The girls with Mr. David and Mrs. Susan, first night in Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Nov. 3-7

Tuesday Nov. 3

Vietnam, the country tainted in American minds, came upon us in the night as we snaked up the Mekong Delta. The muddy churning water and flat lush land reminded me of home, minus the occasional cone-topped fisherman.
We docked at 11 am in Ho Chi Minh City, (formerly Saigon, renamed after the Southern leader Ho Chi Minh after the Vietnam War) and parents came on board, including Mr. David and Mrs. Susan Allen. Mary Chandler was so excited, and it was great to see familiar faces! After our ship was cleared and our passports stamped we took off in search of the legendary shopping. The Dong, the Vietnamese currency, goes a long way against the dollar… $1 = 17,856 Dong. So we were all millionaires and had a field day in the markets. There’s a black market of North Face (they “fall off” the trucks, apparently) and lots of other quality knock offs plus great jewelry, perfume, and general knick knacks (Asian knick knacks are a lot cooler). Can’t wait to show you what I got!
It’s hot… 90s and above, but I’m still drinking a lot of coffee… it’s incredible here. It’s one of their main exports. Iced coffee in the afternoon… hits the spot. Supposedly the best is called “weasel coffee”… very expensive and literal. The weasel eats the beans and the coffee producer collects them at the other end. Something about the acids in its stomach makes it delicious apparently. It’s like Jack Nicholson’s coffee in “The Bucket List” that he throws a fit over. I’ll let you know whether it’s worth the hype.
That night MCA’s parents took us out for dinner and drinks. MCA, me, Carley, Leigh Anne, Olivia, Kate, Bobby Lee, and Charis. We had some white wine at the rooftop bar of the Majestic and went to Lemongrass for dinner. Wonderful dinner… lots of cilantro, lemongrass, licorice, and coconut. Very light and fresh. Then went to the rooftop bar of the Rex hotel for an Irish coffee. Early morning tomorrow, so I jumped on the back of a motorbike taxi and zoomed through the pulsing, energetic night city air back to the ship.

Wed. Nov. 4
I didn’t sleep at all last night; I think I was nervous I wouldn’t wake up for my 430 am departure. So I was as bright eyed and bushy tailed at that 430 breakfast than I’ve ever been for an 800 one, but later I hit a wall and slid down it into oblivion for a while. A quick hour flight later we arrived in Hanoi, the capital city, and saw the Temple of Literature, a 1070 A.D. Confucius temple and place of esteemed scholarly pursuit. After the Chinese conquered the Vietnamese, the study of Confucius ideas and the Chinese language were integrated into the culture. After Vietnam’s independence, however, Chinese culture was largely rejected again. Vietnam had no official written language until 15 years ago, and it looks like mixed English letters with a bunch of crazy accents. Like most Asians, they have 6 different tones. It is exhausting trying to communicate sometimes! But they are friendly and very curious. I have a 6’5” black friend and walking down the street with him was hilarious.
After the temple a nice lunch:
· fresh noodles broth with chicken, pork sausage, meat boll, sliced egg, and mushroom
· fresh nem rolled with prawns, chasui, pineapple, and vegetables
· deep fried prawns with almond and fresh coconut
· stir-fried pork loin with cashews, mushrooms, bell peppers, and baby corn
· sautéed beef filet with green mango, bell pepper, and baby corn
· stir-fried seasonal veggies with garlic
· cream caramel
· Vietnamese coffee
Mary C, her parents, and I sat with Dr. Duran and his wife, Alicia. We really enjoyed them...especially after he said I had an A! After lunch a 3 hour drive took us to Ha Long Bay. We stopped halfway at a factory where young Vietnamese were sewing intricate pictures of rural scenes by hand. The threads of their labor came to life as we drove through rural Vietnam. Rice fields held small patches of land, each owned and worked by a different family. Water buffalo roamed freely as straw pointy hats bobbed in and out of sight between the tall emerald green sprigs. Sidewalks everywhere held miniature red and purple plastic tables and chairs, the perfect size for our toddlers and their handiwork. Tiny people fit naturally in the tiny furniture, cooking their dumplings, omelets, and soups and selling their jade jewelry on the side of the road. Homes were built in the town-house style—3 story, narrow width and long depth. It looked like someone had built a colonial 2 story house, squished it with his hands on both sides, and painted it a gaudy color. Most only had paint on the face of the house; the sides remained gray cement. It was as if the people were anticipating expansion and built to accommodate very close neighbors, but the rice paddies and dirt roads did not seem to beckon to industrial growth. Who knows, maybe I’m wrong. I hope not. I love the charm of rural towns.
Halong is a beach resort town, and the small craggy coast is dotted with casinos, hotels, and restaurants. We checked into the Halong Grand Hotel and had dinner at Cua vang (Golden Crab). Very good… all of their seafood was crawling outside the restaurant in pink plastic buckets, so we knew it was very fresh.

