hit.
The center of town.
Eating some lychee that Lena bought on the street. I wish they had this in the US.
Yay for rice hats!
Then it was off to dinner and to a bar called Apocalypse Now where the westerners got in for free but the locals had to pay about $200,000 Dong. One of the guys I traveled with, Matt, was brave enough to ride on the back of a scooter to the bar. I would have too, but I knew my parents would not be to thrilled if I lived life that dangerously (scooters are the number one cause of death of foreigners in Vietnam) and my mom had just sent me an e-mail telling me explicitly not to ride one. Once at the bar, we made friends with some locals who shared with us their tequila and fruit platter that was garnished with salt. Let me tell you, fruit with salt on it is not good.
The next day at 7:00am we caught our bus to Cambodia.
To be continued…
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT, TASHA!! I'm so glad you went to Vietnam! I miss you, keep up the awesome blogging! : )
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