Vietnam: Mekong Delta

I was up early this morning for a drive outside of Saigon to the Mekong River delta. We drove about 2.5 hours and I got on a boat, that then traveled up the canals and tributaries until we reached the Mekong River.

We stopped first at a brick making plant, where they fired the bricks in the ovens. They used rice husks as fuel! All along the waterways, you see large boats overflowing with rice husks! They are used not only for fuel, but also for fertilizer. Our second stop was an orchard where they grow all kinds of fruits.

We then made our way to Cai Be, which is home to a famous, large floating market. All of the boats have poles at the front of them, and attached to those poles is whatever that particular boat is selling. That way, you can see from afar what each boat is selling!

After visiting the floating market, we continued along stopping at various islands along the way to see other demonstrations. My favorite was the candy making demonstrations (and samplings!). We saw them pop rice (like popcorn!), then make rice Krispy treat-like things out of them. They also made peanut candies, but my favorite was the coconut toffee. I don't like coconut, and I don't like coconut flavored things, but these toffees are to die for. They are made of coconut milk, palm sugar, and some other stuff. Just delicious!

We also saw them making moonshine. The nastiest was made with dead snakes. There's a picture of it attached. I almost vomited just looking at it... Snakes... Why'd it have to be snakes?

We then got back on the boat, and floated our way to a meeting point where we caught back up with our driver, who then drove us back to Saigon. I ate an extremely late lunch, walked around a little bit, had some downtime, then packed up because I have an early flight to Thailand tomorrow! This was the end of this leg of my trip. Tomorrow I will end up in Phuket where I wi have 4 days to enjoy the beach before I start another leg of my trip! I am really looking forward to a few days on the beach with nothing to do. Sightseeing seven days a week for a month can get exhausting!!!

I probably won't blog every day while I'm in Phuket, so this may be the last post until I arrive in Myanmar!

Vietnam: To Saigon

Today I was up and checked out of the hotel to catch my morning flight to Ho Chi Minh City. The flight was on time and uneventful and my guide and I were met by our driver and taken to the hotel to check in. The city has a population of over 10 million. It was decorated for the Lunar New Year, which is in a few days. All sorts of decorations and lights have been hung over every available tree, street light and telephone pole!

My room wasn't ready, so I went to grab some lunch first. I've been craving Indian food, and found a place just down the street where a lot of locals were eating. I took that to be a good sign, and took my chances!

After lunch I got checked into my hotel, the Sheraton, aka We Will Nickel and Dime You Because we are a Shitty International Chain. Seriously? $20/day for wifi in the room and $6 for a small bottle of water in the room? Out of control...

At any rate after getting settled in, we started our sightseeing. We went to the Reunification Palace (the former Independence Palace) and toured all around. It was almost like it was trapped in time. All of the decor and furniture is just as it was... Like looking at a retro 50s and 60s furniture store!

Then we visited the War Remnants Museum, which was an eye opener. Even as someone who studied international criminal law and military law, I was completely unaware of a lot of the atrocities that happened during the Vietnam War. I was aware of the My Lai massacre, but there was so much I didn't know about... And the pictures/proof is there for all to see.

After that we visited the Temple of the Jade Emperor. My guide kind of explained it to me? Something about the god of good and evil in one or something??? Anyway, it was a busy place, with the lunar new year just over a week away.

We were passing by a place selling vases and stuff for the new year celebrations, and I asked my guide how late the owner was gonna work, to which he answered, "Oh, she will work 34/7 until the new year." Glad to know they've found out a way to add 10 hours to each day. I wish I had found out how years ago!

Anyway, we continued on our tour, passing the HORDES of people on motorbikes. Seriously, they have 5 million motorbikes in Ho Chi Minh City... We finally arrived at the big Catholic Church, Notre Dame cathedral in town. It was a big brick church. Ad we also stopped in the post office, which is in a gorgeous building that resembles a train station!

After that, we made our way back to the hotel, where I had a quick dinner and called it a night! Tomorrow is my last full day in Vietnam and it's going to be a busy one!

Vietnam: Hoi An, Day 2

So I was up early this morning to drive to Hoi An for my Vietnamese cooking class! There were 18 participants (mostly from Australia and New Zealand). We broke into small groups and toured the market. It was crowded, dirty, smelly and generally an unpleasant experience. I'm just glad when I go to Brookshire's I can get my fish already filleted and packaged in a nice, smell-proof package.

We then got on boats that took us downriver to the school itself. We first watched the chef make something, and then we went to our own cooking stations and made the same thing ourselves. My made fresh spring rolls, rice pancakes, and an eggplant dish. All were surprisingly delicious. We also had a demonstration on how to make a rise from a tomato and a fan out of a cucumber. Mine did not turn out anywhere near as nice as the chef's.

We then ate our spoils for lunch and had a boat ride back to town. I then met my guide who took me to Marble Mountain, which is where the Viet Cong had caves and would shoot hand-held missiles at US planes. There was a nice Buddha carved out of the rock in one of them.

