Vietnam trip
December 10-December 22, 2013
We packed two shirts, two
garments, wide scarf, skirt, minimal toiletries, camera, Sudoku book, Viet
National Georaphic book, Vietnam Lonely Planet book. Wore long, fast drying,
roll-up pants from REI, and my only pair of shoes were Chaco flip flops. Everything fit in large school back pack to make for a very portable trip. Total Budget $5k including air fare.
Patrick took his smart phone but only used in airplane mode where there was
wifi. Took radios to talk within the four of us. Worked pretty well once we
started to use them, even in busy city. Hesitated at first because Dad felt
they looked “policey” and we didn’t know how we would be received by a
communist country we had showered with bombs and Agent Orange.
Day 1 - Dec 10 and 11
The plane ride from SLC to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) was a
few minutes under 24 hours, including a layover in San Francisco and one in
Bejing China. Excluding the original 2 hour wait in SLC. Departure 11:30am Dec
10 SLC time, arrival 12:40am Dec 12 Vietnam time. (They are ahead of us by 14
hours.) Sleeping on the plane sucks. Patrick and I were separated but he
grabbed an empty seat after take-off; still separated by aisle. Mom and Dad scored exit seats with an empty chair. Because all the shades got shut
fairly quickly on the plane, it felt like it got dark very quickly. We probably
really did lose the light at around 6pm Utah time, and it never came back the
rest of the 12 hour flight. Sudoko and Viet Nam travel books helped pass the
time. Note: Viet Nam is two words. In Viet, all words are only one syllable, and
many have no meaning on their own and have many meanings depending on which
other syllables they are places with. Viet also uses tones that change the
meaning of the word. Com for example can mean no, part of thank you, cooked
rice, etc depending on the music in your voice. The language can sound like pouting at times. Also,
Nam has the short A sound. We joked that American really suck at pronunciation.
We use the short A sound for Iraq and Iran when it should be a short O sound,
and we use the short O sound for Nam when it should be the short A sound.
Airport security is really annoying. I think there is a conspiracy with water bottle companies. We had to go through security and dump out our water bottles when getting off planes?! What is the reasoning for that???
When we landed in Sia Gon at 12:40am on Thursday the 12th. Is was still dark. We were very tired. We negotiated with a taxi driver to take us to our hotel. The price was more expensive since it was late at night and there was little competition eg: buses, other taxis, etc. The only
reservation we had for the whole two weeks was the hotel for the first two
nights in Sai Gon. Unfortunately, the arrival date of the 12 threw me when
making the reservation and I scheduled 12 and 13, rather than the 11 and 12.
The hotel was good to us and upgraded our room and gave a 50% discounted rate for
the early check in night but would not refund night of 13. Hotel was pretty and
clean. Equal to 3 star hotel in service, clean and décor. Hot water and
flushing toilet. First night $30USD
second and third nights $60USD each. This was the second most expensive hotel we stayed at. I think we would have gotten a cheaper rate had we not reserved in the states, but I knew we would be tired after landing and wouldn't want to spend any time looking in case of no vacancy.
Day 2 – Dec 12
Good food with complementary breakfast. Viets don’t have
“breakfast” food, but they catered to westerners with baguettes, fruit,
cheeses, eggs, etc. Our hotel made some killer homemade yogurt and Panna
Cottas (Italian dessert). Yum! “[We] must ‘a had [us] about 14 [Panna Cottas]”. . . each . . . .
every morning. I have found a recipe since being home; it is basically gelatin-ized whipping cream. YUM!
Panna Cotta
4 cups heavy cream (can use any combination of whole milk, half-n-half, and/or cream, but straight up is most delicious)
1/2 cup sugar
1-1.5 packet of plain gelatin (about a teaspoon)
The recipe calls for 2 packets and we all agreed this was too much after trying.
1/3 cup cold water
Heat cream and sugar in pot on stove until quite warm and sugar is dissolved; stir frequently. In medium bowl, sprinkle gelatin into cold water and let set 6-10 minutes. Spray 8-10 dishes with cooking spray. (Clear juice glasses, wine glasses, etc are prettiest, but any 1 cup sized dish is fine.) Pour very warm milk into gelatin bowl and stir until dissolved. Carefully pour or dipper mixture into dishes and chill until solid. Min 2 hours, at least 6 hours best. Good for a few days. Yield: 8-10 Can garnish with honey, berries, chocolate sauce, etc.
Viets dress very nicely and modestly. No cleavage, no long shaggy hair, no tattoos or male pierced ears. No belly shirts or short shorts. I did see shorter skirts and strapless dresses, but nothing skanky and always professionally accessorized. They were face maskes, like doctors masks but they are ususally made with fun fabrics and wrap all the way around the neck and drape down. We thought is was to protect themselves from the smell and the dirt. Patrick later learned it was mostly women and "softer men" who wore them to keep from tanning or getting wrinkles.
Public bathroom are easy to find, but don’t count on toilet paper. Some places had flushable holes in the ground. All bathrooms have a spray hose, but no bode.
