Blog – Vietnam March 5 – March 9, 2019 (Thailand is next.)

March 5

After spending the night in Singapore with all of us sleeping in our apartment we were driven to the airport and went our separate ways:

Jim, Susan, Jennifer: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Megan Hollingsworth, Holly Smith: Krabi, Thailand

Ho Chi Minh City – Formerly named Saigon. I had some mixed emotions about visiting there as my father had “toured” there three separate times for a year at a time during the Vietnam War in 1969, 1971 and 1973. But John Walsh had told me in advance how friendly the people were, the scenery, food etc. so I was open to the experience!

We started out by checking into the famous Rex Hotel which was a nice upper scale hotel in downtown Ho Chi Minh that had gained its notoriety as the place where the American generals gave an update on the status of the War at the rooftop bar at the Rex.

The briefings during the war were called the “Friday Night Follies.” Not sure why ha. Today the bar is known as one of the top rooftop bars in the world.

That evening in the Rex we saw a very interesting Water Puppet Show.

Susan and I both thought the puppets were controlled by people swimming under the water and holding their breath or using snorkels but turned out they were backstage using long sticks to move the dragons and other puppets around!

We returned to the Rex for dinner where they had a band and nice views of the city.

The next morning we headed out for our pre-arranged day long guided tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and the Mekong Delta. We started out on the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City where we dodged many motorbikes.

We had seen some very good reviews of the tour including the air conditioned van with free beer etc. We were not disappointed! https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g293925-d12566545-Cu_Chi_Tunnels_Mekong_Delta_VIP_Tour_with_Transfer_by_Limo_from_Ho_Chi_Minh-Ho_Chi.html

We began driving through Hi Chi Mi City traffic and first stopped at lacquer factory supposedly where the workers were survivors of Agent Orange during what the tour guide called the America War rather than the Vietnam War, which we continued to hear throughout the tour.

I say “supposedly” as I suspected a pure tourist trap but it was actually a very good tour as we saw the ornate lacquerware consisting of trays, vases, wall hangings, jewelry boxes, etc. They showed us the whole process such as using sea shells for decorating etc. Susan bought a plaque for her walk and a nice box for Mary Kimmitt Laxton whose daughter Olivia was born in Vietnam. After the factory we headed to the Cu Chi tunnels where the Vietcong had constructed an elaborate systems of tunnels during the Vietnam War.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) they wouldn’t let me in the tunnels. I wasn’t clear if if was because if my age or physical prowess although they did ask me if I was over 60. Susan did a 20 yarder (Funny they didn’t ask if she was over 60) and Jen and Meg did like 75 yards and said it was fun but very claustrophobic so maybe just as well for me or they might still be trying to extract me.

It was quite interesting hearing about the tunnels and the other weapon displays. Jen and I even shot some of the AK-47 rifles, reminding me of the West Point days when I shot M-16s and earned a “Sharpshooter” badge, missing Expert by two targets. (Probably last time I shot a gun and don’t intend to continue but it was interesting.)

After touring the Cu Chi tunnels we headed to the Mekong Delta where we rode boats through the villages.

Along the way we stopped to hear singers, watch honey and chocolate being made and had a big python come see us which made Jen’s day as she is a snake lover…

The tour was very interesting and all the people we met were very friendly. After a long day we drive back to Hi Chi Minh City and walked to a local restaurant that our guide had recommended. It seemed quite popular especially among visitors to Vietnam so some others must have recommended it also but it was very good.

That evening we returned to the rooftop bar of the Rex Hotel.

The next day we walked to the War Remnants Museum. It was quite interesting but obviously skewed toward the former North Vietnamese perspective, talking about the “American Aggressors” etc.

Next we went to the Reunification Palace where the former South Vietnamese government was located before the unification of Vietnam after the end of the war in 1975. It made its name in global history in 1975. A tank belonging to the North Vietnamese Army crashed through its main gate, ending the Vietnam War.

The Reunification Palace was well preserved with many meeting rooms reflecting the government in 1975. There were also many students diligently taking notes and learning about the history as part of their education to become tour guides.

Next we went to the main Post Office and sent a few post cards. We heard that they were received a few weeks later!

March 7-8

After dinner we headed to the airport very early where Jen headed back to Pittsburgh and Susan and I to Hanoi, Vietnam. Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam work about 7.7 million people and it is about 1,070 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City. From 1883 to 1945, the city was the administrative center of the colony of French Indochina. The French built a modern administrative city south of Old Hanoi, creating broad, perpendicular tree-lined avenues of opera, churches, public buildings, and luxury villas, but they also destroyed large parts of the city, shedding or reducing the size of lakes and canals, while also clearing out various imperial palaces and citadels. From 1940 to 1945 Hanoi, as well as most of French Indochina and Southeast Asia, was occupied by the Japanese empire. On September 2, 1945, Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam). The Vietnamese National Assembly under Ho Chi Minh decided on January 6, 1946, to make Hanoi the capital of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. From 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam, and it became the capital of a reunified Vietnam in 1976, after the North’s victory in the Vietnam War.

We checked into the wonderful Hanoi La Selva Hotel which was a very affordable boutique hotel we had seen during a TripAdvisor search. We were greeted warmly with a fruit drink and a woman who spoke very good English and went through a map with highlights of the area and made several touring recommendations and suggested restaurants, etc.

