Well, we've officially reached the most gorgeous spot in the world. Bali baby! I'm sitting on the beach, looking out at crystal clear water and the mountains of Lombok Island across the way, sipping coffee and thinking 'What did I do to deserve all of this!?" We arrived in Bali about a week ago. Spent the first few days in Kuta, a night in the rolling rice fields of Ubud and are currently residing in the Gili Islands, which isn't technically part of Bali but still Indonesia. I'm telling you, this is the life. I've officially been sucked into the beach-style living and after having "Go to beach. Sit all day." as the only things on my to-do list for the past few days, I decided that today I'd go for the big challenge and actually add "Update blog". I know, I know it's a big day but I'll see what I can do.
Since there's so much to catch up on and I feel like I'm already forced to leave parts out, I will leave Cambodia for a later date and finish up with the rest of Vietnam. I'm breaking it up into sections so feel free to take some time in between my long winded breakdown.
Last Stop in Hanoi
I left off my last blog in Halong Bay in Northern Vietnam. We made it back to Hanoi afterwards and decided to check out the Hoa Lo Prison, aka Hanoi Hilton, where John McCain was imprisoned during the Vietnam War. This, along with the Vietnam Military Museum began our history lesson of the Vietnam War during our visit to the country. Most of the lesson was continued in southern Vietnam but these museums made for a good start. We quickly realized we weren't in America anymore when we noticed all the pictures of people being honored for killing Americans and plaques listing off exactly how many "American enemies" they killed. In 'Hanoi Hilton' there were many pictures of the American prisoners. Oddly enough the only pictures included were ones of the soldiers having Christmas dinner, decorating a Christmas tree or smiling while they enjoyed a game of basketball or badminton. Underneath the pictures the plaques stated that even though the Americans committed so many crimes, the pilots never suffered any acts of revenge. Hmmmm. I guess John McCain can't lift his arms anymore due to a racquet sport injury out on the prison playing field. Later in the day I read an article online that quoted John McCain's response to the displays in the prison as "That's entertainment".
*Outside the prison*
*(Cells inside the prison)*
After leaving Hanoi we decided to make the long trip down to Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City. We knew we'd need to break up the trip so we picked Hoi An in central Vietnam as a middle point to spend a night. Figuring we could save a day, we decided to take an overnight sleeper bus. The pictures of the beds looked much more appealing than the 24-hour bus we took before; decent size and comfortable. What do you think we realize when the bus pulls up? Wait for it. . .yep, duped again. The beds were set up like bunk beds and of course the only ones left were on top. So we climbed the mini ladder up to the top bunk only to realize the bed was made for a small child with an awkward tube-like part to slide the bottom half of your body into. While I tried to get situated in it I looked over at Bridget next to me as she shook her head and asked, "Hey how's your bobsled feel?" Perfect comparison to what it felt like sitting "inside" our beds. For the next 24 hours we held on tight as the bus barreled through dirt roads going a million miles an hour. I almost fell off the bed about nine times. To add to it we were forced to listen to a blaringly loud Thai movie dubbed in Vietnamese. . .with only one voice for all of the characters. And to add to that there was a sign on the bathroom door stating "Bathroom locked on longer trips". Because that makes sense. We swore off sleeper buses as a form of travel.
*(Bridget and I wondering what we're doing in bobsleds)*Once we got to Hoi An we realized there wasn't much to do besides walk around and buy specially tailored clothes (the town is famous for it). It's a very cute and colorful spot though consisting of brightly colored boats floating in a river which is lined with charming little restaurants and shops.
*(Cute little Hoi An)*
*(The river was pretty brown from the storms that hit a few days prior)*
Wanting to have enough time in the south we figured we'd spend only one night so we went to the owner of our guesthouse to book our transport out of Hoi An. What do we get talked into? That's right, a sleeper bus! After resisting for much of the conversation, our trusty friend assured us his company's bus would be better and much more comfortable. Sensing our doubt he told us if it showed up and we didn't like it then he'd give us our money back. When the bus arrived the next evening it was much better than the previous one. Finally! NOT duped! We were also lucky enough to get a stretch of four beds connected in the back so it was like one giant king size bed for the four of us!
