A Vietnamazing Place

I was a little saddened today at 6 AM when I felt the rumble of the ship’s engines as they started up.  I knew it meant it was time to leave Vietnam and make our way to our next destination, Singapore. 

Our time in Vietnam was very nice.  We spent our final two days in Ho Chi Minh walking around the city and sampling the delicious food.  We ate a lot of pho and spring rolls and had a Vietnamese ice coffee or two.   

One place we really wanted to go to was the Café Blue.  We had visited it back in 2006 when we were here and really enjoyed the atmosphere.  The place has big comfy chairs and colorful walls and is a great place to escape the heat and get an iced coffee and some ice cream.  I was hoping to get a burger there again but sadly there was no food because of the Tet holiday.  The disappointment was washed away when we saw that Three Men and A Baby was on the television because the sheer randomness of that was just awesome.

Saturday evening we were finally able to get a group of people to go out and hit up the nightlife.  It’s been rather hard getting people together to go out this trip.  Kelly and I really miss our friend Jay from the last voyage.  He knew how to get a crowd out and have a fun time. 

Our night started out very disheveled but ended up turning in to a really good time.  Kelly and I went to a bar called The Drunken Duck while we waited to meet up with the rest of our group and it was an interesting scene.  It was a British type bar and the conversations around us were entertaining and confusing all at the same time.  Cockney slang is impossible to understand.  We eventually made our way to the “backpacker’s alley” section and had a few Tiger beer while sitting outside on a beautiful night. 

On our last day in the city we went out in search of a bakery, which Saigon is famous for, but ended up just getting a coffee and then more pho.  We may have a pho addiction.  We also picked up a few dvds for our time at sea.  The price of everything in Vietnam seemed to go up except for dvds.  The place was selling them for 2 for $1!  Sure they come in a plastic sleeve and they don’t always work all the way through but getting 16 movies for $8 is worth the risk.  After our movie binge we picked up a few essentials at the grocery store to spend the last of our Dong.  Yes, the currency here is called the Dong and we giggle like fourth graders everytime we say it.  We then made our way back to the ship for our evening on ship time.   We had to be back in the evening to clear customs for our early departure the next morning. 

There was barbeque on the pool deck that evening to entice everyone back on time.  We ate and everyone shared stories of their time in Vietnam.  It’s a nice country that has been through a lot over the years and hopefully has a bright future. 

The Soul of Vietnam

“Aweena…Aweena…Aweena.”  That was the word the tiny elderly Vietnamese woman was calling out as she pushed her cart through the neighborhood streets of the Ho Chi Minh.  I’m not sure what she was selling but it appeared to be some kind of fruit.  Her singsong cry echoed off the building creating a beautiful melody.  It was Vietnam as can be and something I experience by total accident as I wandered lost trying to get back to the ship for lunch yesterday.

Our day yesterday was filled with experiencing the culture of Vietnam.  As I wandered the streets and browsed the crowded aisles of the Ben Thanh market, Kelly went on a visit to a Buddhist orphanage and played with the children.  She got to play with them for about two hours and I’m sure it made their day.  My morning trip to the market was a mixed bag.  I picked up a sport watch for $6 since my other watch has been on the fritz.  I had a delicious lunch of Vietnamese shrimp spring rolls and as I left the café, I realized my watch had quit working.  It didn’t even make it two hours.  I hustled back to the market to find the vendor and he fortunately exchanged the broken watch for a new one.  Maybe I’ll get two days out of this one.

Shopping in Vietnam and haggling over prices it really part of the cultural experience here.  I have always affectionately referred to Vietnam as “The World’s Largest Dollar Store.”  Since 2006 prices have increased a bit but it’s still really cheap.  There are knockoff backpacks, purses and t-shirts on every corner.  The only drawback is finding an "American size".  My sandal shopping would go like this:  I’d ask if they had size 13.  They would then look at me, look down at my feet and then proceed to laugh and shoo me away.   I’ll just have to stick with buying t-shirts for now, which I am a XXL in here. 

