24+ hours of straight travel is no joke. To get to Vietnam, we flew from Houston to Tokyo, and then from Tokyo to Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon). There is a 12 hour time difference between SE Asia and Texas. So Ryan and I were definitely feeling the effects of jet lag. We had awesome accommodations at the Alcove Library Hotel, a boutique hotel slightly outside the heart of the city with a rooftop terrace and restaurant, and book themed decor. A hotel after my own heart. They picked us up from the airport at 9:30 pm, making our tired entrance into the country extremely easy. After getting to the hotel, Ryan and I completely crashed and woke up ready to explore the new city.
Our first full day in HCMC, Ryan and I took a taxi downtown (costing all of $2). We decided to hit the main tourist sights and saw the Reunification Palace, the War Remnants Museum, and walked through the Ben Thanh Market. Trying to cross the streets in Vietnam is an art form. There are motorbikes or “hondas” everywhere! And don’t think that the sidewalks are just for pedestrians – some drivers use those as well. We learned very quickly to have our wits about us while walking the streets.
The next full day we booked a half day tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels. We got to drive about 2 hours outside the city to the outskirts of the countryside. Our guide – Denny – was absolutely incredible. He answered so many questions about the history of the city and the Vietnam War. It was extremely interesting hearing about the effects of the war in modern Vietnam. The Cu Chi Tunnels are an elaborate underground community made up of 3 levels and are over 250 km long (155 miles). Ventilation systems, kitchens, living areas, and bomb shelters were all built underground in these tunnels. Part of the tour allowed for anyone to go into the tunnel and “walk” (which was more like crouch/crawl) about 80 meters. The tunnel size was about 3 meters x 3.5 meters. I was a little anxious about how small it was, but wanted to see what it was like. I only got about halfway before taking a built in exit and emerging dripping in sweat and feeling slightly claustrophobic. It was extremely cramped, extremely hot, and very dark – even with newly installed “lighting”. But it was a educational experience and I’m glad we got to see it firsthand.
That evening, Ryan and I went on a Saigon Food Tour. This ended up being a highlight for us. College students wanting to work on their English picked us up on hondas, and we each rode on the back of a bike. Anh and Linh were our guides, and incredibly sweet girls. But how we were convinced to get on the back of one of those crazy bikes is beside me. However, Ryan and I were both incredibly surprised at how tame the traffic felt from the inside. Don’t get me wrong, it was still extremely different than in the US. But the bikes aren’t allowed to go very fast (about 25 mph max) and we never felt out of control.
While riding on the bike with Linh heading to our next stop – we pulled up to a stoplight. Next to us a mom and young daughter (about 4 or 5) came along side us. As we were sitting there, the mother pointed the daughter’s attention at me and she shyly looks up. I smiled real big and overly waved at the little girl (not gonna lie, I was pretty animated with my enthusiasm but she was cute and I like kids and didn’t give it a second thought). Then the light changed and we drove off. I told Linh as we were driving away – “Aww that was sweet; that little girl was so cute!” To which she responds with – “Um yeah, so actually the daughter didn’t want to put her rain hat on so the mother told her that you would hit her if she didn’t obey. That’s why she was pointing at you and well, I didn’t know how to tell you.” We could not stop laughing for a full five minutes as I coped with my mortification through laughter. Needless to say I learned a very interesting cultural lesson.
All in all, I’m convinced that seeing a city in the night lights from the street point of view is the best way to do it! Over the course of 3.5 hours we went to four different restaurants and had a noodle dish, a Vietnamese pancake, coffee (with condensed milk), and dessert. We were taken to local places and taught about the dishes, how to eat them properly, and were able to ask any other questions we had about Vietnamese culture, cuisine, and lifestyle. We thoroughly enjoyed meeting and just hanging out with locals our age. It was an extremely unique way to experience the city of Saigon.
