I left the city of Saigon this morning and flew to Hoi An which is located on the coast somewhere in Central Vietnam. At first I was a bit disappointed in the town - however that was just based on the taxi ride to my hotel from the airport. Once I had an opportunity to walk the streets to "Old Town" I figured out why so many tourists love this place. It is SO charming. There are all of these little beautiful, colorful, historic buildings. The town is also inundated with tailor shops. I was expecting this...but damn! There are a lot of them. I did my part and stopped in on one. Walked out about an hour later with four new dresses ordered....two summer dresses and two formal dresses. I'm not exactly sure when and where I'm going to wear these formal dresses but it was fun choosing the design and fabric and all. I also made a very rash decision and purchased some custom leather boots. I paid a fortune for them so I'm crossing my fingers that I'll love them. Boots (knee high) are not an easy thing to come by at home....I'm shorter than the "average" female so they never fit right. These should definitely fit I just hope I like how they turn out.
I also ended up visiting this free trade store in which all of the products sold are either made by the indigenous people living in the hill side or by mentally and physcially disabled Vietnamese. They have a really nice shop in the back where you can watch them sew and such. I spent a lot of money but I got a beautiful - one of a kind - quilt, two handbags and a silly gift for ACP (smiles). Ummm...I'm definitely going to need to buy some luggage while I'm here. Crap - just realized that.
Well I'm going to go make my way to a store - need to stock up on water for the night!
more tomorrow......
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saigon and Cu Chi Tunnels
If I had to describe my experiences from the last two days I could probably summarize by using two words....sensory overload. Saigon is crazy. I love it..but it's crazy. I would never never live here but I do have to appreciate the fact that it's very much it's own city with it's own vibe. It has so much energy.
So Saigon (formally named Ho Chi Minh city) has a population of about 7 million people and based on what I have seen...I'm pretty sure that every single person in the city has a moped/motorcycle. It is like a sea of mopeds everywhere you look. AND...I'm not exaggerating when I say this...it's LITERALLY like the game Frogger when crossing the street. In order to cross you must say a little prayer and then slowly and deliberately cross the street - not too fast and not too slow. You must never jump, run or stop. The cars and bikes expect you to stay at the same pace. They speed by right in front and right in back of you. If you change your speed you are toast! Surprisingly I mastered the art of crossing the street very quickly. I attribute this to my research prior to arriving. So thankful I'm such a planner!
Today I took a tour outside of Saigon. For the grand total of $4.50 - I traveled by air-conditioned bus to the area of Cu Chi. Which is about 70km outide of Saigon. This area was made famous by the Viet Cong tunnels during the Vietnam war (Vietnamese call it the American war...go figure). I was really looking forward to this part of my trip and I wasn't disappointed. A group of us were able to see some really cool things....all of the tiny tunnel entrances...weapons that were used by the guerillas...we even had the option of shooting a few rounds of bullets from several different guns. I chose the AK47. For about $10 I received 10 real bullets and used a REAL AK47. I have a sweet picture to prove it and well....some minor hearing loss. It was extremely loud...even hundreds of feet away but I figured that I would probably never have the chance to shoot a gun like that again. I rarely pass up such an opportunity. The tour ended with the option of crawling down in the tunnels...about 50 meters. Thankfully I am small enough that I didn't have to actually crawl. Like the Vietnamese..I was able to crouch/walk. By the end though I wanted the hell out of that tunnel. It was dirty and SO humid. Before getting back on the bus we all watched a short documentary that was filmed during the early 70's. This was the only uncomfortable part of the tour for me. Americans were referred to as the "crazy devils" and the film highlighted interviews with guerillas who were famous for killing many many Americans. I have not received ANY negative responses to the fact that I am an American but there was definitely an anti-American vibe during the film. I was happy to scurry back on the bus! I also have a new found appreciation for my boss Fred. He's a Vietnam veteran. If he were here I would hug him!
Well that's all for now (or all I have the energy to write about). Tomorrow I leave Saigon and board a plane to Hoi An (central Vietnam).
Cheers...shauna
So Saigon (formally named Ho Chi Minh city) has a population of about 7 million people and based on what I have seen...I'm pretty sure that every single person in the city has a moped/motorcycle. It is like a sea of mopeds everywhere you look. AND...I'm not exaggerating when I say this...it's LITERALLY like the game Frogger when crossing the street. In order to cross you must say a little prayer and then slowly and deliberately cross the street - not too fast and not too slow. You must never jump, run or stop. The cars and bikes expect you to stay at the same pace. They speed by right in front and right in back of you. If you change your speed you are toast! Surprisingly I mastered the art of crossing the street very quickly. I attribute this to my research prior to arriving. So thankful I'm such a planner!
Today I took a tour outside of Saigon. For the grand total of $4.50 - I traveled by air-conditioned bus to the area of Cu Chi. Which is about 70km outide of Saigon. This area was made famous by the Viet Cong tunnels during the Vietnam war (Vietnamese call it the American war...go figure). I was really looking forward to this part of my trip and I wasn't disappointed. A group of us were able to see some really cool things....all of the tiny tunnel entrances...weapons that were used by the guerillas...we even had the option of shooting a few rounds of bullets from several different guns. I chose the AK47. For about $10 I received 10 real bullets and used a REAL AK47. I have a sweet picture to prove it and well....some minor hearing loss. It was extremely loud...even hundreds of feet away but I figured that I would probably never have the chance to shoot a gun like that again. I rarely pass up such an opportunity. The tour ended with the option of crawling down in the tunnels...about 50 meters. Thankfully I am small enough that I didn't have to actually crawl. Like the Vietnamese..I was able to crouch/walk. By the end though I wanted the hell out of that tunnel. It was dirty and SO humid. Before getting back on the bus we all watched a short documentary that was filmed during the early 70's. This was the only uncomfortable part of the tour for me. Americans were referred to as the "crazy devils" and the film highlighted interviews with guerillas who were famous for killing many many Americans. I have not received ANY negative responses to the fact that I am an American but there was definitely an anti-American vibe during the film. I was happy to scurry back on the bus! I also have a new found appreciation for my boss Fred. He's a Vietnam veteran. If he were here I would hug him!