We had a beautiful room with a nice view of the busy street below and it was very centrally located near the large Hoàn Kiev Lake. They also had a nice breakfast and all the staff members we met were very friendly. We first walked to the beautiful Ngoc Son temple on the Hoan Kiev Lake.

http://www.vietnam-guide.com/hanoi/hoan-kiem-lake.htm

Next we took our hotel’s advice and walked to the Old Quarter where we carefully dodged motor bikes at every street often waiting to follow just behind locals who crossed first. We also make our way to the famous “beer corner” where you supposedly can get some of the best prices on beer in the world as you sit and watch people go by.

We found this to likely be true as we ordered Hanoi Beer and Tiger Beer that went for about 10 dollars each in Singapore for about 1.25 dollars in Hanoi.

And here I am with the Tiger Beer advertising rep!

That evening we continued walking and shopping in the Old Quarter and made our way do a roadside stand that sold tasty Banh Mi bun sandwiches filled with pork.

We continued shopping and made our way through the crowds back to the bridge to the Ngoc Temple that was now illuminated in red.

Next we went across the street from our hotel to another hotel with a nice rooftop bar with views of Hanoi at night.

Saturday March 9

The next day we tried another recommended restaurant suggested by the staff of Hotel Selva.

This was the famous Bun Cha Ta Restaurant just a couple blocks away.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g293924-d9718174-Reviews-Bun_Cha_Ta-Hanoi.html

This place specializes in grilled pork with noodles. One fun but difficult aspect for me was that you had to take your shoes off and crawl to the very low tables. Once you for there it was delicious with good service and I made it out without falling! From there we did a good bit of walking through the French Quarter past the Opera House and through the National Museum.

We continued through town back along the lake where we had one of the most enjoyable afternoons and evenings of our entire trip! And it wasn’t because of museums, landmarks or historical sites. It was because of the people – especially the youngsters! Because it was a Saturday, many of the streets were closed to cars and motorbikes and everyone strolled up and down the streets and the little kids ride in hundreds of mini cars and trucks up and down the streets.

We did go into the oldest Catholic Church in Vietnam and then made our way to benches around the lake.

As we sat by the lake several children approached us individually and asked if we spoke English and if they could ask us questions. They ranged in age from 6 to 23 and asked all kinds of questions and were all very polite.

Ironically the most articulate one was a 9 year old who spoke much better English than the 23 year old College student. While I spoke to the 9 year old Susan conversed for twenty minutes about Chicago and Pittsburgh with a 12 year old.

Here are photos of the delightful Minh whom I must have talked to for 45 minutes while her parents sat across the park and watched us.

Her brother listened also but didn’t say much.

It turns out Minh lives about 80 kilometers from Hanoi and her father is a doctor and her mother also works in the same hospital. They came over and said hello but hardly spoke any English. Through Minh they explained that they came to Hanoi a couple times a month and sat on the park benches so the kids could practice their English so they could have a better future.

As we talked Minh asked me if I knew “Dan Howard.” I said “No, who is he?” She told me he was her English teacher and was from Minnesota. (I guess she must have thought that all Americans knew each other, but I told her I didn’t know “Dan.”)

As we continued to talk I found that I actually learned more from her than she did from me as I kept asking her for a Vietnamese translation of several common phrases, learned to count to ten in Vietnamese, etc. As she spoke I typed the words into my Notes folder on my iPhone. They are listed below as I think anyone going to Vietnam could find them very helpful:

Vietnamese Language Tips

Xin chao

Hello

Cam On

Thank you

Tam Biet

Goodbye

Bao Nhieu Tien

How much?

Dat Qua

Too expensive

(I used this later that evening as I negotiated down the price of a pair of sandals. I probably still overpaid but figured they needed the 25 cent difference in the offers more than I did so I toned back the Arabian Rug Trader skills. I wore that title proudly after it was given to me in 1987 by a merchant in Germany where I negotiated a Nutcracker pepper dispenser as a throw in in our cuckoo clock negotiations.” As we were negotiating he asked me “Are you an Arabian rugtrader?”

Ngon

Delicious (non)

Tot

Nice or good

Rat tot

Very good

Khong Co Gi

No problem

Yes

Khong

Chuc mung nam moi

Happy New Year

Giao thong dien ro

Crazy traffic

Numbers:

1 mot

2 hai

3 ba

4bon

5 nam

6 sau

7 bay

8 tam

9 chin

10 muoi”

As we looked out over the lake and then back to the crowded streets Minh came up with another English phrase that I’m sure she’s used before:

“Do you think Hanoi is a jaywalkers paradise?”

We laughed and continued covering many topics as I continued to learn Vietnamese and learned that her goal was to “become an inventor.”

I should have asked for her last name or contact info from her parents as I’m sure she will be very successful and it would have been interesting to see what she ended up doing.

We left the park after a couple of hours with good feelings in having felt that we helped the kids with language skills and they helped us better understand their culture and aspirations. No wonder Vietnam is starting to challenge China as a go to place for contract manufacturing and even high technology.That evening we has a great steak dinner and wine and walked back to Hotel LaSelva.

Sunday March 10

We spent the morning fighting the crowds getting into the Ho Chi Minh Museum where we endured the propaganda about “Uncle Ho” and his accomplishments for the Vietnamese people.