During the day Sai Gon is a crazy chaos. Mopeds (saw a small
handful of motorcycles) by the thousands fill in any space the many new
Asian-made vans and cars don’t take on the road. We didn’t see any vehicles
older than 10 years old and most were newer than 4 – Honda, Hyundai, Toyota, Kia, etc. We did see a Ford dealership somewhere on the trip. And then any vacant space
after that is taken by bicyclists and pedestrians. There are not many stop
lights in Viet Nam, and even those I observed to be optional to anyone smaller
than and car. Main roads cross with round-abouts. To cross the street you just
start walking at a steady pace, and keep on walking, somehow no one dies. There
is A LOT of honking but the surprising thing is there is no anger, no obscene
gestures or yelling, not road rage. Honking doesn’t mean “Get the heck out of
my way! What do you think you are doing?!” like it does in The States. Is just a courtesy call meaning, “Hey I am
coming up on your left so please no sudden moves.” Cars drive in the middle of
the road, essentially playing pac man with the white dotted lines, and since it
is the largest thing on the road, it has the right of way. It only moves out of the way for
oncoming vehicles larger than itself, or if it is passing another vehicle going
the same directions. Mopeds and bikes move to the outsides when a car
approaches. We didn’t see many pickup trucks – but who needs a pick-up truck
with you have a moped? They piled those suckers as if they were an F350. They
did have a few semi – mostly made by Hyundai.
Viets are tenacious salespeople. One girl physically
restrained Patrick as he was trying to walk away from some North Face backpacks
when he couldn’t get a price he was happy with.
She wouldn’t come down on the price nor let go of him. : )We quickly
learned no one is nice for free; if you ask someone for directions they will
happily show you but expect to pull out your wallet . . . and they have a
specific number in mind. Patrick tipped a guy once for walking us around the
corner to a food place -gave him the equivalent of .50USD – he could buy a coke
or a bottled water. The guy threw it back in our faces and started shaming us.
When sitting on the sidewalk to eat or look at something in a shop, street
peddlers bombard you with their oozing ways. We quickly gained preference to
restaurants with closeable doors. Dad was slow to learn and could not resist the friendly faces. He got taken a time or
two. I think he finally learned his lesson when he unwillingly bought 2
coconuts for 100,000VND each (Viet Nam Dong – pronounced Dome) = about 5$ each!
There is a Western price and a Viet price. We were told in advance to always
bargain and start at 50% of asking price. We didn’t have much luck getting that low off the price. The prices were just not that flexible for westerners. I was even shooed away by a lady when she told me one bottle of spray
sunscreen was $7 and I gasped in true disbelief. I can get it cheaper than that
at Walmart at home.
By 4pm we had hit a jetlag wall and went back to hotel.
Patrick and I meant to only take a nap, but we didn’t wake up until
midnight.
Day 3 - Dec 13
Our fully alert minds finally forced us out onto the streets
at 3am. We thought we were gluten for trouble, but it was very nice. Weather
was perfect, roads were mostly clear and there was still enough local night
life that we felt safe. We hopped Pho (Fu)stands – beef and noodle soup – what Ramon
noodles wishes it could be when it grows up. Very delicious. Revisited the main
plaza, and enjoyed the sounds and smells. During the day I had noted there were very few
pan handlers. I think I saw two. Everyone else was at least trying to sell
something. I saw no obviously homeless people; started to think communists at
least kept people off the streets, even if just public appearance. We saw lots
of people sleeping on sidewalks at this time. Whole families, babies and
grandmas included. We even saw someone sleeping on the second level of the
window display in a store. Weather great for it as long as no rain, but not
very comfortable. Safety? Returned to hotel around 5:30am for a nap before
breakfast #2.
At 8:30am the 4 of us got in a van with 9 other people plus
tour guide headed to Cu Chi (coo chEE) Tunnels – tunnels outside of Sai Gon
built by Viet Cong starting in early 1900’s during the . . . other war they
fought before the war they fought before they fought us. (They have fought A
LOT of wars) These tunnels made it very
difficult for Americans to fight. Fellow tourists were from Australia, Holland,
and I think another Asian country; We didn’t talk with the front row seeing as
how we were clear in the back. Our tour guide’s name was Eli – His Viet name
meant elephant and was unusual even in Viet, so for Westerners’ sake he called
himself Eli. He grew up near the 17th parallel (imaginary line drawn
to separate north and south viet nam). His father fought with the Americans.
Didn’t volunteer info about what happened to his dad after American bailed. Eli
said that the country talks about the war a lot, but it is only for something
to give tourists. He claims the people have moved on and don’t think about it.
However, we just didn’t see many American tourists . . . if any. It is just not
a country Americans typically think of when visualizing a relaxing tropical
vacation.
Tunnels were very cool. Dad climbed into a hole and could
fit standing up and cover the whole but there was no way he would be able to
bend over into the 90 angle and travel the tunnel. Patrick squished his butt in
but there was no way his shoulders were going to fit. Viets are tiny little
people. I think they weigh 80 lbs nine
months pregnant with twins. Something interesting we learned – Viet cong made
sandals out of tires – supposedly very durable but looked dangerous to toes
with all the brush. They looked like early Chaco sandal model. After the area
was defoliated and burned, the Americans could track the Viets by footprints in
ash. So, the Viet Cong created sandals with the soul made backwards, so the
Americans tracked where the Viet Cong come from, not where they were headed.
