Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City March 3rd-March 5th

We arrived in the city of nine million, ready to take in the history of the last city to fall to Communists in the war and the headquarters of the American forces.  Our guide Thuy picked us up from the airport and we headed straight to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels just 70 kilometers from central Saigon.  Originally built by the French, the Viet Cong extended the tunnels to 200 kilometers long and added three different levels reaching up to thirty meters underground.  Not only did the engineering amaze me, but the thought of it only a mile and half from an American base of 10,000 soldiers, yet it was never discovered.  Used to shelter themselves from the tons of American bombs, the VC built an immense tunnel complex equipped with camoflauged rolling traps, see saw taps and armpit traps in the ground, all with blood poison to ensure an immediate death.  As we walked into the complex, the guards led us to a video viewing room to watch a fifteen minute Viet Cong video on the “devils from Washington D.C.” and “American serial killers”.  No question, the Cu Chi Tunnels communicated the animosity and disdain towards Americans more than any other site we had visited so far.  We emerged from the viewing room, only to scream seconds later as guards let off pretend land mines to really get the feel for life throughout the war.  Throughout our hour and a half on the complex, I never seemed to get use to the unexpected boom of the land mine—I cannot even imagine living in a state of constant angst at one wrong step ending your life.  After walking through the trap display room, we reached the shooting range where they offer tourists the opportunity to shoot an M-16.  I declined, yet continued to jump every time a shot went off making it clear I was a foreigner.  Locals didn’t flinch as gunfire went off ten feet behind them.  We concluded our time at Cu Chi, walking through the insanely small tunnels many called home.  At one point I had to crawl on my hands and knees, as even leaning over my height was too much to continue.  I left the Cu Chi tunnels with a nauseous feeling in my stomach and a hyper jumpy state, as even a butterfly coming towards my head startled me!  Megan wisely stated that we all needed to get to the hotel ASAP to watch a Disney movie.

After our day excursion we headed into the central of Ho Chi Minh City, which made the traffic in Hanoi look like nothing.  Locals claim that although the city population totals nine million, there seem to be ten million motor bikes on the road at any point.  We reached the Majestic Hotel with stunning views of the Saigon River and a sky bar that provided entertaining aerial views of the insane traffic.  After a powerful school session, we hit the streets for what we do best—shopping and eating.  Shopping stalls with knock off EVERYTHING lines the main drags, including banned books, handbags and sunglasses.   Dinner at Lemongrass proved to be a winner, as fried noodles with Chin Shu spicy chili sauce has turned into my favorite dish!  I walked around the city center checking out the night life scene, which proved to be much more entertaining in the streets than in the bars.

At 10:00 am the following morning, our guide met us in the lobby for a packed day of sight seeing.  Our first stop—the War Crime Museum, originally named the American War Crime Museum until Bill Clinton’s visit in 2000 to normalize relations.  A three level museum, it is broken up into various exhibitsions including The War Truths, Americans Use of Agent Orange, War Crime Photos, A Photographer’s Perspective and Vietnam After the War.  The pictures of the horrendous consequences that still exist today from Agent Orange were the hardest to take in—the cleft lip, limb deformities, blindness and more.  The war crime focused on several massacres that I had only read one line about in history class.  I spent a majority of my time mesmorized by the images captured by photographer’s who risked their lives to inform countries of the reality of the war.  The kids opted for the Dove Peace Room, as many of the photos were simply too grotesque for their young eyes.  The museum is definitely a difficult, yet essential stop in Ho Chi Minh City.

Followed by a lighter stop at the Thien Ho Temple to honor the goddess of the sea, we dined at Pho 2000/Pho for a President, a hole in the wall restaurant made famous by a Bill Clinton visit in 2000.  Pictures of Bill adorn the entire establishment, as we enjoyed one of our favorite Vietnam dishes.  We attempted to walk through the Chinatown markets, yet couldn’t quite handle the crowds as it takes 5 minutes to move 20 feet.  Instead, we drove by the Reunification Palace, where in 1975 a Viet Cong tank busted through the gates to declare the fall of Saigon and the unification of Vietnam as a one party communist country.  With the equivalent of $5 USD in Vietnamese Dong, I searched for a fun and exciting way to spend my last few hours in Vietnam.  I walked in and out of numerous stores, yet couldn’t find a product that won me over.  Instead, a man standing outside the Saigon Spa offered a 45 minute hot oil massage for only $5 USD.  Really? Can I pass that up? Pure heaven!

I thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent in Vietnam and overwhelmed by the generosity and forgiving spirit of the Vietnamese people.  It is a country with a tragic history, yet a hopeful future! I cannot wait to be back!

Vietnam: Hoi An February 27th-March 2nd

We drove through the Truong Son Mountain Range along the eastern coast from Hue to Hoi An marveling in the emerald green rice paddies.  The novelty of the number of motorbikes carrying five member families and everything from dogs to ducks on the back never wore off.  En route to Hoi An, we stopped at an American check point and dipped our toes in the South China Sea at the famous China Beach (site of American TV show in the 90’s).  Our guide Thin provided names of the best shops in Hoi An and even more importantly, a name of a cheap laundry service and left us on our own at the Victoria Hotel overlooking both the sea and river. 

After an afternoon filled with swimming in the South China Sea and a rice pancake lunch, we headed into the bustling city center of Hoi An.  Known for their multitude of excellent tailor shops, we chose Sun Tailors as our first destination.  With an option to choose designs from over twenty fashion catalogues or bring in your favorite article of clothing to replicate, the staff takes your measurements, helps you choose your fabric and guarantees your desired customized article of clothing to be delivered to your hotel within twenty four hours.  Wedding dresses,  work pants, swimsuits, pajamas, you name it! Although tempting, I had my eye on the shoemaker shop next door.  With over three hundred styles and several rings of leather choices, I fell in love with a pair of strappy sandals with pewter leather.  The woman outlined my foot on a piece of white printer paper, measured the circumference of my cankle (not ankle) and the arch of my foot and similarly guaranteed a delivery for the following evening, all for under $20.  The shoes arrived not only arrived on time, but in perfect condition and fit like a glove J

Although a shopping highlight, nothing could top the experience at the Lac Viet jewelry store.  I could only think of how much several of my girl friends would love this store, as you enter to find yourself in the middle of several tables of stacked Tiffany’s and Cartier catalogues.   Still can’t find your design? No worries, as the staff pulls out an I Pad from behind the counter to search jeweler websites .  Of all the options, I chose a rather boring yet practical pair of Tiffany silver ball earrings which cost $12 to have made.  Truly a store after a woman’s heart, they offer orders from the U.S. with shipping included! This will definitely not be my last shopping trip with Lac Viet.  The remainder of our time in Hoi An provided fantastic shopping , yet none would compare to this first night.

We developed perfect daily itineraries in Hoi An, as mornings were spent in three hour school sessions, followed by an afternoon on the beach to be concluded with nights strolling the beautiful lit of city.  To truly feel like a local, I sucked it up and even took a motorbike taxi into town one afternoon.  I almost killed the driver by suffocation, as I wrapped my arms around him for dear life.  At night we enjoyed delicious Vietnamese Cuisine including sautéed morning glory, Cau Lo pork noodles, pho noodle soup and more Dalat Premiere Wine!  The walks along the beautifully lantern lined streets and decorated store fronts provided a perfect post dinner show each and every night.  An absolutely beautiful area, I was sad to leave Hoi An yet anxious to arrive in Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.

Vietnam: Ha Long Bay and Hue, February 23rd-27th

After several heavy hearted days in Hanoi, we graciously accepted the opportunity to enjoy the stunning scenery of Vietnam. After a four hour drive through the rice paddies and luscious green countryside of Vietnam, we arrived at Ha Long Bay. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ha Long Bay features thousands of limestone karst mountains emerging from the calm water. Our group didn't know much about the natural phenomenon, other than a cameo in an old James Bond movie. However, our three hour boat cruise provided superb boat spotting, a tour of a permanent fishing village in the water and a stop to explore million year old caves. Scientists claim the process of evolution created the hollowed out caves of stalagmites and stalagtites, while the Vietnamese believe the gods sent a family of dragons to defend the land from the invading Chinese and the caves were only remnants of their destruction. Even the nerdy science girl in me couldn't resist a good dragon story :)  Following the cave tours, the captain of our boat doubled as the chef and whipped up a scrumptious Vietnamese meal filled with spring rolls, pineapple, fried rice and shrimp.  The perfect outing could only be completed with an impromptu shopping session, as a woman from another boat appeared with boxes of fresh water pearl jewelry and postcards for sale.  Got to love an unexpected shopping moment!  Even with a four hour drive back, the sensory overload outside the window never got boring.  I don't know if there is much better than passing a motor scooter on the highway that is somehow balancing twenty ducks on the back. With a few pottery and weaving studio stops, we arrived back late at our hotel and hit the pillows!

