Vietnam Post Number Tam

Since I was expecting to fly out on Friday afternoon, I had to rush to see a few things before going to the airport.  It was a 30 minute walk to see the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, but the viewing portion was closed, his body goes to Russia every year for maintenance, I guess he didn't come back yet.  There are a few other museums in the area, but by the time I got over there I needed to head back to make it to the airport.  After getting to the airport I noticed that my flight was not on the departure list.  Hmmm.  I showed my ticket to a gate agent and then things got bad.  There is no flight to Vientiane on Fridays (I believe it exists in the summer only, never got a straight answer).  After an hour of asking different people before finding someone who actually gave a shit, I was 'assured' that I would be on the next flight Saturday morning.  I had no confidence that this was the case, but I thanked the Vietnam Airlines manager for helping me.  I didn't want to go back to Hanoi, so I found a hotel close to the airport, it was probably the most depressing hotel I have ever been at.  It was really, really bad.  Had dinner in the 'cafe' next to about 6 Vietnamese guys who were all chain smoking.  After a crappy sleep, headed back to the airport.  My fear was the agent would have no idea what I was talking about when I gave my ticket that was for the prior day, and I was right.  They said I wasn't on the ticket.  I begged them to call the manager from the previous day (he gave me his cell number) and after a quick call I was given a ticket and felt hugely relieved.  Kind of scary that a personal call to someone would all of sudden get me on a flight.  A short flight later, arrived in Vientiane and went through the slowest immigration process of all time.  It took them at least 90 minutes to process one small plane full of people (40? 50?).  What I like the most is that visas are different prices for different countries.  For some reason, Canadians pay the most - $42.  The U.S. is $35, and South America is free.  Weird.  Met Matt and Senoe after this long delay and had to check in for the next flight leaving for Hoiesay two hours later.

Vietnam Post Number Bay

Got back on the bus and headed to the boats.  The British girls threw a fit because they didn't feel the seat space was adequate for them so the tour operator had to find some volunteers to go on motorbikes behind the bus.  To say these tours are not organized well is an understatement.  Waited around for the boats and then went back, much quicker this time since there were no stops.  With no place to stay I got out at the same stop as the British girls and got a room at the same hotel (good deal, only $15/night, includes breakfast, free Internet).  Stayed pretty much in the same area that night, spent a fair amount of time at a bar called 'Hair of the Dog'.  A bartender who spoke decent English talked to me a fair amount, she intended on going to New York at some point, but I couldn't decipher what for.  The table next to me seemed to going through some issues - some guy owed an African dude with a French accent money and he wanted it now.  Fun to eavesdrop on that.  Had some tasty Pho that the bartender went next door to get me, sweet delivery service.

Vietnam Post Number Sau

Got up early and had to check out of the hotel since the Halong Bay trip was an overnight tour.  The bus ride was a few hours, and the space on the seats was absolutely ridiculous.  I couldn't expand my hand between my seat and the back of the seat in front of me.  Of course the bathroom break was at a stop where people were making plaster lions, Buddhas, etc.  There is no way anyone could have purchased anything and gotten it on the bus, so Pringles were the most popular item as usual.  Eventually reached the bay and saw dozens of junks waiting for tour buses.  We got on one and we were given a bland lunch.  Some Brit girls and Aussie boys invited me to eat with them since I was alone.  They were nice.  There was a stop at one of the bigger islands (there are 400ish in the bay) to look at a cave that had a bunch of tacky colored lights in it.  Got back on the boat, went by a floating village (pretty interesting, little homes just floating around, the water is extremely calm in the area).  Ended up at Cat Ba island, the largest of the bunch, and then it was a 40 minute bus ride to the hotels.  I was at a different hotel then the others so it was kind of a bummer since I didn't know anyone.  Wasn't feeling well, so I skipped dinner and watched the Mod Squad.  Not good.  Went to a bar a floor above my room and it was horrible.  Super loud music, nobody there, nothing to do.  Went for a walk outside and that wasn't much better.  Lots of crappy stalls selling junk lit up by fluorescent lights - no beach to speak of, it was pretty dissapointing.  Went to bed shortly thereafter.

Vietnam Post Number Nam

Flew to Hanoi on Tuesday.  There was no food on the plane, but the legroom was amazing, it was like sitting in a limo.  Maybe that is why they can't afford to give food out.  Upon arriving in Hanoi, got a taxi and went to the hotel.  The trip was pretty long, and it gave an immediate impression on the differences between HCMC and Hanoi.  It seems more grim and Chinese in Hanoi - people spit more, it was cooler so they were all wearing coats, possibly more pale(?) due to the weather difference making them appear more Chinese.  Where I was staying the streets were more narrow and it had an older feel, some buildings seemed more colonial/French.  I didn't do too much that day, arranged a trip to Halong Bay for the following day and just hung around the neighborhood.  Had a really good sandwich - pork skewers with chili sauce on a baguette for about 50 cents.  Was in bed fairly early since the bus for the tour was leaving early the next day.  Stomach still not doing well.