*(Living the luxury of yet another sleeper bus)*
Pass the Salt
After realizing that we hadn't been near any ocean water since Ko Samet back in May, I realized how much I missed the salty air that we're used to being close to back in Seattle. We all agreed on stopping at the small beach town of Mui Ne. Someone must have been looking out for us from up above because we ended up with the coolest bungalow right on the beach for $6.25 each. We soaked up some sun, splashed around in the waves, ate lunch, had some beers, and then. . .thunderstorms set in. So maybe a few people down below were looking out for us as well. However the lightning bolts from sky to water, swaying palm trees, crashing waves and the booming thunder made for a pretty cool scene outside our window. Fortunately the hard-hitting storms we've run into haven't ever been long lasting so within a few hours we were back on the beach enjoying dinner. The next morning, right from the patio of our bungalow, we got to watch the locals bargain out their catch of the day.Pass the Salt
We decided to stay an extra night in order to get a full day of the ocean breeze. Before our bus to Saigon the next day Bridget, J and I hit up the area's famous sand dunes. We hopped in an old jeep and within 20 minutes we arrived on our "Mission to Mars". The sandunes looked like a completely different planet and stretched out so far we felt like we entered a new world. Before we could even get out of the jeep, kids came running down the hill to bombard us with offers to rent their sled for riding down the dunes. I rented mine from a 13 year-old girl named Li who works on the sand dunes everyday, helping to design and make the sleds. She has the sliding down to an art and helped me get the best runs in. Two days a week there is a teacher from Saigon who comes to teach her English and other than that she learns it from the tourists. She spoke perfect English and did a fabulous job taking pictures for me. Afterwards she suckered me into giving her double the tip I originally planned. At 13 she is an accomplished sled designer and manufacturer, professional sand dune slider, A+ student, fantastic photographer and quite the little business woman. I'm thinking of hiring her as my life coach.
Miss Saigon
After our last few travel days, the three hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City from Mui Ne felt like a breeze. Knowing my mom would appreciate it, I plugged the Miss Saigon soundtrack into my ipod and listened to it as we pulled into the big city. Drastic change from our few days at the beach but I've realized how energizing a busy city feels. Everyone warned us that Saigon's traffic is even crazier than Hanoi, but we all found the streets to be much more organized considering they actually use stop lights and crosswalks as opposed to the mesh of cars that just move along in Hanoi. However, instead of only two lanes of traffic we now faced about five lanes so we had to make a few mad dashes when crossing the street.
The next morning Bridget and I went and explored the Cu Chi tunnels. Used by the Viet Cong during the war, the tunnels served as hideouts and transport routes for materials and weapons, extending over 75-miles. Our guide was a war veteran and explained to us some of the history, showed us some of the terrifying weapons and traps used, then showed us a film about the tunnels. Throughout the video the narrator talked about various well-known Viet Cong members and how they were honored as "American killer!" or "Great fighter against America, the enemy!" It felt really strange to hear that. Especially since Bridget and I were the only Americans on the tour. Now I know why Steve Johnston, my friend Molly's hilarious dad who fought in Vietnam, told me to watch out for the Viet Cong while I'm visiting. After the film we got to go through part of the tunnels. They were incredibly hot, so small we had to crouch down, and pitch black. Claustrophobia central!!!!
Later that day Bridget and I went to the War Remnants Museum. Much more impactful than I expected, especially since we walked out afterwards in the actual country where the war happened and faced people who were alive to experience it. I especially realized how much I didn't pay attention in high school since so much of it felt like new information. Whoops! So I'm glad I've had the opportunity to learn about an important part of our history. I thought a lot about Steve Johnston, my uncle Scott and others who were here. In many ways they are part of the reason I am able to visit Vietnam as a tourist and have this amazing experience.
Well We Tried. . .After Saigon we decided to head to the Mekong Delta and try to work our way up to Cambodia. Our plan was to start in My Tho which is only about an hour away so we decided to be adventurous and take the local city bus. Aren't you proud Dad!? The trip introduced us to the grungiest of bus rides, a variety of local characters and the frustration of traveling where no other English speakers exist. Another opportunity to perfect our charades skills! It was an experience none the less.
We realized that in order to get a full experience of the Mekong Delta we would need to devote about a week to the trip. Unfortunately our timing didn't provide us with that many days, so My Tho was the only town we hit up in the Mekong. There was an opportunity to take a rather expensive day trip to Unicorn Island and the Coconut Candy Shop (no we were not playing Candy Land) but based on the brochure and cost we sensed another "duped again" story and decided not to chance it. As the day progressed we got the feeling that My Tho was one of the sketchier towns we've been in and decided we'd get the hell out of dodge first thing in the morning. However we found our own reason for putting My Tho on the map. After another amazing game of charades with a side street vendor, we enjoyed the best bowl of Vietnamese Pho we've had for only 30 cents. Dish delish! 
Realizing the sketchiness thickened after the sun went down, we found the best jazz club to sit and have some fresh fruit smoothies, escaping the creepy vibe of the town. Unfortunately our little distraction tactic was shortened when we spotted a giant rat scurry past our table. By the second rat run-by, we grabbed our things and headed back to our hotel to crash after a quick shower. We were happy to see that our accommodations splurged for the extra-large bath towels.
Since our plan to use the Delta as our transport to Cambodia failed, we decided to avoid a series of more sketchy cities along that side of the border and headed back to Saigon (city bus again Dad!) to take a direct bus to Phnom Penh. This resulted in another couple days in Saigon to explore the city, hit up another museum and experience some of the nightlife. All good fun before we headed to Cambodia!
Pheeeew!! Like I said, a lot to catch up on and that's not even the half of it. Hope you enjoyed sharing my journeys through Vietnam with me. When I get the motivation again to add "Blog update" to my excruciatingly long list of things to do we will be able to share Cambodia! Until then, I must tend to my other important task of sitting on the beach.
No comments:
Post a Comment