The Viet Cong created fake termite hills to disguise air holes for tunnel. We
saw demonstrations of the many traps created by Viet Cong to fight Americans –
very intelligent – very brutal. We got to climb through a tunnel that was
enlarged for Western tourist, less space than tunnel under Recapture dam – I
had to walk totally bent over, Patrick had to duck walk. Hot. Dark. Couldn’t
believe towns sought safety here for hours and days. There is another large set
of tunnels in Central Viet Nam where the entire population actually lived,
slept, delivered babies. : O
Our driver took a detour en route home to a place where the
disabled make the beautiful lacquer décor.
They justified it by saying they were taking us to meet “a viet war
hero.” I think they were claiming their disabilities were from Agent Orange so
they could justify the obligated shopping stop. The “production floor” was a
poorly ventilated warehouse with no A/C. It was hot and hard to breath from the
chemicals. They claimed it gave these people a skill they could be proud of but
it looked like slave labor to me. The
display room was very clean with great A/C. Very beautiful art but expensive
and shipping was “only $180USD.” People who are carrying everything they own in
their backpacks don’t make for great customers. We were told by fellow group
members that every hired trip would be full of these obligatory shopping stops
– The smaller businesses took you to shops that just happened to be owned by a
family member or a “very close friend.”
After we got dropped off at our hotel around 3:30pm, we
walked over to the War Remnants Museum. It was clear full of very graphic
photos and Anti-American propaganda. It was terrible but enlightening. I never
knew what to think about the Vietnam War because Americans of the time were
confused, much like now, where media and politicians had conflicting and
changing stories. Hippies lives were so frivolous and irresponsible that their
views held no credibility to me. It was good to see the data behind the strong
opinions. Obviously, according to the museum agenda, Americans were evil
imperialists who were never invited and unwanted by anyone and did nothing but
massacre women and babies. And because of the Americans anyone born during or
after the war to date has birth defects from Agent Orange or will die from a
land mine. I know They won the war so They get to choose how history is told,
but I understand better why our Viet Vets are so messed up. It was a
complicated war against tiny prairie dogs who used their women and children to
fight. The enemies were carrying your back packs and your own politicians were
screwing you the most.
Did you know Dad fought in the war????? I did not know that!
I knew he joined during that time but his comments and stories always made me
think his training was done then and he was used mostly during the cold war. He
did 2 deployments to Viet Nam, 6 months each!
When planning this trip Dad bit his nails a lot and the thought of going
to Ha Noi just about canceled the deal every time Patrick talked about it.
“Only POW’s go to Ha Noi, Ruth.” Dad wasn’t interested in seeing any more war
things after that day. He was tired of them “making him feel guilty and pay for
it all over again.”
Mom, Patrick and I stopped in for the mani pedi’s and feet
massage next to our hotel. I think my manicure was $3usd and massage was
another $3 . . .maybe $5.
Day 4 – Dec 14
Get the heck out of Sai Gon! Note: Anything worth seeing in
Saigon can be done in one full day. Don’t recover from jet lag there. Push on
to somewhere else, ANY WHERE else. Worst food. Expensive. Noisiest. Dirtiest. Most obnoxious street venders. We stayed the extra night since we would lose
the hotel money either way, we should have just bolted when done the day
before.
Got on bus to Vien Long (Lome) in Mekong Delta at 8:30 –
well, we took a taxi to a bus that took us to the bus that took us to Vien Long.
Bus stopped for 20 minutes to get lunch at a large bus stop. Arguably the best
Pho we had the whole trip, and almost half the price as Sai Gon. Met a German
girl and mom . . .grandma. They had been traveling together for several weeks
and then the girl was going on for several more weeks to other countries alone.
They had classic wheel luggage. We were really happy with our backpack ideas
after watching them lug all their crap around in the crowds and dirt roads. Arrived
in Vin Long around 2pm. Had no plans or reservations once there. Met a guy
named Nam at bus stopped who offered a deal to do a “homestay” with his family.
We had read in our Lonely Planet book that that was a popular thing to do in
the Delta. He was offering $12usd per person – included boat ride to and from
his house on the island, dinner and breakfast, 2 rooms, and 4 bikes to roam the
island. We had turned down the arrangement when the travel agent (who helped us
get transportation to Vien Long) offered to book us for $32usd each. We weren’t
sure the previous night if we were getting set up for an ambush, but in the
moment of the day we were feeling adventurous so we took him up on it. We had
no idea where we were being taken when we got in a taxi, but we were met at the
pier by Nam’s wife, Yen, who was trying to get us a boat. She was nice, and we
had a little more confidence when a couple from England got on the boat with
us. At least it would be 6 on our team if we were getting led to the
slaughter. Ben and Nerissa had also
chanced their sleeping arrangements when they met Yen in the Café. Once we got
to the island and started walking back into the brush amongst homes and
gardens, thick with fruit trees, we were excited. It was so awesome and exactly
an experience we had been hoping for.