Thurs. Nov. 5
We checked out of our hotel and boarded an old wooden dinner boat in the bay. The magnificent scenery of Halong Bay is considered one of the natural wonders of the world, and rightly so. The weather was about 20 degrees cooler than Ho Chi Minh, in the pleasant 70s, and there was not a cloud in the sky. The bay’s tranquil beauty encompasses 1,500 square miles dotted with more than 1,000 limestone islands and islets. Bizarre rock sculptures jut dramatically from the sea, and numerous grottoes create a picturesque setting. The sails of the junks and sampans gliding on the bay added to the timeless beauty of the sea, and we passed a floating fisherman village. The bright sun danced on the water, creating a twinkling light show that the Jones could only wish to achieve in their gaudy Christmas lawn displays. We weaved in between the massive rocks for four hours. We filled the time with a seafood lunch, a refreshing swim, and lots of tanning.
After our relaxing day on the bay we drove back to Hanoi and checked into another hotel. Mary C and I found a cheap place for massages and got an hour for $8. It was kinda sketchy though… The guy walked us to our separate rooms, pointed to the shower,vb and said “shower” about 4 times. I guess the masseuses get a lot of dirty people in there? Anyway, I took a shower and lay down in the relatively bright room. Adjacent from me was a long mirror, which I found strange. There was also no spa music or oil, which I missed because it kind of burned when she’d rub my arms really hard. But it was a really funny experience, glad I did it.
Crossing the street in Hanoi was an intense experience. There are virtually no stop lights, and motorbikes and cars flow in a constant thick stream. You’ll never get across the street if you don’t step out into oncoming traffic. You just continue across the street at a steady pace, and the traffic anticipates your path; it is when you hesitate or speed up that you get into trouble. No spazing allowed, or you get slammed by a 30 mile an hour motorcycle. I loved it! Laughed the whole time. Really thrilling. Wish I could have video-taped it; you wouldn’t have believed it. That night Susan, David, and MCA were tired of being groupy and decided to go to Vino, a Lonely Planet suggestion instead of seeing the planned water puppet show. No complaints there, although I’m sure the water puppets were thrilling. I had the Nah Trang seafood risotto. Very good.

Fri. Nov 6
An early breakfast (but I would get up early every morning for this coffee!!), and we set off to see Hanoi. We saw the One Pillar Pagoda (little shrine), Ba Dinh Square, Ho Chi Minh’s house, and Tran Quoc Pagoda. Shopping in the old city center was incredible… they had streets of nothing but shoes, streets of sunglasses, streets of purses, streets of backpacks, of shirts… it was crazy. But very organized. I didn’t have to waste any time on a sunglass street if I knew I wanted hiking boots. We ate lunch at another Lonely Planet recommendation, Medditerano, a fabulous Italian restaurant, and had a veggie pizza. Really good. I love Italian. Flight back to Ho Chi Minh that afternoon and said goodbye to Susan and David after drinks at their hotel. I had a wonderful time with them! They really took care of me, and they are just fun people in general.

Sat. Nov 7
Last day in Vietnam! Leisure day… shopping again to complete my Christmas gifts and to a spa with Carina and Gefa. Had a wonderful 2 hour aromatherapy massage, manicure, and pedicure, all for $53. We could have gotten it cheaper at another spa, but this one was pretty nice. Spent about 4 hours at the spa. SO much fun!! Then the girls picked up their dresses they had made, I bought 20 movies for $20, and we went back to the ship. Left at 6 am the next morning. Farewell, Saigon!