My mom had always wanted to travel to Vietnam to explore another part of the world that was supposed to be (and is) absolutely gorgeous. While I had originally wanted to“hop down” to Australia, I realized that the transition to Vietnam would probably be a little easier after living in China for 4+ months (especially since I was trying to avoid the culture shock that was sure to affect me if I had returned to the States over the holidays). So Vietnam was a fabulous way for me to get out of China for a while without a huge transition.
We were met in Hanoi, our first destination in Vietnam, by our family friend, Karen (who is also like my second mom), and the three of us joined 10 other people from the United States, Canada, Austria, Germany, and Denmark to form our GAP Adventures group led by our leader, Dat.
Our first night in Hanoi was spent at a traditional water puppet show, and since we were already accustomed to Beijing time, we didn’t suffer the jet lag that many of out fellow travelers had to manage. The following day we went to Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum, which apparently is closed on Mondays (it was a Monday), so we didn’t get to see his embalmed body (darn!).
But we did see the Presidential Palace (equivalent to the White House) and his former residences (houses built on stilts where he actually lived – not equivalent to the White House). We had free time to explore the city, so we went to the Hanoi Hilton (the prison where John McCain was held as a POW during the Vietnam War) and the Temple of Literature.
The next couple days we spent in Sapa, a small town located in the northern mountains of Vietnam. The climate was much cooler and wetter, and we found ourselves trekking through mud on the sides of steep mountains, holding on to the hands of ethnic minority women as they guided us through bamboo forests, rivers, and very slippery mud (with the expectation that us tourists would then purchase their handmade goods at the end of the hike – which we did considering many of us would have slid all the way down the mountain if it wasn’t for their support).
Then it was on to Halong Bay, one of the most beautiful settings I have ever seen. Like Guilin, Halong Bay is famous for its limestone karsts, but instead of jutting out of rice fields, they come out of a gorgeous blue-green bay where old junk boats still occupy its waters. We spent the night on a luxurious boat in the middle of the bay and had delicious seafood meals in between kayaking, hiking through caves, and relaxing on the deck of the boat, taking in the warmer climate under the sun.
From there, it was a trip down the coast of Vietnam stopping in Hue, Hoi An, and Danang along the way. In Hue, we
went on a motorcycle tour of the city and were driven around by the friendliest Vietnamese drivers who would even take off our helmets and put them back on every time we stopped, which was often considering that we saw the museum of agriculture, ate at a Buddhist nunnery, saw how incense and conical hats are made, took a boat cruise on the Pearl River, visited Tu Duc’s tombs, and went to a Buddhist pagoda all in one day. We also saw Hue’s Imperial City (fashioned after Beijing’s Forbidden City) in the old district before heading down to Hoi An.
Hoi An was an incredibly touristy city filled with foreigners everywhere! The city was definitely geared toward tourism and we indulged in spa treatments, got custom-made silk clothes, and even had a night out at one of the very popular karaoke bars (actually, it’s not really a bar, but a private room where you only have to make a fool of yourself singing in front of close friends and not an entire crowd of people).
Our last stop was Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, the most developed of the cities we visited. Via cyclo-rickshaw, we visited the War Remnants Museum with several exhibits on the “American War.”
The atrocities, pictures, stories, and consequences of the war that continue today were horrible to see in person and kind of a wake up call to what this country had experienced at the hands of us “white American devils.”
But we also got to see the Cu Chi tunnels, which were an amazing representation of what people will do to stay alive. The Cu Chi village constructed an entire underground system of tunnels to escape the Americans during the day, but then they would come out at night to attack and no one knew where they had come from. However, during these several years, women, children, and entire families lived underground, giving birth, cooking, sleeping, etc. in tiny, cramped holes that some in our group couldn’t even look at due to pangs of claustrophobia. Our final of three homestays was a little excursion away from Saigon in a village on the Mekong Delta. Housed outdoors, we slept under mosquito nets and enjoyed one of our last nights together under the stars.
Vietnam is an amazing country with amazing people (and amazing, delicious, exquisite, cheap food) and an incredible history. Due to their occupation by French and American forces, English was spoken by many Vietnamese, which made getting around very easy. Even when we couldn’t communicate except for hand gestures, the Vietnamese people would always smile and were incredibly friendly. It was very interesting to learn about the “American War” from the Vietnamese perspective (and also heart wrenching to see deformed or disabled persons on the street begging for food when you knew their plight was probably a direct result of the war), and realize that a lot of Vietnam’s history that I learned in school isn’t exactly how it really happened (or at least isn’t how the story is told in Vietnam)…
At the end of the trip, it was sad to say goodbye to the great group of people with whom we had just spent the last two weeks. Everyone got along amazingly well, and without any complainers and all seasoned travelers, the trip was without fault. But the saddest part was saying goodbye to my mom. Even though we quarreled a teensy little bit, and Karen got fed up with our “bickering,” it was really good to travel with her and explore yet another part of the world together. Thanks for taking me with you, Mom!!
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