Sections of homes were bordered with dried up water ways that appeared
to be used in high tide. Mango trees, jack fruit trees, lime, and banana trees
were abundant. There were lots of other bushes and trees with beautiful
flowers, some edible and used in soups. The home was about 200 meters into the
island and not the only place with homestay signs. The house was a long
rectangle, stretching back into the land toward the water. The front face was
stucco? And painted over but the back part was still brick. The entry room had
musical instruments, a sewing machine and some dressers. Then there was a
“hall” that separated the first small section of rooms, the doors were on the
inside hallway so I think this is where the family slept. Then there was
another dividing hall way and there were 8 rooms, 4 on each side, sharing the
back and side walls. Then behind was a very spacious area. In the farthest
corner was a small counter space full of countertop propane burners and cooking
equipment. On the right wall were faucets in the wall, bathtub level and about
a 2 inch drop in floor level with drains. There was one fridge and a bunch of
water bottles, and canned beverages. The whole house had one common roof, but
it was risen above and unattached, like Dad’s old hay barn before he enclosed
it, and the walls made underneath, all very breezy and visual privacy but don’t
fart or the whole house will hear. Cement floor extended out to create large wrap around porch. Lots
of hammocks to enjoy. The bathrooms were separate from the house in the back
and made an L shape in the yard, 4 rooms, 3 with showers. Showers equal
flexible hose with handle/head. Argentina style where you can sit on the pot
and rinse your hair at the same time. : )
Not sure about sewer, but shower and sink drains went right into the
river. Rooms were clean but basic. Fan, mosquito net, trash can, bed (terribly
hard mattress) and padlock for door. Towel and sheets provided but that was it.
Dad immediately took his shirt off and headed for the
hammocks. : ) For the first few hours we laid about talking with the family
members and a few fellow homestayers (there were a total of 11 that night I
think). The Family consisted of Nam (positioned at bus station until 5pm), his
wife Yen (positioned at peir), and Nam’s 3 sisters (housekeepers and chefs).
Brothers-in-law were boat drivers I think. It was a pretty well-oiled machine.
And there was a really cute 2 year old little girl that I played with. As it
started to cool, we jumped on the bikes and went to see what there was to see.
Bikes were uncomfortable and not much horse power. “Road” was really a side
walk and we had to share it with the passing mopeds. Think Skinny!! Beautiful
Island. Thick green flowery foliage. NO BUGS! We expected swarms and swarms of
mosquitos. I didn’t see or hear a single one. I got bit by something sometime,
but the itch was half as irritating as US mosquitos. We were greeted with lots
of English “hello!” It was so fun to see what the pictures tried to portray in
all the books and movies.
We made is back in time to help finish dinner preparations. Dinner
was fried fish, whole fish (well, minus the guts) wrapped with veggies in rice
paper. Not sea food tasting, and quite moist but the eyes and spikey scales are
not good plating for those who are already hesitant with water food. Not to
mention it came for the same river the drains went into. Dad and Mom sure
picked them clean. Chicken and rice came next followed by tea since we didn’t
pick beers from the fridge. : ) One of the sisters said Dad looked Vietnamese.
We laughed and pointed out that he had blue eyes. She still stuck to her
opinion. We teased Dad the rest of the trip about being a 6ft blue-eye Viet.
Hand washed garments in sink and hung to dry in room. Slept
fairly well, but woke up earlier than desired. Pretty humid and sticky.
Day 5 – Dec 15
A handful of us
headed out at 6am for a boat ride up the river to the river market. “Only
200,000vnd more.” ($10usd each) This was on my bucket list. River was dirty and
fairly shallow, but surprisingly beautiful. It was very fun to watch life
happen in the houses that hung over the wall and the life on the boats. We saw
one lady washing her hair and then leaning over the boat to rinse as they past
us. Asian boats have eyes in the front,
“So they can see where they are going; so they don’t hit the other boats.” We
saw boats heaping full of rice and some so full of sand that they were almost
equal to water level. The market was slow since it was Sunday, but we found a
boat full of fruit that we tied to. What started out as an intention to buy a
pineapple turned into an all you can eat tropical fruit feeding frenzy. At one
point, Dad even climbed over and into the ladies boat and just started handing
her things rapid fire to peel. Mango and jack fruit are my favorite, but we
tried all sorts of things that we had never seen before: dragon fruit, durrion
(a very vicious looking fruit that smells horrible and slimy in texture; the
Viets love it but we can’t understand why.) and others we don’t know English
names for. We gave the lady 100,000vnd ($5usd) and she had a big smile on her
face. Seemed like we were ripping her off, but she seemed to feel she got a
great deal so we all moved on happily. The boat driver dumped us off at a
honey/tea shop, no options of skipping. We politely looked around and killed
some time and then boarded again. He dropped us off at a “market” that sold
painting. We looked. He told us to walk down the walk along the river and go
spend money. ; ) We walked and killed time and asked questions and tried to
barter but bought nothing. Third stop potty stop and liquor stop. Oh boy. We
really are a peculiar people, aren’t we? We headed out of the market and over
to a tiny river inlet where 2 ladies in their San Pans were waiting. We didn’t
know that was part of the deal. They rode us back into the back streams and saw
more life. My rower let me row. It was a bit tricky since the oars were set up
for little short Viet ladies and the water was very shallow, but I figured out
the momentum. The tide was down, band we could see where it rose up about 2
meters during high tide. Our motorboat was waiting at the other mouth of
stream. Well-oiled machine. Back to homestay by 2pm and very happy. Yet how
could we be hungry again? : )
We were taken back to Vin Long where Yen enlightened us that
it would be faster for same price if we taxied to our next destination rather
than do the bus thing. She got us a viet price of 1.4 million vnd (less than
$75usd – exchange is 21,000 to 1, so larger numbers the 1,000 can make a
difference, but for simple calculations we just rounded to 20k) We ate lunch at
the market down the street while we waited for Yen to rap up the deal. The food
at this market was some of the best we ate the whole time. Patrick was quite a
show stopper with his Vietnamese, here and everywhere else we went on the trip.