Then we returned to the hotel for a free afternoon, which I was so excited about. I just wanted to lay on the beach and enjoy the sun... However, the clouds had moved in and the sun was nowhere to be seen. What was to be seen, was bus load after bus load of Russians who took over my resort, yelling at one another across the entire beach and resort, not giving a shit about anyone else's comfort or serenity. Fucking Russians.

I then decided to have a nice, relaxing high tea instead, and sat down, got my tea and happy treats and then there was some sort of gathering by said Russians who played loud music over speakers in the main courtyard area of the resort. So much for a relaxing afternoon tea. The rest of the evening was spent avoiding the Russians, which for the most part was successful.

I ate dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant and then retired to my room for the night. I leave in the morning for my flight to Saigon, the last city on this leg of my journey around the world!

Vietnam: Da Nang and Hoi An

Today I was up early to meet my guide and driver, who drove me to Da Nang. The drive took about 3/3.5 hours and we stopped twice to enjoy the amazing scenery. It was gorgeous as we went over the mountain pass that originally served as a border between North and South Vietnam. This was also a watch point for US troops during the Vietnam War because of the good view of both sides of the pass and the seas on either sides.

We continued on way to Da Nang and eventually reached my hotel/resort before lunch. I got all checked in and shown to my ocean view room, relaxed a little bit before a late lunch. I then met my guide and we went to the nearby town of Hoi An. It must have been a charming little town at one point, but that time has come and gone. It is overrun with tourists and backpackers, and every single step you take, you are inundated with storefront after storefront selling the same shitty souvenirs. It's a shame, too, because if you looked really, really hard past all that you could almost see the quaint little town it once was. There's a large Chinese influence here, as it was a large trading post back in the day.

We visited a handicraft market, an old bridge, a couple of old shrines, an old house, the "market", and then I had free time to walk around. I tried to go outside of the main streets to see if there was any place in the old town area that still held any of the charm of yesteryear. There was not.

As the sun was going down, we drove back to my hotel where I enjoyed happy hour, listening to the waves lap at the beach. After eating such a big, late lunch I decided to forego dinner this evening. I went to bed early because for some reason I am really tired today... Tomorrow is back in Hoi An for a cooking class. We'll see how it goes!

Vietnam: Hue, Day 2

Today, I was up early to head out in the rain for sightseeing! This is the first time I have seen rain on this trip, so even though it was a little annoying, it was at least nice to know that the wetness I was feeling wasn't due to my own sweat.

We started out by boarding a dragon boat and heading up the Perfume River to the seven-tiered pagoda that Hue is most famous for. Around the pagoda, Buddhist monks have set up a monastery, and so we visited that as well.

One thing about Vietnam is that you don't have to go looking for souvenirs. The stores will come to you. Whether it's being trapped on a boat and then blindsided by a "shop" that magically appears in the aisles, or people coming up to you on the street with various "best sellers". I couldn't help but buy some bamboo placemats from one woman. Mostly to get her to leave me alone, but also because they will match my dining room chairs perfectly. You have to admire the tenacity and persistence of these people. Even when you've said no 15 times, they keep trying.

At any rate, after visiting the Buddhist monastery, we got in the car and drove to two tombs. They were the tombs of some of the last kings and queens of Vietnam. The first was Chinese-influenced. The second was European-influenced.

Now for me to go on a rant about UNESCO and their rampant overuse of the World Heritage Site. It used to be that a UNESCO World Heritage Site actually meant something. But each year they add more and more, either for political circumstances or for genuine circumstances. However, now they have gotten to the point where if anyone famous took a shit somewhere, they make it a UNESCO World Heritage Site. That being said, the tombs today fall into that later category. They were ok, but not worthy of the title of World Heritage Site...

The second one, made up mostly of mosaic, was very impressive and more worthy than the first, but after that we went to a altar where the king used to (once a year) make sacrifices to the god of the sun. It was basically an elevated cement circle. And World Heritage Site (see what I mean?). Seriously, it was so ordinary and basic, I didn't even take a picture. It would have been a waste of space on my phone.

We then went to pick up my laundry, but it wasn't ready, so we went back to the hotel. I waited around for an hour or so until they delivered my laundry, then I set out on my own this afternoon. I first went to a restaurant recommended by TripAdvisor for a (very) late lunch. It was on the other side of the river, but definitely worth the trip! Not only were the food and wine delicious, but the owner was French, so I got in some practice speaking my French. I find this appropriate because I had a dream last night I was back in high school dealing with my ridiculously inadequate French teacher (not you Mme Jolly - it was that other woman [who I refused to call Mme because that implied that at least something about her was French or at least that she could speak the language]).

At any rate, lunch was great! Walked around and around and along the river. Then came back to the hotel, watched Harry Potter 7.2 in the room and then called it a night! I'm heading to Hoi An and Da Nang tomorrow!!!