After meeting back at the ship for lunch and escaping the heat for a bit, Kelly and I went with a big group of SASers to a performance at the opera house about the culture of Vietnam.  It was a live performance that included dance, singing, acrobatics and traditional Vietnamese music.  I was fascinated by the theremin player as well as the flautist who held some notes for so long I have no idea how he was breathing.  The cast was made up of a lot of young people and it was good to see the heritage being passed along to the younger generation.  It was a wonderful performance that really encapsulated the soul of Vietnam.

This Place is a Zoo

It's hard to believe that yesterday was Valentine's Day.  Spending it walking around Saigon in the 95 degree heat certainly didn't feel like a the February holiday.

Kelly and I had a great day together yesterday walking around the city and going to the Vietnam zoo.  We really enjoy going to the zoo in a foreign country because it's very interesting to see the differences from zoos back home.  The biggest difference is how close the animals are and the short the fences.  I really can't believe how close they let people get to the animals.  The elephants couldn't have been more than 10 feet from us.  We watched people through fruit to them as they seemed to dance and bow in appreciation.  The monkeys were playing around and swinging from trees that were only separated from us by a small waterway.  I expected them to dart over to the nearby trees at any point and start stealing people's food.  It really was a cool experience and it cost us less just over $1 to get in!

The only drawback to the zoo was the scorching heat.  We both had sweat pouring from our bodies and felt some dehydration setting in despite drinking three containers of water.  We finished at the zoo we walked back to the center of the city to have lunch at Pho 2000.  It's a highly recommended Vietnamese restaurant that serves the traditional Vietnamese street dish of pho, a soup consisting of noodles made from rich, herbs and spices and meat.  I got the beef while Kelly enjoyed the chicken.  Eating soup with chopsticks is somewhat of a challenge and I'll admit to picking up a spoon a time or two but it is absolutely delicious.

Granted soup on a hot day may seem like an odd decision but it was totally worth it.

Keeping the Peace

Today is a low-key day here on the ship.  I'm unable to leave the ship today because I am on duty in case of any emergencies.  This is my third day of 24 hour duty and I only have two more to go.  I will also have five nights I'll have to be on the ship in port to deal with any students who may come back to the ship overserved.   It's a small price to pay for getting to sail around the world.

This afternoon there is a whopping 47 people on board.  I'd say it's quiet but they are doing maintenance on the ship and it sounds like they are trying to construct a new ship outside.  Of course that didn't stop me from laying out by the pool and getting some sun this afternoon.  You can't beat sunshine and mid-90s on February 13th. 

It's interesting being on the ship when most everyone else is gone.  The highlight of my day today was when I watched them unload a bunch of garbage from our ship.  It sounds mundane but this is Vietnam and they do things differently here apparently.  What looked like two small fishing boats pulled up next to our ship and over the next few hours they slowly collected our garbage and then motored off down the river.  Where to I have no idea but it was cool to watch. 

It's crazy that there is a whole world going on every day on this ship that I just never see.  The crew are always working hard to get things done and make our trip the best experience possible and I try and thank them as much as possible.  They are the salt of the earth. 

Goooood Morning Vietnam

Today we motored up the river and into the warmth of Ho Chi Minh City.  It warmed up a bit in Hong Kong but it's in the mid-90s here and even hotter on the pavement.  I love it.

So many motorbikes on the roads here.

It's a crazy time to be here since they are celebrating Tet, the lunar New Year.  The actual holiday was on Sunday the 10th but since it is there most important and popular holiday many shops are still closed. This year is the year of the snake.

Kelly and I spent the day walking around the city and seeing what we could find.  This is our second trip to Ho Chi Minh and it was fun to see things that reminded me of the first time we were here.  The Tiger beer shirts are still just $1 and crossing the street is still a harrowing adventure.  The way it works here is that when you want to cross the street you have to just go for it.  Keep a steady pace and the traffic just flows around you like a rock in a stream.  I must admit the first time I attempted it today I was a little freaked out but by the time we came back to the ship this evening I was playing Frogger in traffic like a regular Vietnamese.

Happy New Year.