The teenage girls (they could have been 40 but Viets appear to stop aging at
age 12) giggled like middle schoolers. Passers stopped, some pretended to have
business nearby, some just stared dumbfoundedly. It was funny to watch people’s
faces; they would nudge each other, drop their jaw, or mouth how impressed they
are to us. As we were leaving the island toward our boat, locals were shouting
out to Patrick just to hear him respond to them in Viet. Apparently word gets
around quick in small places all over the world. : )
Taxi was small and squishy and driver pumped the gas pedal
the whole time rather than maintaining a steady foot/speed, but 1/3 the time of
bus. We got to our next destination at dusk. Our taxi driver seemed lost and
pulled over to make a call. A guy on a moped appeared out of nowhere and
motioned the driver to follow. We weaved in and out of one way streets and
ended up at a guest house (the basic of basics for hotels). Magically they had
rooms waiting for us and boat tickets to Phu Quauc (Foo Wuk -the island we had
intended to go to the next morning) ready and waiting. At first we were
flabbergasted, but then Patrick learned the owner of this joint was friends
with Nam and they passed each other clients.
Well- oiled machine! And they didn’t cheat us once. We legitimately got
a great deal the whole way through so we were happy. The room was very simple,
like the homestay, but I think they forgot to clean it after the previous
guest. No hot water. The bathroom wasn’t gross, but borderline. I fell asleep
on the bed fairly quickly and was a little annoyed I was woken up for dinner. We
walked and walked and walked and couldn’t find anything that didn’t have food
poison written all over it. Finally we turned around and went back to a place
we passed right in the beginning but were being ignorantly selective. (That was
the good thing about Sai Gon – lots of food options.) We ate outside a long
river, pretty ambiance and food was pretty good but just too tired to really
enjoy. A guy on his moped drove up with a giant speaker on the back. We learned he was a mobile Karaoke . . .business and you
paid per song. The whole crowd that night was square, so he left quickly. As we
headed back to the guest house ($10usd), a very drunk Viet jumped up from his
table and started welcoming us to his country. When we told him we were
Americans he ran back to his table and got his beer bottle for us to have. He wished us a great vacation. : ) Very Very
drunk.
Day 6 – Dec 16
Boat left for Phu Quac at 8am right on time. 1.5 hours. We
were not allowed on deck because there was no rail. We were forced to stay
inside and watch a very inappropriate, not edited rated R stupid Sylvester
Stallone movie. Not in Kansas anymore Toto.
Island was beautiful. Boat exit was crazy with hungry taxi drivers. We
grabbed a van with a few other people that took us to the center of town.
Rented 2 motorbikes for $10 each per day, paid 3 days in advance, no ID
required (Hotels make you leave passports, yikes! But we lucked out by having
color photocopies and gave first. Usually they wanted to see the visa, and some
wanted at least one real passport.) Mom
and I waited at a table in a restaurant for almost 2 hours while boys filled up
with gas and figured out airplane tickets back to Saigon. Very boring. Ate good
food. Boys came back. Still no plane tickets. Ate more food. Mounted bikes and rode off to find a hotel.
We had picked out a place recommended in the Lonely Planet that was away from
people on a less used beach. Leaving the town was harder than figured since
maps weren’t so great. We were dodging through tiny alley ways, and very red muddy
roads also used by other mopeds. Patrick was stressed but it was the most fun I
had had thus far. We were very lost at one point and a sweet old lady dropped
what she was doing and jumped on her bike and told us to follow her. We knew it
wouldn’t be free but we were so lost we didn’t have another choice. She took us
through who knows where and at one point when she started to head away from the
water and into thick brush on a cow trail we all stopped and thought, “Not on
your life.” But for some reason, we kept on and wouldn’t you know it, she led
us to the main road. We offered her 200,000vnd ($10usd) and she said she wanted
500,000 ($25usd), but seeing as how she hasn’t set the price before and we were
where we needed to be and we thought that was a ridiculous request, we left her
the 200,000 and drove on. We stopped at a few hotels to see and get a feel for
market. There was a very pricey, “earth friendly” hotel that boasted it’s
self-righteousness but we interpreted it as $200usd for no hot water and no
A/C. Moving on. When we were reading
about the beaches we didn’t understand how such a small island could have
unused beaches when it was such a popular vacation spot for locals and tourists
and it was “the season” since it was still 90 degrees while snowing in the
north. But the muddy dirt roads quickly made it obvious how things were
preserved. We passed a place (Carole) that looked way too nice to be in our
budget but our butts were sore from the bikes so we stopped to look around and
get a price. It was stunning! The walk ways were large stone set a little apart
so the ground cover could fill in and make a deep green Asian grout. It had a
giant pool with blue tile that just made it stunning and the pool was visually
in line with the beach and ocean. The beach was private and well kept. The
decor was luxurious, beautiful lit Asian lanterns were all over in the trees. The
kitchen eating pavilion was right on the beach. And the rooms were to die for.
Wow! I for sure figured $215usd. Only $100! Wow! It was on my bucket list to
stay at ta 5 star hotel. I don’t know if it was 5 star was it was fabulous. Mom
and I jumped on a bike and headed down to the last hotel we were meaning to
stay at, just to make sure we weren’t missing out on anything since it has such
high reviews.