Vietnam Post Number Bong

Linh had to work Sunday so I was on my own until dinner. Went to the War Remnants museum, which is made of U.S. military hardware (guns, tanks, etc.) and pictorials in several large rooms. Surprisingly it's not really well done considering they have a very large visitor rate (half million a year). As an American, many of the photos are not new, but to Europeans and other visitors, it may be the first large-scale exposure to photo journalism from Vietnam. It is obviously told from a very pro-North stance, Americans (and to a lesser extent, the French) don't look very good after going through there. Even if it is one-sided, it is a sobering experience to see the impact the armed forces had on the country, and quite surprising to see how warm and friendly (most) locals are, especially to Americans. After that, more wandering around, saw a cathedral and post office, not that interesting. Met Linh and her cousin for Ban Xeo (seafood pancakes) which were really good. Slightly larger than at home, and the greens that they are wrapped in (basil, mint, lettuce) seemed a bit fresher, but not night and day different. Then went to pick up some ice cream, I had vanilla in a coconut shell with a bunch of fruits I couldn't identify. Stomach revolted again, so I had to get home quickly. Traffic was really bad because everyone in the city had to go out and see Christmas displays. They really like lit up streets here for Christmas.

Monday - sat in a bar (same as Saturday) and drank all day, watching the street. Talked to a bartender most of the time and she gave me a ride home on her motorbike. I may have picked up more doing that than going anywhere. Met Linh, her cousin and a friend to watch a football game. That was really bad, there were only 5ish people there and they show the games on crappy little tvs. Soccer gets way more love here. Also, a New Yorker got really mad at a guy from our table and was going to fight him because the game (on tape of some sort) was restarted and they can't forward it. When his tiny pregnant Vietnamese wife showed up, he calmed down.
Went back, said bye to Linh and that was it for HCMC.

Vietnam Post Number Bah

This will have to consolidate a bunch of days.
Saturday - after shooting guns and travelling back to the city, Linh and I went out for Vietnamese bbq. Somewhat similar to Korean style, you cook plates of meat at the table (deer, boar, seafood, beef, etc. is available). It was quite good, although the smoke, even though it was outside, was pretty overwhelming. One in particular that was tasty was beef wrapped around cheese and onion. A friend/co-worker of hers showed up and we stayed for a few beers. At this point, my stomach revolted and I started my tour of HCMC bathrooms. We went to a club mostly for foreigners that has been around a long time. It's very obvious that it's a starting point for prostitution, straight and gay. We had one drink and left. It was then off on a mission to find a place recommended by Linh's friend, but we never found it, and after 4 u-turns we decided to go somewhere else. All this time the 3 of us are on one motorbike. That was fun, it really is the best way to get around, and they are suprisingly sturdy - 400 lbs, not a problem. We ended up at a bar that also had a lot of tourists, but it was more laid back, you can just drink and watch traffic go by. Met some Irish and Belgians there as well. They had been drinking pretty much all day, the empty bottles are kept in cases next to you so they can add up the bill at the end of the night. Little girls go around and sell gum, tissues, etc. at all hours of the night. It's tempting, but apparently that money goes to mafia types. Also noticed pretty open smoking of weed, as long as you don't get crazy, pretty much anything goes...

Vietnam Post Number Hai

Second full day in Vietnam. Linh and I booked a trip to the Cao Dai temple and Cu Chi tunnels. It was a long trip 3.5 hours to get to the temple. Cao Dai is less than a hundred years old, and is sort of a new religion, but more of a blend of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taosim. And Victor Hugo is involved somehow as well as Sun Yat Sen. Strange. We saw about 15 minutes of a ceremony, which started with singing and some music, videos posted later. It was then another 90 minutes to the Cu Chi tunnels, part of an elaborate 200 km tunnel system used by the North Vietnamese to hide and facilate 'killing American soldiers'. They could easily escape and get to rivers or other tunnel systems when necessary. They stayed there during the day, and came out at night to farm, work, and kill. We went through about 50 meters of the tunnel (enlarged for western bodies) and it was claustrophobic and starting to hurt at the end (video coming). I also got to shoot an AK-47, as there is a shooting range attached. Guns are really, really loud.