Who needs a minivan?

Who needs a minivan?

2 parents, 2 kids, and groceries - no problem, just pile onto a motorbike. 2 TVs to move or a refrigerator or mattresses -no problem, just put on the back of your motorbike. This has been one of the most fascinating and terrifying things about Vietnam. Thousands of motorbikes and bicycles everywhere, with a few cars, buses, and trucks thrown on the road too.

I was met at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City by a driver and taken to the hotel where I would meet the group later that night. The first sights of the city were overwhelming. I checked into the hotel, and was immediately happy with my choice to go with the 'comfort' version of my tour - the man at the airport holding a sign with my name on it and my own room in the nice (3*) hotel, complete with own bathroom and tv. It took me a few hours in the room to get up the courage to venture outside, and when I did it was a challenge! Although there are traffic lights, lines dividing the road, and cross walks, no one seems to pay them any attention. There are motorbikes coming from every direction at all times, regardless, just using their horns to tell you to get out of their way.

That night I met my group that will be together for the 15 day tour of Vietnam, south to north. There are only 10 of us, and I was a bit surprised to find out that the majority of them are retired. I guess that is the downside of the 'comfort' version of the trip. Still, it has been fun and extra well organized by the tour guide which makes it all very easy. We had a group dinner that night, an outdoor restaurant near the market. None of us were sure what to do as we hadn't been planning on eating at outside restaurants and had already seen the kitchen where they were washing dishes in a bucket, but we figured it must be ok. The food was good and so far no one has been sick.

On Monday, we took a cyclo ride to see the sights of the city - again a bit terrifying with all the traffic zooming around us.

My view from the cyclo

We visited the War Remnants Museum, which was previously called the American War Crimes Museum, with photos and stories from the American War, as it is called here. There was a photo exhibition that said it was a gift to the people of Vietnam from the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sponsored by the Louisville Courier Journal - very random! Then we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels, learning more about the war and the poor opinion of Americans.

Going down into one of the tunnels the Vietnamese used to hide from the Americans


The next day we took an overnight trip to the Mekong Delta - it was a few hours on the bus and then we got on a boat on the Mekong River. On the boat we stopped at several different family homes that have opened their doors to tourists. We stopped at one for yet another huge meal. It was great food, except that the fish was placed on the table whole and seemed to be looking at me! We visited a brick and pottery factory - definitely not easy jobs. So much of it was still done by hand in horrible conditions.
We went to another home for fresh fruits and tea and to relax in a hammock. Some of the others held a massive python, but I had no interest in holding the snake.

And we took a long boat ride, hats provided!

That night we stayed in one of the family homes. They put on a huge dinner and breakfast for us and we were able to ask the mother questions, with our local guide as an interpreter.

Learning to make spring rolls at the homestay before dinner - I'm pretty sure sitting on the table wouldn't pass any cleanliness checks.

The next day we were up by 6am for a few reasons: 1) Roosters. 2) The 10 of us were in 1 big room. 3) We were told we should go check out the local market. The local market was truly local - I'm not sure it was worth getting up at 6 to see!

After breakfast we took our boat back and visited the floating market- with all sorts of fruits and vegetables on sale. They advertise what they have for sale by hanging the item on a stick above their boat.

We also visited a village where we watched them make rice paper, rice wafers, pop rice, and coconut candy - and of course had samples and bought some too. Then it was a bus ride back to Ho Chi Minh City and a free afternoon. I went for a walk, but went the wrong direction a few times, so it took longer than I expected on a very hot day. But I found the market, got a north face back pack for $12 (something tells me it may not be real) and had local Pho for lunch. It was basically a chicken noodle soup, but I had to attempt to eat the long noodles with chop sticks and a spoon - it was not a pretty sight! Then after my long walk, I relaxed with a $5 pedicure. :)

We left the hotel at 10pm that night for our overnight train journey to Na Trang. We were in the best type of accommodation - 4 berth soft sleeper, but it was definitely an experience. I shared with Son our tour guide, Chris from NZ, and an unknown Vietnamese man who was trying to sleep. We stayed up for a while talking with the others and having some drinks and snacks, knowing that there wouldn't be much sleep. I think I slept for about 2 hours, waking up around 5 when we were getting close to Na Trang.

Son and Chris on the train. The 4 bed cabin was about 7 ft by 7 ft- cosy!

This is me when we got off the train looking like a bag lady.

After a city tour of Na Trang, we were convinced by our tour guide that we had to try the mud baths. We were skeptical, but all 10 of us ended up going. It was interesting and more fun than we expected - all sitting in a giant tub of runny mud, covering ourselves and each other in it. Then, baking it on in the sun before washing in hot springs. That night I went out for dinner just with Son, our tour leader and Chris. We took a taxi to a place Son liked, but when we got out, I had to veto - it was an outdoor restaurant on the corner, with bowls of seafood that would become my dinner just sitting out. Ok, not even a restaurant, basically just a set up on the street corner with little table and chairs. And serving only seafood. Luckily Chris agreed with me that our stomachs probably wouldn't be up for such local dining, so we got Son to take us somewhere that actually had a kitchen.

Friday, we had another day trip on a boat - they took us snorkeling, to an beach island to relax, served us lunch (and beer), and had 2 girls giving manicures, pedicures, or massages - we thought it was a perfect boat!

We stopped at one point and took a smaller bamboo basket boat to shore and walked through a local village. Lots of the kids were waving and shouting hello. One 4 year old decided to run after us and hit me with a stick - I guess like kids anywhere!

Others from my group on the bamboo basket boat - literally a giant basket made of bamboo and then lacquered. Our bigger boat is in the background.

This is the island where we spent a few hours - I read, had a massage, and played beach volleyball- not what I thought I'd be doing in Vietnam!

We took a cyclo tour around Na Trang - I of course was the lucky one to get in an accident - well not really, but the guy did rear end a motorbike, but only lightly.