Well that's all for now (or all I have the energy to write about). Tomorrow I leave Saigon and board a plane to Hoi An (central Vietnam).
Cheers...shauna
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Hello from Saigon
Well...I made it to Vietnam. After almost 24 hours of traveling I made it to my hotel in Saigon last night. Surprisingly, the trip went extremely fast. Thanks to free wine and Nyquil!
So now, here I am at my hotel sitting in front a fan drinking Vietnamese iced coffee (yum). It's about 10am on Monday morning and I'm about to go explore the city. On the agenda - war history museum, Vietnamese market, Reunification Palace and a trip on a motorcycle taxi to Saigon's China town.
Oh before I forget - I experienced my first dose of censorship in this Communist country. I got on the internet and attempted to log in to my blog account. Guess what? It's blocked! As is Facebook. The woman at the hotel had to show me how to log in to an anonymous surfing site so I could get the websites I wanted. Crazy!
Anyways - I'll write more later. For now I'm going to go enjoy the city.
So now, here I am at my hotel sitting in front a fan drinking Vietnamese iced coffee (yum). It's about 10am on Monday morning and I'm about to go explore the city. On the agenda - war history museum, Vietnamese market, Reunification Palace and a trip on a motorcycle taxi to Saigon's China town.
Oh before I forget - I experienced my first dose of censorship in this Communist country. I got on the internet and attempted to log in to my blog account. Guess what? It's blocked! As is Facebook. The woman at the hotel had to show me how to log in to an anonymous surfing site so I could get the websites I wanted. Crazy!
Anyways - I'll write more later. For now I'm going to go enjoy the city.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Trip Details
Now that I've starting blogging about my upcoming trip I suppose I should actually talk about the trip itself. For those of you that don't know....
I'm taking a two week solo trip to Vietnam at the end of March. I leave Seattle on Saturday, March 27th and I return on Saturday, April 10th. I don't have a strict itinerary set but I will be spending time in the cities of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Hoi An, and Hanoi. I'll also have a 12 hour lay-over in Seoul, Korea on the way back so I'll have some time to explore the city while I'm there. I've learned from past travels that it's best not to book everything. Once I get over there I'll figure it out. It's one of the things I love about traveling....being spontaneous. I'm crossing my fingers that the language of English is in actuality "universal" as as I speak NO Vietnamese. Otherwise I'll be spending a lot of precious time pointing and making stick figure drawings.
So far I've taken care of most of my pre-travel arrangements. I've gotten my entry Visa, required vaccinations, malaria prescription (although haven't decided if I'm taking it yet), a new travel back pack, Vietnam specific first aid kit and I've booked the hotels and plane tickets within Vietnam. I still need to purchase travel insurance and make copies of all of my important documentation. Within the next couple of days I'll also need to start packing. I'm a terrible packer - I usually pack half of my closet. However, this time, I'm only bringing what I can carry on my back so this will be a learning experience for me.
We'll see what happens....
I'm taking a two week solo trip to Vietnam at the end of March. I leave Seattle on Saturday, March 27th and I return on Saturday, April 10th. I don't have a strict itinerary set but I will be spending time in the cities of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Hoi An, and Hanoi. I'll also have a 12 hour lay-over in Seoul, Korea on the way back so I'll have some time to explore the city while I'm there. I've learned from past travels that it's best not to book everything. Once I get over there I'll figure it out. It's one of the things I love about traveling....being spontaneous. I'm crossing my fingers that the language of English is in actuality "universal" as as I speak NO Vietnamese. Otherwise I'll be spending a lot of precious time pointing and making stick figure drawings.
So far I've taken care of most of my pre-travel arrangements. I've gotten my entry Visa, required vaccinations, malaria prescription (although haven't decided if I'm taking it yet), a new travel back pack, Vietnam specific first aid kit and I've booked the hotels and plane tickets within Vietnam. I still need to purchase travel insurance and make copies of all of my important documentation. Within the next couple of days I'll also need to start packing. I'm a terrible packer - I usually pack half of my closet. However, this time, I'm only bringing what I can carry on my back so this will be a learning experience for me.
We'll see what happens....
Jumping on the blog bandwagon
So I've decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon. I've made this decision based on a few different reasons. Number 1 - I have an interesting vacation coming up and I've had a number of people ask me to keep them updated on what's going on. Which leads me to reason Number 2 - I'm lazy (smiles). I'd rather write one post on my daily on-goings in Vietnam rather than have to write numerous emails while I'm there.
Lastly, I personally enjoy reading blogs. I think it's great to be able share in the exciting moments (albeit behind a computer) of other peoples lives. With that being said - perhaps someone will enjoy reading about my life (well at least my Vietnam travel stories). I'm pretty sure I will have a funny story or two to share. If this trip is anything like my last solo trip, there's going to be lots of laughter, a few tears, probably an itinerary change or two, and some definite crazy moments. It will be interesting...to say the least.
Lastly, I personally enjoy reading blogs. I think it's great to be able share in the exciting moments (albeit behind a computer) of other peoples lives. With that being said - perhaps someone will enjoy reading about my life (well at least my Vietnam travel stories). I'm pretty sure I will have a funny story or two to share. If this trip is anything like my last solo trip, there's going to be lots of laughter, a few tears, probably an itinerary change or two, and some definite crazy moments. It will be interesting...to say the least.
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