Driving the bike was a blast. They are quite a fun little
toy. I was a rookie and we had some close calls, but it was the first time I
heard Mom laugh on the trip so I was happy. The Bungalow was very quaint and
family friendly and had we gone there first we would have been happy. But the
Carole just made us very very hapy and the bungalow was $85 a night. We thought
the difference was worth it at the other place. We headed back just as it started
to rain. Pouring rain. Wet t-shirt contest. But we were happy. Dad had gotten
the rooms down to $80 per night so Mom and I high-fived, extra pleased with
luck and Dad’s doing. Everything about this place was picturesque.
We gave ALL our laundry minus swim suit to be done. I
figured they would have machines and dryers since I had seen them in the
country and they had to do so many sheets and towels, etc. Come to find out it
was done all by hand and air dry and wouldn’t be done for 36 hours. Woops! Mom
had forgotten to check some of Dad’s pant pockets and his passport and a bunch
of money got washed. Nothing detrimental though.
We got on our suites
and headed to the beach. It was dusk and the rain was off and on. There was no
one else in hotel it seemed, the light were gorgeous, the water was very warm,
less salty than some “oceans” I have been in. Picked up a bunch of sand dollars
and other shells. Dinner at the hotel restaurant was delicious, which was good
because there weren’t many options to be found clear out there. The hotel staff
was so great and they even let us go into the kitchen to watch. It was an open
kitchen anyway, but it was still fun. The reception girl, age 24 (?) lived at
the hotel and had worked there since age 15. Our main server in the dining
pavilion lived a little down the road and had a 6 year old son. Many of the
staff lived at the hotel or very close by.
Day 7 – Dec 17
Slept well but woke up before sunrise. Patrick and I got up
and went shell hunting. Tide much higher than night before. Not a lot of shells
but lots of little crabs. Started to rain again. Water was very warm, sometimes
bathtub warm. It was beautiful with the deep cloudy sky. The beach created a
lagoon, deep blue water (don’t get close because then you see trash) back
dropped with lush, thick, deep viet green foliage. Perfect. Hot water was solar
powered so no hot water. : ( Excusable since everything else was 10’s.
Breakfast delicious. Can’t get enough mango or passion fruit juice. Still raining. Late morning. Still raining.
Getting ADD. Still raining. Finally I manipulated the group into going in on a
taxi for the day so our time wasn’t wasted. After getting a price for the
remaining 4 hours of daylight, we passed on the taxi and decided to buy ponchos
and go on our motorbikes. Rain stopped just before we left. : ) Stayed away
rest of afternoon. We rode north away from people. Beautiful views, but enjoy
from far away because trash up close kills the mood. Ate street . . . house
food. Very delicious. Except Dad got something that made his stomach churn. Not
really bad but flavor kicked in muscle memory of Navajo food that had made him
sick. We helped him eat it since the couple was there with us and Dad didn’t
want to be rude. I felt on the mission again! It was a blast. Dad had bad luck
with food a lot on the trip. His main problem was he couldn’t stay away from
the fish. Also, he was excited when ordering and would order for himself and
then Patrick would order for the rest of us and Dad’s order always got messed up.
Once he ordered salmon and got . . pig fat. Once he ordered another fish and
got fried banana. ; ) That night we tried to go see the main town and got lost.
In desperate hunger we stopped at the only place we saw. It had a tank full of
snakes and frogs. That was a tip to me that it was a no go, but Dad and Patrick
were feeling adventurous. Dad ordered catfish, Patrick ordered steak and egg,
mom ordered . . . I can’t remember. Dad’s fish came back cooked three days ago
and burned 3 ways today. Patrick’s steak looked pretty good, but the egg was
totally raw which ruined his steak. Mom was not happy with her dish either. I
just smiled as Dad stubbornly ate his fish ashes. We went back to the hotel and
ate a very late, but very delicious place of pork and rice noodle with crisp
veggies. Finished with scrumptious fruit smoothies. Gotta love Viet food!
Day 8 – Dec 18
Still raining. We
were considering staying another day if the weather was good, but rain just
makes beach life short. We checked out, tipped our marvelous staff well, and
rode back into Duong Dong. In Viet Nam, you don’t tip waiters or hotel staff.
You do tip people who do physical labor for you eg: tam pan rowers, bell boy,
etc, but this hotel staff so was great we just couldn’t help ourselves. So
happy we did not stay near the town. It was so terrible and dirty and confusing
that I can’t even remember the real way to pronounce the name. We passed the
pearl place and as we passed I just had a great urge to go and see how pearls
are made. We didn’t know what to expect.
It had a small explanation of how they are made, and a video that we didn’t
watch because we thought we were short on time. (Dad had kept his watch on
North Dakota time which made it really confusing sometimes when he gave us the
time.) Most of the shop was a gorgeous, very high-end, Tiffany’s of pearl
display room. There were about six beautiful Viet girls ready to help us. Six
each I should say. Viet people are very eager to serve. When on commission it
is obnoxious. The pearls were beautiful but just not the right time of life to
be forking over $2k on calcium build-up on a string.