After a incredibly successful school morning and a stop at Vietnam's version of a fast food restaurant, Pho 24, we headed to the airport.  We landed late at the Hue Airport, an old American air base used in the Vietnam War.  Hue was not only the capitol city of Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty from 1802-1945, but also an important location during the deadly 1968 Tet Offensive Battles.  Our guide Thin picked us up the following morning for a full day of sight seeing.  Our first stop was at the Imperial City, a walled fortress and palace during the reign of the Nguyen Dynasty.  Surrounded by twenty meter thick walls, the Imperial City housed the Purple Forbidden City for Nguyen emperor's and their hundreds of concubines.  Unfortunately, both American and Viet Cong bombs destroyed over 60% of this enormous site and what remains shows the evidence of the war through thousands of bullet holes.  The only building that remained completely in tact from the war was the Emperor's library and spectacular theater.  The power of the arts and education....Although the site magnificent, the words and knowledge from our guide truly made this experience come to life. 

We journeyed through the relatively orderly (compared to Hanoi) streets of Hue before we arrived at the Pagoda of the Heavenly Lady.  The most famous Vietnamese pagoda, the Heavenly Lady is home to the famous 1963 Buddhist monk who lit himself on fire on the streets of Saigon in protest.  Many from that time will know the photograph, as it generated immense emotional response as one could see his frail body enveloped in flames.  I had learned his actions were to protest the war, yet in actuality he was protesting the religious persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese President Diem.  Within the pagoda grounds, several pictures and belongings of the monk remain, including the blue car in the background of the famous picture. 

Following our tour of the pagoda, we ventured down to the Perfume River for a dragon boat ride.  The leisurelly stroll down the river provided views of family temples, cemeteries and many Vietnamese farming the beautiful land on the river banks.  Our boat tour concluded at the steps of Emperor Minh Mang's enormous tomb.  Built by his first son, this tomb consists of forty separate temples, thirty stone protective statues and sixty word carved stones with the emperor's favorite poems and words of wisdom! We returned to the hotel for an afternoon swim and a search for Vietnam fiction and nonfiction novels to continue my fascination and never ending desire knowledge on the history leading up to and during the Vietnam/American War.  Our night ended with a superb six course Vietnamese  meal, highlighted by the appetizer spring roll course designed in the shape of a peacock! Between devouring the peacock and my new found obsession with Vietnam's version of Two Buck Chuck wine (Dalat) the dinner was a definite highlight. 

For day two in Hue, we headed out for a little bit of a road trip.  Travelling along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, a complex set of foot and bike trails within the jungle used by the Viet Cong to transport people and war supplies, we passed multiple war cemeteries some with over 20,000 soldiers.  We reached the Khe San Air Base, the sight of a gruesome decoy battle in 1968 just days before the Tet Offensive.  The landing strips remain, as do several remnants of bombs, bunkers, a massive Chinook helicopter and a present day museum.  This moment began my two facial expressions for the majority of the day--my mouth open at the gruesome nature of pictures and stories told from the other side, or trying to brush away the unwanted tears that seemed to find their way to me today.  We left the air base to head towards the old DMZ at the 17th parallel.  Along the way, we passed the cleverly named Rock Pile, a large pile of rocks the Americans used to protectively watch the DMZ.  All that remains today at the 17th parallel is a small bamboo bridge over the natural boundary of the Ben Hai River with accompanying loud speakers used by both the North and the South.

We made our final stop at the Vinh Moc tunnels, a complex underground tunnel system built by the villagers to protect themselves from the American bombs.  Built in 1965, the tunnel complex measures of 2000 meters long with six entrances, a kitchen and rooms up to 30 meters below ground supplying "housing" for 60 families.  The tunnels are now open for tourists to walk through to experience the life of a Vinh Moc at that time.  Megan and the kids opted out immediately, as the small spaces with no ventilation did not appeal to them.  However, Tim and I walked through the pitch black tunnel system, amazed by the engineering and survival methods of this group of people.  I experienced quite a scare, for at one point I could hear loud, running footsteps approaching Tim and I in the bitch black.  My instincts kicked in and I stepped inside one of the family bunkers, scared as shit.  We laughed about it later, yet awful images and thoughts were going through my mind as it happened!

The journey home provided picturesque views of canoes with paddlers in conical hats traveling through rivers with rolling green hills in the background, untouched by the Vietnam War.  Such a beautiful country..