Dad and Patrick dropped Mom and I off at the airport and
then went back to return the bikes. That way we only had to pay taxi for 2
people instead of 4. But they had to pay to get pack in to the main roads. Did
we save any money? No, but you can’t keep ‘em from tryin. Plane ride from Phu
Quac to Sia Gon, 30 min $60ish per person. Very happy. Took plane from Sai Gon
to Danang. Walked from airport toward area where Patrick thought was a bus stop
according to his plane time study. Kind of a long walk since we didn’t know the
scale of the map, but it felt good after sitting all day. Beautiful night,
definitely cooler in the central part of Vietnam. We found a cheap hotel - $15
per night – basic like guest house but clean. Still no hot water. Sleeping was
patchy. Smoking in halls. Noisy in halls all night.
Day 9 – Dec 19
Woke up and left early to catch bus to Hoi An. Got
frustrated with goose chase to breakfast. Bailed and went straight to bus stop.
Man offered to take us on 4 mopeds to Danang. Half the time, 100,000 ($5) each.
We accepted. I was very nervous when I was whisked away by some Viet guy and
immediately could not see anyone from our group. “Taken” came into my mind and
I was plotting my escape. Patrick must
have gotten nervous too because he made sure his driver could point out to him
where we other three were at all times. Our drivers stopped in the middle of
the trip at a place called Marble Mountain. It is a serious of . . . giant
rocks that are solid marble. The Viets used to cut at it and the area was a hub
for sculptors. Then they realized it was silly that they were cutting at their
own mountain when China would ship it from there for cheap. There were still a
lot of Buddha Statues being carved and displayed at the base, but all from
Chinese stone. Our drivers offered to
wait while we climbed the mountain (only 100,000 more per person ; ) ). Patrick
was excited so we said yes. It was more interesting than it looked from the
road, with all the caves and stuff I was not expecting. There were temples and
Buddhist stuff, but once you have seen one you have seen them all. Plus all the
old ladies following you around trying to sell stinky incense to light for
Buddha and “so you can sleep well at night” gets annoying. We climbed and we
climbed and we climbed (steep rock steps). The caves got cooler and bigger and our
backpacks got heavier and heavier. At
the main plateau (not the top) Patrick found a windy, VERY steep stairway and
we took it to the very tip top. 360 degree view. Gorgeous. Danang was actually clean and beautiful, and
from above it was spectacular. We looked
out onto China Beach, which is where the first actual troops, fully geared,
landed in Vietnam, and they were greeted by the people with flowers and a warm
welcome.
On to Hoi An. Passed cool bridges, one in the shape of a
Dragon. Got dropped off at town central. Found a restaurant around the corner
that looked clean and nice. Pretty good. And wouldn’t you know it but the owner
had a son that had a homestay. He put us in his car and rushed us right over.
The rooms looked beautiful and $30. It was not the same homestay experience as
the Delta, more like a really nice motel in their back yard. We probably should
have found a different place to compare the market, but it was starting to rain
and our bags were heavy. It would have been double that at home and he promised
hot water so we agreed. We got bikes with the deal, and that is an experience
changer. Really it is. We dropped our gear and rode our bikes around and down
the river, and in and out of the residential areas. If we had been on foot we would
never have done that. Hoi An is an old textile trade port that kind of froze in
time and evolved into a tourist attraction. Very clean! Tailor shops
everywhere. Mom and I got measured for a dress each, and I ordered 2 shirts. At
another shop I measured for a nice wool dress coat (cream with black buttons
and edging), and Patrick measured for some dress pants. Mom and Dad tuckered
early in the evening, so Patrick and I roamed the area alone. We spent more
money on some ties, a North Face jacket for Patrick for the North and an
imitation Prada purse for Diane. We hit the wall at about 9 pm. Slept well.
Day 10- Dec 20
Hot shower! : ) Had local noodle dish for breakfast. Yummy.
Went to a fitting at 10am. Worried about dresses – not a great fit for Mom or
I. Perused. Fitting at noon (LOVE my coat!!!) and 12:30. Dresses turned out
well. Sigh of relief. Ate lunch at local place. Very delicious. Due to Viet
servings we were still hungry though. Went around the corner to Blue Gecko (PS,
geckos make a noise that sounds like they are saying gecko. That is how they
got their name. We heard it on the island. It was cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wsKoYspJ94
). Arguably the best food we ate the whole trip. Delish! Returned for Patrick
and my final fitting. Tailor lady had
made coffee for us and Patrick thanked her and explained to her that we don’t
drink coffee, even at home. That sparked up a conversation about other things
that we do and don’t do in our religion (He never told her the name of the
church which I was sad about – he was so paranoid about getting busted for
proselyting that he was over cautious.)
She thought it was CRAZY that Patrick and I were virgins when we got
married. She just could not understand how you know you love someone until you
sleep with them. Patrick talked to her about commitment and loyalty and true
love. That left her thinking. : )
The Tailor lady got us a Viet price on Taxi to Hue – 3 hours
away. 200,000 vnd cheaper than bus x’s4. Driver was good to us. Took us on
scenic route up and over mountains. Breathtaking. Roads so windy it stole my
thunder. Finally I just closed my eyes and tried to sleep. Mom took lots of
pictures so I will have to look at them later. Driver answered all of our
questions. Patrick is a good interpreter. To get a license in Viet Nam you have
to wait until you are 20-years-old. It is a 6 month course – 2 hours a day. No
extra licensing to drive a taxi. School is the same age 5-18. 2 hour break for
lunch.
Hue was a little dirtier. Passed many hotels for no reason.
Ran into a nice one - $45 promo. Took it. Very nice. Met us with tea and wet
face towels at reception desk. Rooms super nice but a little “dirty” after
looking. 9th floor so beautiful night view. Had dinner at restaurant
next door. Boys ordered filet mignon. Did not look like filet mignon. Looked more
like cubed steak, but not as tender. Finally got a full night’s sleep.
Day 11 – Dec 21
Started day with breakfast at 7am. Mangos are delicious.
Raining. Colder. Checked out of hotel and bell boy got us a
taxi driver. Too many people involved in the rate – Bell boy, boat owner, Taxi
driver and someone else. Taxi driver was the only person in the whole country
who didn’t know what Patrick was asking when he asked how much to the Citadel.
Should have known we were getting had. Boat owner said 60,000. We got in. Got
to Citadel. Magically the boat owner was there at the citadel. Meter said
32,000. Patrick called the men out on the difference between the price agreed
on and meter. They all smiled still friendly and business like trying to get us
to hire him for boat tour down Perfume River to kings’ tombs. Boat guy gave us
a water proof map of the citadel. Funny, since they all seemed to have no clue
what we were asking of them when we were trying to get a price to the dad gum
place. Citadel really was very cool. Very rainy and cold so not as enjoyable as
on a sunny warm day. The Citadel was the home for many of the great viet Kings
up until WWII times. It took a hit with Viet Nams war with Japan and then again
during war with us. Mostly ruins but government was restoring. I think it is
considered a global history site. Mom had been hoping to do the river tour and
see the tombs but her coat was not water proof and she got drenched. She and
Dad were too cold to continue with much excitement, so we decided on going back
to the same area as our hotel and just roam around. Mom and I had a flight at
6pm to Sai Gon. The boys had a bus to .
. .somewhere farther north at 4:30pm so we had a couple hours to kill still.
We gave the boat guy back him map, slammed his stupid sales
pitches and Patrick told him we would not go anywhere with him. We really were offended by how bad they had cheated us
and couldn’t believe they thought we were stupid enough to do any more business
with them. We always felt safe in Vietnam and lost concern of being
pickpocketed – in fact, once my back pack was unzipped and falling open and
someone quickly told me. I had a drink falling out of my bag and someone told
me. We didn’t feel like they would steal from us from behind, but they were
fine ripping you upfront. We walked right over to another taxi from a company that
the book claimed is federal with reliable meters. He took us to town center and
offered to pick us girls up at 4 and take us to the airport. We piddled around
the area admiring the beautiful hotels but it really was wet and cold and a
good ending to a great vacation. Dad commented that many of the hotels were
more beautiful and elaborate than the citadel; we really get to live like
kings! The weather made it easier to leave than if we had ended with the
beautiful beaches and 90 degree weather.
Plane ride to Saigon was good. Viet people seem to ignore
the no smoking signs and announcement on the planes because all the domestic
flights constantly smelled of rotating cigarette smoke, although I never caught
anyone. Our theory is it is first class and the air just gets circulated around
the plane.
Arrived in Saigon around 8. Promised Patrick we wouldn’t
leave the airport even though our flight to LA was not until 5:40am the next
day. Mom ate dinner in the food court. It was too early to check into our
flight so we looked for a dark place to sleep for the night. Found some benches
but it was not an original idea. Late at night the airport bench “hostel” increased
in vacancy. Still not great sleep.
Day 12 – Dec 22 . . . twice
Woke up on bench. Free dollar and hardly worth the expense.
Brushed teeth. Check-in to flight 3:30am.
Waited for flight. Let the Sodoku marathon begin. Flight to Bejing.
Slept a little. Bejing very cold. 29 degrees and we had no coats. Felt colder
in Hue though. Asian airports have plans load and unload on tarmac, bus you to
plane even if it is only 20 paces away. Flight to LA left late morning Bejing
time, but we lost light fairly quickly. I felt jipped. I felt a little what it
was like for the Americas after Christ’s crucifixion. Trippy. Airplane food was
Chinese food. Yuck! Mom didn’t understand Patrick and my prejudice on the
flight over, but she understood on the flight home. Viet food plays with crunchy
and smooth, sweet and sour, salty and spicy, hot and cold. The plating is
beautiful and the flavor all fresh. Chinese food is rice, soy sauce and something
sweet thickened with cornstarch. Blah! Plane had awesome individual movie
screens and we could pick what movies we watched. That killed several hours.
Finally I crawled onto the floor and let Mom spread out on the three seats we
had in our row. Two people to 3 seats is better than 3 people to 3 seats, but
it still is not conducive to good sleep. Just as I was dropping off in a nice
stretched out sleep, lights came on for more Chinese food. Yea. Arrived in LA
tired and happy to be an American. I put mom on a bus to the train station that
would take her to Coral’s in San Diego. I boarded my plane to SLC and I was
aching for my babies so much I could hardly stand it. Sat next to man who
gathers in Eden, UT with kids to go skiing. He was not interested in hearing
about the gospel, but interested in my personal and The Church’s reasons for
attending church every week so diligently. He got a little gospel anyway. ; ) Arrived
in SLC in one piece although exhausted. My babies are beautiful and excited to see
me. People keep asking if I would go again. It was a great vacation and I am
glad I did it. Right now I’m thinking I would do it over, but not a second
time. For all the time and money, I want a different stamp in my passport. Ask
me later when I have recovered from jetlag. They say it for every hour of time
difference it takes a day to recover. (14hour time difference.)
